Ultimate Masters
| Ultimate Masters | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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[[File:{{#setmainimage:UMA logo.png}}|250px]] | |||||
| Set Information | |||||
| Set symbol | |||||
| Symbol description | Infinity symbol made of two skulls. | ||||
| Design |
Adam Prosak (co-lead) Jules Robins (co-lead) Erik Lauer Matthew Danner Nat Moes Nate Price Sam Stoddard [1] | ||||
| Development | Same as design | ||||
| Art direction | Cynthia Sheppard | ||||
| Release date | December 7, 2018 | ||||
| Plane | Multiversal | ||||
| Themes and mechanics | Graveyard matters | ||||
| Set size |
254 cards (101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 20 mythic rares) | ||||
| Expansion code | UMA[2] | ||||
| Physical Masters series | |||||
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| Magic: The Gathering Chronology | |||||
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Ultimate Masters is a booster-based compilation set that was released on December 7, 2018.[3][4] It was designed to be drafted and was meant to be the conclusive celebration of twenty-five years of Magic: The Gathering.
Set details
Ultimate Masters contains 254 cards (101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 20 mythic rares) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. The product contains cards from across Magic's entire history with some of Magic's most popular cards. Every booster box of Ultimate Masters contains 24 booster packs—each with fifteen randomly inserted game cards, including one premium foil card in every pack. The sixteen-card boosters (the sixteenth card is a marketing card) feature artwork from Liliana of the Veil, Karn Liberated, and Vengevine. The set will be released in English and Japanese.
Boxes of Ultimate Masters were only available through local games stores, while big-box stores like Walmart and Target had three-pack blister packs (Draft Packs). Ultimate Masters had an MSRP higher than previous Masters products. The MSRP was $13.99 per booster pack, $335.76 per booster box, and $34.99 per blister pack. WotC said that "supplies would be limited", implying that the print run for Ultimate Masters likely was small.
This set was said to be the last Masters series set "for the foreseeable future".[5] However, Double Masters would be released less than two years later.
Ultimate Box Topper
Each booster box came with a random semi-borderless foil box topper, each being available as regular card in the set, too.[6] There is a total of 40 box toppers.
Magic Online
Ultimate Masters released on Magic Online on December 7, 2018, the same day as the paper set. Box toppers were distributed by Treasure Chests.
Themes and mechanics
Ultimate Masters was originally designed as a graveyard-themed set, nicknamed Immortal Masters. This theme is still present in the set symbol and in promotional text on the booster boxes.[7] It has fourteen returning keywords.[3] Every color in this set has multiple cards that care about the graveyard in some way, providing resources for delve, flashback, and dredge in blue, black, and green.[8] White and red see the return of the heroic mechanic from Theros. In addition, white has a heavy Aura subtheme, and madness is prevalent in red.
Changes in rarity
Common to uncommon
Uncommon to common
Uncommon to rare
Rare to uncommon
Rare to mythic rare
Mythic rare to rare
Cycles
| Cycle name |  
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tapland manlands | Celestial Colonnade | Creeping Tar Pit | Lavaclaw Reaches | Raging Ravine | Stirring Wildwood |
| Five lands that can turn into creatures until end of turn. One rare for each allied color pair, able to produce either color, and enter the battlefield tapped. | |||||
Token cards
Ultimate Masters has sixteen tokens.[9]
- 1/1 Citizen creature, for Icatian Crier.
- 1/1 Spirit creature with flying, for Spirit Cairn.
- 2/2 Drake creature with flying, for Talrand, Sky Summoner.
- 2/2 Homunculus creature, for Stitcher's Apprentice.
- 1/1 Faerie Rogue creature with flying, for Bitterblossom.
- 20/20 Legendary Avatar creature with flying and indestructible named Marit Lage, for Dark Depths.
- 6/6 Wurm creature with trample, for Penumbra Wurm.
- 2/2 Zombie creature, for Bridge from Below, Ghoulcaller's Accomplice, Moan of the Unhallowed, and Rise from the Tides.
- 1/1 Elemental creature, for Molten Birth.
- 1/1 Elemental creature, for Young Pyromancer.
- 1/1 Soldier creature with haste, for Akroan Crusader.
- 3/1 Elemental creature named Spark Elemental, with trample, haste, and "At the beginning of the end step, sacrifice Spark Elemental", for Sparkspitter.
- 4/4 Elemental creature, for Walker of the Grove.
- X/X Ooze creature, for Miming Slime.
- 1/2 Spider creature with reach, for Spider Spawning.
1/1 Spirit creature with flying, for Beckon Apparition.
Notable cards
Cards with new art
- Ancient Tomb
- Back to Basics
- Bitterblossom[10]
- Dark Depths[10]
- Demonic Tutor
- Devoted Druid
- Double Cleave
- Eternal Witness
- Faith's Fetters
- Fecundity
- Foil
- Frantic Search [10]
- Fulminator Mage
- Gamble
- Glen Elendra Archmage
- Golgari Grave-Troll
- Goryo's Vengeance
- Grave Scrabbler
- Hissing Iguanar
- Iridescent Drake
- Kodama's Reach
- Lava Spike
- Life from the Loam [10]
- Mana Vault
- Mistveil Plains
- Offalsnout
- Patchwork Gnomes
- Pattern of Rebirth
- Phyrexian Altar
- Phyrexian Tower
- Platinum Emperion
- Prismatic Lens
- Reanimate
- Reckless Charge
- Reviving Vapors
- Safehold Elite
- Seismic Assault
- Sigil of the New Dawn
- Slippery Bogle [10]
- Songs of the Damned
- Spirit Cairn
- Spoils of the Vault
- Tarmogoyf
- Tasigur, the Golden Fang
- Through the Breach [10]
- Ulamog's Crusher
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- Unstable Mutation
- Vengeful Rebirth
- Verdant Eidolon
Cards with new flavor text
- Angelic Renewal
- Defy Gravity
- Demonic Tutor
- Double Cleave
- Foil
- Frantic Search
- Fulminator Mage
- Gamble
- Hissing Iguanar
- Lava Spike
- Patchwork Gnomes
- Penumbra Wurm
- Phyrexian Altar
- Phyrexian Tower
- Reanimate
- Seismic Assault
- Sigil of the New Dawn
- Slippery Bogle
- Spirit Cairn
- Squee, Goblin Nabob
- Ulamog's Crusher
- Whirlwind Adept
Controversy
It was discovered that the packaging of the box topper of each box of Ultimate Masters is semitransparent, making the top card easily visible in certain light and angles.[11]
References
- ↑ Ultimate Masters credits
- ↑ Information below the text box
- ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (November 29, 2018). "Ultimate Masters Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (November 5, 2018). "Announcing Ultimate Masters". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ WeeklyMTG: Announcing Ultimate Masters
- ↑ Carteblanchehobbies (November 2, 2018) "Magic: the Gathering UMA promos revealed". Brotherofrunes.com
- ↑ Gavin Verhey (2019-02-05). "State of Product Design 2018". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Marshall Sutcliffe (November 27, 2018). "Ultimate Masters Draft Primer". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Chris Gleeson (November 29, 2018). "The Tokens of Ultimate Masters". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d e f Chris Gleeson (December 4, 2018). "Ultimate Masters Art Descriptions". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Ultimate Box Topper Packs are Searchable! (Video). Thirleck. YouTube (November 6, 2018).