Marquee card
A marquee card was a splashy rare card that appeared in early Magic: The Gathering sets, and did something Magic had never done before.[1][2]
Description
Mark Rosewater got the idea from the popularity of Jester's Cap in the Ice Age. A marquee card could go into any deck (usually an artifact, but it could in theory be a land — colorless spells didn't exist yet).[3]
The tradition of creating marquee cards petered out in Tempest when the Rules Manager kept Mark Rosewater from printing "Helm of Volrath", which would later be Mindslaver.[4] For various reasons it couldn't be done. Rosewater tried it again years later in Mirrodin where he got it through.[5]
Many years later, Rosewater concluded the concept of a marquee card was a "silly pet theory" of his that "wasn't necessary".[6]
List of marquee cards
| Set | Card | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Age | Jester's Cap[3] | Remove cards from opponent's deck. |
| Alliances | Helm of Obedience | Gain control of a creature from opponent's deck. |
| Mirage | Grinning Totem[3][7][8] | Cast cards from opponent's deck. |
| Tempest | Volrath's Helm (not released)[7] | Take control of another player and play his or her side for a whole turn. |
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 12, 2019). "What is a marquee card?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Evan Symon (January 26, 2021). "Marquee Cards: Mark Rosewater's noble experiment". Magic Untapped.
- ↑ a b c Mark Rosewater (May 5, 2014). "Journey to the Center of the Set, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 24, 2018). "What was the last large set to have a marquee card?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 5, 2012). "What were the marquee cards in previous sets?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 7, 2019). "Why does Magic no longer do marquee cards?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (August 16, 2010). "Gimme a Hand". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 14, 2003). "Jamuraa, the Merrier". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.