Print sheet

Magic cards, like regular playing cards, are printed on print sheets.

Description

Physical properties

Print sheets are rectangular sheets made from two layers of cardboard joined together by an opaque blue adhesive, so that you can't see through the cards even in direct sunlight. The sheets are produced and cut for Wizards of the Coast by playing card manufacturers like Carta Mundi. Nowadays, WotC uses the services of four or more printers all around the world. Confirmed printers are The United States Playing Card Corporation (USPC), Shepard Poorman, Quebecor, and Yaquinto.

Card stock

Profile of a Magic card

The standard stock actually consists of two sheets of special paper of a specific thickness and weight that have been glued together. The line in the middle of the stock is usually described as a plastic but it is a graphite laminate. It is used as a security feature but this is incidental. This layer is what gives Magic cards their “snap” and resilience to being bent and shuffled. It also provides opacity. It is most often blue and is colloquially referred to as the “blue layer”, however it is sometimes black as well depending on where and when the stock was manufactured. Many cards printed by Shepard Poorman have a black layer. The paper receives a surface coating that is applied in layers and calendered (polished) at the factory during manufacturing to achieve a desired surface.

Sizes

An 10 x 11 uncut print rare sheet from Mirage.

Set sizes have to be tailored to the available sizes of print sheets.

• 10 x 11
  • Regular Magic cards are the same size as poker-size playing cards. A typical pack of these playing cards contains a 52-card deck, two jokers, and one extra card, which might, for example, contain bridge scoring values. This makes 55 cards, for which a 110-card (10 x 11) sheet would be highly suited.

A foil 11 x 11 uncut rare print sheet from Magic 2015.

• 11 x 11
  • However, Carta Mundi uses 121-card (11 x 11) sheets, which are tailored to the European market. They measure 28.25" by 40" (72 x 102 cm). In many European countries, the most common decks of cards might contain simply A 2 3 4 5 6 7 J Q K, for a 40-card deck which could appear three times on a 121-card sheet, with one card left over. 32-card decks with 7 8 9 10 J Q K A and 36-card decks with and additional 6 in each suit are even more common. If the 36-card decks come with jokers and informational cards, like a 52-card deck usually does, printing it three times on a 121-card sheet would not produce too much waste.
• 7 x 7
  • Oversized cards appear to be printed on 7 x 7 sheets.

Filler cards

A filler card from Planechase. It features a regular Magic card back.

Usually the number of cards in a set and the rarity distribution are chosen in a way that all slots on a sheet are filled but occasionally, some slots remained unused and were then occupied with "filler cards". Normally these cards are sorted out prior to packaging. These could be blank, black, with stripes or crosses, or with some text.

History

• Limited and Unlimited
  • Limited Edition Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited started out with three 11 x 11 sheets. Basic lands were printed on all three sheets. However, as part of the idea to keep players from guessing rarities, the only lands on the rare sheet were four copies of Island.
• Revised
  • The Revised Edition still featured basic lands on the common and uncommon sheets, but not on the rare sheet anymore.
• Early small sets
  • For Arabian Nights, Antiquities, The Dark, Fallen Empires, Chronicles and Homelands only two print sheets were used. There were three times as many "common sheets" as there were "uncommon sheets". The distribution of the cards was convoluted; there were, for example, cards that showed up twice on the uncommon sheets (dubbed "U2" in rarity) would be twice as available as "U1" cards (which appeared once on the uncommon sheet), but still rarer than "C1" cards (which appeared once on the common sheet).
• Legends onwards
  • Legends was the first large expansion to use a rare sheet, which became the standard for future large expansions.
• Fourth Edition onwards
  • From Fourth Edition onwards, large sets came with a separate sheet for basic lands.
• Alliances onwards
  • Alliances was the first small expansion to use a rare sheet, which became standard for future small expansions, up until Guildpact.
• Mirage onwards
  • Every large expansion from Mirage through Onslaught as well as the core sets in between had 110 cards of each rarity indicating that during this period of time, these sets were printed on 10 x 11 sheets. Print sheets of 110 cards can also be deduced for the large sets up until Ravnica: City of Guilds and Ninth Edition.
• Dissension onwards
  • Apparently, the return to 121-card sheets for small sets took place at the time of Dissension, halfway through the Ravnica block
• Time Spiral onwards
  • The first large set to be printed on 121-card sheets again was Time Spiral, which was followed by the Tenth Edition Core Set.
• Alara block onwards
  • The Alara block set the default for large sets at 249 cards, and for small sets at 145 cards.
• Magic 2015 onwards
  • Starting with Magic 2015, WotC changed the default from 60 uncommons to 80 uncommons for large sets, and from 60 commons to 70 commons for small sets, to provide a better environment for limited play in the Two-Block Paradigm.
• Unstable
  • The borderless lands of Unstable required something known as "gutter cutting" where a thin strip is cut out between each card. In normal printing the cards butt up against one another.

