Set

A set in Magic: The Gathering is a pool of cards released together and designed for the same play environment.

Cards in a set can be obtained either randomly through booster packs or in box sets that have a fixed selection of cards. An expansion symbol and, since 2014, a three-character abbreviation is printed on each card to identify the set it belongs to. Reprintable sets are on sale for somewhere between eighteen months and two years. The most recent released major set is Marvel's Spider-Man.

Expansions

Expansions are sets that feature the latest Standard-legal cards and mechanics. The most recently released expansions form a large part of the game's Constructed and Limited environments. Each expansion has a theme running through the gameplay and flavor of its cards. Until 2018, expansions were organized into blocks according to their theme and release date.

Expansions are the focal point of Magic, especially its primary gameplay format, Standard. Standard annually rotates out older sets in favor of newer ones, putting less emphasis on older cards.

For over 20 years, Magic expansions were grouped into blocks, which carried an overarching theme across two or three sets. A large expansion established each block's setting and key mechanics, followed by small expansion(s) that developed on the block's themes and added complementary mechanics. Under the system in place since 2018, sets are no longer designed in blocks.

Set Design ends roughly eight months before a set releases.

History

The game's first expansions, from Arabian Nights (1993) to Homelands (1995), were independent releases as they came out before the introduction of blocks. Mirage block established a convention of making expansions in blocks of three, one block per year. This practice would remain the default for Magic from 1996–2014. Exceptions were Coldsnap (2006), an extra summer expansion that was retconned into the third set of the Ice Age block, and the Lorwyn–Shadowmoor block (2007–08), which consisted of two mini-blocks of two sets apiece.

The mini-block structure was adopted into the "Two-Block Paradigm," which was used beginning with the Shadows block. Under this system, Wizards eliminated the core set to allow them to make four expansion sets each year. These were divided into two blocks annually: one including the autumn and winter sets, and a second including the spring and summer sets.

The Two-Block paradigm proved to be unsuccessful in some cases, and the end of the block structure was announced by Mark Rosewater on June 12, 2017. Beginning in 2018, three large standalone would be released each year (spring, autumn, and winter), supplemented by a revamped Core Set in the summer. This was called the Three-and-One Model.

In 2020, Wizards of the Coast decided to stop using the term "Standard-legal set" for expansions as it implied a little too strongly that the new sets were just about Standard. Instead, they started to use the term premier set.

The number of rares and mythics in Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms was increased to sixty and twenty respectively. From 2020 to 2023, the baseline Magic set size is 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 60 rares, and 20 mythic rares.

In 2021 core sets were retired again. Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms started in design as a core set but was later transformed into a more complicated expansion set. Wizards announced there would be four standalone premier expansion sets each year.

2024 saw the introduction of Play Boosters and the reduction from 10 commons a Draft pack to 6. With this, Premier Sets changed to 81 commons and 100 uncommons.

In 2025, the three supplemental Universes Beyond sets that were released in that year were made Standard-legal expansions, increasing the Standard releases to six per year. In addition, the Magic: The Gathering Foundations product was designed to be an evergreen legal set, refreshed every five years. With that, the Standard format would start at thirteen sets and go to eighteen sets.

Large and small expansions

A large expansion is one with more than 240 cards, while a small expansion has 200 or fewer. The typical block structure began with a large set, followed by one or more small sets in a supporting role. However, the second or third set can also grow into a large set as needed by R&D. Historically (under the three-set block formula) this was due to a need for the third set to expand on the block's existing themes while also having its unique flavor and mechanics.

The exact number of cards in a set has varied widely over the years, especially those from before the block structure was well defined. Mirage block through Onslaught block established a convention of 350 cards in the first set, and 143 cards in each of the second and third sets. This changed with Mirrodin block, which reduced the size difference by shifting some uncommons and rares from the large expansion into the small expansions. The new custom (306 large, 165 small) continued until Coldsnap.

Time Spiral block had larger expansions to accommodate timeshifted cards. The standard card pool consisting of the Time Spiral, Lorwyn, and Shadowmoor blocks plus the core set was the largest in Magic history. Following this, feedback regarding the number of cards printed annually caused Wizards to cut back the size of sets. Alara block saw the introduction of Mythic rares and a size reduction for sets. Commons, uncommons, and rares in large sets were reduced by 20 each, and 15 mythics were added. Fewer uncommons and rares were printed in small sets as well. Given the fast turnaround, it was clear Wizards was already planning on decreasing set sizes before feedback reinforced this.

