Portal Three Kingdoms

Template:Expansion

Portal Three Kingdoms is a starter-level set released in 1999. It was specifically designed for the Asian market and was not sold in North America. It was mainly printed in Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, but there was also an English printing, sold mostly in Australia and New Zealand. As a result, the English versions of the cards are amongst the rarest in the game. As with the previous two Portal sets, the cards in Portal Three Kingdoms were not tournament-legal at the time of printing, but were made legal in Vintage and Legacy on 20 October 2005.

Features

Portal Three Kingdoms was a flavor-based set that used the cards to retell the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. This meant that it was the first set since Legends to reference real-world people, places and events in its card names. The artwork for the set was produced entirely by Chinese artists in order to give it an authentic feel.

The set featured its own keyword ability, Horsemanship. This was functionally identical to Flying but was distributed differently across the Color Pie, appearing on a number of red cards. It also featured Legendary creatures, a rule that had not been included in the previous Portal sets.

The set continued to use the simplified Portal rules. Like the previous sets, it had sword and shield symbols next to the power and toughness of creature cards to denote which number was which and used bold type for rules text and a thick line to separate it from flavor text. It also had no instants, artifacts or enchantments. However, Portal Three Kingdoms did have sorceries that could only be played during the combat phase, such as Heavy Fog and ones that could only be played in response to another spell, such as Preemptive Strike. All such cards have since received errata to make them actual instants.

Points of interest

• At its release, Portal Three Kingdoms had the single longest set name in the game. It held this record until 2004, when it was met by Champions of Kamigawa and then again by Betrayers of Kamigawa in 2005. All three were then beaten by Ravnica: City of Guilds in 2005 as all four sets are equal in the number of letters in their names (19), but Ravnica is slightly longer due to its colon and third space. Note that although Portal Three Kingdoms is often incorrectly spelled Portal: Three Kingdoms, it would mean that Ravnica is still the longest by a single space.

• Borrowing 100,000 Arrows holds the record for the largest number in a card title.

• As Horsemanship replaced flying in the set, Borrowing the East Wind and Rolling Earthquake were included to mimic Hurricane and Earthquake, respectively.

• In the set's FAQ, it states that Riding the Dilu Horse was misprinted without the "until end of turn" clause and should be treated as though it had it, but when the set was given errata prior to being made tournament-legal, the card was instead given reminder text stating that the effect is permanent.

• As their names imply, each of the twelve Zodiac creatures represent a different sign of the Chinese zodiac. Their flavour texts form a single piece, an extract from the epic Chinese poem at the end of Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel. The correct order to read them in is: Zodiac Snake, Zodiac Horse, Zodiac Goat, Zodiac Monkey, Zodiac Rooster, Zodiac Dog, Zodiac Pig, Zodiac Rat, Zodiac Ox, Zodiac Tiger, Zodiac Rabbit and finally Zodiac Dragon.

• Zodiac Dragon is one of only five non-Changeling Dragons that has neither flying nor the ability to gain flying. The other Dragons without it are Mistform Ultimus, Shichifukujin Dragon, Henge Guardian and Elder Land Wurm, as although Dragon Engine also cannot fly, it currently does not have the Dragon creature type. Zodiac Dragon was hugely overvalued initially as people were unaware of its errata, believing it could be discarded repeatedly in one turn using a card like Wild Mongrel.

• Zodiac Rooster is the second of only four creatures printed with Plainswalk, the other three being Righteous Avengers, Graceful Antelope and Boggart Arsonists.

• Unless otherwise noted, all quotations on Portal Three Kingdoms cards are from "Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel (Beijing Foreign Language Press/Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991), Moss Roberts, trans.

