A complete guide to the MTG Reserved List

If you hang around in any Magic: The Gathering community for long enough, you’ll probably catch talk about the MTG Reserved List, either grumblings of discontent about how it’s ruining the game, or a stalwart defence explaining how vital it is. You might hear the names ‘Black Lotus’ or ‘Dual Lands’ popping up.

Ever since the MTG Reserved List was created in 1996, it’s been a constant talking point among Magic fans, and one that gets a lot of people hot under the collar. Despite this, the Reserved List has absolutely zero impact on the vast majority of MTG players. So what exactly is it? Why does it exist? And how has it caused so much friction? Most pressing of all, is the MTG Reserved List doomed?

The MTG Reserved List is the name given to a group of 572 of the oldest cards in Magic, which Wizards of the Coast has promised it will never, ever reprint. This has naturally made those cards extremely hard to get hold of, and now these are among the rarest and most expensive MTG cards in existence. And that’s intended.

To put it simply, the MTG Reserved List exists for the benefit of those dabbling in Magic: The Gathering’s secondary market, buying and selling cards to turn a profit, and holding onto certain products in the hope they’ll accumulate value.

The Reserved List makes sure this will happen. Since Wizards assures that Reserved List MTG cards will never be reprinted, these cards will always be rare and will always be super pricey. So the MTG Reserved List was created for this reason: to protect collectors’ investment in the game.

WHY DOES THE MTG RESERVED LIST EXIST?

Now, it might seem strange to invest in a square of fragile cardboard, or at least it may have done in the good old days before NFTs reared their horrible heads. And it might seem doubly strange that Wizards caters to these investors, deliberately creating scarcity and driving up prices in the secondary market, which the company itself cannot benefit from. It’s certainly not Wizards’ usual modus operandi.

To really have a hope of understanding why the Reserved List exists, it’s necessary to take a stroll down memory lane. See, the Reserved List has been around for most of Magic: The Gathering history. It was created in 1996, just three short years after the game was launched, and way before it became the juggernaut it is today.

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Essentially, back when Magic: The Gathering was still small fry, reprints were not the everyday occurrence they are now. So when Wizards of the Coast released Chronicles in 1995, with 116 cards that were all reprints, there was furore among collectors and many players, who suddenly saw their hard-earned, expensive cards become cheap as chips.

There was such outrage that Wizards felt it had to respond and promise fewer reprints to stop fans jumping ship, and thus the MTG Reserved List was born.

WHAT CARDS ARE ON THE MTG RESERVED LIST?

The Magic: The Gathering Reserved List contains 572 cards from the earliest sets in the game. It includes all cards from Alpha and Beta, all rares and uncommons from Arabian Nights and Antiquities, and all rares from Legends and The Dark that hadn’t already seen reprints by 1996.

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Most of the cards on the MTG Reserved List are pretty useless – no one will be crying over the loss of Pixie Queen, for instance. Power creep means most creatures from back in the day can’t stand up to modern cards…

However, there are a few of the most powerful MTG cards of all time on the Reserved List including Black Lotus, Gaea’s Cradle, and a bunch of Mox – all the cards in the infamous ‘Power Nine’, and unsurprisingly, all the cards you’ll find in our most expensive Magic cards guide. Skip ahead if you’re really keen to see every card on the MTG Reserved List.

WHY IS THE MTG RESERVED LIST CONTROVERSIAL?

It’s pretty easy to understand why some people, namely MTG collectors, want the Reserved List to stick around. If you’ve spent thousands of dollars on a trading card, safe in the knowledge that it’ll always cost at least as much as you spent on it, it’s going to really hurt if, overnight, a reprint sends your card value plummeting.

But it’s equally understandable why many want to be rid of it, because the Magic: The Gathering Reserved List has a wholly negative effect on the small group of players that want to actually use the cards that are on it in their games.

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Formats that make use of Reserved List MTG cards, which fortunately only includes Legacy and Vintage (and Commander, but to a far lesser degree) are already prohibitively expensive. A Legacy deck will set you back thousands of dollars, and you could buy a pretty great used car instead of a Vintage deck.

Thanks to the MTG Reserved List, there just aren’t enough of these cards to go around, and the number only dwindles as more cards get lost or damaged.

MTG head designer Mark Rosewater says most fans want the Reserved List gone, but that doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere, anytime soon.

WILL THE MTG RESERVED LIST DIE OUT?