Current practice

Nowadays, regular sized cards are printed on 11 x 11 sheets. Each regular printing sheet features only cards of one rarity and language. The mythic rares are included on the rare sheet. Extras like tokens and informational cards may be used to fill in the empty spots. The cards are printed in a quantity distribution of (1:7):24:88 (mythic:rare:uncommon:common). This is one rare (+ mythic) sheet for 3 uncommon sheets and 11 common sheets (10 if one land sheet is used). The sheets are also printed in different quantities by language.

Most Standard-legal large sets have multiple printings.

Foils, special releases like the Commander decks, and other preconstructed theme decks have their own print runs (two 60 card decks fitting on one sheet). Because these cards in decks are printed in addition to any cards in the normal print run, they are less rare than cards that are not in the decks.

Future practice

It is expected that at one time there will be a switch to print on demand, where rarities are sorted out digitally instead of on fixed print sheets.

Preparing the sheets

Once R&D has finished a card list for a certain set, Editing sends the cards off to get laid out by the CAPS team of Wizards of the Coast (Creative and Professional Services). They are the ones that physically lay out the cards. They also have to take account of new card frames, watermarks and the like. And then Editing checks the card to make sure all the components are put together correctly and then gives the final go ahead. The correct digital files are sent off to the printers. During printing, four printing plates are used for each sheet: cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

After printing

Foil cards have an extra foil layer on the card that highlights certain parts of the artwork over others. A print coating - a very thin, clear protective finish - is applied over the top of all printed materials. The corners of the cards are cut with a radius of 1/8 inch (3 mm).

Collation

CAPS and R&D work together on the collation of the cards (the number and order of the cards on the sheets). All the cards are evaluated for how good they are, and the good and the bad ones are distributed evenly over the sheets. After the sheets are cut up the cards from each sheet are (almost) randomly sorted, assembled with the cards from the other sheets and then packaged. Once the boosters are made wizards does do some sort of pseudo random collating to get in the way of people who would "map" boxes based on the order of the print run. Although the cards are equally distributed by rarity, there have been times when issues involving sorting and packaging have made certain cards more likely to appear together, or in the same booster box, or even be more likely depending on the area of the country you are in. Other than Zendikar, the particular print run for a given set never really mattered.

WotC's Japanese printer produces boosters that have a reversed order of the cards (starting with the token). These cards also have a different coating and are notably darker.

Multiple printings

While many sets are have a limited amount of sheets printed, some sets, like Core Sets, are available for a certain period of time. Extra sheets are printed if there is sufficient demand. Other than Zendikar, which contained Priceless Treasures, the particular print run for a given set has never really mattered. Sometimes the first run would have minor errors or packaging problems, but they wouldn't be major enough to make having "first run" cards a significant thing. Barring statements about supplemental print runs, WotC hasn't ever really talked about first or subsequent print runs for sets. They want any card from any print run to be equivalent.

Mirage is notable because it had two significant different printings: one dark print with a rough finish, and one light print with a smooth finish. The dark Mirage was printed in US, the light one in Belgium at Carta Mundi.

Relation between print sheets and booster contents

• In the 8 card booster packs, six were from the common sheet and two were from the uncommon sheet. Thus, three times as many copies of the common sheet were printed as of the uncommon sheet.
• In the 12 card booster packs, three were from the uncommon sheet, and nine from the common sheet. Again, three times as many copies of the common sheet were printed as of the uncommon sheet.
• In the 15 card booster packs of early expansions one was from the rare sheet, two were from the uncommon sheet and 11 of the common sheet. Eleven times as many copies of the common sheet, and three time as many of the uncommon sheet, were printed as of the rare sheet. In core sets, one common is replaced with a basic land.
• In Innistrad and Dark Ascension boosters, one of the 10 commons is replaced by a card of the double-faced sheet. This double-faced card can be of any rarity.
• In the 16 card boosters of the latest sets, one is a marketing card, one is a rare or mythic rare, three are from the uncommon sheet(s), 10 from the common sheet(s) and one from the basic land sheet. For each 8 packs, the rare is a mythic rare.

