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{{Infobox type
{{Infobox type
|icon=Legendary.svg
|icon=Legendary.svg
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|rules=A player may not control two or more legendary permanents with the same name.
|rules=A player may not control two or more legendary permanents with the same name.
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'''Legendary''' is a card [[supertype]]. Any permanent ([[artifact]], [[creature]], [[enchantment]], [[planeswalker]], and [[land]]) with the legendary supertype is bound by the "legend rule," which prevents multiple copies of the card with the same name from existing on the [[battlefield]] under the same player's control. Legendary may also appear as a supertype on non-permanent cards ([[instant]]s and [[sorceries]]). The rules for these are different: you can't cast a legendary nonpermanent spell unless you control a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker. Legendary cards are [[historic]].  
'''Legendary''' is a card [[supertype]]. Any permanent ([[artifact]], [[creature]], [[enchantment]], [[planeswalker]], and [[land]]) with the legendary supertype is bound by the "[[legend rule]]," which prevents multiple copies of the card with the same name from existing on the [[battlefield]] under the same player's control. Legendary may also appear as a supertype on non-permanent cards ([[instant]]s and [[sorceries]]). The rules for these are different: you can't cast a legendary nonpermanent spell unless you control a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker. Legendary cards are [[historic]].  


==Description==
==Description==
Line 11: Line 15:
Flavor-wise, legendary cards represent the key people, places, and objects of a [[set]]'s story.  
Flavor-wise, legendary cards represent the key people, places, and objects of a [[set]]'s story.  


Typical Standard-legal expansion sets contain no more than ten to fifteen legendary cards, all carrying a rarity of [[rare]] or [[mythic rare]].<ref>{{DailyRef|latest-developments/preserving-coolness-legends-2006-11-24|Preserving the Coolness of Legends|[[Aaron Forsythe]]|November 24, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/171404302868/the-printing-of-legendary-creatures-at-uncommon|title=The printing of legendary creatures at uncommon in the Masters Series.|March 01, 2018}}</ref>. This number has gone up slightly with Planeswalkers all being classified as Legendaries. That said, both of these rules have been broken in recent years, with sets like ''[[Commander Legends]]'', ''[[War of the Spark]]'' (through planeswalkers), ''[[Dominaria]]'', and [[Kamigawa block]] used Legendary cards as a mechanical theme, with uncommon Legends to boost up the numbers in Limited play. Even outside of that, ''[[Legends]]'', ''[[Amonkhet]]'', ''[[Throne of Eldraine]]'', ''[[Theros Beyond Death]]'', ''[[Core Set 2021]]'' and ''[[Kaldheim]]'' have had cycles and more of uncommon Legendaries for little more than worldbuilding.
Typical Standard-legal expansion sets used to contain no more than ten to fifteen legendary cards, all carrying a rarity of [[rare]] or [[mythic rare]].<ref>{{DailyRef|latest-developments/preserving-coolness-legends-2006-11-24|Preserving the Coolness of Legends|[[Aaron Forsythe]]|November 24, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/171404302868/the-printing-of-legendary-creatures-at-uncommon|title=The printing of legendary creatures at uncommon in the Masters Series.|March 01, 2018}}</ref>. This number went up slightly with Planeswalkers all being classified as Legendaries. That said, both of these rules were broken in later years, with sets like ''[[Commander Legends]]'', ''[[War of the Spark]]'' (through planeswalkers), ''[[Dominaria]]'', ''[[Dominaria United]]'', [[Kamigawa block]], and ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth]]'' used Legendary cards as a mechanical theme, with uncommon Legends to boost up the numbers in Limited play. Even outside of that, ''[[Legends]]'', ''[[Amonkhet]]'', ''[[Throne of Eldraine]]'', ''[[Theros Beyond Death]]'', ''[[Core Set 2021]]'' and ''[[Kaldheim]]'' have had cycles and more of uncommon Legendaries for little more than worldbuilding.
 
