From March 24-25, Magic: The Gathering collectors will get to bid on some unique cards from the Jeff Ferreira collection. The collection features many rare and harder-to-find cards, as well as cards signed by Christopher Rush -- one of the original Magic: The Gathering artists. Rush illustrated hundreds of cards during his career, including the famed Black Lotus card. Rush worked on a number of other big Wizards of the Coasts projects, including Pokemon. Unfortunately Rush passed in 2016, making his signature a rare collectible. This auction has a number of unique pieces in it, but these are my gem pics for the auction.

Magic: The Gathering Artist Proof Black Lotus Limited Edition (Beta)

If there's any card in any auction to ever watch, this is it. Black Lotus cards have come up several times in auctions at Heritage, and each time the card has gone for serious money. Unlike those prior cards, this Black Lotus is an artist's proof signed by Christopher Rush. CGC awarded this a blue label as opposed to a yellow label but noted that collector Jeff Ferreira verified the signature.

In circumstances such as this one, I would outright ignore the color of the label and focus on the card itself. In January 2021 a signed Alpha Black Lotus card with a grade of PSA Gem Mint 10, sold for $511,100 on eBay. It is important to note that Rush's signature was on the case of that card. Shortly following that sale in 2022, a similar card sold for $540,000.

Unlike those cards, this one is an artist's proof. This CGC NM/MT+ 8.5 is beautiful. Ungraded Beta versions of this card have a median list price of $32,500. As of this writing the card has already surpassed the $500,000 mark and will likely go for more. This card could very well become the most expensive Magic: The Gathering card ever sold at auction.

Christopher Rush Black Lotus Illustration Original Art

Despite being the rare card, this auction is heavy on Black Lotus. This item is an original painting by Christopher Rush of the Black Lotus done in acrylic. This 3" x 3" board would do well framed or preserved for the right collector. The piece has Rush's initials on the lower right corner. While determining a price point for a piece like this is hard, original art can fetch thousands of dollars.

There are a handful of other original illustrations in this auction, perfect for collectors, or people who can't afford a Black Lotus card!

Magic: The Gathering R2-D2 World Championships Deck Special

Despite the title of this listing, no, R2-D2 is not a playable character in Magic: The Gathering -- yet. This card was originally a blank card from the 2004 World Championships Pro Tour Decks. These cards are similar to comic book sketch covers. This card was created by Christopher Rush, and features my personal favorite droid wearing a Santa hat, and posing next to a Black Lotus! This is numbered 10/15 and also has 'The Lotus Awakens" -- a cute nod to a certain movie in a galaxy far, far away.

Pricing this card out is hard, but if you collect original art this could be a great addition to your collection. At the time of writing the card is sitting at $1,600, but this could potentially go for over $2,000. Despite the original art and signature, this is a CGC blue label NM/Mint 8, as a CGC witness did not verify the art or signature. As I said before, don't let that stop you. This is a truly unique piece that doesn't come up for auction very often.

If you're a Star Wars fan, a Magic fan, and an original art fan, this could be the centerpiece of your collection!

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.