A special textless version of the Magic: The Gathering card Burst Lightning has seen an incredible 977% price spike over the past month. The card cost $1.30 at the end of October, and sits at $14 today.
The List version of this full-art/no text card also rose from $0.60 to $20 when MTG Foundations came out. According to MTG Goldfish, it’s since spiked to an unbelievable $86.18, rising rapidly in the last couple of days. However, as best we can tell this information can be attributed to a few rogue listings on TCGPlayer skewing the data – it doesn’t appear to match market value.
First printed in the Magic: The Gathering set Zendikar in 2009, Burst Lightning is a versatile red removal spell and a classic example of the MTG keyword Kicker. For one mana, this burn spell can deal two damage to any creature or player, like Shock, but if you pay an extra four mana, it dishes out four damage instead.
Textless cards, which feature the full card art of well-known playing pieces without any of the rules text, were commonly awarded as prizes at DCI sanctioned tournaments between 2005 – 2011. They’ve since become more sought after than the regular versions, though many are fairly affordable.
It’s not until fans have some reason to go out and buy these textless curios that we see prices start to shift. Pyroclasm, for instance, reentered Standard in Duskmourn earlier this year, and while regular copies go for mere cents, textless Pyroclasm is now $16, up from $3.
Similarly, Burst Lightning has entered Standard in MTG Foundations – and because of the peculiarities of this set, is now guaranteed to stick around for at least the next five years. That’s the reason textless Burst Lightning has seen such a big boost in value.
It probably doesn’t hurt that Burst Lightning is an awesome, incredibly playable card, either. It’s currently seeing play in all the red MTG Arena decks, from Gruul or Mono-Red Prowess, to Boros Burn.
For more Magic: The Gathering news, check out our list of the most expensive MTG cards ever produced – or look to the new year with the 2025 MTG release schedule.
Source: Wargamer
