MTG Moxen: Rules, FAQ, and Where to Buy

Ignacio (Iñaki) February 13, 2023 Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Rules

Last updated on February 20, 2024

Mox Ruby | Illustration by Volkan Baga

The Power 9 are Magic’s most iconic group of cards. These nine cards were first printed in Alpha and Beta and have gone on to become some of the game’s most iconic cards thanks to how absurdly powerful they are.

Five of these cards are the original Moxen, or Moxes. These artifacts are famous among players for being an almost ridiculously good way to fix your mana and gain near-immediate advantage over your opponents. These Moxen also gave way to a few other iterations of them with different effects trying to balance them.

Let’s go over the Moxes and what makes them so popular!

What Is A Mox?

Chrome Mox | Illustration by Dan Frazier

The Moxen are 10 artifacts with mana value 0 that generate different kinds of mana. They all have the word Mox in the name, and their art represents a gemstone or precious metal usually held by a pair of hands.

The 10 Moxen are:

There are also two other Mox cards from Un-sets: Mox Lotus and Jack-in-the-Mox.

Mox Emerald, Mox Sapphire, Mox Ruby, Mox Pearl, and Mox Jet are the first five Moxen and part of the Power 9, printed in Alpha, Beta,_,and Unlimited.

These 0-mana artifacts each generate a single mana of one of the five colors when tapped. They’re among the most powerful cards in the game since you can play any number of them in a single turn to grant yourself an absurdly fast mana advantage. This led to all five becoming banned in every format except Vintage, where they’re restricted to one per deck. The original five Moxen are some of the first cards to ever be banned in the game.

With Stronghold’s Mox Diamond, Wizards attempted to create a Mox that wasn’t as broken as the previous ones by requiring players to discard a land if it would enter the battlefield. This was followed by Chrome Mox during the first Mirrodin block, which required you to imprint a card from your hand onto it so it could generate mana. Mox Opal came along during the second Mirrodin block, and it only truly worked in artifact-heavy decks thanks to its metalcraft ability.

Mox Amber made the artifact basically unusable if you didn’t control legendary creatures or planeswalkers, making it a way more limited but still useful card, especially in EDH. Mox Tantalite is the final Mox so far and widely considered the weakest of the 10 because of its suspend cost. It’s a pretty slow card when compared to the other nine, but it’s still pretty good and could be cheated onto the battlefield with abilities like storm. But that makes it too circumstantial.

The original five cards didn’t get to see much play because of their very early ban in 1994. They still see pretty consistent play in Vintage, the only format where they’re allowed despite their restriction. Mox Diamond sees some pretty consistent play and is the only Mox besides Mox Tantalite that’s not banned in any format, but that’s probably because it’s not legal in Modern at all.

Both Mox Opal and Chrome Mox are banned in Modern since they can very effectively break the format. They see some consistent play in Commander since it’s much harder to break with mana artifacts.

Mox Tantalite is a decent ramp artifact in several decks, and you can break it by playing things that can cheat it onto the battlefield or by playing it with cascade from your deck.

How Many Mox Cards Are There?

There are 10 Mox cards, 12 if you count the two from Un-sets.

Why Are the Mox So Expensive?

Moxen are particularly powerful cards. The original five are basically the best fast mana, second only to Black Lotus, another member of the legendary Power 9. Mox Diamond may have been an attempt at a more balanced Mox, but it also ended up pretty powerful.

High power levels, play in formats like Vintage, and limited reprint possibilities have made the price of these cards rise. And we all know Magic is a game about finance and not having fun with cardboard, so the Moxen got thrown onto the Reserved List to please the more finance-oriented among us. I’ll keep my thoughts about the Reserved List and Magic’s absurd prices for another time (spoiler: they’re very negative).

Mox Opal and Chrome Mox are by far the most powerful of the Moxen outside the Reserved List. They’re only banned in Modern, so they’re pretty coveted cards. They’ve also only seen reprints in Masters sets, as Kaladesh inventions or special things like judge gifts and Grand Prix promos. This mix between high power, high playability, and low reprints keeps these cards’ prices high, even if they’re not even close to the original five.

Mox Amber still has a pretty daunting price for a mana rock, but it’s definitely more accessible than the previously mentioned Moxen. This card has tons of utility in Commander where legendary creatures and planeswalkers are extremely common, so it’s become pretty useful.

Mox Tantalite is definitely the least powerful of the Moxen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good card. This Mox is less powerful and less expensive than the other nine, but its price is definitely more easily accessible than basically all the other cards in this list.

How Much Is a Mox Ruby Worth?

Mox Ruby can go from around $5,000 for its Unlimited print to about $30,000 for its Alpha one.

How Much Is a Mox Emerald Worth?

The Unlimited edition of Mox Emerald can be found for $4,500, while its Alpha version can go for around $18,500.