Legendary was first featured on several land cards in the set ''[[Legends]]''. Starting with ''[[Champions of Kamigawa]]'' it also replaced the [[creature type]] [[Legend]].<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/issue-legen—wait-it—dary-2011-05-09|The Issue Is Legen—Wait for It—Dary|[[Mark Rosewater]]|May 09, 2011}}</ref>


Historically, before the release of ''[[Legends]]'', the idea of the legendary supertype and its restrictions did not exist, nor did those restrictions have any functional equivalent printed on cards at the time. This, compounded with [[R&D]]'s policy on avoiding intentional functional [[errata]] as much as possible, has caused cards that likely should have been printed as legendary (had the supertype and its associated rules existed since the beginning), such as <c>Ali from Cairo</c>, to stay nonlegendary. Although, the introduction of the supertype did ''not'' outright end the trend of flavorful legendary subjects being printed as nonlegendary on new cards, as seen with the rare [[utility tapland]] cycle from ''[[Zendikar]]'', among others. Cards such as those are specifically designed with functionality over flavor in mind.
Starting in 2023, [[R&D]] is lowering the average of legendary creatures in Magic IP sets. [[Universes Beyond]], due to its nature, will still want a lot of legendary creatures as the named characters of an IP are a big draw.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/724402501588254720|title=How likely or even possible is a set with very few (like, fewer than 10) legendary creatures?|July 31, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/740439547924643840|title=Why are you guys making effort to lower the amount of legendary creatures?|January 24, 2024}}</ref>


The [[Commander (format)|Commander format]] requires that a legendary creature be selected as one's [[commander (designation)|commander]]. This excludes legendary planeswalkers (which are not creatures), except for the five appearing in ''[[Commander 2014]]'', the ''[[Battlebond]]'' planeswalker duo [[Will Kenrith]] and [[Rowan Kenrith]], and the four appearing in ''[[Commander 2018]]''.
The [[Commander (format)|Commander format]] requires that a legendary creature be selected as one's [[commander (designation)|commander]]. There are 22 Planeswalkers designed to be commanders, alongside 30 legendary enchantment [[Background]]s matching "[[Choose a Background]]".


===Card frame===
===History===
[[File:Firesong and Sunspeaker.png|thumb|right|Legendary card frame, as of ''[[Dominaria]]'']]
Legendary was first featured on several land cards in the set ''[[Legends]]'' (e.g. {{card|Tolaria}}). In contrast to these lands that were already supertyped, the similar creatures were all given the type "Legend" (e.g. {{card|Barktooth Warbeard||LEG}}). ''[[Stronghold]]'' introduced the first Legendary [[artifact]].  
Starting with ''[[Duel Decks: Elves vs. Inventors]]'' and ''[[Dominaria]]'', all legendary cards, except planeswalkers, have crown-like flourishes on the [[Card frame#Name|title bar]] of the [[card frame]].<ref name="Dominaria Changes">{{DailyRef|news/dominaria-frame-template-and-rules-changes-2018-03-21|Dominaria Frame, Template and Rules Changes|[[Aaron Forsythe]]|March 21, 2018}}</ref>


==Legend rule==
Starting with ''[[Champions of Kamigawa]]'' the supertype "Legenary" replaced the [[creature type]] [[Legend]].<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/issue-legen—wait-it—dary-2011-05-09|The Issue Is Legen—Wait for It—Dary|[[Mark Rosewater]]|May 09, 2011}}</ref> The set also introduced the first Legendary [[Enchantment]]s (e.g. {{card|Honden of Cleansing Fire}}). The first legendary [[Aura]] (the called "Legendary Enchant Land" was {{card|Genju of the Realm}} in ''[[Betrayers of Kamigawa]]''.
If a player controls two or more legendary permanents of the same name when [[state-based effects]] are checked, that player chooses one of those permanents and immediately puts the others into their owners' [[graveyard]]s, without any player having an opportunity to respond. This does not [[destroy]] the other permanents, does not cause them to be [[sacrifice]]d, and cannot be prevented by being [[indestructible]] or having [[regeneration]].


This version of the rule has been in effect since the release of ''[[Magic 2014]]''.<ref>{{DailyRef|magic-2014-core-set-rules-preview-2013-05-23|Magic 2014 Core Set Rules Preview|[[Matt Tabak]]|May 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/legendary-rule-change-2013-05-23|Legendary Rule Change|[[Sam Stoddard]]|May 23, 2013}}</ref>
[[Legendary sorcery|Legendary sorceries]], capture extraordinary moments from characters' pasts, were introduced in ''[[Dominaria]]''.<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/dominaria-mechanics-2018-03-21|''Dominaria'' Mechanics|[[Matt Tabak]]|March 21, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Release Notes">[http://media.wizards.com/2018/downloads/DOM_Release_Notes/EN_MTGDOM_ReleaseNotes.docx ''Dominaria'' Release Notes]</ref>. ''[[The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth]]'' debuted the first [[legendary instant]] card with <c>Isildur's Fateful Strike</c>.<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/the-lord-of-the-rings-tales-of-middle-earth-release-notes|''The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth'' Release Notes|[[Eric Levine]]|June 9, 2023}}</ref> Legendary sorceries and instants can't be cast legendary instants unless you control a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker.


