Since the early days of Magic: The Gathering, players have speculated on there being a tenth 'power nine' card - here are the top contenders:
The "Power Nine" have been the top apex of Magic cards since the game first began. Even the most casual of players know them, and even non-players recognize the Black Lotus if for anything but it's high value on the secondary market. They can go for thousands even in poor condition, and in graded form can go for six figures, or in a few cases, in the millions.
Over the years, there has been a push to recognize a tenth card. As the nine come from Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited, many players have looked towards the first few expansions, Arabian Nights and Antiquities, to have a card that is both too powerful, yet also of high cost as there have been few, if any, reprintings of it. And there are three main contenders for it: Bazaar of Baghdad, Mishra's Workshop, and Library of Alexandria.
First up is Library of Alexandria.
Even today, the card is considered the most powerful land in MTG history, thanks to it's ability to just keep pumping out land. As such it is banned in several formats and not legal in most others. Out of the three, Library of Alexandria is also by far the most accepted as the unofficial tenth member, as even people at Magic have said that it is pretty much the tenth. And, as it has only appeared in a few digital-only sets like Vintage Masters and still only has officially been printed in paper once with Arabian Nights, it commands a high price, with a single card still selling for over $1,000.
Then there is Bazaar of Baghdad. A draw two, get three (with a few other little hiccups), this one is worth slightly more than Library monetarily, partially thanks to still being legal in a few formats like Vintage, Commander, and Oathbreaker. It's also been seen even less than Library thanks to fewer special appearances. As Baghdad is a real world place, it's little wonder why the card isn't seen much within the game. But it is nevertheless powerful and is a strong conder for being a part of a power ten.
Finally there is Mishra's Workshop. The only Antiquities card of the possible three, Mishra's follows Baghdad as still being legal in some play types and comes the closest in terms of matching the power nine for secondary market price. One of these can set you back over $2,000, but may be worth it. Tapping this gives you three mana of colorless mana, essentially unlocking high cost cards very early on. And, like the other two, it has never been reprinted and seen only scarcely since it's one and only release.
To date, Magic has never officially expanded the main group of power cards, keeping it the power nine. As the cards are rare, many players still push to include more to it. We've listed the main three, but cases have been made for seral others in the past, including Yawgmoth's Will, Tinker, and Sol Ring. However, those are reprinted often enough to dilute value, with a few of those even having Secret Lair drops of new art in recent years. There has been no Mishra's Workshop Secret Lair cards in recent years, that's for sure.
Will there be a power ten in the coming years, or even a power 11 or power 12? It's unlikely. However, a "Next Nine" or something similar, showing another cluster of cards that are rare, powerful and have high value with low reprinting, is possible. As there has been a growing pull to rediscover earlier sets, Magic could put together a second list of such cards to draw attention to the vintage-Magic base an, with modern Magic priorities, could do some sort of limited Secret Lair event or charity endeavor to bring them out.
But, for now, it continues to be speculation, with the 'power ten card' joining other titles like 'eighth wonder of the world' or 'sixth magic color' in potential possibilities.