Cards are inserted into packs from partial 'print runs', that is cards are inserted into packs in a set order because machines for mass production require consistency in what they do to be fast an efficient. There are separate print runs for each rarity (and multiple for commons). The commons, uncommons and the rares/mythic rares are disconnected, meaning the producers don't control which end up together in the packs. Specials like double-faced cards are printed on different sheets, and thus also unconnected. Nowadays, there are multiple common sheets and they cut from different places to mix it up, but even so commons will clump near other commons more often than other rarities. The exact nature of print runs is not always 'random'. WotC uses them to ensure certain properties, for example no more than 1 gate in any given pack of Gatecrash, or an even mix of mono- and multicolored cards. There are usually 4 print runs for commons:

• Run A contains 33 unique cards, each in the run twice. This is the run you see when you first open a pack, usually 3-4 cards.
• Run B contains 22 unique cards, each in the run thrice. This is the next group of cards in the pack, and generally 2-5 cards per pack.
• Run C1 contains 28 unique cards; 27 in the run twice and 1 in the run once.
• Run C2 contains 19 unique cards; 18 in the run thrice, and 1 in the run once.

The first three Magic expansions (Arabian Nights, Antiquities and Legends) all had redemption programs due to printing and collating issues.

Booster mapping

Booster mapping is the process of opening several booster boxes and recording patterns in the values of different packs in different positions in boxes. However, the algorithms of the machines are such that it is not easy to predict what the content of an unopened booster is. For example, the Return to Ravnica process involved something like 7 cards consecutively from a single sheet, out of 2 sheets. There are 242 cards total on those 2 sheets and if you were to put those 242 slots in a 'wheel', then you're getting 7 consecutive cards from anywhere on this wheel.

To try and make booster mapping harder, boosterbox runs have 'breaks' in them, where the pattern is broken so that it's a little harder to guess the whole box based on opening a handful of boosters in one. Boxes are not properly randomized. One reason might be that truly randomizing is hard (it might be hard for a machine to fill a boosterbox in a pattern / resort a pile of boosters according to a changing pattern) and/or they want to stick to the general idea that a boosterbox will have a pretty exact number of mythics and a good mix of rares in it. Foils are included in roughly 1 in 6 packs.

Overview

In the following table the available knowledge about print sheets is combined. When there is no exact source, best guesses are italicized.

Abbreviations: C = Common, U = Uncommon, R = Rare, MR = Mythic Rare, B = Basic land

Expansions through Alliances, excluding Ice Age, had some common and uncommon cards that were actually more prevalent than others. This was the result of some cards appearing more often than others on the print sheet. For example, Headless Horseman is a "C1" common, and Ghosts of the Damned is a "C2" common. This code represents the number of times the card appears on the common print sheet, making "C2" commons twice as abundant as "C1" commons.

