MTG’s Reserved List is a curated collection of some of the most powerful cards in all of Magic’s history. We break down what it is, and why it exists.
MTG has turned 30 years old, and the game is about to enter one of its weirdest periods of all time. Between MTG Universes Beyond introducing cards we’d never thought we’d see, the mainline game is equally getting stranger.
MTG hasn’t always been a super well-oiled machine though. Its early days never considered that MTG would be around for 30 years, and so some of the cards from this era are exceptionally powerful, or no longer wanted in the game.
The Reserved List is more than just Black Lotus and the rest of the Power Nine. Instead, it’s a collection of cards that will never be reprinted. Think of it as a contract between MTG players and Wizards of the Coast. It has no legal binding, but it’s just easier to avoid them entirely.
Why was the Reserved List created?
During the early days of MTG, players who had spent thousands on it “protested” at the possibility super rare cards would see endless reprints and cheapen their collections. Since then, it has changed considerably. In 2011, Wizards added the clause that they would never print any of the cards on the list in MTG’s premium or non-premium products.
In 2010, an MTG Duel Deck pack was printed with a Reserved List card included. The backlash forced Wizards to add the 2011 clause.
Cards on the Reserved List include things like Bazaar of Baghdad and until 2002, included Commander staple Sol RIng. Of course, it’s not all about gameplay for the Reserved List. Some cards featuring racist and religious depictions have been placed on the list, and even removed from Magic’s official “Gatherer” database.
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The Reserved List now ends at Urza’s Destiny (1999), with no cards added to it since then.
While some cards hold serious power in the game still, like the Moxen, a lot of “outdated” cards are still limited from printing. Things like Selenia, Dark Angel hold no real value in the game anymore. They’re not explicitly “bad cards”, but don’t hold any value outside of the fact they’re on the Reserved List.
That’s also the reason why they’ll probably never be removed from the Reserved List. Even though some of the cards can be found for a pittance on TCGPlayer and other stores, there’s still value in them for the collectors.
What cards are on the MTG Reserved List?
There are 573 different MTG cards included on the Reserved List. While some are easy to point to and find out, others still remain due to time. Nothing has been removed since 2002 either.
While some cards will be recognizable, some might raise an eyebrow. Remember, MTG is over 30 years old at this point. Things fall through the cracks.
Card Name | Card Set |
Ancestral Recall | Limited Edition |
Badlands | Limited Edition |
Bayou | Limited Edition |
Black Lotus | Limited Edition |
Blaze of Glory | Limited Edition |
Braingeyser | Limited Edition |
Chaos Orb | Limited Edition |
Contract from Below | Limited Edition |
Copy Artifact | Limited Edition |
Cyclopean Tomb | Limited Edition |
Darkpact | Limited Edition |
Demonic Attorney | Limited Edition |
Demonic Hordes | Limited Edition |
Farmstead | Limited Edition |