{{CR|glossary|Legend Rule}}
Historically, before the release of ''[[Legends]]'', the idea of the legendary supertype and its restrictions did not exist, nor did those restrictions have any functional equivalent printed on cards at the time. This, compounded with [[R&D]]'s policy on avoiding intentional functional [[errata]] as much as possible, has caused cards that likely should have been printed as legendary (had the supertype and its associated rules existed since the beginning), such as <c>Ali from Cairo</c>, to stay nonlegendary. Although, the introduction of the supertype did ''not'' outright end the trend of flavorful legendary subjects being printed as nonlegendary on new cards, as seen with the rare [[utility tapland]] cycle from ''[[Zendikar]]'', among others (e.g. <c>Emeria, the Sky Ruin</c>). Cards such as those are specifically designed with functionality over flavor in mind.
{{CR|205.4d}}
{{CR|704.5j}}


Currently, only a handful of cards circumvent the "legend rule":
Legendary cards tend to have a [[rarity]] of [[Uncommon]] or higher. The only common legendary creature were printed in ''[[Homelands]]'' (<c>Chandler</c> <c>Joven</c>) and ''[[Modern Horizons 3]]'' (<c>Skoa, Embermage</c>). The only common enchantments are the [[background]]s of ''[[Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate]]''.
*<c>Mirror Gallery</c>, {{Card|Mirror Box}} and <c>Sakashima of a Thousand Faces</c> cancel the rule entirely.
*<c>Cadric, Soul Kindler</c> cancels the rule for tokens you control. <c>Sliver Gravemother</c> cancels the rule for Slivers you control.
*<c>Brothers Yamazaki</c> ignores the rule for itself as long as exactly two copies of the card are on the battlefield. The third will "kill" the two others.
*<c>Aeve, Progenitor Ooze</c>, <c>Jace, Cunning Castaway</c>,  <c>Jace, Mirror Mage</c>, and {{Card|Ob Nixilis, the Adversary}} copy themselves and the resulting permanent isn't legendary, while <c>Delina, Wild Mage</c>, <c>Double Major</c>,  <c>Echoing Equation</c>, <c>Helm of the Host</c>, <c>Irenicus's Vile Duplication</c>, {{Card|Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm}} and <c>Spark Double</c> can create copies of permanents with the same clause. <c>Ratadrabik of Urborg</c> makes nonlegendary copies of Legendaries that die, which is relevant if they return otherwise.
*<c>Sakashima the Impostor</c>, {{Card|Olag, Ludevic's Hubris}}, <c>Lazav, Dimir Mastermind</c>, <c>Lazav, the Multifarious</c>, and <c>Sarkhan, Soul Aflame</c> can copy another legendary creature but keep their names, thus a player can have two legendary creatures with the same functionality.


===Other versions of the legend rule===
===Card frame===
====From ''Legends'' to ''Champions of Kamigawa''====
[[File:Firesong and Sunspeaker.png|thumb|right|Legendary card frame, as of ''[[Dominaria]]'']]
Originally, only one creature of the same name, with the creature type '''Legend''', could be in play at the same time. For a while, they were even on the [[restricted]] list, meaning there could be only one creature of the same name in each [[deck]]. This was changed around the time of ''[[Ice Age]]''.<ref>{{DailyRef|restricted-legends-2002-07-26|Restricted Legends|[[Magic Arcana]]|July 26, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164904298373/at-any-point-in-magics-history-was-it-ever|title=At any point in Magic's history, was it ever considered to make Legendary a deckbuilding restriction instead of a gameplay one?|September 02, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164940567798/could-you-give-us-a-quick-rundown-of-all-the|title=Could you give us a quick rundown of all the variations of the Legend Rule?|September 03, 2017}}</ref>
Starting with ''[[Duel Decks: Elves vs. Inventors]]'' and ''[[Dominaria]]'', all legendary cards, except planeswalkers, have crown-like flourishes on the [[Card frame#Name|title bar]] of the [[card frame]].<ref name="Dominaria Changes">{{DailyRef|news/dominaria-frame-template-and-rules-changes-2018-03-21|Dominaria Frame, Template and Rules Changes|[[Aaron Forsythe]]|March 21, 2018}}</ref>
 
Any person could play a Legend provided that that Legend wasn't already on the [[battlefield]]. If it was, that card was stuck in its owner's hand. They could cast it if they wanted to, but the newest one would immediately be put into the [[graveyard]], so there was usually no incentive to do so.
 