Release	Set	Total cards	MR	R	U	C	B	Other	Distribution	Notes
1993-08	Limited Edition Alpha	295	-	116	95	74	10	-	Sheet 1: 116 R, 5 B Sheet 2: 95 U, 26 B Sheet 3: 74 C, 47 B	The only lands on the rare sheet are Islands. Further division of the separate basic lands over the sheets is unknown.
1993-10	Limited Edition Beta	302	-	117	95	75	15	-	Sheet 1: 117 R, 4 B Sheet 2: 95 U, 26 B Sheet 3: 75 C, 46 B	Circle of Protection: Black and Volcanic Island, which were accidentally left out of Alpha, were added. A third version of each basic land was also added. The only basic lands on the rare sheet are Islands, but the further division of the basic lands over the sheets is unknown.
1993-12	Unlimited	302	-	117	95	75	15	-	Sheet 1: 117 R, 4 B Sheet 2: 95 U, 26 B Sheet 3: 75 C, 46 B	The only basic lands on the rare sheet are Islands, but the further division of the basic lands over the sheets is unknown.
1993-12	Arabian Nights	92	-	33	18	41	-	-	Sheet 1: 33 U2, 17 U3, 1 U4 Sheet 2: 10 C1, 7 C2, 10 C3 9 C4, 4 C5, 1 C11	Fourteen of the commons were printed in two subtle variations making 92 total cards. If only the 78 functionally different cards are considered, they can be counted as 33 R, 19 U and 26 C. The U2 are the "rares" of the set. The C11 is Desert.
1994-03	Antiquities	100	-	26	33	41	-	-	Sheet 1: 26 U1, 4 U2, 29 U3 Sheet 2: 11 C1, 5 C2, 25 C4	Five non-basic lands have four different pieces of art each; thus making 100 total cards. If only the 85 functionally different cards are considered, they can be counted as 20 R, 37 U and 28 C.
1994-04	Revised Edition	306	-	121	95	75	15	-	Sheet 1: 121 R Sheet 2: 95 U, 26 B Sheet 3: 75 C, 46 B	No basic lands on the rare sheet. The division of the separate basic lands over the other two sheets is unknown.
1994-06	Legends	310	-	121	114	75	-	-	Sheet 1: 121 R Sheet 2: 107 U1, 7 U2 Sheet 3: 29 C1, 46 C2
1994-08	The Dark	119	-	78	1	40	-	-	Sheet 1: 35 U1, 43 U2 Sheet 2: 1 C1, 40 C3
1994-11	Fallen Empires	187	-	36	30	121	-	-	Sheet 1: 36 U1, 5 U2, 25 U3 Sheet 2: 121 C1	Fifteen commons each have four pieces of art and flavor text, twenty-five commons have three pieces of art and flavor text. Because of this, collectors view this as a 187 card set. If only the 102 functionally different cards are considered, they can be counted as 36 R, 31 U and 35 C.
1995-05	Fourth Edition	378	-	121	121	121	15	-	Sheet 1: 121 R Sheet 2: 121 U Sheet 3: 121 C Sheet 4: 15 B8, 1 filler	First set with a separate sheet for basic lands.
1995-06	Ice Age	383	-	121	121	121	20	-	Sheet 1: 121 R Sheet 2: 121 U Sheet 3: 121 C Sheet 4: 20 B6, 1 filler	First standalone set.
1995-07	Chronicles	125	-	54	25	46	-	-	Sheet 1: 46 U1, 25 U3 Sheet 2: 17 C1, 7 C2, 30 C3	Three commons have four pieces of art, making collectors view this as a 125 card set If only the 116 functionally different cards are considered, they can be counted as 46 R, 30 U and 40 C.
1995-08	Renaissance	122	-	-	74	48	-	-	Sheet 1: ? Sheet 2: ?	Distribution unclear.
1995-08	Rinascimento	69	-	-	35	34	-	-	Sheet 1: ? Sheet 2: ?	Distribution unclear. Three commons have four pieces of art, making collectors view this as a 69 card set If only the 60 functionally different cards are considered, they can be counted as 38 U and 22 C.
1995-10	Homelands	140	-	43	26	71	-	-	Sheet 1: 43 U1, 26 U3 Sheet 2: 21 C1, 50 C2	Twentyfive commons had two pieces of art, making collectors view this as a 140 card set. If only the 115 functionally different cards are considered, they can be counted as 43 R, 47 U and 25 C.
1996-06	Alliances	199	-	49	50	100	-	-	Sheet 1: 46 R2, 3R6 Sheet 2: 40 U2, 10 U3 Sheet 3: 90 C1, 10 C2	First use of 110-card sheets. All commons and five uncommons had two pieces of art, making collectors view this as a 199 card set. If only the 144 functionally different cards are considered, while the 3 rares @R6 may be seen as uncommon and the 5 @U6 as common, they can be counted as 46 R, 43 U and 55 C.
1996-10	Mirage	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
1997-02	Visions	167	-	50	55	62	-	-	Sheet 1: 50 C2 Sheet 2: 50 U2 Sheet 3: 6 R7, 1 R8, 50 R1	Use of 100-card sheets. The R7 and R8 are counted as commons.
1997-03	Fifth Edition	449	-	132	132	165	20	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 11 R3 77 R1 Sheet 3: 11 U10 Sheet 4: 110 U1 Sheet 5: 55 C2 Sheet 6: 110 C1 Sheet 7: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets? Distribution is largely conjecture. The R3 would count as uncommons.
1997-05	Portal	215	-	55	55	85	20	-	Sheet 1: 55 2R Sheet 2: 55 2U Sheet 3: 60 C1 25 C2? Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets. Lay out of the common sheet is uncertain. The twelve double-faced Portal support cards were supposedly printed on a different sheet.
