View source for Magic: The Gathering

{{Short description|Collectible card game}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox card game
| title = ''Magic: The Gathering''
| logo = Magic the Gathering 2017.svg
| logo_size = 
| logo_alt = 
| logo_caption = Logo since 2017
| cardback         = Magic the gathering-card back.jpg
| cardback_caption = ''Magic'' cardback
| alt_name = 
| named_variant = <!-- names of variant games that are listed on this page (rules must be different, even if only slightly) -->
| designer = [[Richard Garfield]]
| publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]]
| date = {{Start date and age|1993|08|05}} <!-- {{Start date and age|yyyy|mm|dd}} -->
| type = [[Collectible card game|Collectible]]
| family = 
| players = 2 or more
| ages = 13+
| num_cards = 
| deck = 
| play = 
| card_rank = 
| origin = 
| related = 
| playing_time = 
| random_chance = Some (order of cards drawn, varying card abilities)
| odds = 
| skills = {{Unbulleted list|[[Collectible card game|Card playing]]|[[Elementary arithmetic|Basic arithmetic]]|[[Reading]]}}
| website = {{URL|magic.wizards.com}}
| footnotes = 
}}

'''''Magic: The Gathering''''' (colloquially known as '''''Magic''''' or '''''MTG''''') is a [[collectible card game|collectible]], [[Tabletop game|tabletop]], and [[digital collectible card game]] created by [[Richard Garfield]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/magicthegatheringonline/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Bread-review&page=2 |title=Magic: The Gathering Online Review |access-date=May 27, 2009 |archive-date=July 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716132115/http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/magicthegatheringonline/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review&page=2 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was released by [[Wizards of the Coast]] in 1993 as the company's first trading card game. {{as of|2023|February|lc=yes|alt=By February 2023}}, ''Magic'' had amassed approximately fifty million players.<ref name="UofW">{{cite web|last= Kotha|first= Suresh|title= Wizards of the Coast|date= October 19, 1998|url= http://faculty.bschool.washington.edu/skotha/website/cases%20pdf/Wizards%20of%20the%20coast%201.4.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060901100217/http://faculty.bschool.washington.edu/skotha/website/cases%20pdf/Wizards%20of%20the%20coast%201.4.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date = September 1, 2006|publisher=University of Washington School of Public Health|access-date = August 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Lang">{{cite journal| last =Lang| first =Eric| title =Design Decisions and Concepts in Licensed Collectible Card Games| date =January 27, 2008| url =http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/firstperson/adaptable| journal =Electronic Book Review| access-date =November 22, 2014| archive-date =September 5, 2015| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150905085626/http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/firstperson/adaptable| url-status =dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/10/magic-the-gathering-pop-culture-hit-where-next?CMP=fb_gu| title = How Magic: the Gathering became a pop-culture hit – and where it goes next| access-date = July 14, 2015| last = Duffy| first = Owen| newspaper = [[The Guardian]]| date = July 10, 2015| quote = The original card game has 20 million players worldwide.| archive-date = December 30, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201230004521/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/10/magic-the-gathering-pop-culture-hit-where-next?CMP=fb_gu| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="nytimes feb2023">{{Cite news |date=February 16, 2023 |title=Magic: The Gathering Becomes a Billion-Dollar Brand for Toymaker Hasbro |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/business/magic-the-gathering-hasbro.html |first=Gregory |last=Schmidt |access-date=January 17, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=January 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117162012/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/16/business/magic-the-gathering-hasbro.html |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2008 to 2016, over twenty billion ''Magic'' cards were printed as the game grew in popularity.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-25th-anniversary-page-facts-and-figures | title = Magic: the Gathering anniversary Facts & Figures | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | year = 2017 | access-date = July 25, 2018 | archive-date = June 4, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200604033745/https://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-25th-anniversary-page-facts-and-figures | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last =Webb| first =Kevin| title =With more than 35 million players worldwide, Magic the Gathering is giving back to its community with a brand new game and $10 million in esports prize money| date =December 8, 2018| url =https://www.businessinsider.com/magic-the-gathering-announces-10-million-esports-program-for-2019-2018-12| website =Business Insider| access-date =August 15, 2020| archive-date =February 7, 2021| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20210207110521/https://www.businessinsider.com/magic-the-gathering-announces-10-million-esports-program-for-2019-2018-12| url-status =live}}</ref> {{as of|2022|alt=For the 2022 fiscal year}}, Hasbro announced ''Magic'' had generated $1 billion in annual revenue.<ref name="nytimes feb2023"/><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=Feb 16, 2023 |title=Hasbro Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Financial Results |url=https://hasbro.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2022-financial |website=Hasbro |access-date=February 23, 2024 |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002054731/https://hasbro.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hasbro-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2022-financial |url-status=live }}</ref>