Fastbond | Limited Edition |
Forcefield | Limited Edition |
Fork | Limited Edition |
Gauntlet of Might | Limited Edition |
Granite Gargoyle | Limited Edition |
Illusionary Mask | Limited Edition |
Kudzu | Limited Edition |
Lich | Limited Edition |
Mox Emerald | Limited Edition |
Mox Jet | Limited Edition |
Mox Pearl | Limited Edition |
Mox Ruby | Limited Edition |
Mox Sapphire | Limited Edition |
Natural Selection | Limited Edition |
Plateau (Brudi) | Limited Edition |
Plateau (Tucker) | Limited Edition |
Raging River | Limited Edition |
Roc of Kher Ridges | Limited Edition |
Rock Hydra | Limited Edition |
Savannah | Limited Edition |
Scrubland | Limited Edition |
Sedge Troll | Limited Edition |
Taiga | Limited Edition |
Time Vault | Limited Edition |
Time Walk | Limited Edition |
Timetwister | Limited Edition |
Tropical Island | Limited Edition |
Tundra | Limited Edition |
Two-Headed Giant of Foriys | Limited Edition |
Underground Sea | Limited Edition |
Vesuvan Doppelganger | Limited Edition |
Veteran Bodyguard | Limited Edition |
Volcanic Island | Limited Edition |
Wheel of Fortune | Limited Edition |
Word of Command | Limited Edition |
Ali from Cairo | Arabian Nights |
Bazaar of Baghdad | Arabian Nights |
City in a Bottle | Arabian Nights |
Diamond Valley | Arabian Nights |
Drop of Honey | Arabian Nights |
Elephant Graveyard | Arabian Nights |
Guardian Beast | Arabian Nights |
Ifh-Biff Efreet | Arabian Nights |
Island of Wak-Wak | Arabian Nights |
Jihad | Arabian Nights |
Juzam Djinn | Arabian Nights |
Khabal Ghoul | Arabian Nights |
King Suleiman | Arabian Nights |
Library of Alexandria | Arabian Nights |
Merchant Ship | Arabian Nights |
Old Man of the Sea | Arabian Nights |
Pyramids | Arabian Nights |
Ring of Ma’ruf | Arabian Nights |
Sandals of Abdallah | Arabian Nights |
Serendib Djinn | Arabian Nights |
Shahrazad | Arabian Nights |
Singing Tree | Arabian Nights |
Argivian Archaeologist | Antiquities |
Candelabra of Tawnos | Antiquities |
Citanul Druid | Antiquities |
Damping Field | Antiquities |
Gaea’s Avenger | Antiquities |
Gate to Phyrexia | Antiquities |
Golgothian Sylex | Antiquities |
Haunting Wind | Antiquities |
Martyrs of Korlis | Antiquities |
Mightstone | Antiquities |
Mishra’s Workshop | Antiquities |
Power Artifact | Antiquities |
Powerleech | Antiquities |
Su-Chi | Antiquities |
Tawnos’s Coffin | Antiquities |
Transmute Artifact | Antiquities |
Urza’s Miter | Antiquities |
Weakstone | Antiquities |
The Abyss | Legends |
Acid Rain | Legends |
Adun Oakenshield | Legends |
Al-abara’s Carpet | Legends |
Alchor’s Tomb | Legends |
All Hallow’s Eve | Legends |
Angus Mackenzie | Legends |
Bartel Runeaxe | Legends |
Boris Devilboon | Legends |
Caverns of Despair | Legends |
Chains of Mephistopheles | Legends |
Cleanse | Legends |
Disharmony | Legends |
Divine Intervention | Legends |
Elder Spawn | Legends |
Eureka | Legends |
Falling Star | Legends |
Field of Dreams | Legends |
Firestorm Phoenix | Legends |
Forethought Amulet | Legends |
Gosta Dirk | Legends |
Gravity Sphere | Legends |
Gwendlyn Di Corci | Legends |
Halfdane | Legends |
Hazezon Tamar | Legends |
Hellfire | Legends |
Imprison | Legends |
In the Eye of Chaos | Legends |
Infinite Authority | Legends |
Invoke Prejudice | Legends |