Innistrad introduced double-faced cards, and with it a separate sheet that increased set size any time it returned. Magic 2015 restored the 20 uncommons cut during Alara block to improve limited format play.

Beginning in the fall of 2015, there were two large expansions released each year, one in the fall and one in the spring (the Two-Block Paradigm). The Standard play format rotated with the release of each large expansion, rather than just once a year as had been the case since 1997; however, only one mid-season rotation went forward before negative feedback convinced Wizards to return to the once-a-year cycle. In this new structure, core sets were eliminated. After the introduction of the Two-Block Paradigm, the second set of a two-expansion block would be usually small (but not always). To facilitate the new draft structure (2 boosters of the second set / 1 of the first set) the average size for a small expansion went up to around 184 cards, adding ten commons, seven rares, and some mythics.

Small expansions were abandoned with the introduction of the Three-and-One Model. Rivals of Ixalan was the last small expansion. When Core Set 2019 (two sets after Rivals) was released, Standard had over 2,000 legal cards, on par with the Time Spiral-Shadowmoor size, and each eight-set Standard format since has been larger than that.

Gimmick sets

Some early sets featured gimmicks to make them stand out. Nowadays, R&D has cooled on gimmick sets as they are significantly harder to make and don’t result in additional sales. Examples are:

• Alara Reborn — all cards are multicolored.
• Legions — all cards are creatures.
• Scourge — the "dragon set".
• Torment — the "black set".
• Planar Chaos — alternate reality / colorshifted cards.

Standalone sets

A "standalone set" is a set that is designed to be played by itself. Ice Age, Mirage and Tempest were all marketed as such. The concept became outdated when the block structure and limited draft became the standard. Standalone sets returned when the block model was discontinued in favor of the Three-and-One Model, starting with Dominaria.

Event sets

An “event set” is structurally built to capture an event in the Magic storyline. It also can refer to the set itself as a culmination of a story arc. Event sets include:

• War of the Spark
• The Brothers' War
• March of the Machine
• Reality Fracture

Faction sets, nostalgia sets and backdrop sets

Within R&D, sets can be characterized as faction sets (e.g. Ravnica: City of Guilds), as nostalgia sets (e.g. Dominaria) or as backdrop sets. The latter are characterized as set on a world we’ve been to before, but with a different mechanical focus.

Showcase sets

Showcase sets were introduced in 2024 with Outlaws of Thunder Junction. A showcase set has a theme and uses the Omenpaths to get creatures (and possibly objects) from across the Multiverse that fit into that theme. R&D plans to try and make one set each year that plays into this new space.

Travelogue sets

A different kind of set is made possible by the omenpaths, the "Travelogue set", where the set takes place across multiple planes. An example is Aetherdrift. Additional travelogue sets are not likely in the near future.

Core sets

Core sets used to form the base set of cards for tournament play and rotations. After the Limited Edition, all core sets through Tenth Edition consisted solely of reprinted cards. Beginning with Magic 2010, they featured both new cards and reprints. Core sets were discontinued in 2015 to allow room for four expansions annually under the Two-Block Paradigm., then returned for three years with the introduction of the Three-and-One Model, before being discontinued again in 2021.

In 2024, Magic: The Gathering Foundations was yet another take on the concept of a core set.

Rating system

Magazine ad for the new rating system

A rating system for complexity in the line of sets was introduced with Fifth Edition, Tempest, and Portal Second Age, (1997–1998). These ratings stopped appearing on packaging with the release of Lorwyn (2007).

	Starter-level sets were sets designed to have the lowest possible level of Magic complexity. They were meant to introduce and teach the game to prospective and newer players. They were discontinued as they did not fulfill this purpose, but similar products have been printed in the form of 2-Player Starter Sets and Starter Kits.
	Advanced-level sets were the core sets of the game. They had a medium level of complexity and tended to include what are today known as evergreen mechanics.
	Expert-level sets were sets that were generally of the highest level of Magic thematic and mechanical complexity. Expert-level sets were all expansion sets.

Tentpole sets

In 2022, Wizards of the Coast introduced the marketing term "tentpole set" for the six major releases for each year (four premier sets, and two special supplemental sets). A tentpole set has to have randomized boosters for Limited as a main component, but also has accompanying products, like Commander decks, associated with it.

In 2025, the six tentpole sets (three for the Magic IP and three for Universes Beyond) all became Standard legal (and thus all premier sets)

Supplemental sets

Supplemental sets are products not intended for Standard environments. They usually introduce new casual game variants, sometimes with oversized cards, or with mechanics usable only in limited environments. Some are sold in box sets, others in booster packs. They often take the "(Draft) Innovation Product" slot in Wizards of the Coast's annual release schedule. One of the current design constraints for a innovation product is that it can be sold in a booster pack.