<!--Please see Discussion page before altering this paragraph.-->
Players in a game of ''Magic'' represent dueling wizards called "Planeswalkers". Each card a player draws from their deck represents a magical spell which can be used to their advantage in battle. Instant and Sorcery cards represent magical spells a player may cast for a one-time effect, while Creature, Artifact, Enchantment, Planeswalker, and Battle cards remain on the Battlefield to provide long-term advantage. Players usually must include resource, or Land cards representing the amount of mana that is available to cast their spells. Typically, a player defeats their opponent(s) by reducing their life totals to zero, which is commonly done via combat damage by attacking with creatures. Many other sources of damage exist in the game, in addition to alternative win-conditions.

Although the original concept of the game drew heavily from the motifs of traditional [[fantasy role-playing game]]s such as ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', the [[gameplay]] bears little similarity to [[tabletop role-playing game]]s, while simultaneously having substantially more cards and more complex rules than many other card games.

''Magic'' can be played by two or more players, either in person with paper cards or on a computer, smartphone, or tablet with virtual cards through Internet-based software such as ''[[Magic: The Gathering Online]]'', ''[[Magic: The Gathering Arena]],'' ''[[Magic Duels]]'' and [[Magic: The Gathering video games|several others]]. It can be played in various rule formats, which fall into two categories: ''constructed'' and ''limited''. Limited formats involve players creating a deck spontaneously out of a pool of random cards typically with a minimum deck size of 40 cards.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Formats|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/rules-and-formats/formats|access-date=2021-09-10|website=Magic: The Gathering|language=en|archive-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202214627/https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/rules-and-formats/formats|url-status=live}}</ref> In constructed formats, players create decks from cards they own, usually with a minimum of 60 cards per deck.

New cards are released on a regular basis through [[List of Magic: The Gathering sets|expansion sets]]. Further developments include the [[Wizards Play Network]] played at the international level and the worldwide community [[Magic: The Gathering Players Tour|Players Tour]], as well as a substantial resale market for ''Magic'' cards. Certain cards can be valuable due to their rarity in production and utility in gameplay, with prices ranging from a few cents to tens of thousands of dollars.
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==Gameplay==
{{Main|Magic: The Gathering rules}}
[[File:MagicareaEnglish.png|thumb|''Magic: The Gathering'' zones]]

{{excerpt|Magic: The Gathering rules|Overview|hat=no}}

Cards in ''Magic: The Gathering'' generally have a consistent format, with half of the face of the card showing the card's art, and the other half listing the card's mechanics, often relying on commonly-reused [[List of Magic: The Gathering keywords|keywords]] to simplify the card's text.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knutson |first=Ted |date=October 21, 2006 |title=Anatomy of a Magic Card |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/anatomy-magic-card-2006-10-21 |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Magic: The Gathering |language=en-US}}</ref> Cards fall into two classes: lands and spells.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Keywords in Magic: The Gathering |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/keyword-glossary |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Magic: The Gathering |language=en-US}}</ref> Lands produce [[Magic (game terminology)|mana]], or magical energy. Players usually can only play one land card per turn, with most land providing a specific color of mana when they are "tapped", usually by rotating the card 90 degrees to show it has been used that turn. Each land can be tapped for mana only once per turn.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2021 |title=How to play Magic the Gathering Arena: getting started in MTG |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/magic-the-gathering-arena/how-to-play-mtg |access-date=2021-10-16 |website=[[PCGamesN]] |language=en-GB |archive-date=September 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901213713/https://www.pcgamesn.com/magic-the-gathering-arena/how-to-play-mtg |url-status=live |last=Lees|first=Gina}}</ref>

