The Power Nine are nine cards from the first three core sets, Limited Edition Alpha, Limited Edition Beta and Unlimited Edition, all released in 1993 according to our card data: Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Timetwister, and the five Moxen, Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby and Mox Emerald. The group exists because these nine break the three budgets the game is built on, mana per turn, cards per turn and turns per turn, at a mana cost no later card has been allowed to match. Every one of them is restricted in Vintage and banned in Legacy, and eight of the nine are banned in Commander. The label is a player convention, not a rules term: the Comprehensive Rules never mention it. This page is about what the cards do and where they are legal, not what they are worth.
Below: the nine cards one by one, with the rules that make each one too strong and its legality read from our card database; why the group is not simply "the nine best cards" and which modern cards come closest; the legality table by format; and the one format where you can actually shuffle them up.
What the nine have in common
Three budgets govern every game. You play one land per turn (305.2), so mana grows by about one a turn. You draw one card per turn (121.1), so your hand refills by one a turn. And you take one turn before your opponents take theirs. Fast mana, cheap card draw and extra turns each bend one of those budgets, and later cards that do so are costed to hurt: Sol Ring costs a mana, Time Warp costs five, Divination draws two cards for three mana. The Power Nine bend the same budgets for zero, one, two or three mana, which is why the tournament rules that sit above the Comprehensive Rules (100.6) treat them the way they do.
Every mana cost, type line, rules text and legality below is read from the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited rows of our card database, which agree with each other and with the digital reprints, at the build of September 14, 2026.
The nine cards, one by one
Black Lotus
{0}, Artifact. "{T}, Sacrifice this artifact: Add three mana of any one color."
Why it was too strong: it is a mana ability. Rule 605.1a makes any activated ability that adds mana, needs no target and moves no card to or from a library a mana ability, and rule 605.3b says such an ability "doesn't go on the stack, so it can't be targeted, countered, or otherwise responded to." Its mana value is zero (202.3), so it costs nothing to cast, and one activation turns a first turn with one land into four mana. Nothing since has been allowed to add three mana for nothing without a string attached: Lotus Petal adds one, Lion's Eye Diamond makes you discard your hand, Jeweled Lotus only pays for your commander, and Gilded Lotus costs five.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Ancestral Recall
{U}, Instant. "Target player draws three cards."
Why it was too strong: three cards for one mana, at instant speed. A player may cast an instant any time they have priority (117.1a, 304.1), so it goes off at the end of an opponent's turn with mana that would otherwise go unused, and the three draws happen one at a time (121.2). For scale, Divination draws two for three mana as a sorcery, Brainstorm draws three for one mana but puts two back, Ancestral Vision draws the same three cards after four turns of suspend, and Treasure Cruise draws three for eight mana that delve can pay down.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Time Walk
{1}{U}, Sorcery. "Take an extra turn after this one."
Why it was too strong: rule 500.7 adds extra turns "directly after the specified turn", so for two mana you untap, draw, play a land, attack and cast spells again before anyone else does anything. The going rate for the same sentence is five mana: Time Warp and Temporal Manipulation both cost {3}{U}{U}, and Temporal Mastery costs seven unless you hit its miracle draw. No card since has taken an extra turn for two mana without a catch, and the going rate is two and a half times what Time Walk asks.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Timetwister
{2}{U}, Sorcery. "Each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library, then draws seven cards."
Why it was too strong: a fresh seven-card hand for three mana, and a fresh library. The shuffle (701.24a) puts every spell you have already cast back into your deck, so a deck built around it never runs out of anything, and because you choose the moment, you empty your hand first and your opponents do not. It is the one member of the nine still legal in Commander, where the symmetrical draw feeds three opponents, and the cards that copy its text pay more: Echo of Eons has the identical first sentence for six mana plus a {2}{U} flashback, Time Reversal costs five and exiles itself, and Windfall discards instead of shuffling and is itself banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy and Duel Commander, legal in Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Mox Pearl
{0}, Artifact. "{T}: Add {W}."
Why it was too strong: a land that is not a land. Rule 305.2 lets you play one land a turn; a Mox is an artifact spell, so it does not count against that limit, and at mana value zero (202.3) it costs nothing. Cast on turn one next to a land, it makes two mana available on the first turn and every turn after, and unlike Black Lotus it is never sacrificed. Its tap ability is a mana ability (605.1a), so it cannot be responded to once the Mox is on the battlefield. Later zero-cost Moxen all carry a condition: Chrome Mox exiles a card from your hand, Mox Diamond discards a land, Mox Opal needs three artifacts, and Mox Amber needs a legendary creature or planeswalker.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Mox Sapphire
{0}, Artifact. "{T}: Add {U}."
