Special Guests

Special Guests
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	A star within a quintant
Set size	~10 per set
Expansion code	SPG

Special Guest Mana Crypt from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

Special Guests are a class of reprints found as part of The List in Set Boosters (later Play Boosters), and also in Collector Boosters. They were introduced with the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

Description

Expansion symbol

Special Guests are highly desirable, Masters release–level reprints with art and flavor text matched to the flavor of the plane or set they are included in. They have their own set code (SPG) and expansion symbol, identifying them separately from The List cards. The information below the text box indicates their set of origin next to the collector number. Cards found in set boosters / play boosters are non-foil while those in collector's boosters are foil.

Special Guests are represented through the art style of the set they are included in but they are non-canon representations and are not intended to actually be on that plane.

Much like The List or bonus sheet sets, Special Guests do not change their existing format legality. They are only legal in formats they were already legal in and are not added to Standard legality. As part of a Play Booster's contents, any Special Guests opened during a limited event are playable in that event.

Magic: The Gathering Arena

At launch in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Special Guests were given either a rare or mythic rare rarity but following the switch to Play Boosters in Murders at Karlov Manor all Special Guests were marked as rare. This change caused some complaints from Magic: The Gathering Arena players as it meant mythic rare wildcards had to be spent in order to craft the cards. For cards that were already on Arena in other sets, players could craft the alternative versions using lower rarity wildcards. For cards that were new to the client, only the mythic rare wildcards could be used to obtain them. This disadvantaged players who did not have a high number of mythic rare wildcards as they were the hardest to accumulate.

In response, starting with Magic: The Gathering Foundations, Special Guests were given the rarity of their most recent previous printing, regardless of whether that printing was on Arena or not. This didn't change how often they appear in Limited packs, it only changed what wildcards were needed to craft them. The rarity symbol of each Special Guest was changed to match its crafting rarity.

History

Prior to their full introduction, Wizards of the Coast included a non-foil Rafiq of the Many featuring new art and the Streets of New Capenna golden age showcase frame as part of the list for Streets of New Capenna. Unlike future Special Guest cards, this version of Rafiq was only available in The List slot of set boosters and not in collector boosters.

Special Guest cards were officially introduced with the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. With the introduction of Play Boosters for Murders at Karlov Manor, Special Guests became part of the List. From Bloomburrow onwards, the de-archived cards that normally formed The List were removed, leaving only Special Guests.

Sets with Special Guests

Set	#	Total
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan	0001 - 0018	18 + 6 neon ink versions
Murders at Karlov Manor	0019 - 0028	10
Outlaws of Thunder Junction	0029 - 0038	10
Modern Horizons 3	0039 - 0053	10 + 5 textured foil versions
Bloomburrow	0054 - 0063	10
Duskmourn: House of Horror	0064 - 0073	10
Magic: The Gathering Foundations	0074 - 0083	10