Why is black lotus banned in magic the gathering?

Answer 1

There are two major reasons the first is the card ruins the tempo of the game, the general progression allows players to play 'little' stuff early and the 'big' stuff later on but black lotus allows a player to play cards with high mana costs too early in the game for opponents to handle it. The second reason is the price of the card, most players will not spend thousands to play, but the player who do spend thousands to buy 4 black lotuses would have such a significant advantage that the game wouldn't be fun for anyone.

When magic was initially being designed the designers believed that the geographical dispersion of the cards paired with the inherit rareness of rare cards would make it next to impossible for anyone to get more then 2 or 3 copies of a particular rare. They were incorrect, which meant cards that were designed to have a power level that would only be seen every few games were showing up near every game.

Calling it simply a 'banned card' for any one reason does not take into account the different formats in Magic the Gathering. Some formats only allow newer cards, which would automatically disqualify it from use - this is different from calling it 'banned'. Some formats allow older cards, and Black Lotus can be used in some of them - this is the reason why it is so expensive.

Most Magic players will know it is one of the 'Power 9' and much more powerful than many other cards, but it is still legal in some formats, and in the formats that it can't be used in, it is disallowed for other reasons than banned for power alone.

'Standard' format for example allows only cards from the last two blocks, and the current core set. Black Lotus does not belong to any of these, hence it can't be used. Cards are rarely, if ever, banned in this format (Skullclamp managed it) but cards are still disallowed due to age even if there is not an actual banlist.

'Extended' allows a few more sets; four blocks and a few core sets. Black Lotus is still far too old to be allowed.

'Vintage' allows cards from any set. Black Lotus is not banned in this format, although it is restricted to one. Cards are not banned for power reasons in this format, the banned list involves cards that require ante, subgames or manual dexterity, like Chaos Orb.

'Legacy' is a more restrictive version of Vintage, and here, Black Lotus is banned due to its power.

So if you're lucky enough to have a Black Lotus, feel free to enter a Vintage tournament with it. Just don't expect to be able to use it in Standard, Legacy, or Extended, etc.