Some believe the MTG Reserved List is on the way out. It’s clear that eventually things will come to a head and either The Reserved List or the Legacy and Vintage formats will give up the ghost. And the Reserved List is kind of a handshake deal. There’s no formal contract upholding it, so it’s not clear that the promise Wizards made to fans in the 90s could ever be a legally binding one. It probably could be scrapped, and today, the proportion of the player base who would be upset by the move is far smaller than it would’ve been in the 90s.

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Wizards has experimented to try and find a solution to the problem posed by the Reserved List in the past. It’s tried out loopholes such as printing foil variants of Reserved List cards or creating very similar cards that fill the same functional role as those on the list. Once, it even removed a handful of cards from the Reserved List when it was certain there was strong backing from fans to do so.

Therefore it seems likely that, before killing the Reserved List off outright, Wizards will look for another new compromise.

The Full MTG Reserved List

Okay, you asked for it. Here’s every single card that’s on the MTG Reserved List. Happy scrolling!

Limited Edition

Limited Edition
Ancestral Recall
Badlands
Bayou
Black Lotus
Blaze of Glory
Braingeyser
Chaos Orb
Contract from Below
Copy Artifact
Cyclopean Tomb
Darkpact
Demonic Attorney
Demonic Hordes
Farmstead
Fastbond
Forcefield
Fork
Gauntlet of Might
Granite Gargoyle
Illusionary Mask
Kudzu
Lich
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Natural Selection
Plateau
Raging River
Roc of Kher Ridges
Rock Hydra
Savannah
Scrubland
Sedge Troll
Taiga
Time Vault
Time Walk
Timetwister
Tropical Island
Tundra
Two-Headed Giant of Foriys
Underground Sea
Vesuvan Doppelganger
Veteran Bodyguard
Volcanic Island
Wheel of Fortune
Word of Command

Arabian Nights

Ali from Cairo
Bazaar of Baghdad
City in a Bottle
Diamond Valley
Drop of Honey
Elephant Graveyard
Guardian Beast
Ifh-Bíff Efreet
Island of Wak-Wak
Jihad
Juzám Djinn
Khabál Ghoul
King Suleiman
Library of Alexandria
Merchant Ship
Old Man of the Sea
Pyramids
Ring of Ma’rûf
Sandals of Abdallah
Serendib Djinn
Shahrazad
Singing Tree

Antiquities

Argivian Archaeologist
Candelabra of Tawnos
Citanul Druid
Damping Field
Gaea’s Avenger
Gate to Phyrexia
Golgothian Sylex
Haunting Wind
Martyrs of Korlis
Mightstone
Mishra’s Workshop
Power Artifact
Powerleech
Su-Chi
Tawnos’s Coffin
Transmute Artifact
Urza’s Miter
Weakstone

LEGENDS

Acid Rain
Adun Oakenshield
Al-abara’s Carpet
Alchor’s Tomb
All Hallow’s Eve
Angus Mackenzie
Bartel Runeaxe
Boris Devilboon
Caverns of Despair
Chains of Mephistopheles
Cleanse
Disharmony
Divine Intervention
Elder Spawn
Eureka
Falling Star
Field of Dreams
Firestorm Phoenix
Forethought Amulet
Gosta Dirk
Gravity Sphere
Gwendlyn Di Corci
Halfdane
Hazezon Tamar
Hellfire
Imprison
In the Eye of Chaos
Infinite Authority
Invoke Prejudice
Jacques le Vert
Jovial Evil
Knowledge Vault
Kobold Overlord
Lady Caleria
Lady Evangela
Land Equilibrium
Life Matrix
Lifeblood
Living Plane
Livonya Silone
Mana Matrix
Master of the Hunt
Mirror Universe
Moat
Mold Demon
Nether Void
North Star
Nova Pentacle
Pixie Queen
Planar Gate
Quarum Trench Gnomes
Ragnar
Ramses Overdark
Rapid Fire
Rasputin Dreamweaver
Reverberation
Ring of Immortals
Rohgahh of Kher Keep
Spinal Villain
Spiritual Sanctuary
Storm World
Sword of the Ages
Telekinesis
Tetsuo Umezawa
The Abyss
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Thunder Spirit
Tuknir Deathlock
Typhoon
Ur-Drago
Willow Satyr
Wood Elemental

The Dark

City of Shadows
Cleansing
Eternal Flame
Exorcist
Frankenstein’s Monster
Goblin Wizard
Grave Robbers
Hidden Path
Knights of Thorn
Lurker
Mana Vortex
Martyr’s Cry
Nameless Race
Niall Silvain
Preacher
Psychic Allergy
Scarwood Bandits
Season of the Witch
Sorrow’s Path
Stone Calendar
Tracker
Worms of the Earth
Wormwood Treefolk

