Reserved List

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Reserved List
Card
Introduced Alpha
Last used Urza's Destiny
Scryfall Statistics

The Reserved List is a list of Magic: The Gathering cards that will never be reprinted.[1] The Card Reprint Policy featuring the Reserved List was first published by Wizards of the Coast on March 4, 1996, in response to concerns that reprints were diminishing the value of cards as collectibles.[2][3][4] It was revised in 1999, 2002,[5][6] and again in 2010.[7] The List contains a total of 572 cards, each originally printed no later than June 1999, and no further cards will ever be added or removed.

The Reserved List extends beyond the named cards to prohibit the creation of new, functionally identical cards that differ only in name. Wizards also refuses to print cards that violate the spirit of the policy by changing only inconsequential details. However, every iteration of the Reprint Policy has allowed for printing special versions of cards on the List. Due to negative feedback, the Reprint Policy was updated in 2010 to narrow that exception, such that any future reprints will not be tournament-legal.

Current definition

  • Reserved cards are cards that will never be printed again in a functionally identical form.
  • A card is considered functionally identical to another card if it has the same card type, subtypes, abilities, mana cost, power, and toughness.
  • The exclusion of any particular card from the Reserved List doesn't indicate that there are any plans to reprint that card.
  • This reprint policy applies to both English and non-English cards.
  • This reprint policy only applies to physical, printed cards. It does not apply to cards released on Magic Online, Magic: The Gathering Arena, or any other digital distribution.[8]
  • All policies apply only to tournament-legal Magic cards in printed form. Wizards has and may continue to print special versions of cards not meant for regular gameplay, such as oversized or commemorative cards.

History

A scan of page 90 from The Duelist magazine #10.
The original Card Reprint Policy defining Reserved Cards.
A scan of page 91 from The Duelist magazine #10.
The Reserved Card List at its inception.

Early reprint policy

Before the establishment of the Reserved List, Wizards attempted to maintain collector value by using the card's border color to differentiate between original printings and reprints. Under that policy, all new cards and printings with new artwork were first printed in black-bordered sets, which were manufactured in limited quantities. After a black-bordered printing, those cards became eligible for reprinting in unlimited quantities with a white border, as with the simply named Unlimited Edition that followed Alpha and Beta.

In May and July 1995, Wizards released Fourth Edition and Chronicles, which together reprinted nearly 500 cards from Alpha, Beta, and the first four expansions. Despite those sets having white borders, the release of reprints significantly depressed prices for the original printings on secondary markets. These releases demonstrated that the value of a card was determined not solely by the uniqueness of its specific printing, but also by its gameplay value.

The drop in resale value affected both collectors and players, undermining confidence in the business model of the game as a whole. The former were concerned about losing the value of their existing investments, while the possibility of cheap future reprints discouraged the latter from purchasing limited edition products.[9]

Establishment

To address the concerns of all parties, Wizards published an updated Card Reprint Policy in their magazine, The Duelist. The new Policy defined a category of cards, called "Reserved Cards," that would never be reprinted, in either black or white border, in functionally identical form.

The Reserved designation was applied to most cards from Alpha and Beta, as well as higher rarities of cards from the limited-print expansions that existed at the time. The original version of the List contained 213 cards.

  1. All cards from Alpha and Beta, except for those already reprinted in Fourth Edition or Ice Age.
  2. All uncommon and rare cards from Arabian Nights and Antiquities, except for those already reprinted in Revised Edition, Fourth Edition, or Chronicles.
  3. All rare cards from Legends and The Dark, except for those already reprinted in Revised Edition, Fourth Edition, or Chronicles.

The Policy also defined a limit for reprinting cards from sets printed after The Dark. For the highest rarity in each set, up to 25% of the cards might be reprinted with white borders, with the remainder becoming Reserved. The exact lists of cards being reprinted or Reserved were announced alongside the releases of core sets containing those reprints. No restrictions were placed on future cards printed at lower rarities.

At the time, rarity was not marked on cards and was closely linked to the demands of the printing process. As a result, there were several subdivisions of each rarity, varying between products. Definitive information about card rarity was publicized through card lists in The Duelist. The 25% reprint limit was applied to U1 rarity cards from Fallen Empires, Chronicles, and Homelands, as well as R1 cards from Ice Age.

Because the original version of the Reprint Policy only restricted white- and black-bordered reprints, the gold-bordered World Championship Decks did not violate the Policy, despite containing several reprints of Reserved cards. Those products also had non-standard card backs, making them unusable in tournaments.

1999 update

The card back used for the 30th Anniversary Edition, depicting a Black Lotus.
Due to the use of a non-standard card back, the 30th Anniversary Edition does not violate the Reserved List.

