What Is the Power 9 in MTG?

Posted on July 7, 2026

People outside of collectible card games will sometimes ask about the most powerful card in the game.

It's something they can relate to, as many games have "key" components that are most sought after, whether it be a Battle Cruiser in Starcraft or The Queen in Chess.

Naturally, the follow-up question is usually about the most valuable cards.

Over the years, Wizards of the Coast has printed unique cards that have set pricing records. But if you survey normal printings of cards -- that is, cards that could be opened from a regular booster pack -- the most valuable in history are the Power Nine.

These nine cards are frequently identified as both the most powerful and most valuable cards in the game.

Let's check them out.

Meet the Power Nine

The Power 9 is a collection of powerful cards printed in the original sets: Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited, at the very beginning of Magic.

In formats where they're legal, they are critical pieces of the competitive meta. Naturally, due to their age and power level, they're only legal in Vintage (and Restricted to just one copy each).

As you learn what each card can do and how that can shape a game, you'll see why.

1. Ancestral Recall

There's an interesting bit of lore associated with Ancestral Recall.

It was originally printed as part of the "Boon Cycle," a collection of five cards, one from each color, that cost a single mana and have an effect associated with the number three.

Healing Salve gained you three life or prevented three damage

Dark Ritual added to your mana pool

Lightning Bolt dealt three damage to any target

Giant Growth gave a creature +3/+3 until end of turn

Ancestral Recall drew a player three cards

The power spread amongst these five cards is massive, from terrible (Healing Salve) to completely broken (Ancestral Recall).

Drawing extra cards is always powerful. Drawing three extra cards at Instant speed is downright broken.

Nowadays, cards like Opt or Consider will draw you one card for one mana, attached to a Scry or Surveil. Drawing three cards instantly will cost you closer to five mana, such as with Jace's Ingenuity.

Richard Garfield couldn't have known how powerful this spell would have been back in 1993, but it's clearly become one of the top in the game, earning its place in MTG's Power Nine.

2. Black Lotus

If the Power Nine had to be ranked for power level and value, then Black Lotus would definitely take the number one spot on both accounts.

The most heavily played, Unlimited copies fetch over $10,000 nowadays. Nice Alpha copies are the most expensive regular-print cards (not foil, not serialized, not alternative art, etc.) in the entire game. What does that $10K price tag get you?

Black Lotus's ability is simple enough -- it is free to cast and can be tapped and sacrificed to add three mana of any one color to your mana pool. That's it: one time, three mana. Especially in early turns, this is a surefire way to win the game.

It's not the Black Lotus that kills your opponent, of course. It's the powerful cards you accelerate into that help you win. Because card power levels typically scale with their mana value, having access to three additional mana as early as turn one can lead to extremely powerful openings.

Black Lotus's color versatility makes it especially versatile. Player Zvi Mowshowitz once said that "Black Lotus is the best artifact of all time," adding that 'every deck in the history of the game is better with a Black Lotus in it.'

3-7. Mox Emerald, Mox Pearl, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, Mox Sapphire

Five of the Power Nine are artifacts that tap for one mana of their respective colors:

Mox Pearl taps for

Mox Sapphire taps for

Mox Jet taps for

Mox Ruby taps for

Mox Emerald taps for

Similar to Black Lotus, these zero-mana artifacts are basically mana accelerants to help you play your more powerful cards earlier in the game.

While they don't require sacrificing like Black Lotus does, they only tap for one mana and it's of a particular color, giving them slightly less versatility and power.

Once in play, these cards function a lot like basic Lands, though there are plenty of ways of exploiting the fact that they're Artifacts and spells to be cast. Like the rest of the Power Nine, these five cards have also been deemed "too powerful" over the years, and Wizards of the Coast has since attempted to print "fixed" versions of the Moxes to varying degrees of success.

Some may argue the toned-down versions such as Mox Opal and Mox Diamond are still too powerful. It turns out, even needing two cards to create one Mox is still broken.

8. Timetwister

Many will argue that Timetwister is the least powerful of the Power Nine.

For one, it is the costliest spell in the list at . Additionally, its effect is symmetrical and requires much more of a deliberate strategy to exploit. With Timetwister, all players shuffle their hand, library, and graveyard together before drawing a fresh set of seven cards.

Without the right preparation, this spell is a bit of a do-nothing game reset.

For years, players argued that Timetwister didn't belong in the Power Nine. Then Commander came along and changed everything. Of the Power Nine cards, Timetwister is the only one that is currently legal.

