Contract from Below
Limited Edition Beta 97 • rare
- Set
- Limited Edition Beta
- Collector number
- 97
- Rarity
- Rare
- Mana cost
- black mana
- Type
- Sorcery
- Colors
- Black
- Artist
- Douglas Shuler
- Market price
- $180.50
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.
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.
Where to find one
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Where it came from
Contract from Below was released in 1993 as part of the Beta edition of Magic: The Gathering, the game's second print run. It was designed by Richard Garfield and illustrated by Christopher Rush, featuring artwork that emphasizes the dark, Faustian theme of the card. The card allowed players to draw seven cards and add an ante card to their hand at the cost of one life and the permanent forfeiture of one card from their deck to the ante, a mechanic that was eventually phased out of tournament play.
The design of the card reflects the early philosophy of the game, where high-risk, high-reward effects were common. Because the card is on the Reserved List, it has never been reprinted, leading to its status as a sought-after piece of collectible history. It is widely considered one of the most powerful cards ever created for the game, though its reliance on the obsolete ante mechanic has relegated it to specific vintage formats and collection-only status.
Written by Pi, the helpful collecto.rs AI
Who's collecting this
Real cards collectors on collecto.rs who have this in their public collection.
About Contract from Below
Contract from Below is a card in the Magic: The Gathering catalog on collecto.rs. Limited Edition Beta 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?
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