MTG Sets
Chronicles Set Overview
Last Updated: February 16, 2025Chronicles, released in July 1995, is Magic: The Gathering’s first compilation set. Rather than presenting entirely new cards, it reintroduced 116 reprints from early expansions—Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, and The Dark—for a total of 125 cards. This approach aimed to make hard-to-find cards more accessible to both new and existing players, effectively expanding the Fourth...
Fourth Edition Set Overview
Last Updated: February 16, 2025Fourth Edition, released in April 1995, is the fourth core set of Magic: The Gathering. It sought to update and broaden the foundational card pool by reprinting popular and influential cards from past expansions—including Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, and The Dark—making them more accessible to new and seasoned players alike. Fourth Edition was also the...
Antiquities Set Overview
Last Updated: February 16, 2025Antiquities was Magic: The Gathering’s second expansion, released on March 4, 1994. It delved deeply into the lore of the Brothers’ War, focusing on artifacts and the conflict between Urza and Mishra. This was the first time a set told a cohesive story through its cards, introducing players to an expansive, lore-driven universe beyond the...
Legends
Last Updated: January 2, 2025Legends MTG Set was released on June 10, 1994. It was Magic: The Gathering’s third expansion. The set introduced Legendary creatures, which later led to the Commander format. At the time, it was the largest set, introducing new mechanics and card types that influenced the game. Legends Set Info Set Set Symbol Symbol Description Set...
Arabian Nights
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Arabian Nights Set Overview Arabian Nights was the first expansion set, released on December 17, 1993. It introduced 78 new cards and drew heavily from Middle Eastern mythology and folklore. Inspired by stories like “One Thousand and One Nights,” Arabian Nights expanded Magic beyond generic fantasy. Arabian Nights Set Info Set Set Symbol Symbol Description...
Unlimited Edition
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Unlimited Set Overview Unlimited Edition was released on December 1, 1993. It was the third printing of Magic’s base set, following Alpha and Beta. It kept the same 302 cards as Beta, but it changed one major thing: the borders went from black to white. This made Unlimited cards easy to tell apart from earlier...
Limited Edition Beta
Last Updated: December 21, 2024Beta Set Overview Limited Edition Beta was released on October 4, 1993. It closely followed Alpha, fixing some errors and adding a few more cards to bring the total to 302. Beta was almost identical to Alpha in content. The main difference was slight rules text corrections and updated art for some cards. The corners...
Limited Edition Alpha
Last Updated: February 16, 2025Alpha Set Overview Limited Edition Alpha was the first-ever Magic: The Gathering set. It came out on August 5, 1993. It contained 295 cards. This set introduced the concept of lands, creatures, spells, and artifacts. It laid the groundwork for all future Magic sets. Many of these cards became iconic, including the “Power Nine” (like...