Collector number

Collector number for March of the Machine.

Collector numbers are part of the information below the text box on a Magic cards. They tell you where the cards fall in the set. They first appeared on cards in Exodus at the same time when color-coding of the expansion symbols was added to easily determine rarity. They were pushed through by the then Magic Brand Manager Joel Mick. Nowadays, collector numbers are assigned by a script that is run when a set is handed off.

The numbers do not affect gameplay.

History

Exodus frame

The first number represented the card's number in the series, the second number represented the total number of cards in the set. A star (★) next to the collector number was used to indicate a premium printing of a card.

From Del Laugel, Magic Technical Editor:

“

When I assign collector numbers to a card set, I start by grouping the cards by color. All the white cards are together at the beginning, followed by blue, black, red, and green, and finally multicolored cards. (The 'WUBRG' color order is pretty standard. It mirrors the pentagon of colors on the back of every Magic card that puts 'friendly' colors together.) After the colored cards come artifacts, nonbasic lands, and basic lands. Then I alphabetize the cards within each of these nine groups by their English card names (a card has the same collector number in all languages). Once the cards are in order, I start at the beginning with 1 and number from there. The second number printed on the card is just the total number of cards in the set. If you use three-ring binders to store your Magic cards, collector numbers are a good way to stay organized. All your red Mirrodin cards, for example, will be in one place, and it's easy to see which cards you're missing. Many players don't keep basic land cards in binders, though, which is why basic lands are numbered separately from nonbasic lands and put at the very end. What if a card falls into multiple categories? Well, until the Mirrodin block introduced artifact lands, that wasn't possible. We decided to bundle the artifact lands with the other nonbasic lands for numbering since most players putting together Constructed decks would expect to find these cards in the land section of their binders."

”

Card numbering has always been divided less by color than by card frame. That's why all the multicolored cards get grouped, for example. Colorless creatures and spells, like those in Rise of the Eldrazi, are numbered first before the colored cards, then the artifacts, nonbasic lands, and basic lands.

Modern frame

With Eighth Edition a new card frame was introduced in which the name and cost, types, and expansion symbol, as well as the power/toughness, were given their boxes to elevate them from the card frame and enhance readability. Card names were printed in a more modern font (Matrix Bold, rather than Goudy Medieval). The Collector number was still listed at the bottom of the card, behind the copyright notice.

In Alara Reborn, a set consisting solely of multicolored cards, the card numbering scheme was complex.

M15 frame

With Magic 2015, another update was made to the card frame. This concerned the introduction of a special Magic font (Beleren), a holofoil stamp, revamped collector info, and a decreased border size. The main reason for the change was the facilitation of digitized printing. The collector number was now placed on its line, and was followed by a rarity indicator.

In Strixhaven: School of Mages, the double-faced cards were numbered after green and before the multicolored cards. It also folded the hybrid costed cards in with the other multicolored cards.

In The Brothers' War, artifacts with a color identity (which included Coastal Bulwark) were placed after the color of their identity.

Off-colored and multicolored Adventurers from Wilds of Eldraine are considered multicolored but are given their own category after the standard multicolored cards.

As of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the following pattern is held for card numbering.

• Inside Set Numbering (takes the form of a fraction: 10/250 for instance, where this is card 10 of the main set of 250 cards)
  • Colorless non-artifact non-land cards
  • White cards
  • Blue cards
  • Black cards
  • Red cards
  • Green cards
  • Multicolored cards (this includes hybrid cards; sets prior to Strixhaven: School of Mages listed them after all other multicolored cards)
  • Colorless non-land artifacts
  • Nonbasic lands
  • Basic lands
• Outside Set Numbering (given the above example of 250 cards, these cards start at number 251 and go up, indicating that they are 'outside' the core set of cards). Recent sets have these 'outside' cards in different orders, but they include:
  • Borderless cards
  • Alternate art cards — cards with the same name and function as the cards in the set, but with totally different art (i.e. Nethroi, Apex of Death)
  • Extended art cards — cards with the same name and same art, but where the art extends to the edge of the card (i.e. Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy)
  • Decorated border art cards — cards with the same name and same main art, but with decorations of the border (i.e. Migration Path)
  • Showcase cards — both alternate art and alternate card frame (with distinct numbers from each other). Foil-etched cards are given a distinct number from their traditional foil counterparts (which share the same number as their regular (non-foil) counterparts).
  • Original cards not in the main set number - (i.e. Elspeth, Undaunted Hero does not appear inside the main Theros: Beyond Death set)

March of the Machine revamp

Starting with March of the Machine the collector numbers were changed to four digits, and the "Inside Set Numbering" (in the form of a fraction like 10/250) was abandoned. The rarity indicator was moved to the front of the collector number.

Notable exceptions

Note that the collector number does not change for some promotional cards, which have dates or the Magic logo on the card. Hence, there are variations in cards, that are not tracked by changing collector numbers.

It is also possible to have alternate art cards that have the same collector number as the original art card. This was the pattern in War of the Spark for the Japanese Anime-style art (i.e. variations of Karn, the Great Creator) are all listed as card #1 of 264)

Rules

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

Collector Number

A number printed on most cards that has no effect on game play. See rule 213, “Information Below the Text Box.”