Jacques le Vert | Legends |
Jovial Evil | Legends |
Knowledge Vault | Legends |
Kobold Overlord | Legends |
Lady Caleria | Legends |
Lady Evangela | Legends |
Land Equilibrium | Legends |
Life Matrix | Legends |
Lifeblood | Legends |
Living Plane | Legends |
Livonya Silone | Legends |
Mana Matrix | Legends |
Master of the Hunt | Legends |
Mirror Universe | Legends |
Moat | Legends |
Mold Demon | Legends |
Nether Void | Legends |
North Star | Legends |
Nova Pentacle | Legends |
Pixie Queen | Legends |
Planar Gate | Legends |
Quarum Trench Gnomes | Legends |
Ragnar | Legends |
Ramses Overdark | Legends |
Rapid Fire | Legends |
Rasputin Dreamweaver | Legends |
Reverberation | Legends |
Ring of Immortals | Legends |
Rohgahh of Kher Keep | Legends |
Spinal Villain | Legends |
Spiritual Sanctuary | Legends |
Storm World | Legends |
Sword of the Ages | Legends |
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale | Legends |
Telekinesis | Legends |
Tetsuo Umezawa | Legends |
Thunder Spirit | Legends |
Tuknir Deathlock | Legends |
Typhoon | Legends |
Ur-Drago | Legends |
Willow Satyr | Legends |
Wood Elemental | Legends |
City of Shadows | The Dark |
Cleansing | The Dark |
Eternal Flame | The Dark |
Exorcist | The Dark |
Frankenstein’s Monster | The Dark |
Goblin Wizard | The Dark |
Grave Robbers | The Dark |
Hidden Path | The Dark |
Knights of Thorn | The Dark |
Lurker | The Dark |
Mana Vortex | The Dark |
Martyr’s Cry | The Dark |
Nameless Race | The Dark |
Niall Silvain | The Dark |
Preacher | The Dark |
Psychic Allergy | The Dark |
Scarwood Bandits | The Dark |
Season of the Witch | The Dark |
Sorrow’s Path | The Dark |
Stone Calendar | The Dark |
Tracker | The Dark |
Worms of the Earth | The Dark |
Wormwood Treefolk | The Dark |
Aeolipile | Fallen Empires |
Balm of Restoration | Fallen Empires |
Conch Horn | Fallen Empires |
Delif’s Cube | Fallen Empires |
Draconian Cylix | Fallen Empires |
Dwarven Armorer | Fallen Empires |
Ebon Praetor | Fallen Empires |
Elven Lyre | Fallen Empires |
Elvish Farmer | Fallen Empires |
Fungal Bloom | Fallen Empires |
Goblin Flotilla | Fallen Empires |
Hand of Justice | Fallen Empires |
Homarid Shaman | Fallen Empires |
Icatian Lieutenant | Fallen Empires |
Icatian Skirmishers | Fallen Empires |
Implements of Sacrifice | Fallen Empires |
Rainbow Vale | Fallen Empires |
Ring of Renewal | Fallen Empires |
River Merfolk | Fallen Empires |
Spirit Shield | Fallen Empires |
Thelon’s Curse | Fallen Empires |
Thelonite Monk | Fallen Empires |
Thrull Champion | Fallen Empires |
Tourach’s Gate | Fallen Empires |
Vodalian Knights | Fallen Empires |
Vodalian War Machine | Fallen Empires |
Zelyon Sword | Fallen Empires |
Aegis of the Meek | Ice Age |
Altar of Bone | Ice Age |
Amulet of Quoz | Ice Age |
Balduvian Hydra | Ice Age |
Blizzard | Ice Age |
Brand of Ill Omen | Ice Age |
Call to Arms | Ice Age |
Chromatic Armor | Ice Age |
Earthlink | Ice Age |
Energy Storm | Ice Age |
Flow of Maggots | Ice Age |
Formation | Ice Age |
Fyndhorn Pollen | Ice Age |
General Jarkeld | Ice Age |
Glacial Crevasses | Ice Age |
Gravebind | Ice Age |
Halls of Mist | Ice Age |
Hot Springs | Ice Age |
Ice Cauldron | Ice Age |
Illusionary Presence | Ice Age |
Illusions of Grandeur | Ice Age |