1997-06	Weatherlight	167	-	50	55	62	-	-	Sheet 1: 50 R2, 3 R6, 3 filler Sheet 2: 52 U1, 2 U8, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 filler	The R6 are counted as uncommons, the U8 as commons.
1997-10	Tempest	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
1998-02	Stronghold	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets. The uncommons are distributed over two sheets (R3 and U5)
1998-06	Exodus	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
1998-06	Portal Second Age	165	-	35	45	70	15	-	Sheets: ?	Use of sheets and distribution unclear.
1998-08	Unglued	94	-	28	22	33	5	6	Sheets: ?	Use of sheets and distribution unclear. The six extra cards are tokens.
1998-10	Urza's Saga	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
1999-02	Urza's Legacy	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
1999-04	Sixth Edition	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
1999-05	Portal Three Kingdoms	180	-	55	55	55	15	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 55 U2 Sheet 3: 55 C2 Sheet 4: 10 B7, 5 B8	Use of 110-card sheets.
1999-06	Urza's Destiny	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
1999-08	Starter 1999	173	-	35	55	63	20	-	Sheets: ?	Use of sheets and distribution unclear.
1999-10	Mercadian Masques	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2000-02	Nemesis	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2000-04	Starter 2000	54	-	3	6	35	15	-	Sheets: ?	Use of sheets and distribution unclear.
2000-06	Prophecy	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2000-10	Invasion	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2001-01	Planeshift	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2001-04	Seventh Edition	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2001-05	Apocalypse	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2001-10	Odyssey	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2002-02	Torment	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2002-05	Judgment	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2002-10	Onslaught	350	-	110	110	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2003-01	Legions	145	-	45	45	55	-	-	Sheet 1: ? Sheet 2: ? Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets? Distribution of rares and uncommons is unclear.
2003-05	Scourge	143	-	44	44	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1 22 R3 Sheet 2: 22 U5 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2003-07	Eighth Edition	357	-	113	113	111	20	7	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets. The seven extra cards only appeared on the sheets of the fixed decks.
2003-10	Mirrodin	306	-	88	88	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1, 22 R3 Sheet 2: 44 R1, 22 R3 Sheet 3: 22 U5 Sheet 4: 22 U5 Sheet 5: 110 C1 Sheet 6: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2004-02	Darksteel	165	-	55	55	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 55 U2 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2004-06	Fifth Dawn	165	-	55	55	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 55 U2 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2004-10	Champions of Kamigawa	307	-	88	88	110	20	1	Sheet 1: 44 R1, 22 R3 Sheet 2: 44 R1, 22 R3 Sheet 3: 22 U5 Sheet 4: 22 U5 Sheet 5: 110 C1 Sheet 6: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets. Because of the double version of Brothers Yamazaki, collectors view this as a 307 card set, while it was presented as a 306 card set. The extra card advertently required adding an entire extra printing sheet.
2004-11	Unhinged	141	-	40	40	55	5	1	Sheet 1: ? Sheet 2: ? Sheet 3: 55 C2 Sheet 4: 5 B22 Sheet 5: 1 R110	Use of sheets and distribution unclear. The 141st card, Super Secret Tech only exists in a foil version on sheet 5.
2005-02	Betrayers of Kamigawa	165	-	55	55	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 55 U2 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2005-06	Saviors of Kamigawa	165	-	55	55	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 55 U2 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2005-07	Ninth Edition	359	-	110	110	110	20	9	Sheet 1: 110 R Sheet 2: 110 U Sheet 3: 110 C Sheet 4: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets. The nine extra cards only appeared on the sheets of the fixed decks of the Core Game.
2005-10	Ravnica: City of Guilds	306	-	88	88	110	20	-	Sheet 1: 44 R1, 22 R3 Sheet 2: 44 R1, 22 R3 Sheet 3: 22 U5 Sheet 4: 22 U5 Sheet 5: 110 C1 Sheet 6: 10 B5, 10 B6	Use of 110-card sheets.
2006-02	Guildpact	165	-	55	55	55	-	-	Sheet 1: 55 R2 Sheet 2: 55 U2 Sheet 3: 55 C2	Use of 110-card sheets.
2006-05	Dissension	180	-	60	60	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 60 R2, 1 filler Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 filler	Return to 121-card sheets.
