Contract from Below

Contract from Below was originally released as a rare black-bordered card in the 1993 Alpha and Beta expansions for Magic: The Gathering. As a central component of the game's early power-level threshold, it allowed players to discard their hand and draw seven new cards for the cost of one black mana, a mechanic so potent it was quickly restricted and eventually banned in most sanctioned formats due to its destabilizing impact on competitive play.

The International Collectors' Edition, released in 1993, was designed as a non-tournament-legal showcase set featuring gold-bordered backs and square corners. These cards were marketed to collectors as a way to own high-value, iconic artwork and mechanics that had become difficult to acquire on the secondary market. The card features the signature macabre illustration by Christopher Rush, whose work defined the dark, high-fantasy aesthetic of early Magic sets and remains highly regarded for its thematic cohesion and dark atmospheric detail.