Infernal Denizen | Ice Age |
Jester’s Mask | Ice Age |
Kjeldoran Knight | Ice Age |
Kjeldoran Phalanx | Ice Age |
Land Cap | Ice Age |
Lava Tubes | Ice Age |
Lightning Blow | Ice Age |
Marton Stromgald | Ice Age |
Mercenaries | Ice Age |
Mesmeric Trance | Ice Age |
Minion of Tevesh Szat | Ice Age |
Mountain Titan | Ice Age |
Mudslide | Ice Age |
Musician | Ice Age |
Mystic Might | Ice Age |
Polar Kraken | Ice Age |
Reality Twist | Ice Age |
River Delta | Ice Age |
Ritual of Subdual | Ice Age |
Skeleton Ship | Ice Age |
Snowblind | Ice Age |
Soldevi Golem | Ice Age |
Spoils of Evil | Ice Age |
Spoils of War | Ice Age |
Storm Spirit | Ice Age |
Timberline Ridge | Ice Age |
Trailblazer | Ice Age |
Veldt | Ice Age |
Winter’s Chill | Ice Age |
An-Zerrin Ruins | Homelands |
Anaba Ancestor | Homelands |
Anaba Spirit Crafter | Homelands |
Apocalypse Chime | Homelands |
Autumn Willow | Homelands |
Aysen Crusader | Homelands |
Aysen Highway | Homelands |
Baki’s Curse | Homelands |
Baron Sengir | Homelands |
Beast Walkers | Homelands |
Black Carriage | Homelands |
Chain Stasis | Homelands |
Daughter of Autumn | Homelands |
Didgeridoo | Homelands |
Dwarven Pony | Homelands |
Dwarven Sea Clan | Homelands |
Faerie Noble | Homelands |
Grandmother Sengir | Homelands |
Hazduhr the Abbot | Homelands |
Heart Wolf | Homelands |
Koskun Falls | Homelands |
Leeches | Homelands |
Mammoth Harness | Homelands |
Marjhan | Homelands |
Mystic Decree | Homelands |
Narwhal | Homelands |
Reveka, Wizard Savant | Homelands |
Rysorian Badger | Homelands |
Serra Aviary | Homelands |
Soraya the Falconer | Homelands |
Timmerian Fiends | Homelands |
Veldrane of Sengir | Homelands |
Wall of Kelp | Homelands |
Willow Priestess | Homelands |
Winter Sky | Homelands |
Ashnod’s Cylix | Alliances |
Balduvian Trading Post | Alliances |
Chaos Harlequin | Alliances |
Dystopia | Alliances |
Fatal Lore | Alliances |
Floodwater Dam | Alliances |
Gargantuan Gorilla | Alliances |
Gustha’s Scepter | Alliances |
Heart of Yavimaya | Alliances |
Helm of Obedience | Alliances |
Ivory Gargoyle | Alliances |
Kaysa | Alliances |
Keeper of Tresserhorn | Alliances |
Kjeldoran Outpost | Alliances |
Krovikan Horror | Alliances |
Lake of the Dead | Alliances |
Lodestone Bauble | Alliances |
Lord of Tresserhorn | Alliances |
Misfortune | Alliances |
Nature’s Wrath | Alliances |
Omen of Fire | Alliances |
Phantasmal Sphere | Alliances |
Phelddagrif | Alliances |
Phyrexian Devourer | Alliances |
Phyrexian Portal | Alliances |
Ritual of the Machine | Alliances |
Rogue Skycaptain | Alliances |
Royal Decree | Alliances |
Sheltered Valley | Alliances |
Soldevi Digger | Alliances |
Soldevi Excavations | Alliances |
Splintering Wind | Alliances |
Sustaining Spirit | Alliances |
Sworn Defender | Alliances |
Thawing Glaciers | Alliances |
Thought Lash | Alliances |
Tidal Control | Alliances |
Tornado | Alliances |
Varchild’s War-Riders | Alliances |
Wandering Mage | Alliances |
Winter’s Night | Alliances |
Acidic Dagger | Mirage |
Afiya Grove | Mirage |
Amulet of Unmaking | Mirage |
Asmira, Holy Avenger | Mirage |
Auspicious Ancestor | Mirage |
Barreling Attack | Mirage |
Bazaar of Wonders | Mirage |
Benthic Djinn | Mirage |
Bone Mask | Mirage |
Brushwagg | Mirage |
