The collectible card gameMagic: The Gathering published ninebase sets from 1993–2007, also referred to ascore sets. The base sets were considered descendants of the originalLimited Edition, and shaped the default setting and feel of Magic. These sets consisted entirely of reprinted cards. These cards were generally simpler than cards in expansion sets, omitting multicolored cards, and used only the original abilities and keywords ofMagic such asFlying andTrample. This simplicity led to many cards from these sets being considered "staples" of deck design. All cards were given a white border to mark them as reprints, with a few exceptions (Tenth Edition, foil cards inSeventh-Ninth Editions). FromFourth Edition in 1995 onward, a new base set would come out once per two years in the spring or early summer; for tournament play, that set would be legal for two years in the Standard format until the next core set replaced it.
Early in the history ofMagic, the sets sold out nearly instantaneously, and supplying the game's growing fan base proved tricky. Sales were also concentrated on the West Coast of the United States, where Wizards of the Coast was based. The earliest base sets—Unlimited,Revised, andFourth Edition—helped provide the first experience withMagic for many players in areas whereMagic had never been sold before, enabling them to catch up on the base game with cards that, while technically reprints, had never been available to them before. As the market became saturated, the base sets took on a changed role; they began to be marketed as the entry point for newMagic players, with less interest expected from dedicatedMagic players who likely owned many of the cards already.Seventh Edition, released in 2001, was sold both as a "Basic" and an "Advanced" product, with the expansion sets of the time marked as "Expert".Eighth andNinth editions were marketed similarly. However, sales were disappointing, an alarming problem for Wizards, as some entry point for newer players was required to keepMagic alive.[1] In 2009, Wizards of the Coast changed their policy for base sets, and began making smaller base sets that included new cards, starting with theMagic 2010 set. According to Wizards of the Coast, the previous base sets had "been completely marginalized by the enfranchised player base", and change was required to make the base sets of interest to players of all skill levels once more.[2]
| Size | 302 cards (75 common, 95 uncommon, 117 rare, 15 basic land)[3] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Print run | 40,000,000[3] | ||
| Keywords | Banding, First Strike, Flying, Landwalk, Trample | ||
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Unlimited Edition, occasionally referred to asSecond Edition, was the secondMagic: The Gathering set and the second base set. It was released on December 1, 1993; this time the run was 40 million cards.Unlimited Edition contains exactly the same cards asLimited Edition, including thePower Nine cards.Unlimited cards have white borders rather than black, however. This precedent that white borders implied a reprint was honored until the 2007 release ofTenth Edition, which returned to black borders.[4][5][6]
Unlimited was sold in starter packs of 60 cards andbooster packs of 15 cards.[3] It was the first set to be officially titled as something other than justMagic: The Gathering. The "Unlimited Edition" label appears on the booster boxes, decks, and booster packs.[7] While it is possible to distinguishUnlimited cards fromRevised cards by just looking at the text (wording and type set) the cards from both sets are more easily distinguished by comparing the borders of the cards. The picture frame ofUnlimited cards has a beveled edge whichRevised cards have not.[7]
| Size | 306 cards (75 commons, 95 uncommons, 121 rares, 15 basic lands) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Print run | over 100,000,000[8] | ||
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Revised Edition (also simply known asRevised) was the sixth set and third core set released forMagic: The Gathering. Like previous core sets, it had no expansion symbol.Revised Edition cards are white-bordered and generally known for their washed-out look. The set was released in April 1994 and contained 306 cards. It was the first base set to contain cards from black-bordered sets other thanAlpha andBeta.[4][5][9]
An advertisement in the first issue ofThe Duelist stated that the set would have gray borders and be released with a "constantly changing card mix", the first of which would be 30 cards fromArabian Nights.[10]
Printing ofRevised began in early April 1994 and continued until April 1995, whenFourth Edition was announced. It is estimated that about 500 million cards of the set were produced, which fully eliminated the distribution problems of earlier sets.[11] The cards ofRevised were still widely available even well into 1996.
The cards ofRevised like the cards of the precedingUnlimited Edition all had white borders, no expansion symbol, and the artist credit at the bottom left. However, the cards were far paler than theirUnlimited counterparts, and the three-dimensional beveling of the cards was cropped out. The omission of the bevel in the card frame was an error.[12] This gave the cards an appearance that was widely criticized as "washed out" and even unprofessional. The beveling was returned in4th Edition, and the colors were much more vibrant in that set. The large print run meant thatRevised basic lands were so numerous and common that it was uncommon to find any other lands in decks until several years later[citation needed].
