Ashnod's Altar

Ashnod's Altar was originally introduced in the 1994 Antiquities expansion for Magic: The Gathering, designed by Richard Garfield to represent an artifact of sacrifice within the game's lore. The card allows players to sacrifice creatures to generate colorless mana, a mechanic that became a cornerstone of combo-oriented gameplay. Its inclusion in the 2000 World Championship Decks was intended to provide players with replicas of the high-level competitive decks used by professional players during that year's tournament season, making powerful engine cards more accessible to the public.

This specific printing features the gold-bordered aesthetic characteristic of the World Championship series, intended to distinguish these functional game pieces from the original tournament-legal versions. The artwork, illustrated by Quinton Hoover, depicts the grim nature of Ashnod’s experiments, capturing the visceral theme of sacrifice that defined the flavor of the Antiquities set. While these cards are not legal for sanctioned tournament play, they are widely recognized by collectors for their historical connection to the early professional circuit and their role in facilitating complex deck synergies.