Cadaverous Bloom | Mirage |
Canopy Dragon | Mirage |
Carrion | Mirage |
Catacomb Dragon | Mirage |
Chaosphere | Mirage |
Circle of Despair | Mirage |
Cycle of Life | Mirage |
Discordant Spirit | Mirage |
Divine Retribution | Mirage |
Emberwilde Caliph | Mirage |
Emberwilde Djinn | Mirage |
Energy Bolt | Mirage |
Energy Vortex | Mirage |
Forsaken Wastes | Mirage |
Frenetic Efreet | Mirage |
Grim Feast | Mirage |
Hakim, Loreweaver | Mirage |
Hall of Gemstone | Mirage |
Harbinger of Night | Mirage |
Hivis of the Scale | Mirage |
Jabari’s Influence | Mirage |
Jungle Patrol | Mirage |
Kukemssa Pirates | Mirage |
Leering Gargoyle | Mirage |
Lion’s Eye Diamond | Mirage |
Lure of Prey | Mirage |
Malignant Growth | Mirage |
Mangara’s Tome | Mirage |
Mindbender Spores | Mirage |
Misers’ Cage | Mirage |
Mist Dragon | Mirage |
Natural Balance | Mirage |
Null Chamber | Mirage |
Paupers’ Cage | Mirage |
Phyrexian Dreadnought | Mirage |
Phyrexian Purge | Mirage |
Phyrexian Tribute | Mirage |
Political Trickery | Mirage |
Preferred Selection | Mirage |
Prismatic Lace | Mirage |
Purgatory | Mirage |
Purraj of Urborg | Mirage |
Rashida Scalebane | Mirage |
Razor Pendulum | Mirage |
Reflect Damage | Mirage |
Reparations | Mirage |
Rock Basilisk | Mirage |
Sawback Manticore | Mirage |
Seeds of Innocence | Mirage |
Shallow Grave | Mirage |
Shauku, Endbringer | Mirage |
Shimmer | Mirage |
Sidar Jabari | Mirage |
Soul Echo | Mirage |
Spectral Guardian | Mirage |
Spirit of the Night | Mirage |
Subterranean Spirit | Mirage |
Tainted Specter | Mirage |
Taniwha | Mirage |
Teeka’s Dragon | Mirage |
Teferi’s Imp | Mirage |
Teferi’s Isle | Mirage |
Telim’Tor | Mirage |
Telim’Tor’s Edict | Mirage |
Tombstone Stairwell | Mirage |
Torrent of Lava | Mirage |
Unfulfilled Desires | Mirage |
Ventifact Bottle | Mirage |
Warping Wurm | Mirage |
Wellspring | Mirage |
Yare | Mirage |
Zirilan of the Claw | Mirage |
Zuberi, Golden Feather | Mirage |
Aku Djinn | Visions |
Anvil of Bogardan | Visions |
Bogardan Phoenix | Visions |
Breathstealer’s Crypt | Visions |
Chronatog | Visions |
City of Solitude | Visions |
Corrosion | Visions |
Diamond Kaleidoscope | Visions |
Elkin Lair | Visions |
Equipoise | Visions |
Eye of Singularity | Visions |
Femeref Enchantress | Visions |
Firestorm Hellkite | Visions |
Flooded Shoreline | Visions |
Forbidden Ritual | Visions |
Griffin Canyon | Visions |
Guiding Spirit | Visions |
Kaervek’s Spite | Visions |
Katabatic Winds | Visions |
Kookus | Visions |
Lichenthrope | Visions |
Lightning Cloud | Visions |
Ogre Enforcer | Visions |
Phyrexian Marauder | Visions |
Pillar Tombs of Aku | Visions |
Pygmy Hippo | Visions |
Quirion Druid | Visions |
Rainbow Efreet | Visions |
Retribution of the Meek | Visions |
Righteous War | Visions |
Sands of Time | Visions |
Squandered Resources | Visions |
Suleiman’s Legacy | Visions |
Teferi’s Realm | Visions |
Three Wishes | Visions |
Tithe | Visions |
Triangle of War | Visions |
Undiscovered Paradise | Visions |
Viashivan Dragon | Visions |
Zhalfirin Crusader | Visions |
Abeyance | Weatherlight |
Aboroth | Weatherlight |
Ancestral Knowledge | Weatherlight |
Avizoa | Weatherlight |
Bone Dancer | Weatherlight |
Bosium Strip | Weatherlight |
Bubble Matrix | Weatherlight |
Debt of Loyalty | Weatherlight |