Notable cards

• Imperial Recruiter was used in some decks, as an effective way to tutor for creatures that are part of a combo (for example Painter's Servant).
• Imperial Seal is a sorcery version of Vampiric Tutor which is restricted in Vintage. Imperial Seal effectively allows a player in that format to run extra copies of Vampiric Tutor. As a result, Imperial Seal has been restricted in Vintage and banned in Legacy and is the most valuable card in the set.
• Strategic Planning became popular in Vintage after the restriction of Brainstorm and Ponder in decks, that benefit from certain cards being in the graveyard.

Reprints

The following cards were printed in other sets before being printed in Portal Three Kingdoms:

• Balance of Power — was last seen in Portal.
• Blaze — was last seen in 6th Edition.
• Coercion — was last seen in 6th Edition.
• Exhaustion — was last seen in Urza's Saga.
• Extinguish — was last seen in Portal Second Age.
• Lone Wolf — was last seen in Urza's Legacy.
• Mystic Denial — was last seen in Portal Second Age.
• Rally the Troops — was last seen in Portal Second Age.
• Relentless Assault — was last seen in 6th Edition.
• Stalking Tiger — was last seen in 6th Edition.
• Stone Rain — was last seen in 6th Edition.
• Vengeance — was last seen in Portal Second Age.
• Volunteer Militia — was last seen in Portal Second Age.
• Warrior's Stand — was last seen in Portal Second Age.

Functional reprints

The set included a large number of cards that were functional reprints of previously printed cards, as well as several which became sorceries but were otherwise the same.

