Magic: The Gathering Kits and Editions

Theros

Theros is ruled by the pantheon of all-powerful gods. Mortals tremble before them, suffer from their momentary whims and live in fear of their anger. Here in the caves live barbarians, minotaurs, hunted by attacks on wandering travelers. Giants roam the world, drawing strength from the land they pass on. Huge Krakens lurk in the depths of the seas, and sirens lure sailors to death. But despite all the dangers, mortals do not lose heart. Here, as nowhere is the valor of the heroes valued.

Mortal Theros succeeds not only to survive, but also to thrive, protecting civilization through the walls of great policies. Each of these city-states has become a stronghold, protecting the inhabitants from the monsters roaming the wild lands of Teros. Meletid, the city of science, progress, magic and worship of the gods, became the embodiment of the achievements of civilized humanity. It is surrounded by endless golden fields of wheat and the sea of ​​the Sirens, and the Pious Army protects Meletid. In the policy of Akros, valor on the battlefield is considered the greatest virtue. There are legends about Acros warriors all over Theros. Acros’s formidable fortress at the top of the cliff is the heart of a network of outposts covering all the land of Theros. The inhabitants of this world feel safe guarded. Setessa, an isolated polis surrounded by the rings of the forest, fiercely defends its independence. Its inhabitants are bound by strong bonds, and all the inhabitants of Sethesa endlessly worship nature.

The main attraction of the block was the publication of maps of the gods. All of them possessed indestructibility, some kind of activated or static ability and were not a creature until devotion to the colors of God did not exceed a certain value. Five Pleisnvolkers were also published: Espet, Xenag, Ashiok, Ajani and Kiora.

Basic mechanics of the block: Heroism, Dar, Monstrosity, Predict

Shards of Alara

Alara Shards - Magic the Gathering set-expansion. Release release took place on October 3, 2008 .

"Shards of Alara" - the first set in the "Alara" block. The set includes 249 maps (101 regular, 60 unusual, 53 rare, 15 mythical and 20 basic land maps). From this set a new degree of rarity of cards was introduced into the game - the mythical (indicated by the orange color of the set icon). Mythical cards come across about eight times less rare cards.

The main idea of ​​the set is five fragments, which were once the same world. Each fragment contains one of the five colors of magic and two allied colors. Each shard has its own special game mechanics and type of creatures.

In addition to introducing a new degree of rarity, the game has undergone several other changes. The total number of cards in the issue was reduced in order to reduce the card pool in the “Block” and “Standard” formats. One of the usual maps in boosters is now replaced by a base land map. The changes aim to make the game more friendly for beginners.

Merge / Conflux

Merge - set-expansion for the card game Magic the Gathering . The second release is in the Shards of Alara block. Release release took place on February 6, 2009 . In the release of 145 cards (10 mythical, 35 rare, 40 unusual and 60 ordinary).

The release continues the theme of the set “Shards of Alara” and talks about the collision of fragments between themselves and the consequences of this: Esper faces Griksis and Bant, Bant - with Esper and Naya, Naya - with Bant and Jund, Juand - with Naya and Griksis, Griksis - with Esper and Jund. The culprit for the collision was the planeswalker Nikol Bolas, who appeared in this issue.

The release develops the mechanics of "increase", "devouring" and "dig out." In addition, a new mechanic was introduced - “Ownership” (related to the number of base land types under player control).

Alara Reborn / Alara Reborn

Alara the Restored - set-expansion for the card game Magic the Gathering . The third release in the block "Shards of Alara . " Release release took place on April 30, 2009 . In the release of 145 cards. The first in the history of the expansion, consisting exclusively of multi-color cards.

The second mini-block, consisting of two sets: Shadowmoor ( Shadowmoor ) and Twilight ( Eventide ). The pre-release of the first set took place on April 19, 2008, the release - on May 2, the pre-release and release of the second set took place in July 2008.

