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Revised Edition
 
 
 
 

Revised Edition
MTG BW
Set Information
Set symbol
Design Richard Garfield
with contributions from
Charlie Cateeno
Skaff Elias
Don Felice
Tom Fontaine
Jim Lin
Joel Mick
Chris Page
Dave Pettey
Barry "Bit" Reich
Bill Rose
Elliott Segal
Development Same as design
Art direction Jesper Myrfors
Release date April 1994
Plane Multiverse
Set size 306 cards
(75 commons, 95 uncommons, 121 rares, 15 basic lands)
Expansion code 3ED[1]
Core sets
Unlimited Edition Revised Edition Fourth Edition
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Antiquities Revised Edition Legends

The Revised Edition, or Revised as it is commonly called, is the third edition of the Magic core set. It was released in April 1994.

Revised booster

Revised booster

Set details[ | ]

Duelist 1 Revised advertisement

Advertisement in Duelist #1, announcing gray borders

Wizards of the Coast made multiple attempts to print an improved version of the core set before finally getting Revised out the door.[2] Revised consists of 306 cards - 15 basic lands, 75 commons, 95 uncommons, and 121 rares. Revised was the first core set to "rotate" some cards out, removing several cards due to power level or complexity, and replacing them with other cards from previously printed limited expansions. The expansions available at the time were Arabian Nights and Antiquities.[3]

Previous printings of the Core set had basic lands on every print sheet in an attempt to obfuscate the rarity of each slot in a pack. The Revised update removed basic lands from the rare sheet but kept them on both the uncommon and common sheets. The chance of getting a basic land instead of a non-land card is approximately 21.5% for uncommons and 38.02% for commons.

As with all core sets before Sixth Edition, Revised cards have no set symbol on the cards and no indicator of rarity. The set symbol was created retroactively, presumably for use in Gatherer.

An early advertisement in The Duelist #1 stated that Revised cards would be gray bordered, but they ultimately remained white bordered like the Unlimited Edition. A production oversight resulted in the "bevel" that framed the cards being cropped off. Also, well-used printing films gave the cards faded colors. Many players complained about the lack of quality of the set, both in terms of card power and the look.

Marketing[ | ]

Cards were available from mid-April 1994 through mid-April 1995. The print run is estimated at 150 to 250 million cards.[4] The cards were sold in 60-card starter decks and 15-card boosters. Starter decks included a rulebook with Shivan Dragon on the cover and a checklist on the back and last pages. Revised was the first set that was supplemented with a special gift box. The Revised Gift Box (released on November 15, 1994) included two starter decks, 30 glass counters, a flannel bag for storing the counters, an illustrated rulebook, and a card collectors' checklist.

Revised is the first set published in languages other than English: French, German, and Italian. All had a black bordered and a white bordered print run.

Rules[ | ]

As the players' knowledge of the game and its potential developed, so did the knowledge of the designers and developers. Their collaboration led to the first Magic: The Gathering Pocket Player's Guide, which solidified the rules of Magic. However, for later editions, the rules would change many times over.

Revised introduced the first tap symbol: A slightly tilted 'T' inside a gray circle. The artifact types Mono and Poly became obsolete, and were removed from cards that had them. Tap symbols were added to mono artifacts where they were previously implied by the type. The set also changed references to mana color in card texts to mana symbols.[5]

Cycles[ | ]

Revised has 5 cycles. All are reprinted from Limited Edition except for the "Enemy color hate" card Magnetic Mountain, which was first printed in Arabian Nights. Compared to previous core sets, the Moxes were not reprinted, nor were Word of Command and Ancestral Recall, breaking the artwork-inspired cycle and Boon cycle.

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Circles of protection Circle of Protection: White Circle of Protection: Blue Circle of Protection: Black Circle of Protection: Red Circle of Protection: Green
Each of these common white enchantments has a mana cost of {1}{W} and the ability to prevent the all damage from a source of a given color for {1}.
Laces Purelace Thoughtlace Deathlace Chaoslace Lifelace
Each of these rare instants permanently changes the color of a permanent.
Lucky charms Ivory Cup Crystal Rod Throne of Bone Iron Star Wooden Sphere
Each of these uncommon artifacts has a triggered ability that allows the controller to pay {1} to gain 1 life when a spell of a given color resolves.
Wards White Ward Blue Ward Black Ward Red Ward Green Ward
Uncommon white auras with enchant creature that grant protection from a color.
Enemy Color Hate Karma, Conversion (Revised Edition) Lifetap, Volcanic Eruption (Revised Edition) Death Grip, Gloom (Revised Edition) Magnetic Mountain, Flashfires (Revised Edition) Lifeforce, Tsunami (Revised Edition)
Each color contains two cards that each attack one of that color's two enemy colors.

Double cycles[ | ]

Cycle name {W}{U} {U}{B} {B}{R} {R}{G} {G}{W} {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
Dual lands Tundra Underground Sea Badlands Taiga Savannah Scrubland Volcanic Island Bayou Plateau Tropical Island
Rare nonbasic lands that each produce two colors of mana.

Vertical cycle[ | ]

Cycle name Common Uncommon Rare
Red three-drop humanoids Gray Ogre Uthden Troll Sedge Troll
Each of these 2/2 red creatures has a mana cost of {2}{R} and increasingly powerful abilities. Granite Gargoyle might also be considered part of this group, though it doesn't fit the theme of monstrous human-like creatures.

Pairs[ | ]

Revised edition has 23 pairs, all of which were reprinted from the previous core sets starting with Alpha. The only Limited Edition pair card no longer present in this set is Timetwister, leaving Wheel of Fortune as a standalone card in this set.