How Much Is a Mox Pearl Worth?

Mox Pearl’s Unlimited print sells for about $4,000 and its Alpha print can be found for up to $17,600. It’s one of the least expensive Moxen of the five belonging to the Power 9.

How Much Is a Mox Jet Worth?

Mox Jet can cost from $5,000 (Unlimited) to $23,000 (Alpha).

How Much Is a Mox Sapphire Worth?

Mox Sapphire can go from around $6,000 (Unlimited) to $25,600 (Alpha).

How Much Is a Mox Diamond Worth?

Mox Diamond’s Stronghold print can be found for around $700 while its From the Vault: Relics foil print can cost up to a little over $800.

How Much Is a Mox Opal Worth?

The Modern Masters and Double Masters prints of Mox Opal can be found for about $75, while the Kaladesh Inventions print can cost up to $450.

Where To Buy

Local Game Stores

Your local game store is always the best place to search for cards you need before you check online retailers. You’re probably going to have a pretty hard time finding the first six Moxen at your LGS because of their Reserved List status, but you might have some luck if you’re looking for Mox Amber or even Mox Opal.

Card Kingdom

A quick search over at Card Kingdom shows they have a pretty decent stock with at least one of each of the Moxen like Mox Sapphire, Mox Emerald, even Mox Ruby, and a variety of editions. They have slightly higher prices than some other sites but are also notably trustworthy.

StarCityGames

StarCityGames is actually the reference site for a lot of players outside of the U.S. when you need to convert prices to their local currency because they have good and updated prices. Their stock, especially on the Power 9 prints, is pretty much empty right now.

You can use it as a reference for prices, but you’re not gonna have much luck actually buying the more expensive Moxen here.

Amazon

Amazon's stock of the Moxen fluctuate constantly, so you're better off giving it a search yourself to see what's currently available. A few honorable mentions right now include Mox Opal, Chrome Mox, and Mox Amber.

eBay

I found a lot of copies of the Moxen and at great prices on eBay, but I’d probably have some doubts about these products and their quality.

Proxies

Proxies are technically illegal to sell, but not to buy or make. I’d personally argue in favor of just getting proxies of the Moxen for any non-tournament match.

Always check with your playgroup and LGS if they’ll allow you to play these cards, but proxies are absolutely an option if they give you the okay. I especially advocate for proxying Reserved List cards because there’s absolutely no reason why Magic should be pay-to-win.

For clarity, I’m only advocating for unofficial proxies because there’s really no reason to waste money on the 30th Anniversary proxies of these cards.

For example a set of moxen costs you 10 bucks over on MTG Proxy…

Why Are Mox Cards Banned?

The first five Mox and Mox Diamond are all banned in every format and restricted in Vintage thanks to their absurdly high power levels. They can be unfun to play against. This is only my opinion, but their placement on the Reserved List and having such absurdly high prices also make the game entirely pay-to-win if you don’t play with proxies.

Is Mox Amber Legal in Modern?

Mox Amber is legal in Modern and isn’t banned in any formats. It’s not legal only in formats like Standard or Alchemy where it’s out of rotation, or Pauper and Penny where it doesn’t fit in with the formats’ rules.

Is Mox Opal Legal in Modern?

Mox Opal is banned in Modern to prevent certain decks from having starts that are excessively powerful and hamper the format.

Can You Tap Mox Diamond Without Discarding The Land?

Mox Diamond’s updated rules text makes it so that the card can’t enter the battlefield at all unless you discard a land card, so you can’t tap it without having discarded a land card because it just wouldn't enter the battlefield.

The card’s old wording allowed for some leniency in a way that you could get away with playing the card and responding to the sacrifice trigger by tapping it for mana. The new wording prevents that.

Wrap Up

Mox Amber | Illustration by Steven Belledin

The Moxen have a well-earned spot in Magic’s Hall of Fame. They’re part of the Power 9, and even attempts at making Moxes that aren’t as broken ended up with some pretty powerful cards. I personally don’t care that much for cards costing absurd prices, especially the ones that aren’t on the Reserved List. I think Wizards could (and should) reprint them more often and make them more accessible.

Have you ever played with or against one of the original five Moxes? Do you think we’ll ever get a new Mox? What’s your favorite non-Power 9 Mox? Feel free to leave a comment down below, and make sure to check out the Draftsim Discord to find an amazing community of Magic fans.

That’s all from me for now. Have a good one, and I’ll see you next time!

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Ignacio (Iñaki)

Iñaki has loved collecting Magic cards going all the way back to the age of 8. Since 2011, he's been a casual player, focusing mainly on Standard and EDH. He's a clear Vorthos and big fan of the lore of the Magic universe. When he's not writing, he's probably avoiding college homework by playing Arena or trying to come up with some absurd Commander deck idea.