It is a thematic continuation of the Lorwin mini-block. Unlike the tribal orientation of the first, Shedoumur has a color orientation, that is, the cards of this set receive benefits not from the existing cards of the same type of creatures, but from the existing and played cards of certain colors.

The first mini-block consisting of two sets: Lorwyn and Morningtide . The action takes place in a new world inhabited by kiskenami (similar to halflings ), elves (significantly different from the usual fantasy), goblins goblars, merfolkas — merry, fairies , foresters ( English treefolk ), elementals and giants.

Lorwin / Lorwyn

A large set of the block of the same name, contains 301 maps : 141 ordinary, 80 unusual and 80 rare. The release took place on October 12, 2007. In this set there are two completely new types of cards: Planeswalker and Tribal .

Dawn / Morningtide

The second, small, set of two in the Lorwin block. Includes 150 cards : 50 rare, 40 unusual and 60 ordinary. The release took place on February 1, 2008, Prerelease - January 19.

Anniversary Edition MTG . The release took place on July 14, 2007. Includes 383 cards : 141 regular, 121 unusual and 121 rare. In honor of the anniversary, the cards of the Tenth Edition came out with a black border, in contrast to the usual white color. Also, this is the first basic edition, which includes Legendary super-type cards.

The block is dedicated to various fantastic phenomena that change the course of time. It consists of three sets: Time Spiral, Planar Chaos and Future Sight. The action takes place in Dominaria .

Time Spiral

Big Set ( 301 maps ) of the same block, released on October 6, 2006, pre-release on September 23.

The set includes 121 additional maps. These are the so-called timeshifted cards. They are reprints (reprints) of maps of old sets, including such worthy copies as Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Gaea's Blessing and many other worthy maps, memorable to many players.

Also in the set returned many mechanics, maps with which were not published over the years, such as Flanking, Morph, Flashback, Buyback, Storm.

New Mechanics

• Suspend - the ability to play a spell, delaying his permission for several moves, while paying his cost in advance, at the time of using the suspend property. Some cards (Lotus Bloom, Ancestral Vision) have no mana cost, that is, the only way to play them is to use the Suspend mechanic or if some kind of game effect allows you to play spells without paying the cost.
• Flash - cards now have this ability, which are not instant spells, but can be played any time you can play instant.
• Split Second - having this ability on a card means that no spells or abilities can be put on the stack after it. Thus, such a spell cannot be canceled or done “in response” to it, except for special actions, such as getting “mana” and using the morphing property of werewolves.

Famous maps

• Teferi, Mage Zhalfir ( Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir )
• Akroma, Angel of Fury ( Akroma, Angel of Wrath )
• Lotus Bloom
• Mental Explosion ( Psionic Blast )
• Shadowmage Infiltrator Mage Spy
• Bogardan Serpent ( Bogardan Hellkite )
• Call of the Herd

Universe Chaos / Planar Chaos

Universe Chaos is the second set of the Time Spiral block and contains 165 cards (60 ordinary, 55 unusual, 50 rare). The release took place on February 2, 2007. There are also “offset” cards in this set, but they differ significantly from such cards in the Time Spiral. These cards are colorshifted (i.e. "color-shifted"). Colorshifted are maps that differ from known maps from previous sets only in color and name. These cards have an alternative design, darker than conventional cards. The degree of rarity is the same as that of ordinary cards, in contrast to the "offset" cards Spiral of Time.

New Mechanics

• Disappearance ( eng. Vanishing) - the ability to limit the time spent finding a permanent with the extinction in the game. A permanent with Extinction enters the game with a certain number of time counters on it. At the beginning of his support step, the player controlling this permanent must remove one token from him. When the last player is removed, the player must sacrifice this permanent.

Important maps

• Curse of Hell ( Damnation )
• Boom // Defeat ( Boom )
• Akroma, Angel of Rabies ( Akroma, Angel of Fury )
• Teneb, the Reaper ( Teneb, the Harvester )
• Urborg, Grave Yagmota ( Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth )

Looking to the Future / Future Sight

The Future Sight release contains 180 cards (60 regular, 60 unusual, 60 rare. The Look to the Future release includes time-shifted cards, but they differ from similar cards from the Time Spiral issues (maps from the past) and Universal Chaos (cards from the present).

