1995

The year 1995 was the third year of existence for Magic: The Gathering.

Events

Date	Event
Early 1995	Printing of the Alternate Fourth Edition by the United States Playing Card Corporation in Cincinnati. Due to a dispute, the cards were never officially published.
January 10	Creation of the Standard format (then called "Type 2")
February	Black Lotus reaches $100 on the secondary market.
Spring	First official binder for Magic cards published by Wizards of the Coast
April	First Prerelease.
April	Release of Fourth Edition. Published in English, French, German, Italian, and as a first in Japanese, traditional Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese (for the Brazilian market) Afraid of main stream criticism, “demonic” references were removed from the game. The reprinting of scarce cards devalued them on the secondary market, causing protests.
April	First issue of InQuest, a magazine dedicated to Trading Card Games.
April	Black Lotus reaches $200 on secondary market.
May	First regionals in the US, start of the rise of Mark Justice and Henry Stern.
June 2–4	The first prerelease for an expansion, a single event in Toronto, Canada. Won by Dave Humpherys.
Early June	Release of Ice Age, the first standalone set. Change of the white mana symbol. First sealed play.
July	Release of Chronicles, a "best of 1994" extension of the Fourth Edition. Later to be considered a failed experiment. More devaluation of cards on the secondary market, followed by a huge outcry of collectors.
July	First printing of a Magic comic: The Shadow Mage
August	Release of Renaissance, a black-bordered reprint set for the German, French, and Italian markets.
August 5–7	1995 World Championships in Seattle, USA. Won by Alexander Blumke. Team champions: United States of America.
September	Black Lotus reaches $300 on secondary market.
September	Magic's first price increase.
September	Separation of Type 1 and Type 2 formats (now known as Vintage and Standard).
October	Start of The Dojo, a website dedicated to Magic.
October 14	First release events, called Magic: The Gathering I in New York City, Essen (Germany) and other locations.
October 14	Release of Homelands, a flavor driven set. Purportedly, the worst designed set ever.
October	Billionth Magic card released.
November	Wizards of the Coast moves to Renton office.
December	Wizards of the Coast close their roleplaying game product line.
December	DCI gets its 1,000th member.

Publications

• Final Sacrifice - March
• Shattered Chains - March
• The Pocket Players' Guide for Magic: The Gathering - Fourth Edition - April
• Tapestries - July
• The Shadow Mage - July till October
• Ice Age (comic) - July till October
• The Cursed Land - September
• The Prodigal Sorcerer - October
• Nightmare (comic) - November
• Wayfarer - November, December
• Antiquities War - November, December
• Arabian Nights (comic) - December

First involved

Wizards of the Coast

• Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes, writer
• Joe Hauck, brand
• Hélène Bergeot, organized play

Design and Development

• Kyle Namvar
• Mons Johnson
• Scott "Scooter" Hungerford
• William Jockusch
• Bill Rose
• Mark Rosewater

Artists

• Ice Age
  • Catherine Buck
  • James Ernest
  • L.A. Williams (ak.k.a. Allen Williams)
  • Mike Raabe
  • Philip Mosness
  • Randy Gallegos
  • Rick Emond
  • Ruth Thompson
• Homelands
  • Alan Rabinowitz
  • David A. Cherry
• DCI promos
  • Dom!
  • Jock