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{{Expansion Nonblock |
{{SubTabs
  Expansion Name    = '''''Antiquities''''' |
|sub1 = Trivia
  Symbol  = Antiquities.gif|
  Symbol Description = Anvil|
  Design Team = [[Skaff Elias]], [[Jim Lin]], [[Joel Mick]], [[Chris Page]], [[Dave Pettey]]|
  Development Team = [[Skaff Elias]], [[Jim Lin]], [[Joel Mick]], [[Chris Page]], [[Dave Pettey]]|
  Release Date      = March 1994 |
  Mechanics          = Artifact theme, protection from artifacts (early version), [[Urza lands]] |
  Keywords          = None new |
  Size= 107 cards|
  Previous Set      = [[Arabian Nights (set)|Arabian Nights]]|
  This Set          = '''''Antiquities''''' |
  Next Set          = '''''[[Revised Edition (set)|Revised Edition]]''''' |
}}
}}
{{Infobox set
  |image = ATQ logo.jpg
  |symbol_description = Anvil
  |design = [[Skaff Elias]]<br/>[[Jim Lin]]<br/>[[Joel Mick]]<br/>[[Chris Page]]<br/>[[Dave Pettey]]
  |development = Skaff Elias<br/>Jim Lin<br/>Joel Mick<br/>Chris Page<br/>Dave Pettey
  |art = [[Jesper Myrfors]]
  |release = March 4, 1994
  |plane = [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]] ([[Terisiare]])<ref name="FAQ">{{WebRef|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030218051826/http://www.wizards.com:80/magic/generic/storyline/faq.asp|title=Dominian FAQ (archived)|author=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|publisher=wizards.com}}</ref>
  |mechanics = [[Artifact]]s, [[Urza's]] lands,<br/>[[protection]] from artifacts<br/>(early version)
  |size= 85 cards<br/>{{curmb|28|37|20}}
  |code_expansion = ATQ
  |code_expansion_ref= {{DailyRef|ask-wizards-august-2004-2004-08-02|Ask Wizards - August, 2004|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|August 02, 2004}}
  |series = Early non-[[block]] [[expansion]]s
  |first = Arabian Nights
  |second = Antiquities
  |third = Legends
  |previous = Arabian Nights
  |next = Revised Edition
}}
[[File:Antiquities booster.jpg|thumb|right|''Antiquities'' booster]]
'''''Antiquities''''' is the second ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' [[expansion]] and was released on March 4, 1994.  It is not part of any [[Block]]. The set was constructed around an [[artifact]] theme and told the story of the [[Brothers' War]] between [[Mishra]] and [[Urza]].


'''Antiquities''' is the second [[Magic]] expansion and was released in 1994.
==Set details==
 
''Antiquities'' was printed on [[print sheet|sheets]] of 121 cards. The [[expansion symbol]] is an anvil, to symbolize the artifact focus of the set.<ref>{{DailyRef|ask-wizards-october-2006-2006-10-02|Ask Wizards|[[Brady Dommermuth]]|October 31, 2006}}</ref>  The set's [[rarity]] breakdown is: 28 commons (25@C4, 1@C5, 2@C6), 37 Uncommons (4@U2, 29@U3, 2@C1, 2@(U3+C1)), 20 Rares (20@U1).
The set was built around an [[artifact]] theme and told story of the [[Brother’s War]] between [[Mishra]] and [[Urza]].
This strange distribution comes from the lands <c>Mishra's Factory</c>, <c>Strip Mine</c>, <c>Urza's Mine</c>, <c>Urza's Power Plant</c> and <c>Urza's Tower</c> which have four different pieces of art each. <c>Mishra's Factory</c> and <c>Strip Mine</c> have three versions at U1 and one at C1. <c>Urza's Mine</c> and <c>Urza's Power Plant</c> have two versions at C1 and two at C2. <c>Urza's Tower</c> has three versions at C1 and one at C2. This makes it so collectors view ''Antiquities'' as a 100-card set.
 
A few notable cards that came out of the set: <c>Mishra's Workshop</c>, <c>Candelabra of Tawnos</c>, <c>Mishra's Factory</c>, <c>Strip Mine</c>, and the "Urzatron" land set <c>Urza's Tower</c>, <c>Urza's Mine</c>, and <c>Urza's Power Plant</c>. 
 
====Cycles====
'''Antiquities''' has no [[cycle|cycles]], except for <c>Atog</c>, which later became the first of the Atog [[mega cycle]].
 
====Points of Interest====
 
<c>Artifact Ward</c> is the first card to use [[protection]] from artifacts and is similar to the "Wards" found in the [[Unlimited (set)|Unlimited]], or second, edition.
 