Dwarven Thaumaturgist | Weatherlight |
Ertai’s Familiar | Weatherlight |
Firestorm | Weatherlight |
Fungus Elemental | Weatherlight |
Gallowbraid | Weatherlight |
Goblin Bomb | Weatherlight |
Heart of Bogardan | Weatherlight |
Heat Stroke | Weatherlight |
Infernal Tribute | Weatherlight |
Inner Sanctum | Weatherlight |
Liege of the Hollows | Weatherlight |
Lotus Vale | Weatherlight |
Mana Web | Weatherlight |
Maraxus of Keld | Weatherlight |
Morinfen | Weatherlight |
Mwonvuli Ooze | Weatherlight |
Null Rod | Weatherlight |
Paradigm Shift | Weatherlight |
Peacekeeper | Weatherlight |
Pendrell Mists | Weatherlight |
Psychic Vortex | Weatherlight |
Scorched Ruins | Weatherlight |
Thran Tome | Weatherlight |
Tolarian Entrancer | Weatherlight |
Tolarian Serpent | Weatherlight |
Urborg Justice | Weatherlight |
Urborg Stalker | Weatherlight |
Wave of Terror | Weatherlight |
Well of Knowledge | Weatherlight |
Winding Canyons | Weatherlight |
Xanthic Statue | Weatherlight |
Aluren | Tempest |
Apocalypse | Tempest |
Avenging Angel | Tempest |
Commander Greven il-Vec | Tempest |
Corpse Dance | Tempest |
Cursed Scroll | Tempest |
Earthcraft | Tempest |
Eladamri, Lord of Leaves | Tempest |
Escaped Shapeshifter | Tempest |
Humility | Tempest |
Intuition | Tempest |
Meditate | Tempest |
Orim, Samite Healer | Tempest |
Recycle | Tempest |
Sarcomancy | Tempest |
Selenia, Dark Angel | Tempest |
Crovax the Cursed | Stronghold |
Dream Halls | Stronghold |
Mox Diamond | Stronghold |
Silver Wyvern | Stronghold |
Sliver Queen | Stronghold |
Volrath’s Shapeshifter | Stronghold |
Volrath’s Stronghold | Stronghold |
City of Traitors | Exodus |
Dominating Licid | Exodus |
Ertai, Wizard Adept | Exodus |
Exalted Dragon | Exodus |
Hatred | Exodus |
Mind Over Matter | Exodus |
Oath of Ghouls | Exodus |
Recurring Nightmare | Exodus |
Survival of the Fittest | Exodus |
Argothian Wurm | Urza’s Saga |
Barrin, Master Wizard | Urza’s Saga |
Citanul Centaurs | Urza’s Saga |
Gaea’s Cradle | Urza’s Saga |
Gilded Drake | Urza’s Saga |
Great Whale | Urza’s Saga |
Herald of Serra | Urza’s Saga |
Karn, Silver Golem | Urza’s Saga |
Lifeline | Urza’s Saga |
Lightning Dragon | Urza’s Saga |
Morphling | Urza’s Saga |
Opal Archangel | Urza’s Saga |
Serra’s Sanctum | Urza’s Saga |
Tolarian Academy | Urza’s Saga |
Temporal Aperture | Urza’s Saga |
Time Spiral | Urza’s Saga |
Yawgmoth’s Will | Urza’s Saga |
Zephid | Urza’s Saga |
Deranged Hermit | Urza’s Legacy |
Grim Monolith | Urza’s Legacy |
Memory Jar | Urza’s Legacy |
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer | Urza’s Legacy |
Palinchron | Urza’s Legacy |
Radiant, Archangel | Urza’s Legacy |
Ring of Gix | Urza’s Legacy |
Second Chance | Urza’s Legacy |
Weatherseed Treefolk | Urza’s Legacy |
Academy Rector | Urza’s Destiny |
Carnival of Souls | Urza’s Destiny |
Covetous Dragon | Urza’s Destiny |
Donate | Urza’s Destiny |
Masticore | Urza’s Destiny |
Metalworker | Urza’s Destiny |
Opalescence | Urza’s Destiny |
Phyrexian Negator | Urza’s Destiny |
Powder Keg | Urza’s Destiny |
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary | Urza’s Destiny |
Replenish | Urza’s Destiny |
Treachery | Urza’s Destiny |
Yavimaya Hollow | Urza’s Destiny |
Yawgmoth’s Bargain | Urza’s Destiny |