Each "shifted" card of the Look into the Future is like a "preprint" of a card from some future release of Magic. These cards have unusually decorated frames. They do not have a special category of rarities, and they are simply mixed with "normal" cards of the Look into the Future. On all "offset" cards in the upper left corner of the frame there is a symbol meaning the type of card. All cards belonging to several types at once are marked with a special identical symbol.

Top Set Cards

• Tarmogoyf
• Delay
• Ghostfire
• Graven cairns
• Nimbus Maze
• Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
• Pact of negation
• Quagnoth
• Tolaria west
• Bridge from below

“Lost edition” of the Ice Age block. Legal in Ice Age Block Constructed format along with Ice Age and Alliances. The set contains 155 cards .

Famous maps

• Ohran viper
• Scrying sheets

The block dedicated to the two-color combinations - guilds. A world made up of one gigantic city where ten guilds fight for power.

Contains sets:

• Ravnica: Guild City (Ravnica: City of Guilds) , a set of 306 maps
• Guild Pact (Guildpact) set of 165 cards , released February 3, 2006
• Split (Dissension) - a set of 180 cards , released May 5, 2006

In this block hybrid mana symbols were introduced for the first time, and the best two-color lands since Revised were released (for example, Overgrown Tomb, Breeding Pool, etc.).

The idea of ​​the block is a system of guilds — a community of people or other intelligent beings with similar outlooks on life and values. In the game they are represented by two-color combinations. Each guild has two legendary creatures (leaders), three lands (two two-colored and one - with a unique activated ability), an artifact, several gold and several hybrid cards. In addition, each guild corresponds to a unique new mechanics, some of which have found their place in the decks of the Extended and Legacy formats. There are also single-color cards that work better if the mana of a friendly color guild is spent on their rally.

Famous Cards

• Char
• Lightning helix
• Dark Confidant (created by Bob Maher, Invitational winner)
• Burning tree shaman
• Rakdos Augermage (Created by Terry So (Therry Soh), winner of Invitational)
• Watchwolf
• Remand
• Loxodon hierarch
• Giant solifuge

Block dedicated to the legendary creatures and Japanese mythology. Everything that happens is a chronicle of the world of Kamigawa, telling about the war of mortals with their own gods.

• Champions of Kamigawa - 306 cards
• Betrayers of Kamigawa - 165 cards
• Kamigawa Saviors / Saviors of Kamigawa - 165 cards

New block mechanics

• Ninjitsu
• Splice
• Soulshift
• Bushido
• Epic
• Offering

Famous Cards

• Umezawa's jitte
• Meloku the Clouded Mirror
• Cycle of 5 legendary dragons ( Kokusho , Yosei , Ryusei , Jugan and Keiga )
• Gifts Ungiven
• Ink-Eyes, Servant Of Oni
• Pithing needle
• Sakura-Tribe Elder
• Cranial Extraction
• Ninja of the Deep Hours

The block dedicated to the artifacts. The gigantic world consisting of metal ... artifacts are found at every step, and even creatures often contain metal blotches ... or rather metal creatures with flesh blotches.

• Mirrodin / Mirrodin
• Dark Steel / Darksteel
• Fifth Dawn / Fifth Dawn

The block is famous for the extremely strong deck called Affinity, the key cards of which were ultimately banned in the Standard format and the Mirrodin block.

New block mechanics:

• Affinity
• Equip
• Modular
• Sunburst
• Scry
• Imprint
• Entwine

Famous maps:

• Arcbound ravager
• Solemn Simulacrum (Created by Jens Thoren, Invitational Winner)
• Trinket mage
• Cranial plating
• Eternal witness
• Disciple Of The Vault
• Tooth and nail
• Oblivion stone
• Mindslaver

A block dedicated to creature tribes - elves, goblins, birds, soldiers ... Now types of creatures play a key role.

