The List
The List is a rotating catalogue of cards introduced in 2020 in the vein of the Timeshifted cards of Time Spiral and the Mystery Booster set.[1] It pays homage to the past of Magic: The Gathering and is similarly curated as the list for the Universal promo pack. The cards can be found in the simultaneously introduced Set Boosters.
Description
"The List" contains commons, uncommons, rares, and mythic rares which will fall at the proper rate to one another. Being on "The List" does not make cards Standard-legal. They are legal in whatever formats the cards are already legal in. The cards can be pulled from anywhere in Magic's history. Groups of the cards in "The List" changed from set to set, but the main core would remain intact. Usually, 50 to 75 cards were swapped out for others that better fit a new set's themes.[2] These cards are normally printed on one print sheet.[3] On occasion, a card that officially had been removed could still show up in a later set.[4]
Size
The List started as a catalog of 300 cards. For Streets of New Capenna, it went down to 67 cards to accommodate the in-Magic versions of the Universes Beyond cards. The other cards were all rares and mythic rares.[5] For Baldur's Gate the List returned to being 300 cards.[6]
With the introduction of Play Boosters for Murders at Karlov Manor, the List was scaled back to 50 cards: 10 Special Guests and 40 cards that are reprinted without new art (30 common or uncommon and 10 rare or mythic rare).[7] Going forward, the straight reprints are replaced by other types of cards.[8]
History
Starting with Zendikar Rising, the cards of "The List" could be found 25% of the time in Set Boosters instead of a marketing card.[9] As with Mystery Booster the cards were supposed to be "pick-ups", meaning that they were printed as they previously appeared (including art, card frame, expansion symbol and collector number) with the exception that they'll have a small planeswalker symbol in their lower-left corner. A number of cards in "The List" (15 as of Strixhaven's release) use the same artwork as cards of the same name in "Mystery Booster", making those cards from the two sets nearly indistinguishable from each other[10].
Until The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, the List was curated by Aaron Forsythe.[8] Thereafter, it was curated by Reggie Valk.[8]
Special Guests
Special Guests are the name for a class of reprints introduced as part of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.[11] They are marketed as highly desirable reprints that have been flavored to the set they appear in. They are incorporated into "The List" of the respective sets but can also appear in Collector Boosters.[11][12]
Universes Within
In June 2021, it was announced that for upcoming Universes Beyond Secret Lairs, Wizards of the Coast would create and print versions of the mechanically unique Secret Lair Universes Beyond cards that are set in Magic 's Multiverse approximately six months (the exact time may vary) after their release in Secret Lair.[13] The in-Magic versions are made available through The List. They appear on The List more frequently than other cards to make them easier to find. One in eight Set Boosters contains one of these cards, while another one in eight set boosters contains a different card from the List. The non-canon cards and the rebranded cards are considered equivalent game pieces, meaning you can only play four copies (or one copy) of either the Magic version or the Universes Beyond version in your deck. The Information below the text box has the special SLX set code and the SLD card number that it equals to.[14]
Alternate art
Among the new cards for the List of Streets of New Capenna was a special non-foil Rafiq of the Many featuring new art and the Streets of New Capenna Golden Age treatment.[5] This card notably lacks the planeswalker symbol in the lower left corner, and adds a new collector number (#250) to the Shards of Alara set.
Removal of "pick-ups"
The List continues on past Murders at Karlov Manor, but R&D has moved away from the inclusion of the reprint cards (same art, same expansion symbol as the original printing but adding the small Planeswalker symbol). So after MKM, The List will still exist but Wizards of the Coast is adapting what is included on it.[8] For Murders at Karlov Manor the List was reduced to 40 cards in addition to the 10 Special Guests (30 commons/uncommons and 10 rares).[15]
Misprints
For unknown reasons, six white cards of the first List didn't use the correct version of the white mana symbol, but an entirely new version.[16]
References
- ↑ Magic: The Gathering Panel with Mark Rosewater | Comic-Con@Home 2020 (Video). YouTube.
- ↑ WPN (December 17, 2020). "What's New in Kaldheim Set Boosters". Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 27, 2021). "Unless the list is only one sheet and with the...". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ HexadecimalBogon (June 20, 2021). "Collecting The List, and an unintended inclusion". Coolstuffinc.com.
- ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (April 14, 2022). "What's New on The List for Streets of New Capenna". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (June 8, 2022). "What's New on The List for Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (October 18, 2023). "What are Play Boosters?". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d Wizards of the Coast (October 20, 2023). "Play Booster Discord Q&A". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 25, 2020). "Set Boosters". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ What's Your Take on Stores Coalescing The List and Mystery Booster Cards? (October 1, 2020)
- ↑ a b 30th Anniversary Panel at GenCon – A Recap of MTG's Past, Present & Future (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (August 5, 2023).
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 5, 2023). "Can you explain the "Special Guests" Magic thing?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (June 7, 2021). "Secret Lair Universes Beyond Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Streets of New Capenna Prebeat (Video). Weekly MTG. YouTube (March 4, 2022).
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (January 25, 2025). "What's New on The List for Murders at Karlov Manor". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Scryfall (September 27, 2020). "Now that The List cards are in the wild, we've discovered that some were printed with a new/old white mana symbol.". Twitter.