This issue came to great prominence during the [[Masques block]] because [[Rebel]] decks centered around <c>Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero</c> were dominant at the time. The card was so key to the deck that when two Rebel decks played one another, the first person to get Lin Sivvi out had an unfair advantage.<ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/issue-legen—wait-it—dary-2011-05-09|The Issue Is Legen—Wait for It—Dary|[[Mark Rosewater]]|May 09, 2011}}</ref> [[Tom LaPille]] laid out the various disagreements about the rules change in his article.<ref>{{DailyRef|latest-developments/legendary-disagreement-2011-05-13|A Legendary Disagreement|[[Tom LaPille]]|May 13, 2011}}</ref>
 
====From ''Champions of Kamigawa'' to ''Magic 2014''====
The second version of the rule checked to see if any other legendary permanent of the same name exists on the entire battlefield (regardless of the permanents' [[control]]lers) and sent all of those permanents (including the one which initiated the situation) to their owners' graveyards.<ref>{{DailyRef|legendary-rules-changes-2004-09-10|Legendary Rules Changes|[[Aaron Forsythe]]|September 10, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/change-better-2004-10-04|Change For the Better|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 04, 2004}}</ref> In effect, each legendary permanent served two purposes: its original purpose and the removal of all instances of that permanent already on the battlefield.
 
====Planeswalker uniqueness rule====
{{CR|306.4}}
{{CR|glossary|Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule}}
Although different, [[planeswalker]] cards used to have a similar rule: If a player controls two or more planeswalkers that share a [[planeswalker type]], that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This was called the “planeswalker uniqueness rule.”<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/magic-origins-mechanics-article-2015-06-22|''Magic Origins'' Mechanics Article|[[Matt Tabak]]|June 22, 2015}}</ref>
 
Before the above update, the original rule acted as the legend rule did from Champions to Magic 2014 until this was changed at the same time the legend rule was; it looks at the battlefield and didn't care which player's control they were under. The most recent copy remained while all others were sent to the graveyard. This allowed, for example, someone to play <c>Jace Beleren</c> as a removal spell for <c>Jace the Mind Sculptor</c> as they shared the same subtype "Jace". <ref>{{WebRef|url=https://blogs.magicjudges.org/rulestips/2013/07/m14-rules-changes-the-planeswalker-uniqueness-rule/|title=M14 Rules Changes! The Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule|publisher=Magic Judge|author=bimmerbot|date=July 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/magic-2014-core-set-rules-preview-2013-05-23|Magic 2014 Core Set Rules Preview|[[Matt Tabak]]|May 23, 2013}}</ref>
 
Starting with ''[[Ixalan]]'', this rule was abandoned.<ref name="Mechanics">{{DailyRef|feature/ixalan-mechanics|''Ixalan'' Mechanics|[[Matt Tabak]]|August 28, 2017}}</ref> All planeswalkers past, present, and future gained the supertype legendary and became subject to the "legend rule". Thus, if a player controls more than one legendary planeswalker with the same ''name'', that player chooses one and puts the other into their owner's graveyard. This means for example that if you control <c>Jace, Unraveler of Secrets</c> and cast <c>Jace, Cunning Castaway</c>, both Jaces now can exist under your control.
 
The change was made to simplify gameplay.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164733840233/why-was-there-a-need-to-make-planeswalkers|title=Why was there a need to make planeswalkers legendary?|August 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164732134248/just-letting-you-know-i-really-liked-the|title=Having multiple versions of the same planeswalker character out seems 'wrong'.|August 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164905699093/do-you-think-its-a-flavor-fail-to-be-able-to|title=Do you think it's a flavor fail to be able to summon more than one of the same legendary character from the Multiverse?|September 02, 2017}}</ref>
 
====Rosewater version====
[[Mark Rosewater]] has stated multiple times that he considers legendary to be a mechanical downside that he would rather get rid of.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/151785251108/ive-been-saying-that-legendary-being-strictly|title=Can't you just drop the mechanical baggage and just use it as a "story marker"?|October 14, 2016}}</ref> If he was starting over he would make legendary a supertype with no rules baggage. He would create a keyword, called something like "[[unique]]", for things that needed for gameplay reasons to be restricted to having only one in play.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164904519353/why-do-you-want-the-legendary-rule-gone|title=Why do you want the Legendary rule gone?|September 02, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164774448033/so-basically-you-wish-legendary-didnt-exist-the|title=So basically you wish Legendary didn't exist.|August 29, 2017}}</ref> The rest of [[R&D]] doesn't concur with Rosewater's idea, or feels it is too late for the change.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/164738046993/now-that-planeswalkers-use-the-legendary-rule|title=Now that planeswalkers use the legendary rule|August 29, 2017}}</ref>