Spells consume mana, usually requiring at least one mana of a specific color. More powerful spells require larger amounts and more specific combinations of mana. As the game progresses and more lands enter play, the available mana increases, allowing stronger spells to be cast. Spells come in several varieties: non-permanents like "sorceries" and "instants" have a single, one-time effect before they go to the "graveyard" (discard pile); "enchantments" and "artifacts" that remain in play after being cast to provide a lasting magical effect; "creature" spells summon creatures that can attack and damage an opponent as well as used to defend from the opponent's creature attacks; and "planeswalker" spells that summon powerful allies that act similarly to other players.<ref name="Popular Mechanics-2020" /><ref name="dot" /> Lands, enchantments, artifacts, creatures, planeswalkers, and battle cards are considered "permanents" as they remain in play until removed by other spells, ability, or combat effects.<ref name="dot">{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Ferguson |date=2019-07-15 |title=MTG basics: Introduction to Magic: The Gathering |url=https://dotesports.com/news/mtg-basics-introduction-to-magic-the-gathering |access-date=2021-10-16 |website=[[Dot Esports]] |language=en-US |archive-date=August 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808063838/https://dotesports.com/news/mtg-basics-introduction-to-magic-the-gathering |url-status=live }}</ref>

Players begin the game by shuffling their decks and then drawing seven cards.<ref>{{cite web| title = Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules| page = 7| date = July 8, 2022| access-date = August 22, 2022| url = https://media.wizards.com/2022/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020220708.pdf| archive-date = August 9, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220809175643/https://media.wizards.com/2022/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020220708.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> On each player's turn, following a set phase order, they draw a card, tap their lands and other permanents as necessary to gain mana to cast spells, engage their creatures in a single attack round against their opponent who may use their own creatures to block the attack, and then complete other actions with any remaining mana.<ref name="wargamer howto">{{cite web|url=https://www.wargamer.com/magic-the-gathering/how-to-play|title=How to play Magic: The Gathering – your beginner's guide to mana, cards, and combat|website=Wargamer|first1=Matt|last1=Basil|date=May 26, 2022|access-date=August 30, 2022|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819012300/https://www.wargamer.com/magic-the-gathering/how-to-play|url-status=live}}</ref> Most actions that a player can perform enter the "Stack", a concept similar to the [[Stack (abstract data type)|stack in computer programming]] i.e. the stack follows Last in First Out order where the last card played onto the stack is the first card effect resolved, as either player can react to these actions with other actions, such as counter-spells; the stack provides a method of resolving complex interactions that may result in certain scenarios.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/beyond-basics/stack-and-its-tricks-2017-11-30 | title = The Stack and Its Tricks | first = Gavin | last = Verhey | date = November 30, 2017 | access-date = February 28, 2020 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | archive-date = November 25, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201125032215/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/beyond-basics/stack-and-its-tricks-2017-11-30 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="wargamer stack">{{cite web|url=https://www.wargamer.com/magic-the-gathering/mtg-the-stack|title=MTG: The Stack – what is it, and how does it work?|first1=Jason|last1=Coles|date=January 14, 2022|website=[[Wargamer (website)|Wargamer]]|access-date=August 30, 2022|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819010914/https://www.wargamer.com/magic-the-gathering/mtg-the-stack|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Deck construction===
{{See also|Magic: The Gathering deck types|Magic: The Gathering formats}}
[[File:Magic The Gathering card disection.svg|right|thumb|Dissection of a ''Magic: The Gathering'' card]]
{{Excerpt|Magic: The Gathering rules|Deck construction|hat=no}}

Most sanctioned games for ''Magic: The Gathering'' under the [[Wizards Play Network]] (WPN) use a Constructed format that require players to create their decks from their own library of cards. In general, this requires a minimum of sixty cards in the deck, and, except for basic land cards and cards that have text superseding this rule, no more than four cards of the same named card.<ref>{{cite web| title = Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules| page = 5| date = July 8, 2022| access-date = August 22, 2022| url = https://media.wizards.com/2022/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020220708.pdf| archive-date = August 9, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220809175643/https://media.wizards.com/2022/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020220708.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Standard Format Deck Construction|date=May 29, 2013|url=http://www.mtgoacademy.com/deckbuilding-rules-and-banned-restricted-lists/|publisher=mtgoacademy|access-date=July 25, 2013|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125025653/http://www.mtgoacademy.com/deckbuilding-rules-and-banned-restricted-lists/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Standard format, by including mostly recently released cards, helps to prevent "[[power creep]]" that can be difficult to predict with the size of the ''Magic'' card library and help give newer players a fair advantage with long-term players. Other Constructed formats exist that allow for use of older expansions to give more variety for decks.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/dealing-power-creep-2013-08-09 | title = Dealing with Power Creep | first = Sam | last = Stoddard | date = August 9, 2013 | access-date = February 28, 2020 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | archive-date = December 22, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201222065821/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/dealing-power-creep-2013-08-09 | url-status = live }}</ref> A large variety of formats have been defined by the [[Wizards Play Network|WPN]] which allows different pools of expansions to be used or alter deck construction rules for special events.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Formats {{!}} WPN |url=https://wpn.wizards.com/en/formats |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Wizards Play Network |language=en}}</ref>