<c>Ashnod's Battle Gear</c> and <c>Tawnos's Weaponry</c> inspired the creation of [[Equipment]], which first apeared in the [[Mirrodin (set)|Mirrodin]] expansion.
 
The effect granted by <c>Ashnod's Transmogrant</c> was later mirrored by the effect granted by <c>Transmogrifying Licid</c> in the [[Exodus (set)|Exodus]] expansion.
 
<c>Atog</c>, at the time of its reprinting in the [[Revised Edition (set)|Revised]], or third, edition, was the most common card in print. As a result of its relatively limited uses, especially without a large number of artifacts printed in Revised, it was generally disliked by many, and hated by some, at that time.
 
<c>Circle of Protection: Artifacts</c> is similar to the "Circles of Protection" found in Unlimited. Circle of Protection: Artifacts is slightly different because its [[activation cost]] is {2} instead of {1}.
 
<c>Clockwork Avian</c> functions similarly to Unlimited's <c>Clockwork Beast</c> and is directly related to this card, which was popular at this time.
 
<c>Colossus of Sardia</c>, a 9/9, was the largest [[creature]] at the time of its printing.
 
<c>Cursed Rack</c>, with art by [[Richard Thomas]], features the same yellow, tortured doll in its art as is found on <c>Black Vise</c> and <c>The Rack</c>.
 
<c>Golgothian Sylex</c> is one of three "expansion hoser" cards printed. The other two are <c>City in a Bottle</c> from the [[Arabian Nights (set)|Arabian Nights]] expansion and <c>Apocalypse Chime</c> from the [[Homelands (set)|Homelands]] expansion.
 
<c>Ivory Tower</c> is the exact opposite of <c>Black Vise</c>, both of which were popular and powerful cards at the time, and were [[restricted]] as a result.


<c>Jalum Tome</c> is named after [[Joel Mick]], whose initials are JLM, or "jalum" when pronounced.
Every card in ''Antiquities'' either is an [[artifact]] or mentions artifacts in their [[rules text]], except the lands which produce [[colorless]] [[mana]] and imply use to cast artifacts. The ''Antiquities'' lands have a unique rust-colored [[text box]], which was reused in ''[[Fourth Edition]]'' and ''[[Chronicles]]''.


<c>Millstone</c> is notable for almost single-handedly making it a viable strategy to win by forcing your [[opponent]] to draw from an empty library, or "deck" him or her. This card coined the term to "mill," meaning to move a card from the top of a [[library]] into its [[owner|owner's]] [[graveyard]].
===Marketing===
Cards were available from mid-March 1994 through late April 1994. Wizards announced the print run to be 15 million cards.<ref>{{WebRef|url=https://archive.org/details/the-duelist-a-special-preview-edition/|title="An Expansion Timeline"|author=[[John Tynes]]|date=April 1995|work=The Duelist: A Special Preview Edition|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|}}</ref><ref>{{WebRef|url=https://archive.org/details/TheDuelistPresentstheCompleteMagicCardList/|title="The Duelist Presents: the Complete Magic Card List"|author=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|date=December 1995|work=The Duelist #8|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia">[[Beth Moursund]] (2002). ''[[The Complete Encyclopedia of Magic: The Gathering]]'', Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN-10 1-56025-443-2.</ref> ''Antiquities'' was sold in [[booster pack]]s of eight cards, which included six [[common]]s and two [[uncommon]]s. Booster boxes contained 60 booster packs. The packs were not entirely random; players had to buy more than one box to complete the 100-card set. Wizards created the Antiquities Buy-Back program where players could send up to 100 cards back to receive cash back.<ref>{{DailyRef|25-random-things-about-magic-2009-02-16|25 Random Things About Magic|[[Mark Rosewater]]|February 16, 2009}}</ref>


<c>Mishra's Factory</c> was printed with four different artworks by [[Kaja Foglio|Kaja]] & [[Phil Foglio]], each depicting the same factory in each of the four seasons. This card later inspired the creation of <c>Blinkmoth Nexus</c> in the [[Darksteel (set)|Darksteel]] expansion.
===Storyline===
Ancient artifacts of the [[Thran]] Empire are discovered on the continent of [[Terisiare]], including many advanced machines of war. Two brothers, [[Urza]] and [[Mishra]], discover a stone in the [[Caves of Koilos]]; but, when they disturb it, it splits in two—[[Mightstone]] and [[Weakstone]]—unleashing the evil of [[Phyrexia]] on [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominaria]]. The ancient machines of the Thran are employed in battle once again as the [[Brothers' War]] takes place, an epic war between Urza and Mishra for control of both halves of the stone. The war culminates in the [[Sylex Blast]], plunging the world into the [[Ice Age (event)|Ice Age]].