The collation of the cards made it possible for a basic land card to appear in the common and uncommon slots of a pack. This was intentional; the land cards were printed on the common and uncommon print sheets. Basic lands would get their own full print sheets in4th Edition, makingRevised the last tournament-legal set untilSeventh Edition in which basic lands could be found in booster packs. Basic lands returned as a card slot in theShards of Alara block of 2008.
Revised was the first base edition of the game to be sold in multiple languages. Black bordered, limited editions were produced in French, German, and Italian. Unlimited, white bordered editions in the same languages were produced after the limited editions had sold out.
One card-printing error of note appeared on the cardSerendib Efreet. This blue creature card was misprinted with a green border and a picture of another card,Ifh-Bíff Efreet. The name, mana cost and rules text were all correct, though.[13][14] The Revised version is now the most common due to the limited print run of the original, intended versions.
The cardDisintegrate was missing the clause "and cannot be regenerated".[13]
The cardOnulet incorrectly listed the artist as Kerstin Kaman instead of Anson Maddocks.[13]
The printing ofRevised cleared up a number of problems with theLimited Edition andUnlimited Edition rules. Two changes had a large effect on game play. First, the rule that "multiple effects resolve simultaneously unless a conflict arises" was changed to "effects always resolvelast-in-first-out". The concept was later refined and then referred to as the "stack", an idea taken from computer programing'sstack. Second, the rule for Protection from was changed from "the creature is unaffected by X" to the more precise "the creature cannot be blocked by X creatures, be the target of X spells or abilities, or be enchanted by X enchantments; and all damage dealt to this creature by X sources is reduced to zero".
The most visually obvious ofRevised's changes was the elimination of the Mono/Poly/Continuous qualifiers to artifacts. With the advent of the game's first tap symbol (a "T" turned forty-five degrees clockwise in a light gray circle), the qualifiers used to differentiate when and how often an artifact could be used were no longer needed. Artifacts that were previously classified as Mono artifacts were given the new tap symbol, while Poly and Continuous artifacts were simply re-templated without the tap symbol.
TheSummer Magic print run ofRevised Edition were printed in the summer of 1994.[15] This print run intended to fix some of the errors withRevised, including the washed-out color, but had problems of its own. The colors were considered too dark and the artist credited forPlateau stayed uncorrected as well as the artist credited for Serendib Efreet, although the Efreet had received its original color and art again. A new misprint occurred with the green cardHurricane; the so-called "blue Hurricane" is one of the rarest and most sought-after cards in the entirety ofMagic because of its misprint with a blue border.[16] On the secondary market it sells for thousands of dollars. The print run was recalled and destroyed; however, about 40 booster boxes that were shipped to England and Tennessee survived. No more than 11 or 12 of each rare exists.[17]
This print run is known primarily for its extremely scarce and valuable cards and packs. Cards are distinguished by dark coloring and a 1994 copyright date displayed at the bottom, along with the artist credit. Booster packs look identical to normalRevised Edition packs, and as such, telling them apart is impossible without opening them. No starter decks were made.
TwentyRevised cards were originally in theArabian Nights expansion, and another nineteen were originally in theAntiquities expansion. Thirty-five cards that were inUnlimited were not inRevised, including thePower Nine. A few of the cards that were removed from the base set reappeared in later sets, such asIcy Manipulator, which would be reprinted inIce Age. A few others would be reprinted inEighth Edition to celebrate the game's 10th anniversary. Cards removed were generally thought to either be confusing, or to have power level issues.
Notable cards include:
| Size | 378 cards (121 commons, 121 uncommons, 121 rares, 15 basic lands) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
TheFourth Edition ofMagic: The Gathering was the tenth set released for the game, and the fourth base set. The set was released in April 1995 and contained 378 cards. It was the first set to reprint cards from the expansionsLegends andThe Dark.Fourth Edition cards have white borders. The set has no expansion symbol.
Fourth Edition was the firstMagic set to be printed in Asian languages. It was published inEnglish,French,German,Italian, and as a first for aMagic set inJapanese, traditionalChinese,Korean,Spanish, andPortuguese, which was printed primarily for theBrazilian market. Korean and ChineseFourth Edition cards have been made with black borders, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish cards exist with white and black borders.[4][5][6][9][19][20]
Fourth Edition included the beveled border missing from the previous core set,Revised. The colors were also much more saturated than inRevised. This set was also the first core set to include a Wizards of the Coastcopyright notice at the bottom of the card, in addition to the standard illustration credit.