Right away, this means the demand for Timetwister will be significantly higher than for many other Power Nine cards because it's legal in the most popular format. Along with that, Commander opens up the avenue for numerous exploitation strategies for this "draw seven." This secures Timetwister's spot in the upper echelon of the Power Nine.

Like with the other Power Nine cards, Timetwister has been "fixed" in many fashions over the years, including Time Spiral (still broken), Echo of Eons, and Day's Undoing.

9. Time Walk

The final card on the Power Nine list is Time Walk, a Sorcery for that allows its caster to take an extra turn. Players love taking extra turns, and Wizards has printed tons of cards with this effect over the years.

Examples include

Time Warp

Time Stretch

Temporal Manipulation

Walk the Aeons

Lighthouse Chronologist

The thing is, while each of these newer cards are legal in Commander, none are remotely as powerful as the original Time Walk.

There is something especially potent about the fact that Time Walk only costs two mana, making it much easier to cast as part of a double-spell turn. In more recent years, Planeswalkers have made Time Walk especially potent.

For example, Tamiyo, Collector of Tales can help you rebuy Time Walk repeatedly. First, you cast Time Walk to accelerate out your Tamiyo one turn sooner. Then cast Tamiyo, use her -3 ability to return Time Walk to your hand and replay it, begin your extra turn, use Tamiyo's +1 ability, then your opponent has one turn to kill Tamiyo before you can use her minus ability to cast Time Walk again!

Adding cards like Jace, Vryn's Prodigy and Emeritus of Abundance make for an especially unfun game for your opponent.

Time Walk, with its iconic Amy Weber artwork, definitely deserves its spot on the Power Nine.

Wrapping It Up

By the mid-1990s, it became clear that Ancestral Recall, Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Timetwister, and Time Walk were some of the most powerful cards in Magic.

These cards all warp gameplay in various ways, whether it be through mana acceleration, card advantage, or both (taking extra turns). Even Timetwister, which debatably doesn't offer the same power level as the other eight cards, has earned its spot for its Commander legality and combo potential.

It's no wonder why these iconic cards have been reprinted in various "fixed" ways over the years. Players love the power and iconic nature of the Power Nine, so they naturally gravitate to similar effects, albeit for more mana and caveats.

While Mox Jasper is no Mox Sapphire and Lotus Blossom is no Black Lotus, players will always gravitate toward anything that gives them that "MTG Power Nine" experience.

FAQ: The Power 9

What is the Power 10 or Power 11?

There are no official "Power Ten" or "Power Eleven" cards.

Typically, these terms refer to the original Power Nine plus one or two additional cards that players feel belong in the same upper echelon for their power level. Cards in this category could include Time Vault, Mishra's Workshop, or Mana Crypt.

However, the most common cards considered part of the "Power Ten" or "Power Eleven" are Library of Alexandria and Sol Ring.

Are there Elder Dinosaurs in the Power Nine?

There is a non-coincidental connection between Elder Dinosaurs and Power Nine, but it's not through the abilities of the cards. Looking for Elder Dinosaurs, we can see there are nine of them.

Technically, this represents only eight cards because Etali, Primal Sickness is the backside of Etali, Primal Conqueror. The fact remains, however, that WOTC has thus far printed nine powerful Elder Dinosaur cards across varying sets.

These are not part of the Power 9 but they are an exciting selection of Creature cards.

Is there a connection between Zacama, Primal Calamity and the Power Nine?

There are no direct connections, but Zacama loves the number nine.

Zacama, Primal Calamity has mana value of nine and is a 9/9 creature. It also has three activated abilities, each costing three mana, meaning the sum total of the three activation costs is nine.

Interestingly, two of Zacama, Primal Calamity's activated abilities are part of the "Boon" cycle, the same cycle that Ancestral Recall comes from. For you can Lightning Bolt a creature and for you can cast Healing Salve on yourself.

Sadly, there is no ability to draw three cards.

Is Loot, Pathfinder connected to the Power Nine?

Aetherdrift's Loot, the Pathfinder is a Creature with three exhaust abilities, two of which are derived from the Power Nine.

The first one costs and effectively gives you a Black Lotus activation, by adding three mana of one mana to your mana pool.

The second ability costs and allows you to draw three cards, effectively acting like an Ancestral Recall on yourself. Its Red mana ability is a Lightning Bolt, which isn't part of the Power Nine but still a handy ability regardless.

Are there Legendary Cats in the Power Nine?

Unfortunately, there are no Legendary Cats among the Power 9. The only loose connection is the fact that the card Nine Lives depicts nine Legendary Cats.