• Onslaught / Onslaught
• Legions / Legions
• Scourge

New block mechanics:

• Morph
• Cycling
• Storm
• Provoke
• Double strike
• Amplify

Famous maps:

• Voidmage Prodigy (Created by Kai Budde, Invitational winner)
• Exalted angel
• Decree of justice
• Mind's Desire
• Goblin piledriver
• Stifle
• Akroma, Angel Of Wrath
• Ravenous baloth

Block, whose mechanics are devoted to maps in the cemetery.

• Odyssey / Odyssey
• Torment / Torment
• Judgment / Judgment

New block mechanics: Threshhold - cards get additional features if their owner has 7 or more cards in the cemetery
Flashback - Magic and Instant Spells with Flashback can be re-played from the graveyard by paying the cost of the ability and then removing it from the game.
Madness - Cards with Madness can be played cheaper if any effect forces you to discard this card from your hand.

Famous Maps: Wild Mongrel
Shadowmage Infiltrator (Created by John Finkel, Invitational winner)
Sylvan Safekeeper (Created by Olle Rade, Invitational winner)
Psychatog
Call of the herd
Deep analysis
Cunning wish
Living wish
Burning wish

A block dedicated to multi-color cards and decks.

• Invasion
• Going over the edge of the world / Planeshift
• Apocalypse / Apocalypse

New mechanics block: Kicker - allows you to pay extra when you cast spells an additional amount and get a nice effect.

Famous maps:
Meddling Mage (Created by Chris Picula, Invitational winner)
Pernicious deed
Spiritmonger
Vindicate

• Mercadian Masks
• Retribution / Nemesis
• Prophecy / Prophecy

• Saga Urza / Urza's Saga
• Urza's Legacy Legacy
• Fate of Urza / Urza's Destiny

• Tempest / Tempest
• Stronghold
• Exodus / Exodus

• Mirage / Mirage
• Visions / Visions
• Weatherlight (the name of the ship flying between the universes)

• Ice Age / Ice Age
• Alliance / Alliances
• Cold / Coldsnap (2006)
• Homelands

The “Homelands” set was included in the block for the sake of matching the concept of three sets. It has nothing to do with the block storyline. Currently, in the Ice Age Block Constructed format, it has been replaced by the Coldsnap set published 10 years later.

• Portal
• Portal Second Ade
• Portal: three Kingdoms (in slang "Chinese portal"). Made on the basis of Chinese history, extremely many cards with the legendary supertype.
• Starter

Initially, it was a “novice” concept, but practice showed the difficulty of transition (only 2 players successfully played in the full version, who played in the Moscow portal tournament as an additional, not mainstream), as well as a weak collection value: almost all cards were valued in the picture, not gaming ability). In St. Petersburg, the experiment was more successful.

Maps of these blocks were later included in Type 1.

In Portal tournaments at least 40 cards, the base lands from any set, Zodiac Dracon - no more than 1 per deck. Horsemanship ability is identical to flying (flight)

• Moscow tournament
  • Initially allowed cards from any publication (except Counterspell, as uncommon). Then - only those printed in portal sets (printed in another version are illegal). The restriction does not apply to base lands.
  • Then a list of 127 cards of the VI edition was added, not contradicting the concept of the Portal (that is, without activated abilities and without Instant, except for 2 “combat”). The map must be published in the VI edition (in fact - the exception of the City of brass).
• St. Petersburg tournament: Maps only from the portal sets. After adding the VI edition, the restriction is removed.

An interesting point was that the Blaze card was reissued in the VI edition, but was not published in the tournament sets (the only case since the release of the IV edition, when the reprint rule appeared). That is, it was the only card added to the tournament in this way (it represents a weakened Fireball printed up to the V edition).

• http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/products/cardsets - the Wizards of the Coast official website page with information on kits and editions.