2006-07	Coldsnap	155	-	40	55	55	5	-	Sheet 1: 40 R3, 1 filler Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 15 U8?, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler	Snow lands are printed on the common sheet. Possibly also on the second uncommon sheet
2006-10	Time Spiral	422	-	80	80	121	20	121	Sheet 1: 40 R3, 1 filler Sheet 2: 40 R3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 5: 121 C1 Sheet 6: 20 B6, 1 filler Sheet 7: 121 timeshifted	The timeshifted cards are printed on a separate sheet.
2007-02	Planar Chaos	165	-	50	55	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 40 R3, 1 filler Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 C3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 10 R3, 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 5: 20 C6, 1 filler	Sheet 4 and 5 are the planeshifted cards.
2007-05	Future Sight	180	-	60	60	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 60 R2, 1 filler Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 filler	The futureshifted are printed on the regular sheets.
2007-07	Tenth Edition	508	-	121	121	121	20	125	Sheet 1: 121 R Sheet 2: 121 U Sheet 3: 121 C Sheet 4: 20 B6, 1 filler	While the set is presented as a 383 card set, there are effectively 508 different cards. This is because the premium versions of the cards were printed without reminder text and with additional flavor text.
2007-10	Lorwyn	301	-	80	80	121	20	-	Sheet 1: 40 R3, 1 filler Sheet 2: 40 R3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 5: 121 C1 Sheet 6: 20 B6, 1 filler
2008-02	Morningtide	150	-	50	40	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 30 R4, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler	Distribution on rare sheets is conjecture.
2008-05	Shadowmoor	301	-	80	80	121	20	-	Sheet 1: 40 R2, 1 filler Sheet 2: 40 R2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U2, 1 filler Sheet 4: 40 U2, 1 filler Sheet 5: 121 C1 Sheet 6: 20 B6, 1 filler
2008-06	Eventide	180	-	60	60	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 60 R2, 1 filler Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 filler
2008-09	Shards of Alara	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Sheets 3 and 4 are printed in a ratio of 3:2. The C1 on both is the same card, making it slightly more rare than the other commons.
2009-02	Conflux	145	10	35	40	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler
2009-04	Alara Reborn	145	10	35	40	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler
2009-07	Magic 2010	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2009-10	Zendikar	269	15	53	60	101	20	20	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler Sheet 6: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara The first print run contained vintage "Priceless Treasures". These came from old print sheets. The 20 extra cards on sheet 6 are the full-art versions of the basic lands.
2010-02	Worldwake	145	10	35	40	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler
2010-04	Rise of the Eldrazi	248	15	53	60	100	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 59 C2, 1 C3 Sheet 4: 39 C3, 1 C4 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	One common less than usual for large sets. Hand of Emrakul and Ulamog's Crusher are more common than the other commons.
2010-07	Magic 2011	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2010-10	Scars of Mirrodin	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2011-02	Mirrodin Besieged	155	10	35	40	60	10	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler Sheet 5: 10 B12, 1 filler
2011-05	New Phyrexia	175	10	35	60	60	10	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 U2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 10 B12, 1 filler
2011-07	Magic 2012	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2011-09	Innistrad	269	16	59	67	107	15	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 1 R1, 6 R2, 7 U6, 6 C11 Sheet 6: 15 B6, 31 extras	Sheet 5 contains all double-faced cards. The extras on the basic land sheet are checklist cards
2012-02	Dark Ascension	158	12	38	44	64	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler Sheet 5: 2 R3, 3 R6, 4 U18, 2 C12 Sheet 6: 2 C24, 2 C36	Sheets 5 en 6 contain the double-faced cards.
2012-05	Avacyn Restored	244	15	53	60	101	15	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 15 B8, 1 filler	Commons have the same distribution as Shards of Alara
2012-07	Magic 2013	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2012-10	Return to Ravnica	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B5, 5 B4, 1 filler	Commons have the same distribution as Shards of Alara