Why it was too strong: everything said of Mox Pearl, in the colour of Ancestral Recall, Time Walk and Timetwister. Land, Mox Sapphire, Ancestral Recall is the first turn the whole group is remembered for: two mana on turn one, three cards in hand, no way to respond to the mana.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Mox Jet
{0}, Artifact. "{T}: Add {B}."
Why it was too strong: the black Mox. The same free permanent mana source, in a colour whose one-mana spells search your library or empty an opponent's hand, so one extra mana on turn one is a full turn of tempo. Sol Ring, the closest legal relative to any Mox, adds two colourless mana for a cost of one, and our card data ranks it the single most-included card in Commander decks.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Mox Ruby
{0}, Artifact. "{T}: Add {R}."
Why it was too strong: the red Mox. Red's cheapest spells deal damage, and a Mox that lets you cast two of them on turn one turns every burn spell into a faster clock. Mana Vault, which adds three colourless mana for one and then charges you to untap it, shows the price later designs attached to the same idea; it is banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage alongside the Moxen, but legal in Commander.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Mox Emerald
{0}, Artifact. "{T}: Add {G}."
Why it was too strong: the green Mox. Green already has the game's best mana creatures and land-fetching spells, so a free green mana on turn one brings those down a turn early and the four-mana threats a turn after that. Five Moxen together are five extra lands that cost no land drop, and a deck allowed all five has a fundamentally different first three turns from one allowed none.
Legality today: restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy, Commander, Duel Commander, Oathbreaker and PreDH, restricted in Old School.
Why the Power Nine are not simply the nine best cards
The group is a snapshot of the first core sets, not a ranking recomputed when new cards are printed, and our data shows that in two ways. First, cards outside the nine carry exactly the same statuses: Library of Alexandria, Tinker, Channel and Mana Crypt are all restricted in Vintage, banned in Legacy and banned in Commander, and none is a member. Second, the most-played fast mana in the game is not in the group either: Sol Ring is banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage like the Moxen, yet it is legal in Commander and sits at rank one in the deck-inclusion popularity rank carried in our card data. Membership is about 1993, not about the current power level.
The modern cards that come closest, with their status in our data:
| Power Nine card | Closest modern relatives | Where the relatives are legal |
|---|---|---|
| Black Lotus | Lotus Petal (one mana), Lion's Eye Diamond (discard your hand), Jeweled Lotus (commander only) | Petal and Diamond legal in Commander and Legacy, restricted in Vintage; Jeweled Lotus banned in Commander, legal in Legacy and Vintage |
| The five Moxen | Sol Ring ({1}), Mana Crypt (coin flip), Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, Mox Opal, Mox Amber (each with a condition) | Sol Ring legal in Commander, banned in Legacy, restricted in Vintage; Mana Crypt banned in Commander and Legacy, restricted in Vintage; the four conditional Moxen legal in all three |
| Ancestral Recall | Brainstorm ({U}), Ancestral Vision (suspend 4), Treasure Cruise ({7}{U}, delve) | Brainstorm legal in Commander and Legacy, restricted in Vintage; Ancestral Vision legal in all three; Treasure Cruise legal in Commander, banned in Legacy and Modern, restricted in Vintage |
| Time Walk | Time Warp, Temporal Manipulation ({3}{U}{U}), Temporal Mastery ({5}{U}{U}, miracle {1}{U}) | All three legal in Commander, Legacy and Vintage |
| Timetwister | Echo of Eons ({4}{U}{U}, flashback {2}{U}), Time Reversal ({3}{U}{U}), Windfall ({2}{U}) | Echo of Eons and Time Reversal legal in all three; Windfall legal in Commander, banned in Legacy, restricted in Vintage |
The right-hand column is the whole story of the group. A relative that costs more or asks for something is legal almost everywhere; a relative that matches the original's rate, such as Mana Crypt, ends up with the original's statuses.