Booster packs, for the first time in a core set, came in packs with cropped card art on the packaging. Up to this point,Alpha,Beta,Unlimited, andRevised all had a common-looking booster pack packaging. The cards Brass Man, Hurloon Minotaur, Mana Vault, Mesa Pegasus, and Spirit Link were shown on the booster packs. Starter packs were also improved, with mana symbols replacing the simple colored dots present on the card back. Finally, an overall red-brown theme was given to the packaging, which would persist forFifth Edition before changing to green in6th Edition.
Starter decks in this set included an additional rare, bringing the total to three. However, the starter decks contained fewer uncommons, going down to nine from the previous thirteen. Booster Packs included one rare, three uncommons, and eleven commons.Fourth Edition was the first set to offload its land printings to a dedicated land sheet. This freed up room on the other card sheets to include more spells. As a result, booster packs could now be produced without any lands, which Wizards decided to do.Fourth Edition lands were only available in starter decks. The change was mostly seen as a positive, since by this time lands were ubiquitous and players were unhappy to find a land in place of a "real" card.
Fourth Edition introduced the modern turned arrow tapped symbol, replacing the rotated "T" that had been introduced inRevised,[21]: 87 as a universal tap symbol to include on cards in all language editions of the game.[22]: 11 This symbol was first used in an expansion withIce Age, which was released in the summer. Current cards still use the turned arrow, albeit with a slightly different illustration.
Like the previous core set and all core sets since, several cards were removed and new ones were added fromFourth Edition. Among those cards removed were those that had attracted controversy from those outside the game. Most of the cards whose art depicted nude or near-nude humanoid forms (includingEarthbind andGuardian Angel) were excised, as were many that had overtly religious themes (includingResurrection andDemonic Hordes), though one demon,Lord of the Pit, remained. One card,Unholy Strength had its artwork altered to remove a flaming invertedpentagram in the background (as compared tothis). Also removed were the original ten "dual lands" (one for each pair ofMagic's five colors). With the ability to tap for one mana of either of two colors, they were deemed too powerful. A number of other cards would also be pruned from the set for being too powerful, but some (such asClone) would appear in future sets.
Wizards has usedCartamundi as their card printer sinceAlpha.[citation needed] For some undocumented reason, during the production of4th Edition, the company experimented with using other vendors. Some cards were printed by the United States Playing Card Corporation, and had a thicker stock along with a glossy overcoat on the back. While these cards were not intended to be released, some starter packs were leaked out into public circulation. The cards do not glow under blacklight, unlike normal cards, and did not have the normal dot design on the back.
 (Symbol used in Simplified Chinese printing ofFifth Edition only) | |||
| Size | 449 cards (166 commons, 130 uncommons, 133 rares, 20 basic lands) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Developers | Mark Rosewater,Skaff Elias, Robert Gutschera | ||
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Fifth Edition was the seventeenthMagic: The Gathering set, released in March 1997. It contained 449 cards, counting multiple illustrations of the basic lands, making it the largest card set in the game's history. It was the first edition of the core set to reprint cards fromFallen Empires,Ice Age, andHomelands.[4][5][9][24]
Like its predecessors,Revised andFourth Editions,Fifth Edition made numerous changes to the game's rules and card mix. The set's designers stated inThe Duelist that they wanted to prune from the base set cards that were too powerful or too weak. Many overpowered cards fromLimited andUnlimited Editions that had survived the past two rotations were removed fromFifth, but a handful, includingDark Ritual, still survived. Unlike its predecessors, though,Fifth Edition also removed many cards thatMagic's Design and Development team saw as just a little bit too good, but not quite so powerful as to heavily disrupt tournaments, includingLightning Bolt,Swords to Plowshares, andSerra Angel. Many of these cards were brought back in later sets after the designers had re-evaluated their impact on play. A few cards that were inRevised but had been cut fromFourth were brought back as well.
Fifth Edition also set a new precedent by changing the artwork and/orflavor text on many cards, especially the five basic lands, each of which was given four new illustrations to replace its original three. This was done so that WotC would not have to continue to pay for the use of many arts done for earlier sets, as originally artists were paid royalties for their artwork being used, instead of a flat fee as is done today for new Magic art.[citation needed]
Fifth Edition was the first version of the base set to reprint cards from theFallen Empires andHomelands expansion sets; it also reprinted more cards from those sets than any other version of the base set has. Because those expansion sets were perceived by some players as weak, there was some dissatisfaction with theFifth Edition card mix. However, many of the reprinted cards were good enough to be used in tournaments, and at least oneIce Age card,Necropotence, was later considered so overpowered as to merit banning from a number of sanctioned tournament formats.