Fallen Empires

Aeolipile
Balm of Restoration
Conch Horn
Delif’s Cube
Draconian Cylix
Dwarven Armorer
Ebon Praetor
Elven Lyre
Elvish Farmer
Fungal Bloom
Goblin Flotilla
Hand of Justice
Homarid Shaman
Icatian Lieutenant
Icatian Skirmishers
Implements of Sacrifice
Rainbow Vale
Ring of Renewal
River Merfolk
Spirit Shield
Thelon’s Curse
Thelonite Monk
Thrull Champion
Tourach’s Gate
Vodalian Knights
Vodalian War Machine
Zelyon Sword

Ice Age

Aegis of the Meek
Altar of Bone
Amulet of Quoz
Balduvian Hydra
Blizzard
Brand of Ill Omen
Call to Arms
Chromatic Armor
Earthlink
Energy Storm
Flow of Maggots
Formation
Fyndhorn Pollen
General Jarkeld
Glacial Crevasses
Gravebind
Halls of Mist
Hot Springs
Ice Cauldron
Illusionary Presence
Illusions of Grandeur
Infernal Denizen
Jester’s Mask
Kjeldoran Knight
Kjeldoran Phalanx
Land Cap
Lava Tubes
Lightning Blow
Márton Stromgald
Mercenaries
Mesmeric Trance
Minion of Tevesh Szat
Mountain Titan
Mudslide
Musician
Mystic Might
Polar Kraken
Reality Twist
River Delta
Ritual of Subdual
Skeleton Ship
Snowblind
Soldevi Golem
Spoils of Evil
Spoils of War
Storm Spirit
Timberline Ridge
Trailblazer
Veldt
Winter’s Chill

Homelands

An-Zerrin Ruins
Anaba Ancestor
Anaba Spirit Crafter
Apocalypse Chime
Autumn Willow
Aysen Crusader
Aysen Highway
Baki’s Curse
Baron Sengir
Beast Walkers
Black Carriage
Chain Stasis
Daughter of Autumn
Didgeridoo
Dwarven Pony
Dwarven Sea Clan
Faerie Noble
Grandmother Sengir
Hazduhr the Abbot
Heart Wolf
Koskun Falls
Leeches
Mammoth Harness
Marjhan
Mystic Decree
Narwhal
Reveka, Wizard Savant
Rysorian Badger
Serra Aviary
Soraya the Falconer
Timmerian Fiends
Veldrane of Sengir
Wall of Kelp
Willow Priestess
Winter Sky

Alliances

Ashnod’s Cylix
Balduvian Trading Post
Chaos Harlequin
Dystopia
Fatal Lore
Floodwater Dam
Gargantuan Gorilla
Gustha’s Scepter
Heart of Yavimaya
Helm of Obedience
Ivory Gargoyle
Kaysa
Keeper of Tresserhorn
Kjeldoran Outpost
Krovikan Horror
Lake of the Dead
Lodestone Bauble
Lord of Tresserhorn
Misfortune
Nature’s Wrath
Omen of Fire
Phantasmal Sphere
Phelddagrif
Phyrexian Devourer
Phyrexian Portal
Ritual of the Machine
Rogue Skycaptain
Royal Decree
Sheltered Valley
Soldevi Digger
Soldevi Excavations
Splintering Wind
Sustaining Spirit
Sworn Defender
Thawing Glaciers
Thought Lash
Tidal Control
Tornado
Varchild’s War-Riders
Wandering Mage
Winter’s Night