• Ambition's Cost is a functional reprint of Ancient Craving from Portal Second Age. It was reprinted in 8th Edition with the flavor text from Ancient Craving instead.
• Barbarian Horde is a functional reprint of Hill Giant from Portal and Ogre Warrior from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Borrowing 100,000 Arrows is a functional reprint of Theft of Dreams from Portal Second Age.
• Burning of Xinye is a functional reprint of Wildfire from Urza's Saga.
• Capture of Jingzhou is a funtional reprint of Temporal Manipulation from Portal Second Age, which is itself a functional reprint of *Time warp from tempest.
• Champion's Victory is a functional reprint of Remove from Portal Second Age.
• Control of the Court is a functional reprint of Goblin Lore from Portal Second Age.
• Corrupt Court Official is a functional reprint of Ravenous Rats Urza's Destiny, save for creature type.
• Eightfold Maze is a functional reprint of Just Fate from Portal Second Age.
• Eunuchs' Intrigues is a functional reprint of Goblin War Cry from Portal Second Age.
• False Defeat is a functional reprint of Breath of Life from Portal Second Age.
• False Mourning is a functional reprint of Salvage from Portal Second Age.
• Famine is a functional reprint of Dakmor Plague from Portal Second Age.
• Fire Ambush is a functional reprint of Volcanic Hammer from Portal Second Age.
• Fire Bowman is a functional reprint of Goblin Firestarter from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Flanking Troops is a functional reprint of Seasoned Marshal from Urza's Saga and Alaborn Cavalier from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Forced Retreat is a functional reprint of Time Ebb from Portal Second Age.
• Forest Bear is a functional reprint of Grizzly Bears from 6th Edition, Balduvian Bears from Ice Age, Bear Cub from Portal Second Age and Barbary Apes from Legends, save for creature type.
• Ghostly Visit is a functional reprint of Hand of Death from Portal Second Age.
• Heavy Fog is a functional reprint of Deep Wood from Portal Second Age.
• Imperial Edict is a functional reprint of Cruel Edict from Portal Second Age.
• Independent Troops is a functional reprint of Goblin Bully from Portal and Goblin Piker from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Meng Huo's Horde is a functional reprint of Blanchwood Treefolk from Urza's Saga and Plated Wurm from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Misfortune's Gain is a functional reprint of Path of Peace from Urza's Saga.
• Mountain Bandit is a functional reprint of Raging Goblin from 6th Edition, save for creature type.
• Peach Garden Oath is a functional reprint of Festival of Trokin from Portal Second Age.
• Poison Arrow is a functional reprint of Dark Offering from Portal Second Age.
• Preemptive Strike is a functional reprint of False Summoning from Portal Second Age and Remove Soul from 6th Edition. The radically different wording between the two cards shows the difficulty the designers had fitting countermagic in with the Portal rules system.
• Ravages of War is a functional reprint of Armageddon from 6th Edition.
• Red Cliffs Armada is a functional reprint of Armored Galleon from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Renegade Troops is a functional reprint of Ogre Berserker from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Return to Battle is a functional reprint of Raise Dead from 6th Edition.
• Rockslide Ambush is a functional reprint of Spitting Earth from 6th Edition.
• Sage's Knowledge is a functional reprint of Déjà Vu from Portal Second Age.
• Shu Defender is a functional reprint of Town Sentry from Portal Second Age.
• Shu Elite Infantry is a functional reprint of Trokin High Guard from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Shu Foot Soldiers is a functional reprint of Regal Unicorn from 6th Edition and Alaborn Trooper from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Shu Grain Caravan is a functional reprint of Venerable Monk from 6th Edition, save for creature type.
• Slashing Tiger is a functional reprint of Razorclaw Bear from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Southern Elephant is a functional reprint of Rowan Treefolk from Portal, save for creature type.
• Spoils of Victory is a functional reprint of Untamed Wilds from 6th Edition.
• Straw Soldiers is a functional reprint of Talas Merchant from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Taunting Challenge is a functional reprint of Alluring Scent from Portal Second Age.
• Three Visits is a functional reprint of Nature's Lore from Portal Second Age.
• Trained Cheetah is a functional reprint of Norwood Warrior from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Trained Jackal is a functional reprint of Norwood Ranger from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Virtuous Charge is a functional reprint of Warrior's Charge from Portal.
• Warrior's Oath is a functional reprint of Last Chance from Portal.
• Wei Infantry is a functional reprint of Skeletal Snake from Portal and Dakmor Scorpion from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Wielding the Green Dragon is a functional reprint of Monstrous Growth from Portal Second Age.
• Wu Infantry is a functional reprint of Coral Eel from Portal and Coral Merfolk from Urza's Saga, save for creature type.
• Wu Longbowman is a functional reprint of Capricious Sorcerer from Portal and Apprentice Sorcerer from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Wu Warship is a functional reprint of Steam Frigate from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Yellow Scarves Troops is a functional reprint of Goblin Raider from Urza's Saga and Hulking Goblin from Portal, save for creature type.
• Young Wei Recruits is a functional reprint of Craven Knight from Portal, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Dog is a functional reprint of Goblin Spelunkers from Urza's Saga, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Monkey is a functional reprint of Lynx from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Ox is a functional reprint of Wild Ox from Portal Second Age and Anaconda from Portal, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Pig is a functional reprint of Bog Wraith from 6th Edition, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Rabbit is a functional reprint of Shanodin Dryads from 6th Edition, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Rat is a functional reprint of Plague Beetle from Urza's Legacy, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Snake is a functional reprint of Bog Raiders from Urza's Saga and Raiding Nightstalker from Portal Second Age, save for creature type.
• Zodiac Tiger is a functional reprint of Heartwood Treefolk from Tempest, save for creature type.

Burning Fields feels like a functional reprint to Lava Axe, but Lava Axe targets any player while Burning Fields says your opponent (which assumes you are playing a two player game).

Misprints

• Trained Cheetah lists collector number #155, should be #154.
• Trip Wire lists collector number #154, should be #156.

Theme decks

Portal Three Kingdoms is based on the famous Chinese epic of the Three Kingdoms, thus there are three theme decks. The preconstructed theme decks are: Template:Theme decks

External links

• The Official Portal Three Kingdoms Product Page (old)
• Portal Three Kingdoms product information page — Wizards of the Coast (new)
• Wikipedia article on the history of the Three Kingdoms