<c>Mishra's War Machine</c> has an [[upkeep cost]] of [[discard|discarding]] a card, which is a drawback so harsh it made this a bad card. This drawback inspired the creation of <c>Masticore</c> in the [[Urza's Destiny (set)|Urza's Destiny]] expansion, as its creators felt challenged to make a card that was worth playing with such a harsh drawback.
==Themes and Mechanics==


<c>Mishra's Workshop</c> is the first [[land]] card to restrict how the [[mana]] it produces can be used (<c>Basalt Monolith</c> also has a restriction to how its mana can be used). Mishra's Workshop is the only land printed in '''Antiquities''' that has only one art associated with it.
===Creature types===
About half of the [[creature type]]s used in ''Antiquities'' were new, and many of the creatures in this expansion are artifact creatures. Originally, artifact creatures were printed without any creature type, except in special cases (<c>Wall of Spears</c> "counts as a wall," for example). This resulted in the overall limited use of creature types in this expansion. Additionally, with the printing of ''Antiquities'', [[Magic]] had exactly 100 creature types.


<c>Onulet</c> was originally intended to be named "Onulets," which is an anagram of <c>Soul Net</c>, but the art has only one creature in it, so the name was changed to the singluar. This name reflects the ability printed on this card.
The following creature types are introduced in this expansion: Archaeologist (later changed to [[Artificer]]), [[Atog]], [[Druid]], Gaea's Avenger (later changed to [[Treefolk]]), [[Gremlin]] (later changed to [[Ouphe]] then changed back to Gremlin), Poltergeist (later changed to [[Spirit]]), and Sage (later changed to Artificer).


<c>Ornithopter</c> is the first card to cost {0}, demonstrating that the cost of a card from your hand is worth something by itself.
The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Bodyguard (later changed to [[Human]]), [[Cleric]], [[Demon]], [[Dwarf]], [[Faerie]], [[Goblin]], [[Orc]], Smith (later changed to Human), Treefolk, and [[Wall]]. The creature types in ''Antiquities'' brought the total number in Magic at the time to exactly 100.


<c>Strip Mine</c> was printed in order to provide a universal answer to <c>Library of Alexandria</c>, which proved quickly to be a very powerful card. Strip Mine has four different versions, each with a different artwork by [[Daniel Gelon]].
===Counter types===
[[Doom counter]]s were introduced as a [[Counter (marker)|counter type]] in the set via [[errata]].


<c>Tablet of Epityr</c> is a "Soul Net for artifacts."
==Cycles==
[[File:Uncut-ATQ-U.jpg|thumb|right|Uncut ''Antiquities'' [[print sheet]]]]
''Antiquities'' itself has no [[cycle]]s.  


<c>Tawnos's Coffin</c>, like <c>Oubliette</c> before it, uses [[Phasing]] to "hide" a creature from play, which retains its [[counter|couters]], [[Aura|Auras]], and later [[Equipment]].
It does, however, contain <c>Atog</c>, which later became the first member of the "atog [[mega-mega cycle]]". It also contains <c>Urza's Chalice</c> which follows the theme of the ''[[Alpha]]'' [[lucky charm]]s.


<c>Tetravus</c> produces Tetravite tokens that cannot be [[enchant|enchanted]]. This is because its designers thought that the fate of the Aura could be confusing, since the Tetravite could be seen as returning to the Tetravus as a +1/+1 counter.
===Mega-mega cycle===


<c>The Rack</c> is another permutation of Black Vise, punishing the opponent for having too few cards in hand instead of too many. Its art by [[Richard Thomas]] features the same yellow, tortured doll in its art as is found on Black Vise and Cursed Rack.
{| class="wikitable"
! Cycle name
! {{W}}
! {{U}}
! {{B}}
! {{R}}
! {{G}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Atogs'''
|{{card|Auratog|Tempest}}
|{{card|Chronatog|Visions}}
|{{card|Necratog|Weatherlight}}
|{{card|Atog|Antiquities}}
|{{card|Foratog|Mirage}}
|-
|colspan="5"|{{card|Atog||ATQ}} is the first card of this mega-[[mega cycle]] of creatures. A new number of this cycle would be printed in each of the following three sets ([[Visions]], [[Weatherlight]], and [[Tempest]]).
|}