==Legendary spells==
==Legendary spells==
Line 79: Line 51:


==Friendly to legendary permanents==
==Friendly to legendary permanents==
[[White]] is the color that most interact with legendary permanents. It can search the [[library]] for them and get them back from the [[graveyard]], among other positive interactions.<ref name="Pie Changes">{{DailyRef|making-magic/mechanical-color-pie-2021-changes-2021-10-18|Mechanical Color Pie 2021 Changes|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 18, 2021}}</ref>
[[White]] is the color that most interacts with legendary permanents. It can search the [[library]] for them and get them back from the [[graveyard]], among other positive interactions.<ref name="Pie Changes">{{DailyRef|making-magic/mechanical-color-pie-2021-changes-2021-10-18|Mechanical Color Pie 2021 Changes|[[Mark Rosewater]]|October 18, 2021}}</ref>
==Legendary matters==
==Legendary matters==
"Legendary matters" [[effect]]s may appear in all colors.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/611895000959221760/do-all-colors-have-access-to-legendary-matters|title=Do all colors have access to "legendary matters" effects?|March 06, 2020}}</ref> Examples:
"Legendary matters" [[effect]]s may appear in all colors.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/611895000959221760/do-all-colors-have-access-to-legendary-matters|title=Do all colors have access to "legendary matters" effects?|March 06, 2020}}</ref> Examples:

Latest revision as of 09:14, 28 May 2024

Legendary
 
Legend rule
 
Legendary
Supertype
Rules A player may not control two or more legendary permanents with the same name.
Statistics
2889 cards
{C} 0.7% {W} 9.6% {U} 8.7% {B} 9.4% {R} 8.8% {G} 8.5% {W/U} 4.4% {U/B} 3.6% {B/R} 3.6% {R/G} 3.8% {G/W} 3.8% {W/B} 3.3% {U/R} 2.9% {B/G} 2.8% {R/W} 3.3% {G/U} 3.3% {M} 12.3% {artifact symbol} 4.4% {land symbol} 2.8%
Scryfall Search
type:"Legendary"

Legendary is a card supertype. Any permanent (artifact, creature, enchantment, planeswalker, and land) with the legendary supertype is bound by the "legend rule," which prevents multiple copies of the card with the same name from existing on the battlefield under the same player's control. Legendary may also appear as a supertype on non-permanent cards (instants and sorceries). The rules for these are different: you can't cast a legendary nonpermanent spell unless you control a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker. Legendary cards are historic.

Description

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

Legendary
A supertype that’s normally relevant on permanents. See rule 205.4, “Supertypes.” See also Legend Rule.

Flavor-wise, legendary cards represent the key people, places, and objects of a set's story.

Typical Standard-legal expansion sets used to contain no more than ten to fifteen legendary cards, all carrying a rarity of rare or mythic rare.[1][2]. This number went up slightly with Planeswalkers all being classified as Legendaries. That said, both of these rules were broken in later years, with sets like Commander Legends, War of the Spark (through planeswalkers), Dominaria, Dominaria United, Kamigawa block, and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth used Legendary cards as a mechanical theme, with uncommon Legends to boost up the numbers in Limited play. Even outside of that, Legends, Amonkhet, Throne of Eldraine, Theros Beyond Death, Core Set 2021 and Kaldheim have had cycles and more of uncommon Legendaries for little more than worldbuilding.

Starting in 2023, R&D is lowering the average of legendary creatures in Magic IP sets. Universes Beyond, due to its nature, will still want a lot of legendary creatures as the named characters of an IP are a big draw.[3][4]

The Commander format requires that a legendary creature be selected as one's commander. There are 22 Planeswalkers designed to be commanders, alongside 30 legendary enchantment Backgrounds matching "Choose a Background".

History

Legendary was first featured on several land cards in the set Legends (e.g. Tolaria). In contrast to these lands that were already supertyped, the similar creatures were all given the type "Legend" (e.g. Barktooth Warbeard). Stronghold introduced the first Legendary artifact.