Mirage

Acidic Dagger
Afiya Grove
Amulet of Unmaking
Asmira, Holy Avenger
Auspicious Ancestor
Barreling Attack
Bazaar of Wonders
Benthic Djinn
Bone Mask
Brushwagg
Cadaverous Bloom
Canopy Dragon
Carrion
Catacomb Dragon
Chaosphere
Circle of Despair
Cycle of Life
Discordant Spirit
Divine Retribution
Emberwilde Caliph
Emberwilde Djinn
Energy Bolt
Energy Vortex
Forsaken Wastes
Frenetic Efreet
Grim Feast
Hakim, Loreweaver
Hall of Gemstone
Harbinger of Night
Hivis of the Scale
Jabari’s Influence
Jungle Patrol
Kukemssa Pirates
Leering Gargoyle
Lion’s Eye Diamond
Lure of Prey
Malignant Growth
Mangara’s Tome
Mindbender Spores
Misers’ Cage
Mist Dragon
Natural Balance
Null Chamber
Paupers’ Cage
Phyrexian Dreadnought
Phyrexian Purge
Phyrexian Tribute
Political Trickery
Preferred Selection
Prismatic Lace
Purgatory
Purraj of Urborg
Rashida Scalebane
Razor Pendulum
Reflect Damage
Reparations
Rock Basilisk
Sawback Manticore
Seeds of Innocence
Shallow Grave
Shauku, Endbringer
Shimmer
Sidar Jabari
Soul Echo
Spectral Guardian
Spirit of the Night
Subterranean Spirit
Tainted Specter
Taniwha
Teeka’s Dragon
Teferi’s Imp
Teferi’s Isle
Telim’Tor
Telim’Tor’s Edict
Tombstone Stairwell
Torrent of Lava
Unfulfilled Desires
Ventifact Bottle
Warping Wurm
Wellspring
Yare
Zirilan of the Claw
Zuberi, Golden Feather

Visions

Aku Djinn
Anvil of Bogardan
Bogardan Phoenix
Breathstealer’s Crypt
Chronatog
City of Solitude
Corrosion
Diamond Kaleidoscope
Elkin Lair
Equipoise
Eye of Singularity
Femeref Enchantress
Firestorm Hellkite
Flooded Shoreline
Forbidden Ritual
Griffin Canyon
Guiding Spirit
Kaervek’s Spite
Katabatic Winds
Kookus
Lichenthrope
Lightning Cloud
Ogre Enforcer
Phyrexian Marauder
Pillar Tombs of Aku
Pygmy Hippo
Quirion Druid
Rainbow Efreet
Retribution of the Meek
Righteous War
Sands of Time
Squandered Resources
Suleiman’s Legacy
Teferi’s Realm
Three Wishes
Tithe
Triangle of War
Undiscovered Paradise
Viashivan Dragon
Zhalfirin Crusader

Weatherlight

Abeyance
Aboroth
Ancestral Knowledge
Avizoa
Bone Dancer
Bösium Strip
Bubble Matrix
Debt of Loyalty
Dwarven Thaumaturgist
Ertai’s Familiar
Firestorm
Fungus Elemental
Gallowbraid
Goblin Bomb
Heart of Bogardan
Heat Stroke
Infernal Tribute
Inner Sanctum
Liege of the Hollows
Lotus Vale
Mana Web
Maraxus of Keld
Morinfen
Mwonvuli Ooze
Null Rod
Paradigm Shift
Peacekeeper
Pendrell Mists
Psychic Vortex
Scorched Ruins
Thran Tome
Tolarian Entrancer
Tolarian Serpent
Urborg Justice
Urborg Stalker
Wave of Terror
Well of Knowledge
Winding Canyons
Xanthic Statue

Tempest

Aluren
Apocalypse
Avenging Angel
Commander Greven il-Vec
Corpse Dance
Cursed Scroll
Earthcraft
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
Escaped Shapeshifter
Humility
Intuition
Meditate
Orim, Samite Healer
Recycle
Sarcomancy
Selenia, Dark Angel

Stronghold

Crovax the Cursed
Dream Halls
Mox Diamond
Silver Wyvern
Sliver Queen
Volrath’s Shapeshifter
Volrath’s Stronghold

Exodus

City of Traitors
Dominating Licid
Ertai, Wizard Adept
Exalted Dragon
Hatred
Mind Over Matter
Oath of Ghouls
Recurring Nightmare
Survival of the Fittest

Urza’s Saga

Argothian Wurm
Barrin, Master Wizard
Citanul Centaurs
Gaea’s Cradle
Gilded Drake
Great Whale
Herald of Serra
Karn, Silver Golem
Lifeline
Lightning Dragon
Morphling
Opal Archangel
Serra’s Sanctum
Temporal Aperture
Time Spiral
Tolarian Academy
Yawgmoth’s Will
Zephid

Urza’s Legacy

Deranged Hermit
Grim Monolith
Memory Jar
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
Palinchron
Radiant, Archangel
Ring of Gix
Second Chance
Weatherseed Treefolk

Urza’s Destiny

Academy Rector
Carnival of Souls
Covetous Dragon
Donate
Masticore
Metalworker
Opalescence
Phyrexian Negator
Powder Keg
Replenish
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
Treachery
Yavimaya Hollow
Yawgmoth’s Bargain