Magic: The Gathering

Contract from Below

Revised Edition 97 • rare

Set: Revised Edition
Collector number: 97
Rarity: Rare
Mana cost: black mana
Type: Sorcery
Colors: Black
Artist: Douglas Shuler
Market price: $1.95

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Market

What it's worth

$1.95market price via TCGplayer · Aug 19, 2026$1.84 – $2.59 over the tracked period

Estimate for a typical copy of Contract from Below; condition, printing, and grading move the real number.

Lore

Why it matters

As a rare sorcery from the Revised Edition, this card holds a distinct place in history for its challenging play mechanic that forces a player to sacrifice a portion of their deck. Its inclusion in this set makes it a sought-after piece for those who appreciate the high-risk, high-reward nature of early card design.

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Card face

What it does

Remove this card from your deck before playing if you're not playing for ante.

Discard your hand, ante the top card of your library, then draw seven cards.

Formats

Where you can play it

StandardNot legal
PioneerNot legal
ModernNot legal
LegacyBanned
VintageBanned
CommanderBanned
PauperNot legal
BrawlNot legal
HistoricNot legal
TimelessNot legal
Penny DreadfulNot legal
OathbreakerBanned

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.

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Where to find one

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Provenance

Where it came from

Contract from Below was originally released as part of the Alpha set in 1993 for the debut of Magic: The Gathering. Designed by Richard Garfield, the card was intended to capture a high-risk, high-reward flavor by allowing a player to discard their hand and pay life in exchange for a fresh draw of seven cards. Its inclusion in the Revised Edition, or Third Edition, maintained its status as a foundational element of the game’s early design philosophy, which often favored extremely powerful effects with severe costs.

The artwork, rendered by Douglas Shuler, reflects the dark, gothic aesthetic prevalent in the game's nascent stages. Shuler’s illustration depicts an ominous figure offering a scroll, visually reinforcing the card's theme of making a Faustian bargain. While the card is infamous among players for its immense power level—leading to its eventual restriction and banning in almost every competitive format—it remains a highly sought-after piece of collectible history that exemplifies the experimental nature of early trading card game design.

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Other printings

Every version of this card

The same card, printed again — different sets, treatments, and prices.

Collectors

Who's collecting this

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About

About Contract from Below

Contract from Below is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. Revised Edition 97 • 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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Where does the Contract from Below catalog entry come from?

The catalog entry for Contract from Below is sourced from Scryfall. Catalog-level facts stay consistent across every collector; your own data (condition, edition, acquisition notes) is yours.