Where the Power Nine are legal today
Read from our card data at the September 14, 2026 build. Restricted is the status the Vintage and Old School rules give a card a deck may include only one copy of, where the normal limit is four (100.2a); the lists themselves live in the tournament rules rather than in the Comprehensive Rules (100.6, 113.6n). Our data lists no status at all for any of the nine in Modern, Pioneer, Standard, Pauper, Premodern or the digital formats: they are not in those card pools.
| Card | Vintage | Legacy | Commander | Duel Commander | Oathbreaker | PreDH | Old School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Lotus | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Ancestral Recall | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Time Walk | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Timetwister | Restricted | Banned | Legal | Banned | Legal | Legal | Restricted |
| Mox Pearl | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Mox Sapphire | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Mox Jet | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Mox Ruby | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
| Mox Emerald | Restricted | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Banned | Restricted |
The statuses above come from the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited rows and from the digital reprints, which agree. The other paper printings in the database, the Collectors' Edition and International Collectors' Edition of December 1993, the oversized Vintage Championship promos and the 30th Anniversary Edition of November 2022, carry no legality in any format: they carry no tournament legality at all.
The format where you can actually play them: Vintage
Vintage is the one sanctioned format where all nine are playable, one copy each, and it is the format the group defines. A Vintage deck is a constructed deck (100.2a: sixty cards minimum, four copies maximum) in which the tournament rules cap the nine, and a long list of their relatives, at a single copy. That is why a Vintage list reads the way it does: one Black Lotus, one of each Mox, one Ancestral Recall, one Time Walk, and then the Brainstorm and Ponder engine every blue deck in the format runs to find them. Timetwister has a second home in Commander, where it is legal and where a 100-card singleton deck (903.5a, 903.5b) means it was never going to be a four-of anyway.
To see the nine in real lists rather than in a table, browse the public decks and filter by format. To build around what they do rather than around the cards themselves, Grover can take a brief such as "make my Commander deck's first three turns faster without using anything on the ban list" and propose swaps in plain language.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Power Nine in MTG?
Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Timetwister, Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby and Mox Emerald: nine cards first printed in Limited Edition Alpha in 1993 and reprinted in Beta and Unlimited the same year, according to our card data. Three are blue spells, one is a colourless artifact that makes three mana once, and five are colourless artifacts that make one coloured mana every turn.
Are the Power Nine legal in Commander?
Eight of the nine are banned. Timetwister is legal in Commander, and also in Oathbreaker and PreDH, at the September 14, 2026 build of our data. The full list is in our Commander ban list guide.
How many copies of a Power Nine card can a Vintage deck run?
One of each. All nine are restricted in Vintage, and restricted means a single copy where a constructed deck may normally run four (100.2a).
Is Sol Ring one of the Power Nine?
No. Sol Ring shares the Moxen's Legacy ban and Vintage restriction, and it is the most-included card in Commander decks in our data, but it is not part of the group.
Are the 30th Anniversary Edition Power Nine legal anywhere?
Our card data lists a 30th Anniversary Edition printing of each of the nine, released in November 2022, with no legality in any format, exactly like the Collectors' Edition printings of 1993.
Build a deck that plays by today's rules
Every card in this article has a page in our card browser with its printings and its legality by format, and the deck builder checks a list against the format you choose as you add cards, so a Mox pasted into a Commander list is flagged before you finish typing. Open the public decks to see how Vintage lists spend their one copy of each.
Create a free Mana Grove account to build with the full deck builder and format legality checks, see plans and pricing for more time with Grover, Scry and Tutor, and read the rest of the MTG keywords and mechanics glossary, plus the Commander ban list, where eight of these nine cards appear.
Sources
- Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules, effective August 7, 2026: https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules. Read on September 20, 2026. Rules 100.2a (constructed deck size and the four-copy limit), 100.6 and 113.6n (the tournament rules and the banned and restricted lists), 117.1a and 304.1 (casting instants), 121.1 and 121.2 (drawing cards), 202.3 (mana value), 305.2 (one land per turn), 500.7 (extra turns), 605.1a and 605.3b (mana abilities), 701.24a (shuffle) and 903.5a and 903.5b (Commander deck construction) are quoted or paraphrased above.
- Mana Grove card database, MTGJSON build of September 14, 2026: the mana cost, type, rules text and per-format legality of every card named above, with each Power Nine card's legality read from its Limited Edition Alpha, Limited Edition Beta and Unlimited Edition printings, which agree with each other and with the digital reprints; the set names and release dates of every printing; and the absence of any legality on the Collectors' Edition, International Collectors' Edition, oversized and 30th Anniversary Edition printings. Commander play frequency is the deck-inclusion popularity rank carried in the same data.
This article is updated when the banned and restricted lists change for any of the nine or when our card data adds a printing. The date at the top is the last revision.