The effect of <c>Titania's Song</c> continues until the end of the turn when it is destroyed because early rules were not clear as to what would happen if an [[animate|animated]] artifact stopped being a creature during combat.
==Notable cards==
*<c>Mishra's Workshop</c> is a powerful land that produces a large amount of mana that is only useful for casting artifacts. There are plenty of powerful artifacts that a player would be happy to cast two turns sooner thanks to this card.
*<c>Candelabra of Tawnos</c> saw play in early competitive combo decks and resurfaced in competitive Time Spiral decks in Legacy in 2011.
*<c>Millstone</c>: First card to introduce the mechanic of putting cards directly into the graveyard from the library, now commonly referred to as [[mill]]ing after this card.
*<c>Mishra's Factory</c> is arguably the best [[manland]] ever printed. It only got better with the ''[[Sixth Edition]]'' rules change.
*<c>Strip Mine</c> is a very powerful [[land destruction]] tool that many decks automatically include a maximum of four of.
*<c>Urza's Tower</c>, <c>Urza's Mine</c>, and <c>Urza's Power Plant</c>, affectionately called the "[[Urzatron]]", have seen major competitive use only since 2003 for their ability to produce large amounts of mana quickly in combination.


<c>Urza's Chalice</c> is similar to the "[[lucky charm|lucky charms]]" found in Unlimited.
==Trivia==
{{Main|Antiquities/Trivia}}
*''Antiquities'' is the first expansion to use multiple versions of a card with different artwork (outside of the [[Core Set|Core Set's]] [[basic]] lands) and the only expansion to use multiple versions on nonbasic lands.


<c>Urza's Mine</c>, <c>Urza's Power Plant</c> and <c>Urza's Tower</c>, collectively known as the "Urzatron," each have four different versions with different artwork by a single artist in '''Antiquities'''.
==Misprints==
*[[Margaret Organ-Kean]]'s name was misspelled as "Margaret Organ-Keen" on all three cards illustrated by her in this set ({{card|Amulet of Kroog||ATQ}}, {{card|Ivory Tower||ATQ}}, and {{card|Martyrs of Korlis||ATQ}}).
*[[Randy Asplund-Faith]]'s name was misspelled as "Randy Apslund-Faith" on all three cards illustrated by him in this set ({{card|Clockwork Avian||ATQ}}, {{card|Detonate||ATQ}}, and {{card|Urza's Miter||ATQ}}).
*<c>Reconstruction</c> {{-}} Printed without an [[expansion symbol]].
*<c>Tawnos's Weaponry</c> {{-}} has two variants. One is missing the gray circle behind the activation cost. Each version is equally rare.


==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Oldprodpage|Antiquities|Antiquities|Antiquities}} (old)
* [http://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/products/card-set-archive/antiquities Antiquities product information page] (new)
*[http://archive.wizards.com/magic/generic/cardlists/Antiquities_Checklist.txt ''Antiquities'' checklist]


{{Set-stub}}[[Category:Sets and Expansions]]
{{Sets|state=collapsed}}
{{Dominaria|sets}}

Latest revision as of 05:09, 11 January 2024

Antiquities
 
Trivia
 
Antiquities
[[File:{{#setmainimage:ATQ logo.jpg}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description Anvil
Design Skaff Elias
Jim Lin
Joel Mick
Chris Page
Dave Pettey
Development Skaff Elias
Jim Lin
Joel Mick
Chris Page
Dave Pettey
Art direction Jesper Myrfors
Release date March 4, 1994
Plane Dominaria (Terisiare)[1]
Themes and mechanics Artifacts, Urza's lands,
protection from artifacts
(early version)
Set size 85 cards
(28 commons, 37 uncommons, 20 rares)
Expansion code ATQ[2]
Early non-block expansions
Arabian Nights Antiquities Legends
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Arabian Nights Antiquities Revised Edition
Antiquities booster

Antiquities is the second Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released on March 4, 1994. It is not part of any Block. The set was constructed around an artifact theme and told the story of the Brothers' War between Mishra and Urza.

Set details

Antiquities was printed on sheets of 121 cards. The expansion symbol is an anvil, to symbolize the artifact focus of the set.[3] The set's rarity breakdown is: 28 commons (25@C4, 1@C5, 2@C6), 37 Uncommons (4@U2, 29@U3, 2@C1, 2@(U3+C1)), 20 Rares (20@U1). This strange distribution comes from the lands Mishra's Factory, Strip Mine, Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant and Urza's Tower which have four different pieces of art each. Mishra's Factory and Strip Mine have three versions at U1 and one at C1. Urza's Mine and Urza's Power Plant have two versions at C1 and two at C2. Urza's Tower has three versions at C1 and one at C2. This makes it so collectors view Antiquities as a 100-card set.

