Is Lotus Petal legal in Modern?

No. Modern's card pool begins with Eighth Edition in 2003, and Lotus Petal has never been printed into it. Its competitive homes are Legacy, where it is a storm staple, and Vintage, where it is restricted.

Why is Lotus Petal restricted in Vintage?

It is free mana, and Vintage restricts nearly all of it. Even one extra mana on turn one meaningfully speeds up the format's combo and prison decks, so the Petal is capped at one copy per deck.

Was Lotus Petal really banned in Standard?

Yes — it was banned in 1999 as part of the sweeping response to Combo Winter, when Urza-block combo decks were ending games at unprecedented speed. It stands as one of the few commons ever banned from Standard.

Which Lotus Petal printing should collectors buy?

The 1997 Tempest common is the iconic version and the usual first pickup. The From the Vault: Exiled foil from 2009 is the premium option for players and collectors who want shine.

Lotus Petal Card Guide: The Budget Black Lotus

Prices from cards tracked on RareWell — updated daily. Last updated August 7, 2026. Format legality changes — verify against the current official banned & restricted list.

Lotus Petal is a zero-mana artifact from 1997's Tempest that you sacrifice for one mana of any color — a single-use, single-mana Black Lotus that has been fueling combo decks for nearly three decades.

It is the most accessible card in the Lotus lineage, and its tournament rap sheet — banned in Standard, restricted in Vintage — tells you everything about how dangerous 'free' mana really is.

What Lotus Petal Does

The card costs nothing to play. Tap it and sacrifice it, and you get one mana of any color. That sounds modest until you remember what fast mana enables: casting a two-drop on turn one, adding to a storm count for free, or fixing colors in a greedy manabase without slowing down.

Every copy you play is also a free permanent hitting the battlefield, which matters for artifact-count synergies and any effect that cares about spells cast. In dedicated combo decks, Lotus Petal is rarely 'one mana' — it is velocity.

Tournament History: Banned, Restricted, Beloved

Lotus Petal arrived in Tempest in late 1997 and almost immediately collided with the most degenerate era in Magic's history. During the Urza-block Combo Winter, free mana accelerated lethal combos to absurd speeds, and Lotus Petal was swept up in the 1999 Standard bannings that dismantled those decks.

In Vintage, it sits on the restricted list alongside the rest of the game's premier fast mana — a one-card class photo that includes its famous ancestor. In Legacy, where it remains fully legal, it has been a pillar of storm combo for decades, powering decks like Ad Nauseam Tendrils and The Epic Storm that convert free mana into game-winning spell chains.

Banned in Standard in 1999 amid the Combo Winter fallout
Restricted in Vintage as premier fast mana
Legal and heavily played in Legacy storm decks
Not Modern-legal — Tempest predates the Modern card pool

Printings to Know

The original Tempest printing is a common, which is part of the card's charm: a tournament-warping artifact you could open in a random 1997 booster. It remains the iconic version and the one most collectors want first.

The card returned as a premium foil in 2009's From the Vault: Exiled, a box set dedicated entirely to banned and restricted cards — fitting company. It has picked up occasional special printings since, but supply of the original common is what anchors the market, and decades of storm players sleeving it up keep steady demand under even played copies.

Is It Really a Budget Black Lotus?

Functionally, it is one-third of one: Black Lotus gives three mana of one color, Lotus Petal gives one mana of any color, and both cost zero. In practice the comparison flatters the Petal less than combo players' results do — plenty of Legacy tournaments have been won on the back of a card that typically costs a few dollars.

For collectors, it is the natural entry point to the Lotus family. A binder page that starts with Lotus Petal and grows through Lotus Bloom, Blacker Lotus, and beyond is one of the most satisfying themed collections in the game, and you can start it for pocket change.

Lotus Petal printings tracked on RareWell

Printings of Lotus Petal, priciest first
Card	Set	Rarity	Price
Lotus Petal	Kaladesh Inventions	special	$915
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$249
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$220
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$203
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$176
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$173
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$165
Lotus Petal	Secret Lair Drop	mythic	$159

Collections featuring Lotus Petal

2 public collectors have this card on RareWell — tap through to see it in their collection.

See every copy on RareWell →

Frequently asked questions

Is Lotus Petal legal in Modern?: No. Modern's card pool begins with Eighth Edition in 2003, and Lotus Petal has never been printed into it. Its competitive homes are Legacy, where it is a storm staple, and Vintage, where it is restricted.
Why is Lotus Petal restricted in Vintage?: It is free mana, and Vintage restricts nearly all of it. Even one extra mana on turn one meaningfully speeds up the format's combo and prison decks, so the Petal is capped at one copy per deck.
Was Lotus Petal really banned in Standard?: Yes — it was banned in 1999 as part of the sweeping response to Combo Winter, when Urza-block combo decks were ending games at unprecedented speed. It stands as one of the few commons ever banned from Standard.
Which Lotus Petal printing should collectors buy?: The 1997 Tempest common is the iconic version and the usual first pickup. The From the Vault: Exiled foil from 2009 is the premium option for players and collectors who want shine.