• Vanguard — Nontraditional oversized cards that modify the game rules of each player.
• Conspiracy Draft — A multiplayer variant intended for Draft instead of Constructed; first featured in Conspiracy.
• Archenemy — Asymmetrical multiplayer; all against the archenemy; first featured in Archenemy.
• Commander — Multiplayer variant with a 100-card deck; each non-basic land card must be unique; first featured in Commander.
  • Commander Legends — Intersection of draft and Commander, using 60-card drafted decks.
• Planechase — A game mode that simulates planeswalking by having an extraplanar deck that modifies the rules of the game depending upon which plane you find yourself; first featured in Planechase.
• Two-Headed Giant — Two against two; first focused on in Battlebond.
• Jumpstart — Grab two boosters, shuffle them into a 40-card deck, and start playing. Currently fills the role of introductory product previously filled by starter-level and core sets.
• Masters series — draftable reprint sets, used to increase availability of staple cards in non-rotating formats.
• Horizons series — Sets designed to add new cards into a non-rotating format without adding them to Standard. Horizons sets have been made for Modern (Modern Horizons) and Historic (Jumpstart: Historic Horizons)

Other examples of supplemental (non-premier) products:

• The initial Universes Beyond-series. These products have no structural consistency, ranging from Secret Lair drops to Commander decks to Horizon-style sets.

After the tentpole Universes Beyond sets became part of the Standard environment and that environment was expanded to six sets per year, the number of supplemental sets declined.

Un-sets

Un-sets (Unglued, Unhinged, Unstable, Unsanctioned and Unfinity) are self-parody sets sold in booster packs. Championed by Mark Rosewater, they are themed around mechanics that would be impossible to print in a normal expansion. Although these sets are targeted to the casual crowd, they also may contain cards specifically designed with Cube and Commander in mind, for playgroups who are okay with using them. Before the release of Unfinity, cards in un-sets were printed with silver-borders to denote they were not tournament-legal. Beginning with Unfinity, non-tournament-legal cards are denoted by acorn stamps instead of silver borders.

Annex sets

"Annex sets" are a special line of products started with Amonkhet block. They were designed as "complete experiences in a box," and released after the set they are associated with. Originally, R&D developed annex products when they made sense instead of forcing them for every set. Starting with Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, most annex sets became Set Commander decks. The concept returned with Murders at Karlov Manor.

Main set	Annex
Amonkhet	Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
Ixalan	Explorers of Ixalan
Dominaria	Heroes of Dominaria
Guilds of Ravnica	Guild Kits
Ravnica Allegiance	Guild Kits
War of the Spark	Ravnica Inquisition
Throne of Eldraine	Brawl decks
Murders at Karlov Manor	Ravnica: Clue Edition

Portal and Starter

Portal, Portal Second Age, and Starter are starter-level products designed to offer a less complicated form of Magic for newer players. Portal Three Kingdoms is a starter-level set developed for the Asian market, based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Commemorative sets

"Commemorative sets" are limited-run, non-tournament-legal sets that honor or celebrate certain sets or events.

• Collectors' Editions for the Beta set. The card backs have gold borders and the set name printed on them.
  • Collectors' Edition
  • International Collectors' Edition
• Tournament deck series. The cards have gold borders on the front and a custom card back for each set.
  • Pro Tour Collector Set
  • World Championship Decks
• 30th Anniversary Edition

Compilation sets

"Compilation sets" are reprint sets distributed in booster packs. Compilation sets are also considered to be supplemental sets.

Micro sets

March of the Machine: The Aftermath was the first set marketed as a "micro set". It was sold in 5-card Epilogue Boosters that continued the story in between sets. Each booster guaranteed a foil and a Showcase card.

Because of the negative reception of March of the Machine: The Aftermath, future micro-set releases are canceled. The planned micro set The Big Score was incorporated in The List for Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

Cards that aren't in sets

Some cards are released in singles or smaller groups and do not form official sets. Often, these form a continuing series that is grouped and given an official code, like regular sets, for card organization. Occasionally these cards are printed in extremely small numbers, such as celebration cards.

• The Secret Lair series is organized into "drops", very small non-random groups of cards purchased together
• Promotional cards distributed, usually as singles, with certain products and events, which also include all kinds of one-time cards like holiday cards and special reprints like Judge Gifts

External Links

• Wizard of the Coast's Product Archive.