Fifth Edition was the first version of the base set to use the cosmetic changes that were introduced in theMirage expansion (including a slightly expanded text box and bolder, more visible power/toughness numbers) It was also the last version of the base set to use what are sometimes referred to as the "old rules". The rules were drastically changed inSixth Edition.
 Roman numeral 6 | |||
| Size | 350 cards (110 commons, 110 uncommons, 110 rares, 20 basic lands) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Sixth Edition, also known asClassic, was released on April 27, 1999. It contains 350 cards including both reprints of cards from previous core sets as well as new reprints from expansion sets through theWeatherlight expansion.[4][5] The name "Classic" was prominently featured on cases of packs of the set, and the set was referred to by both titles by both Wizards of the Coast and players.
Sixth Edition was the first base set to have its artist information centered on the card (a printing practice started inExodus). It was also the first base set to have collectors' numbers (which also originated inExodus). The rules text on basic lands was also replaced with just a mana symbol, as featured in thePortal starter sets of 1997 and 1998.
Perhaps the biggest cosmetic change to the base set, however, was the expansion symbol.Sixth Edition was the first core set to have an expansion symbol, which was necessary to show the cards' rarities (another practice that originated inExodus). The set's expansion symbol was theRoman numeral VI, or 6. (This change had occurred slightly earlier in theTraditional Chinese version ofFifth Edition, which used a Roman Numeral 'V' as the expansion set. The Traditional Chinese version came out notably later than the English version, by which time Wizards of the Coast had decided the feature was necessary.)
The release ofSixth Edition brought a new version of the rules.[25]: 42 Notable changes included:
Some of these changes were well-received, but the combination of all of the changes proved to be extremely controversial and divisive, and was compared to thePortal set and rules. The state of the game prior to these changes was often referred to as "real Magic" by people who hated the changes, a fact that Wizards of the coast eventually acknowledged on the "Old Fogey" card from theUnhinged expansion.
 The Number 7 | |||
| Size | 350 cards (110 commons, 110 uncommons, 110 rares, 20 basic lands) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Seventh Edition was aMagic: The Gathering set released on April 2, 2001. It is the only core set since the originalLimited Edition to have introduced all-new art for every card. The set contained 350 cards. The expansion symbol was a stylized 7.[4]
Despite being an "Advanced" level set,Seventh Edition contained a separate basic subset for new players similar to the products that were previously offered asStarter 2000. Cards that appeared in the Seventh Edition Starter special pre-constructed theme decks did not appear in boosters. This would be the last starter level product released by Wizards of the Coast.
Seventh Edition was the last base set printed in the 'old' frame;Eighth Edition introduced the modern card frame.Seventh was the first base set to contain foil cards, which were printed with black borders. It was the last base set to be released prior to the final expansion of the then-current block (Seventh Edition was released beforeApocalypse). Starting withEighth Edition, the base set editions (which, with 8th, would become known as Core Set editions) were released after the last expansion of the then-current block and before the first expansion of the subsequent block.
Unusually for a core set,Seventh featured a loose storyline that tied together most of the cards in a core set, a practice usually reserved for expansion sets. The story involved a conflict between the North, South, East, and West Paladins.Magic Origins, 14 years later, would also feature a loose story.
| Size | 357 cards (110 commons, 110 uncommons, 110 rares, 20 basic lands, 7 starter) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Eighth Edition, also known asCore Set, was aMagic: The Gathering set released on July 28, 2003. Its expansion symbol is the number 8 with 3 cards behind it.[26][27]Eighth Edition was released to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the original release ofMagic.[28] Every previous expansion had at least one card reprinted inEighth that had not been reprinted in the base set before, with a series of votes on the Wizards website deciding what got reprinted.[29]Eighth was also the first base set with a promotional card given to players who played in a prerelease tournament.Eighth features many cards from older base sets and expansions. While many of these cards were powerful during their original print run, on the whole they were not perceived as measuring up to the power in Standard at the time, known for "Affinity" decks powered by cards from theMirrodin block. Thus, few cards inEighth Edition saw tournament play.
A new card face was introduced inEighth Edition.[28] The colored frames around the edges of the card were redesigned and narrowed, boxes were placed around card names and creatures' power and toughness, card names were printed in a new font (Matrix Bold, rather thanGoudy Medieval), artifacts switched from a brown background to a silvery-white background, and mana symbols appearing in the text box were no longer colored. The later two changes themselves were changed shortly thereafter; inFifth Dawn, the artifact face was darkened to be more distinguishable from white cards.[30] InChampions of Kamigawa, Wizards restored colored mana symbols in card text boxes.