2013-02	Gatecrash	249	15	53	80	101	-	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1	Commons have the same distribution as Shards of Alara
2013-05	Dragon's Maze	156	11	46	40	70	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler Sheet 5: 11 R1, 10 C10	Sheet 5 is a "land sheet", containing the mythic Maze's End, 10 shock lands with expansion symbols of Return to Ravnica or Gatecrash and 10 guildgates. Because the shock lands are indistinguishable of the earlier versions, collectors consider this a 156 card set.
2013-06	Modern Masters	229	15	53	60	101	-	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1	Commons have the same distribution as Shards of Alara
2013-07	Magic 2014	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2013-09	Theros	249	15	53	60	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 4: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 20 B6, 1 filler	Same distribution as Shards of Alara
2014-02	Born of the Gods	165	10	35	60	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1
2014-05	Journey into Nyx	165	10	35	60	60	-	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1
2014-06	Conspiracy	201	10	35	80	80	-	25	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 5: 40 C3 Sheet 6: 40 C3 Sheet 7: 8 R2, 8U4, 9C8	Sheet 7 are the draft-related cards
2014-07	Magic 2015	284	15	53	80	101	20	15	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 6: 20 B6, 1 filler	Sheets 4 and 5 are printed in a ratio of 3:2. The C1 on both is the same card, making it slightly more rare than the other commons. The fifteen extra cards (5R, 4U, 6C) only appear on the sheets for the sample decks.
2014-09	Khans of Tarkir	269	15	53	80	101	20	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 6: 20 B6, 1 filler	Commons have the same distribution as Magic 2015.
2015-01	Fate Reforged	185	10	35	60	70	10	-	Sheet 1: 10 R3 15 R6, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler Sheet 3: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 filler Sheet 5: 5 R2, 10 C11, 1 filler Sheet 6: 10 B12, 1 filler	Sheet five contains five fetch lands with the Khans of Tarkir expansion symbol and the reprinted Gainlands from Khans of Tarkir. Because the 5 fetch lands are indistinguishable from the earlier version, collectors consider this a 185 card set.
2015-03	Dragons of Tarkir	264	15	53	80	101	15	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 6: 15 B8, 1 filler	Commons have the same distribution as Magic 2015.
2015-05	Modern Masters 2015	249	15	53	80	101	-	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1	Commons have the same distribution as Magic 2015.
2015-07	Magic Origins	288	16	55	80	101	20	16	Sheet 1: 11 R1 55 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 6: 15 B6, 31 extra Sheet 7: 5 R24, 1 filler	Commons have the same distribution as Magic 2015. The extras on the basic land sheet are checklist cards Sheet 7 contains the five double-faced cards. The sixteen extra cards (5R, 4U, 7C) only appear on the sheets for the sample decks.
2015-10	Battle for Zendikar	299	15	53	80	101	25	25	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 6: 20 B5, 5 B4, 1 filler Sheet 7: 20 B5, 5 B4, 1 filler	Commons have the same distribution as Magic 2015. The extra cards are the full-art versions of the basic lands on sheet 7 Because of the double versions of the basic lands, collectors view this as a 299 card set, while it was presented as a 274 card set.
2015-10 2016-01	Zendikar Expeditions	45	45	-	-	-	-	-	Sheet 1: 20 R5 5 R4, 1 filler Sheet 2: 20 R6, 1 filler	Inserted in Battle for Zendikar block sets.
2016-01	Oath of the Gatewatch	186	12	42	60	68	2	2	Sheet 1: 12 R5, 6 R 10, 1 filler Sheet 2: 12 R10, 1 filler Sheet 3: 12 R10, 1 filler Sheet 4: 12 R10, 1 filler Sheet 5: 60 U2, 1 filler Sheet 6: 60 C2, 1 filler Sheet 7: 10 C12, 1 filler	The extra cards are the standard card frame versions of the Wastes printed on the Intro pack sheets Because of the full-art and regular versions of the Wastes (twice), collectors view this as a 186 card set, while it is presented as a 184 card set and there are only 183 functionally different cards.
2016-04	Shadows over Innistrad	297	18	59	100	105	15	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1 Sheet 6: 3 R8, 6 R16, 1 filler Sheet 7: 20 U6, 1 filler Sheet 8: 15 B6, 31 extras	Sheets 6 and 7 contain all the double-faced cards. The extras on the basic land sheet are checklist cards There are six different versions of Tamiyo's Journal, each with a different entry number in the flavor text corresponding to one of the six Clue tokens in the puzzle. How this affects card distribution in booster packs is unknown.
2016-06	Eternal Masters	249	15	53	80	101	-	-	Sheet 1: 15 R1 53 R2 Sheet 2: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 3: 40 U3, 1 filler Sheet 4: 60 C2, 1 C1 Sheet 5: 40 C3, 1 C1	Commons have the same distribution as Magic 2015.