Pairs Description
White Knight
({W})
Black Knight
({B})
Uncommon knights with a mana cost of MM, power/toughness of 2/2, first strike, and protection from the other's color.
Holy Strength
({W})
Unholy Strength
({B})
Common Auras with enchant creature that gives a mirrored bonus to the enchanted creature's power/toughness.
Crusade
({W})
Bad Moon
({B})
Rare enchantments with a converted mana cost of 2 and an effect to give all creatures of its color +1/+1.
Serra Angel
({W})
Sengir Vampire
({B})
Uncommon 4/4 flying creatures with a mana cost of {3}MM and a combat-related ability.
Blue Elemental Blast
({U})
Red Elemental Blast
({R})
Common instants (formerly interrupts) with a mana cost of M and with a modal ability to either destroy a permanent of the other's color or counter a spell of the other's color.
Air Elemental
({U})
Earth Elemental
({R})
Uncommon Elementals with a mana cost of {3}MM, a power of 4, and element names that traditionally oppose each other. This pair and the even more closely mirrored Water/Fire Elemental pair form a group of creatures representing each of the four classical elements.
Water Elemental
({U})
Fire Elemental
({R})
Uncommon Elementals with a mana cost of {3}MM, a power/toughness of 5/4, and element names which traditionally oppose each other. This pair and the Air/Earth Elemental pair form a group of creatures representing each of the four classical elements.
Lord of Atlantis
({U})
Goblin King
({R})
Rare lords that give +1/+1 and landwalk of its corresponding basic land type to its creature type.
Merfolk of the Pearl Trident
({U})
Mons's Goblin Raiders
({R})
1/1 common vanilla creatures with creature types that are affected by their respective lords (Goblin King and Lord of Atlantis).
Phantom Monster
({U})
Roc of Kher Ridges
({R})
3/3 creatures with flying and a mana cost of {3}M.
Wall of Water
({U})
Wall of Fire
({R})
Uncommon 0/5 walls illustrated by Richard Thomas with a silhouetted figure behind a wall, mana cost {1}MM, and the activated ability "M: [this] gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Wall of Bone
({B})
Wall of Brambles
({G})
Uncommon walls with regeneration and a mana cost of {2}M and a combined power/toughness of 5.
Deathgrip
({B})
Lifeforce
({G})
Uncommon enchantments with an activated ability to counter a spell of the other's color for MM.
Orcish Oriflamme
({R})
Castle
({W})
Uncommon enchantments that conditionally affect its owner's creatures' power or toughness. Both cost {3}M, although Orcish Oriflamme was misprinted as {1}M.
Wanderlust
({G})
Feedback
({U})
Uncommon Auras that deal 1 damage to the controller of the enchanted permanent during each of their upkeeps.
Braingeyser
({U})
Mind Twist
({B})
Rare sorceries that cause target player to draw or discard cards.
Earthquake
({R})
Hurricane
({G})
Sorceries that have a mana cost of {X}M and deal {X} damage to all non-flying or flying creatures and each player.
Flashfires
({R})
Tsunami
({G})
Uncommon sorceries that have a mana cost of {3}M and destroy lands of a particular enemy type.
Timber Wolves
({G})
Benalish Hero
({W})
1/1 creatures with banding and a mana cost of M.
Manabarbs
({R})
Power Surge
({R})
Rare red enchantments that deal damage to a player based on the number of lands they do or don't tap.
Ankh of Mishra
({C})
Dingus Egg
({C})
Rare artifacts that deal damage when a land enters or leaves the battlefield.
Kormus Bell
({C})
Living Lands
({G})
Rare permanents which cost 4 mana and turn lands of a specific subtype into 1/1 creatures.
Winter Orb
({C})
Smoke
({R})
Rare permanents which cost 2 mana and only allow players to untap one of a specific type of permanent each turn.

Summer Magic[ | ]

When the Revised Edition was in production in 1994, several problems with the set became apparent. The colors were washed out, the picture for Serendib Efreet was wrong, and Wizards wanted to remove Satanic images on some of the cards. The solution was to print a fixed version of the Revised Edition, code-named "Edgar",[6] which has since come to be known as Summer Magic because it was printed in the summer of 1994. The cards were distributed in regular Revised Edition boosters – no Summer edition starters were produced. Summer Magic cards can best be recognized by their prominent 1994 copyright date (a feature missing in Revised), as well as their richer colors.

Despite its intended function as a fixed Revised Edition, there were many problems with the printing. On some cards, the colors were too dark. Serendib Efreet had its artwork corrected, but the artist's credit was not. The artist name for Plateau was not corrected. The pentagram was removed from the head of Demonic Tutor, but not from the chest. Hurricane was printed with a blue border and became the most famous and most desired Summer Magic card of all. Because of all these flaws, the entire print run was recalled for destruction which led to the great Revised Edition shortage of 1994. However, according to unconfirmed reports from WotC employees, about 40 booster boxes of "Edgar" survived and were shipped to locations in the U.S. and the UK. Probable locations include Tennessee, Texas, and Ireland.

Misprints[ | ]

3ED Serendib Efreet

Misprinted Serendib Efreet

French Serendib Efreet

French version

Core set changes[ | ]

References[ | ]

  1. Wizards of the Coast (August 02, 2004). "Ask Wizards - August, 2004". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. David Howell: The Regathering
  3. Magic Arcana (October 31, 2002). ""Revising" the base set". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. Ryan William Rooks (2014). A Collector's History of Magic the Gathering, CreateSpace. ISBN-10 1-49222-940-7.
  5. Mark Rosewater (October 04, 2004). "Change For the Better". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. Michael G. Ryan (June 01, 2009). "A Magic History of Time". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. Magic Arcana (February 20, 2002). "Plateau(s)". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

External links[ | ]

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