Every card in Antiquities either is an artifact or mentions artifacts in their rules text, except the lands which produce colorless mana and imply use to cast artifacts. The Antiquities lands have a unique rust-colored text box, which was reused in Fourth Edition and Chronicles.

Marketing

Cards were available from mid-March 1994 through late April 1994. Wizards announced the print run to be 15 million cards.[4][5][6] Antiquities was sold in booster packs of eight cards, which included six commons and two uncommons. Booster boxes contained 60 booster packs. The packs were not entirely random; players had to buy more than one box to complete the 100-card set. Wizards created the Antiquities Buy-Back program where players could send up to 100 cards back to receive cash back.[7]

Storyline

Ancient artifacts of the Thran Empire are discovered on the continent of Terisiare, including many advanced machines of war. Two brothers, Urza and Mishra, discover a stone in the Caves of Koilos; but, when they disturb it, it splits in two—Mightstone and Weakstone—unleashing the evil of Phyrexia on Dominaria. The ancient machines of the Thran are employed in battle once again as the Brothers' War takes place, an epic war between Urza and Mishra for control of both halves of the stone. The war culminates in the Sylex Blast, plunging the world into the Ice Age.

Themes and Mechanics

Creature types

About half of the creature types used in Antiquities were new, and many of the creatures in this expansion are artifact creatures. Originally, artifact creatures were printed without any creature type, except in special cases (Wall of Spears "counts as a wall," for example). This resulted in the overall limited use of creature types in this expansion. Additionally, with the printing of Antiquities, Magic had exactly 100 creature types.

The following creature types are introduced in this expansion: Archaeologist (later changed to Artificer), Atog, Druid, Gaea's Avenger (later changed to Treefolk), Gremlin (later changed to Ouphe then changed back to Gremlin), Poltergeist (later changed to Spirit), and Sage (later changed to Artificer).

The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Bodyguard (later changed to Human), Cleric, Demon, Dwarf, Faerie, Goblin, Orc, Smith (later changed to Human), Treefolk, and Wall. The creature types in Antiquities brought the total number in Magic at the time to exactly 100.

Counter types

Doom counters were introduced as a counter type in the set via errata.

Cycles

Uncut Antiquities print sheet

Antiquities itself has no cycles.

It does, however, contain Atog, which later became the first member of the "atog mega-mega cycle". It also contains Urza's Chalice which follows the theme of the Alpha lucky charms.

Mega-mega cycle

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Atogs Auratog (Tempest) Chronatog (Visions) Necratog (Weatherlight) Atog (Antiquities) Foratog (Mirage)
Atog is the first card of this mega-mega cycle of creatures. A new number of this cycle would be printed in each of the following three sets (Visions, Weatherlight, and Tempest).

Notable cards

  • Mishra's Workshop is a powerful land that produces a large amount of mana that is only useful for casting artifacts. There are plenty of powerful artifacts that a player would be happy to cast two turns sooner thanks to this card.
  • Candelabra of Tawnos saw play in early competitive combo decks and resurfaced in competitive Time Spiral decks in Legacy in 2011.
  • Millstone: First card to introduce the mechanic of putting cards directly into the graveyard from the library, now commonly referred to as milling after this card.
  • Mishra's Factory is arguably the best manland ever printed. It only got better with the Sixth Edition rules change.
  • Strip Mine is a very powerful land destruction tool that many decks automatically include a maximum of four of.
  • Urza's Tower, Urza's Mine, and Urza's Power Plant, affectionately called the "Urzatron", have seen major competitive use only since 2003 for their ability to produce large amounts of mana quickly in combination.

Trivia

Main article: Antiquities/Trivia
  • Antiquities is the first expansion to use multiple versions of a card with different artwork (outside of the Core Set's basic lands) and the only expansion to use multiple versions on nonbasic lands.

Misprints

References

  1. ↑ Wizards of the Coast. "Dominian FAQ (archived)". wizards.com.
  2. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (August 02, 2004). "Ask Wizards - August, 2004". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. ↑ Brady Dommermuth (October 31, 2006). "Ask Wizards". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. ↑ John Tynes (April 1995). ""An Expansion Timeline"". The Duelist: A Special Preview Edition. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (December 1995). ""The Duelist Presents: the Complete Magic Card List"". The Duelist #8. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ Beth Moursund (2002). The Complete Encyclopedia of Magic: The Gathering, Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN-10 1-56025-443-2.
  7. ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 16, 2009). "25 Random Things About Magic". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

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