1993 Magic The Gathering MTG Alpha Ancestral Recall R B BGS 9.5 GEM MINT
Released in August of 1993, the Alpha printing is the first print run of the original Magic the Gathering Trading Card Game designed by Richard Garfield and released by Wizards of the Coast. According to the original Wizards of the Coast CEO Peter Adkinson, the Alpha print run consisted of 295 unique cards and was limited to a total of 2.61 million cards total, with only approximately 1,008 of each rare card released. Considered to be one of the “Power Nine,” the nine most coveted and overpowered released in the early days of Magic the Gathering, the Ancestral Recall designed by famed artist Mark Poole has been a staple in competitive decks since the beginning. The only Power Nine card to also be included in the five “Boons,” cards that when played give players three of something at the cost of a single mana, Ancestral Recall allowed its player to draw three or force their opponent to draw three extra cards for only a single blue mana. Commissioned by Wizards of the Coast to have bright colors with simple illustrations that were immediately recognizable, Poole took this to heart creating many of his most noteworthy works like Ancestral Recall to have a certain charm to them absent in modern day Magic. Adding to the collectability of this card, it is the only one of the boons to have not received a reprint since its Unlimited release making it a truly unique and rare piece of MTG history. Graded a Beckett 9.5, to date only 39 Alpha Ancestral Recalls have been deemed worthy of this designation out of the nearly 200 submitted for review, with only three examples receiving a higher grade. One of the most playable Magic cards ever created, and likely one of only a few hundred left in existence out of only 1,000 produced, this card is a piece of trading card game history and a storied collection piece.