In September 1999, Wizards amended the Card Reprint Policy with the addition of an explicit Border-Color Policy. In response to player feedback strongly in favor of black-bordered cards, Wizards reserved for themselves the right to reprint cards from Mercadian Masques and later sets with black borders, rather than white. This made Urza's Destiny the final set from which cards were added to the List. To help players distinguish between printings, all future sets gained expansion symbols, regardless of their borders. References to reprint limits and Reserving future cards were removed from the Policy.

Premium foil cards had been introduced just prior to this update, in Urza's Legacy, and the statement regarding special-purpose reprints was rewritten to allow for premium reprints of cards on the Reserved List. Several Reserved cards were reprinted as premium judge promos from 1998 to 2010.

A smaller change outlined justifications for printing new cards and new artwork with white borders in Starter 1999, Portal Three Kingdoms, and Fifth Edition.[10]

2002 update

The July 2002 revision was the only instance of cards being removed from the Reserved List. All common and uncommon cards from Limited Edition (Alpha and Beta) were removed. In addition, Feroz's Ban was removed due to a previous error: although the card was Reserved, it had been reprinted in Fifth Edition, thus undermining its collectibility.[11] To correct another oversight, a portion of the rare cards from Ice Age were added to the Reserved List. This was the final change to the Reserved List itself. No cards have been added to or removed from the Reserved List since 2002.[6]

This update also removed all references to border color and printing language, as well as the criteria by which cards had been chosen for the List.

2010 and later

A pair of 2010 products, Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. The Coalition ‎and From the Vault: Relics‎, took advantage of the premium reprint exclusion added to the Reprint Policy in 1999. However, the community response to previews for these products was negative, and before their release, Wizards removed the premium reprint clause.[12][13][7]

No cards on the Reserved List have received any tournament-legal printing since 2010. From the Vault: Relics and the 2010 judge promos were the final such printings. The 30th Anniversary Edition contains almost every card from Alpha and Beta, but is not tournament-legal due to the use of a unique card back, and therefore does not violate the Reprint Policy.

In November 2022, many pages on magicthegathering.com became inaccessible due to technical problems, including the Official Reprint Policy and many other references to the Reserved List. That absence was inadvertent, and those pages have been restored.[14][15][16]

Complete list of Reserved cards

Limited Edition
Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Legends
The Dark
Fallen Empires
Ice Age
Homelands
Alliances
Mirage
Visions
Weatherlight
Tempest
Stronghold
Exodus
Urza's Saga
Urza's Legacy
Urza's Destiny

Cards removed in July 2002

The following cards were removed from the Reserved List in July 2002.[6]

Card name Card set Rarity
Basalt Monolith Limited Edition U
Berserk Limited Edition U
Camouflage Limited Edition U
Clone Limited Edition U
Consecrate Land Limited Edition U
Copper Tablet Limited Edition U
Demonic Tutor Limited Edition U
Dwarven Demolition Team Limited Edition U
Earthbind Limited Edition C
False Orders Limited Edition C
Guardian Angel Limited Edition C
Ice Storm Limited Edition U
Invisibility Limited Edition C
Jade Statue Limited Edition U
Juggernaut Limited Edition U
Lance Limited Edition U
Living Wall Limited Edition U
Nettling Imp Limited Edition U
Psionic Blast Limited Edition U
Regrowth Limited Edition U
Resurrection Limited Edition C
Sacrifice Limited Edition U
Sinkhole Limited Edition C
Sol Ring Limited Edition U
Feroz's Ban Homelands R

References

  1. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (May 4, 2016). "Official Reprint Policy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2017-09-08.
  2. ↑ Card Reprint Policy, The Duelist #10, May 1996
  3. ↑ How was the Reserve List created?
  4. ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 05, 2013). "Twenty Things That Were Going To Kill Magic". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Randy Buehler (January 07, 2002). "Reexamining Reprints". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-24.
  6. ↑ a b c Randy Buehler (July 19, 2002). "The New Reprint Policy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-09-21.
  7. ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (March 18, 2010). "Revised Reprint Policy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-01-07.
  8. ↑ Mark Rosewater (March 28, 2019). "There's nothing preventing Reserved List cards appearing on Arena is there?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  9. ↑ Cassie LaBelle (September 27, 2023). "The MTG Reserved List, a History". TCGPlayer.
  10. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (September 28, 1999). "Crystal Keep - Magic - Misc - Reprint Policy 1999"
  11. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (July 2002). "Crystal Keep - Magic - Misc - Reprint Policy 2002"
  12. ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 23, 2013). "Were people really so incensed that Phyrexian Negator was reprinted?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  13. ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 09, 2015). "On Phyrexian Negator and the Reserved List". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  14. ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 16, 2022). "We recently migrated the Magic website and some of my "Making Magic" articles didn't transfer properly.". Twitter.
  15. ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 20, 2022). "The link to the Reserve List (Official Reprint Policy) no longer works". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  16. ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 20, 2022). "So is the reserved list article gone on purpose or just not working?". Blogatog. Tumblr.

External links

Retrieved from "https://mtg.wiki/index.php?title=Reserved_List&oldid=527520"