---
title: Chronicles Set Overview
description: "**Chronicles**, 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](https://proxyking.biz/resources/antiquities-set-overview/)*, *[Legends](https://proxyking.biz/resources/legends-mtg-set/)*, and *The Dark*—for a total of **125** cards. This approach aimed to…"
url: "https://proxyking.biz/resources/chronicles-set-overview/"
updated: "2025-02-16"
category: MTG Sets
---

# Chronicles Set Overview

**Chronicles**, 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](https://proxyking.biz/resources/antiquities-set-overview/)*, *[Legends](https://proxyking.biz/resources/legends-mtg-set/)*, 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 Edition** card pool and ensuring that reprinted cards remained tournament-legal wherever *Fourth Edition* was permitted.

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## Chronicles Set Info

| Set | Set Symbol | Symbol Description | Set Code | Release Date | Total Cards | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Basic Land |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chronicles | None | N/A | CHR | July 1995 | 125 | 37 | 43 | 45 | N/A |

> **Note:** *Chronicles* cards are **white-bordered**, retain their **original expansion symbols**, and do not include basic lands or mythic rares.

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## Key Features and Mechanics

### Compilation Set

**Chronicles** was the first compilation set in Magic’s history, gathering cards from multiple expansions so that players who missed those earlier releases could more easily obtain iconic and powerful spells.

### Extension of Fourth Edition

The reprinted cards in *Chronicles* were considered an extension of *Fourth Edition*. In formats where *Fourth Edition* was legal, *Chronicles* cards were also legal, providing broader deck-building options.

### Addressing Card Scarcity

By reintroducing popular but hard-to-find cards, *Chronicles* helped alleviate shortages in the secondary market. However, it simultaneously caused prices of original printings to drop, drawing backlash from collectors concerned about preserving card value.

### Influence on the Reserved List

The controversy over reprints in *Chronicles* led Wizards of the Coast to establish the **Reserved List**. This policy promised never to reprint certain cards in functionally identical forms, aiming to protect their scarcity and collectibility.

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## Notable Chronicles Cards

[City of Brass](https://proxyking.biz/product/city-of-traitors-borderless-mtg-proxy-double-masters-2022/)

![City of Brass Magic: The Gathering card image](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/6/1/61e9c770-f05b-40df-a01f-82b734db1733.jpg?1783947351)

A versatile land that can tap for any color of mana, dealing 1 damage to its controller each time it is used.

[Blood Moon](https://proxyking.biz/product/blood-moon-mtg-proxy-modern-masters/)

![Blood Moon Magic: The Gathering card image](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/9/49673567-c358-4de8-99eb-1a61b7198d46.jpg?1783947366)

A red enchantment turning nonbasic lands into Mountains, often used to disrupt opponents’ complex mana bases.

[Concordant Crossroads](https://proxyking.biz/product/concordant-crossroads-mtg-proxy-chronicles/)

![Concordant Crossroads Magic: The Gathering card image](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/3/13cfca5f-e25a-432e-8679-54704eeeecc8.jpg?1783947363)

A global enchantment granting [Haste](https://proxyking.biz/encyclopedia/haste/) to all creatures, enabling fast, aggressive strategies across the board.

Ashnod’s Altar

![Ashnod's Altar Magic: The Gathering card image](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/5/d5e1a75e-1369-4f28-bb7d-e7ea2e6087e9.jpg?1783947356)

An artifact letting players sacrifice creatures for colorless mana, a crucial engine piece for various combo decks.

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**Chronicles** proved influential in highlighting the balance between broader card availability and protecting collectors’ investments. By reprinting sought-after cards, it helped many players enter the game’s competitive and casual scenes, yet it also sparked debate over reprints that continues to shape *[Magic: The Gathering](https://proxyking.biz/)*’s reprint policies, including the Reserved List.