Ball Lightning
The Dark 57 • rare
- Set
- The Dark
- Collector number
- 57
- Rarity
- Rare
- Mana cost
- red mana red mana red mana
- Type
- Creature
- Colors
- Red
- Artist
- Quinton Hoover
- Market price
- $51.04
What it does
Trample (This creature can deal excess combat damage to the player or planeswalker it's attacking.)
Haste (This creature can attack and tap as soon as it comes under your control.)
At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice this creature.
Where you can play it
- StandardLegal
- PioneerLegal
- ModernLegal
- LegacyLegal
- VintageLegal
- CommanderLegal
- PauperNot legal
- BrawlLegal
- HistoricLegal
- TimelessLegal
- Penny DreadfulLegal
- OathbreakerLegal
Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Card text via Scryfall. Not approved or endorsed by Wizards. As of the last catalogue refresh.
Where to find one
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Where it came from
Ball Lightning was released in 1994 as part of The Dark, the fourth expansion set for the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Developed during the game's early growth phase, The Dark was designed with a gothic, folkloric aesthetic intended to evoke themes of horror and legend, distinguishing it from the high-fantasy tone of earlier sets. The card itself represents the aggressive, fast-paced nature of red-aligned gameplay, embodying a fleeting but powerful force of destruction that sacrifices itself after a single strike.
The original illustration for Ball Lightning was created by Quinton Hoover. Known for his distinctive, stylized linework and vibrant use of color, Hoover sought to capture the kinetic, ephemeral energy of a sentient bolt of lightning charging toward an opponent. The card became an iconic staple in competitive play, celebrated by players for its efficiency and its ability to drastically shift the momentum of a game, solidifying its status as one of the most recognizable red cards in the game's history.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
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About Ball Lightning
Ball Lightning is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. The Dark 57 • rare. Catalog data is sourced from Scryfall. No public cards collectors track this one yet — adding yours would make you the first on collecto.rs.
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