Source Material

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Source material cards is the term given to a subset of Magic: The Gathering reprints or reskins that feature original artwork derived from an external intellectual property (the source). These cards are exclusive to the Universes Beyond product line and are often found in bonus sheets. The concept was first introduced with the FINAL FANTASY Through the Ages bonus sheet, which utilized existing artwork from the Final Fantasy franchise. However, these cards were not initially labeled as "source material".[1] The term was formally introduced with the Marvel's Spider-Man bonus sheet, which featured artwork taken directly from iconic comic panels.[2]

Source material cards have become a recurring and integral component of Universes Beyond releases, with all sets in 2025 including them and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also confirmed to feature source material cards.[3] To date, source material cards have been exclusively reprints.

Card design

Force of Negation featuring art of Aang beginning to energybend Ozai. Blue light emits from Aang's eyes and mouth.
Force of Negation source material card featuring artwork taken from "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang".

Unlike standard reprints, source material cards are designed to prominently showcase the artwork. They are produced in a borderless format, employing a modified version of the Japan Showcase visual style. This treatment removes all card frame elements, including the expansion symbol, retaining only the essential rules text and mana costs. To maintain readability, these cards use a bold, thickly-outlined font, and mana symbols are similarly outlined in heavy black.

The artwork used for source material cards can be drawn from a wide range of visual assets associated with the IP, including:

  • Concept art.
  • Screenshots from video games.
  • Still frames from TV shows or full-motion videos (FMVs).
  • Panels and scenes from comic books.
  • Cover illustrations from printed media.

List of sets

The following sets used this card treatment:

References

External links