Starting with Champions of Kamigawa the supertype "Legenary" replaced the creature type Legend.[5] The set also introduced the first Legendary Enchantments (e.g. Honden of Cleansing Fire). The first legendary Aura (the called "Legendary Enchant Land" was Genju of the Realm in Betrayers of Kamigawa.

Legendary sorceries, capture extraordinary moments from characters' pasts, were introduced in Dominaria.[6][7]. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth debuted the first legendary instant card with Isildur's Fateful Strike.[8] Legendary sorceries and instants can't be cast legendary instants unless you control a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker.

Historically, before the release of Legends, the idea of the legendary supertype and its restrictions did not exist, nor did those restrictions have any functional equivalent printed on cards at the time. This, compounded with R&D's policy on avoiding intentional functional errata as much as possible, has caused cards that likely should have been printed as legendary (had the supertype and its associated rules existed since the beginning), such as Ali from Cairo, to stay nonlegendary. Although, the introduction of the supertype did not outright end the trend of flavorful legendary subjects being printed as nonlegendary on new cards, as seen with the rare utility tapland cycle from Zendikar, among others (e.g. Emeria, the Sky Ruin). Cards such as those are specifically designed with functionality over flavor in mind.

Legendary cards tend to have a rarity of Uncommon or higher. The only common legendary creature were printed in Homelands (Chandler Joven) and Modern Horizons 3 (Skoa, Embermage). The only common enchantments are the backgrounds of Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate.

Card frame

Legendary card frame, as of Dominaria

Starting with Duel Decks: Elves vs. Inventors and Dominaria, all legendary cards, except planeswalkers, have crown-like flourishes on the title bar of the card frame.[9]

Legendary spells

From the Comprehensive Rules (June 7, 2024—Modern Horizons 3)

  • 205.4e Any instant or sorcery spell with the supertype “legendary” is subject to a casting restriction. A player can’t cast a legendary instant or sorcery spell unless that player controls a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker.

Legendary sorceries

Dominaria debuted legendary sorcery cards that capture extraordinary moments from characters' pasts. These powerful spells can be unleashed only with the assistance of a legendary creature or planeswalker on your side of the battlefield.[7]

You can't cast legendary sorceries unless you control a legendary creature or a legendary planeswalker. Once you begin to cast a legendary sorcery, losing control of your legendary creatures and planeswalkers won't affect that spell. Other than the casting restriction, the legendary supertype on a sorcery carries no additional rules.[10]

Legendary instants

Although covered by the rules for legendary sorcery cards, legendary instants were not featured in Dominaria. It would take another five years before the first legendary instant card was released as part of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth — Isildur's Fateful Strike.[11]

Legendary enchantment

The first legendary enchantments were the Honden cycle and Night of Souls' Betrayal from Champions of Kamigawa. The non-legal Heroes of the Realm card The Legend of Arena is a Legendary Enchantment - Saga.

Friendly to legendary permanents

White is the color that most interacts with legendary permanents. It can search the library for them and get them back from the graveyard, among other positive interactions.[12]

Legendary matters

"Legendary matters" effects may appear in all colors.[13] Examples:

Megalegendary

Megalegendary was introduced on a test card in the Mystery Booster set (Your deck can have only one copy of this card.) If you're fortunate enough to have two copies of a megalegendary card in a Limited event, you can still put only one into your deck. The other remains in your sideboard.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Aaron Forsythe (November 24, 2006). "Preserving the Coolness of Legends". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 01, 2018). "The printing of legendary creatures at uncommon in the Masters Series.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  3. ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 31, 2023). "How likely or even possible is a set with very few (like, fewer than 10) legendary creatures?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  4. ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 24, 2024). "Why are you guys making effort to lower the amount of legendary creatures?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  5. ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 09, 2011). "The Issue Is Legen—Wait for It—Dary". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ Matt Tabak (March 21, 2018). "Dominaria Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. ↑ a b Dominaria Release Notes
  8. ↑ Eric Levine (June 9, 2023). "The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. ↑ Aaron Forsythe (March 21, 2018). "Dominaria Frame, Template and Rules Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  10. ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 10, 2018). "Why introduce legendary sorceries if they fundamentally can never work the same way as legendary permanents?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  11. ↑ MTGxLOTR Exclusive Preview! - Isildur's Fateful Strike (Video). Playing With Power MTG. YouTube (June 5, 2023).
  12. ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 18, 2021). "Mechanical Color Pie 2021 Changes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 06, 2020). "Do all colors have access to "legendary matters" effects?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  14. ↑ Eli Shiffrin (November 11, 2019). "Mystery Booster Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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