2016-07	Eldritch Moon	205	14	47	70	74	-	-
2016-08	Conspiracy: Take the Crown	222	14	50	67	90	-	1		Exactly one card every pack is a Conspiracy, replacing the basic land. Other drafts-matters cards take the space of their printed rarity. Because of the alternate art foil version Kaya, Ghost Assassin, collectors view this as a 222 card set, while it was presented as a 221 card set.
2016-09	Kaladesh	274	15	53	80	101	15	10		While the set is presented as a 264 card set, 10 extra cards are numbered #265/264 to #274/264. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks.
2016-10	Eternal Masters	249	15	53	80	101	-	-
2017-01	Aether Revolt	194	12	42	60	70	-	10		While the set is presented as a 184 card set, 10 extra cards are numbered #185/184 to #194/184. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks.
2017-03	Modern Masters 2017	249	15	53	80	101	-	-
2017-04	Amonkhet	287	15	53	80	101	20	18		While the set is presented as a 269 card set, 18 extra cards are numbered #270/269 to #287/269. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks and the Deck Builder's Toolkit.
2017-07	Hour of Devastation	209	12	42	60	70	15	10		While the set is presented as a 199 card set, 10 extra cards are numbered #200/199 to #209/199. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks.
2017-09	Ixalan	289	15	63	80	101	15	10		While the set is presented as a 279 card set, 10 extra cards are numbered #280/279 to #289/279. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks and Deck Builder's Toolkit.
2017-11	Iconic Masters	249	15	53	80	101	-	-
2017-11	Unstable	268	15	61	90	97	5			Contraptions are on their own sheet. While the set is presented as a 216-ish card set, six commons each have four variants, one common has five variants, three uncommons and three rares each have six variants. Because of this, collectors view this as a 268 card set.
2018-01	Rivals of Ixalan	205	13	48	60	70	5	9		While the set is presented as a 196 card set, 9 extra cards are numbered #197/196 to #205/196. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks.
2018-03	Masters 25	249	15	53	80	101	-	-
2018-04	Dominaria	280	15	53	80	101	20	11		While the set is presented as a 269 card set, 11 extra cards are numbered #270/269 to #280/269. These appear in the Planeswalker Decks and as a Buy-a-Box promotional card.
2018-06	Core Set 2019	314	16	53	80	111	20	34		While the set is presented as a 280 card set, 34 extra cards are numbered #281/280 to #314/280. These appear in the Welcome decks, Planeswalker Decks and as a Buy-a-Box promotional card. The extra mythic, the DFC Nicol Bolas, the Ravager (Nicol Bolas, the Arisen) appears on a separate sheet.
2018-10	Guilds of Ravnica	273	15	53	80	111		14		While the set is presented as a 259 card set, 14 extra cards are numbered #260/259 to #273/259. These appear in the Planeswalker decks, the Bundle, and as a Buy-a-Box promotional card. Each Guildgate is featured in two common slots with different art. The guildgates are printed on a separate sheet.
2019-01	Ravnica Allegiance	273	15	53	80	111		14		While the set is presented as a 259 card set, 14 extra cards are numbered #260/259 to #273/259. These appear in the Planeswalker decks, the Bundle, and as a Buy-a-Box promotional card. Each Guildgate is featured in two common slots with different art. The guildgates are printed on a separate sheet.
2019-05	War of the Spark	275	15	53	80	101	15	11		While the set is presented as a 264 card set, 11 extra cards are numbered #265/264 to #275/264. These appear in the Planeswalker decks, the Bundle, and as a Buy-a-Box promotional card.
2019-07	Core Set 2020	344	15	53	80	112	20	64		While the set is presented as a 280 card set, 64 extra cards are numbered #281/280 to #344/344. These appear in the Planeswalker decks, the Spellslinger Starter Kit, the Bundle, and as a Buy-a-Box promotional card.
2019-10	Throne of Eldraine	397	15	53	80	101	20	128		While the set is presented as a 269 card set, 128 extra cards are numbered #270-397. These appear in the Collector Boosters and various other products.
2019-11	Mystery	1936	30	152	452	1060		242		While the set is presented as a 1694 card set, 121 extra test cards appear with the Convention Edition, and 121 extra foils with the Retail Edition.
2020-01	Theros Beyond Death	357	15	53	80	101	5	103		While the set is presented as a 254 card set, 103 extra cards are numbered #255-357. These appear in the Collector Boosters and various other products.
2020-04	Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths	369	15	53	80	111	15	95		While the set is presented as a 274 card set, 113 extra cards are numbered #275-387. These appear in the Collector Boosters and various other products.