Several tournament staples which had appeared in 7th Edition, includingOpposition,Llanowar Elves,Counterspell, andDuress, were not present inEighth Edition. The Circle of Protection series, a perennial core set entity, remained in the set but changed from common to uncommon. A number of simple cards, such asVizzerdrix, were reprinted only for products directed at new players and were not present in booster packs.
 The number nine superimposed over a trio of fanned cards | |||
| Size | 359 (110 rares, 110 uncommons, 110 commons, 20 lands, 9 starter) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Keywords | Aura | ||
| |||
Ninth Edition was aMagic set released on July 29, 2005.[26] It continuedEighth Edition's terminology change of referring to itself as a core set.Ninth Edition contained 350 cards available in booster packs, all reprints from earlierMagic sets. Similar toEight Edition, theNinth Edition Core Game contained 9 "starter cards", labeled with the collector numbers S1 through S10 (there is no card labeled S6, however), which were not available in booster packs. These were simple "vanilla" creatures, such asEager Cadet, which were designed to introduce new players to the game.
Ninth Edition features only mechanics present in previous expansions. However,Ninth Edition does modify the list of mechanics considered suitable for base sets. The trample and protection mechanics were included after being removed fromClassic Sixth Edition and later base sets. Equipment, first introduced in theMirrodin set, is also inNinth Edition, although it was moved up in rarity. Furthermore, all mechanics now have reminder text; mechanics such as flying and trample did not in earlier sets.Ninth Edition is also the first set to be printed using the new template for enchantments. Previously, enchantments that were played on other permanents were called "local enchantments" and were printed with the type "Enchant creature", "Enchant land", etc. With theChampions of Kamigawa set, Wizards of the Coast made an effort to simplify the type line, which had contained rules interactions that were not written on the card. "Enchant [entity]" was changed to "Enchantment - Aura" and the targeting restriction moved to the text box. Mark Gottlieb explained the changes in the article"Aura Hygiene".Errata was issued to make all such cards conform to this template, andNinth Edition became the first set where the cards were actually printed with this changed wording.
WithNinth Edition came a redesign ofFat Packs, special products that came with an array of both booster packs and sideMagic items such as life counters. The Fat Pack consisted of two boxes wrapped around by a card box wrapper featuring new art. The player's guide was also reduced in size but was now sturdier. Also added were 6 divider pieces with artwork for inside the boxes.
As of 2013,Ninth Edition is the lastMagic set to be printed with white borders. The set's premium foil cards were printed with black borders. Cards made available inCyrillic whenNinth Edition was marketed in Russia also were black-bordered; this marked the first time a new language had been printed for the game since Simplified Chinese was added toFifth Edition.[31]
 Tenth Edition expansion symbol (X,Roman numeral for 10) | |||
| Size | 383 (121 rares, 121 uncommons, 121 commons, 20 basic land) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Tenth Edition was aMagic set released on July 13, 2007, replacingNinth Edition as the core set of cards for standard tournament play. The symbol forTenth Edition is theRoman numeral "X".[32] As part of their "SelectingTenth Edition" promotion,Wizards of the Coast gave fans the chance to manage a part of the set's brand.[32] The results gave the Roman numeral "X" over the number "10", along with many other card, art, and flavor text choices.[32]Tenth Edition was the first core set sinceBeta to be printed with black-bordered cards, rather than white-bordered ones.[33] Tenth Edition is also the first core set to include legendary creatures (two of each color), bringing back flavorful relics of Magic's past such asSquee, Goblin Nabob, andKamahl, Pit Fighter.[26]
As withEighth andNinth Edition, part of the development process forTenth Edition included allowing fans to select certain cards for inclusion in the set.[32] This process began in mid-June 2006 and continued for 10 weeks.Tenth Edition starter packs include land cards from Magic's next set,Lorwyn.[34]
Foil cards inTenth Edition do not have reminder text. Many use the extra space to add flavor text that does not appear on the nonfoil versions. Others, such asTime Stop, simply center their existing text in the text box for added impact.[35]
The keywords defender, double strike, equip, fear, first strike, flash, flying, haste, landwalk, lifelink, protection, reach, regeneration, shroud, trample, and vigilance are inTenth Edition. Of these, defender, double strike, flash, lifelink, reach and shroud appeared in core sets for the first time.Tenth Edition also reprinted several cards from previous sets with changed rarity, such asChromatic Star andFog Elemental.
