Not every From the Vault theme was built around power level or card type. Released August 19, 2016, From the Vault: Lore, the ninth volume in the series, selected fifteen cards specifically for their significance to Magic's storytelling and multiverse continuity.
Rather than grouping cards by creature type or mechanic, this volume grouped them by the characters, events, and moments they represented in Magic's ongoing narrative.
Three of the fifteen cards received new art for this printing, a smaller share than some earlier volumes, reflecting the set's focus on cards already tied to iconic existing artwork.
Here's what made the cut, and why this remains one of the more narratively rich boxes in the entire series.
The fifteen cards are Glissa, the Traitor; Memnarch; Momir Vig, Simic Visionary; Cabal Ritual; Beseech the Queen; Conflux; Mind's Desire; Obliterate; Unmask; Helvault; Phyrexian Processor; Umezawa's Jitte; Near-Death Experience; Dark Depths; and Tolaria West. Each card ties directly to a specific character, plane, or storyline arc from Magic's history.
Helvault and Dark Depths in particular carry heavy narrative weight tied to the Innistrad and Coldsnap storylines respectively, beyond just their in-game power level.
By 2016, Magic's multiverse had grown into a genuinely deep, ongoing narrative spanning dozens of planes and characters, giving Wizards plenty of material to draw from for a lore-focused box. This volume let the design team spotlight cards valued as much for their narrative weight as for their power level.
That focus gave Lore a different collector appeal than power-ranked volumes like Twenty, aimed more at players who follow Magic's story closely.
Umezawa's Jitte is the set's most competitively significant inclusion, an Equipment so efficient it was eventually banned from Standard, alongside its deep ties to the Kamigawa block's storyline. Dark Depths, a build-around land tied to the Ice Age setting, remains a genuine combo piece in multiple Legacy strategies.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary represents the set's format-defining side too, having lent his name to an entire casual Magic Online format built around his creature-generating ability.
Players who follow Magic's ongoing storyline and character arcs get the most enjoyment from this volume, since every card was selected with narrative weight in mind rather than pure power level. Competitive players still find real value here too, particularly with Umezawa's Jitte and Dark Depths.
Casual Commander decks built around a specific plane or character arc, like an Innistrad or Kamigawa theme, also benefit directly from several of this box's inclusions.
Lore was produced in a single limited print run in 2016 and has never been reprinted as a complete boxed set since its original release. A handful of individual cards, including Umezawa's Jitte, have seen later reprints elsewhere, but never in this exact From the Vault foil treatment.
That makes original Lore foils a distinct printing worth seeking out for series completionists and storyline collectors alike.
Lore sits in the lower tier of the full series ranking on raw power level, since its selection criteria prioritized narrative significance over competitive relevance for several inclusions. Cards like Umezawa's Jitte and Dark Depths still give it real standalone value beyond the theme alone.
See our full ranking of all ten volumes for how Lore compares directly to Realms, Exiled, and the rest of the series.
Unlike Twenty, which selected cards purely for tournament significance, Lore prioritized narrative weight even when that meant including a card with a lower overall power level. That different selection criteria is exactly why the two volumes feel so different to open despite sharing the same box format.
Collectors who enjoy Magic's storyline tend to value Lore more highly than a pure power ranking would suggest, since its selection logic rewards a different kind of card entirely rather than penalizing it for missing a tournament win somewhere in Magic's competitive history, which is a genuinely different, equally valid way to build a themed collection.
It released on August 19, 2016, as the ninth volume in the series.
Each of the fifteen cards was selected for its significance to Magic's storytelling and multiverse continuity.
Yes, it's historically significant enough to have been banned from Standard, and it still sees Legacy and Commander play.
Players who follow Magic's ongoing storyline closely, alongside deckbuilders targeting a specific plane theme.
A storyline-focused collection deserves organized protection just as much as a competitive one. A 9-pocket binder with an elastic closure keeps every narrative-driven foil sorted and easy to revisit.
Sleeve up Umezawa's Jitte and Dark Depths individually given their continued competitive relevance.
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