[[Commander (Magic: The Gathering)|Commander]] is a 100-card constructed format that makes many changes to typical deck construction rules. In Commander, each of the one hundred cards must be uniquely named, excluding basic land cards.{{Efn|There are also a relatively small number of cards with text allowing them to supersede this rule.}} Each player must also denote a legendary creature to be their Commander, which is able to be played at any time, without needing to draw it. All other cards in the deck must share their color with the commander. Additionally, Commander also allows any cards from any set release to be used, excluding any specific cards that have been banned from play and most cards from parody sets. Commander as a format has a separate ban list than other Constructed formats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MTG Commander Format |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/commander |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING |language=en-US |archive-date=March 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312134740/https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/commander |url-status=live }}</ref>

In [[Magic: The Gathering formats#Limited|Limited]] formats, a small number of cards are opened for play from booster packs or tournament packs, and generally a minimum deck size of forty cards is enforced. One of the most popular limited formats is Booster Draft, in which players open a booster pack, choose a card from it, and pass it to the player seated next to them. This continues until all the cards have been picked, and then a new pack is opened. Three packs are opened in total, and the direction of passing alternates left-right-left.<ref name="formats">{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Ferguson |date=October 17, 2019 |title=MTG Basics: Competitive formats |url=https://dotesports.com/news/mtg-basics-competitive-formats |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830025744/https://dotesports.com/news/mtg-basics-competitive-formats |archive-date=August 30, 2022 |access-date=August 30, 2022 |website=Dot Esports}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/formats/booster-draft|title=Booster Draft|work=Magic: The Gathering|access-date=October 8, 2017|language=en|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113053640/https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/formats/booster-draft|url-status=live}}</ref> Once the draft is done, players create decks out of the cards they picked, basic land cards being provided for free, and play games with the players they drafted with.<ref name="formats" />

==== Limitations ====
{{excerpt|Magic: The Gathering rules|Banned and restricted cards}}

===Colors of ''Magic''===
[[File:Magic the gathering pentagon.png|thumb|upright|The five colors of ''Magic: The Gathering'']]

Most cards in ''Magic'' are based on one of five colors that make up the game's "Color Wheel" or "Color Pie", shown on the back of each card, and each representing a school or realm of magic: white, blue, black, red, and green. The arrangement of these colors on the wheel describes relationships between the schools, which can broadly affect deck construction and game execution. For a given color such as white, the two colors immediately adjacent to it, green and blue, are considered complementary, while the two colors on the opposite side, black and red, are its opposing schools.<ref name="Mark Rosewater">{{cite web |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/value-pie-2003-08-18-0|title=The Value of Pie |access-date=September 30, 2006 |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |author=Mark Rosewater |author-link=Mark Rosewater |date=August 18, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304223314/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom%2Fdaily%2Fmr85 |archive-date=March 4, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rosewater-2016">{{cite web|last=Rosewater|first=Mark|date=November 14, 2016|title=Pie Fights|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/pie-fights-2016-11-14|access-date=February 28, 2020|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|archive-date=February 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207114928/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/pie-fights-2016-11-14|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Research and Development (R&D) team at Wizards of the Coast aimed to balance power and abilities among the five colors by using the Color Pie to differentiate the strengths and weaknesses of each. This guideline lays out the capabilities, themes, and mechanics of each color and allows for every color to have its own distinct attributes and gameplay. The Color Pie is used to ensure new cards are thematically in the correct color and do not infringe on the territory of other colors.<ref name="Mark Rosewater"/><ref name="Rosewater-2016" />

The concepts behind each of the colors on the Color Wheel, based on a series of articles written by [[Mark Rosewater]], are as follows:<ref name="marocolor">As part of the ''Making Magic'' (2003-2005) article series on the game's official site, [[Mark Rosewater]] described each color in depth (as well as multicolor cards, artifact or colorless cards, and color-hybrid cards). [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/great-white-way-2003-02-03 The Great White Way] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160021/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/great-white-way-2003-02-03 |date=August 22, 2022 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/true-blue-2003-08-11 True Blue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160104/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/true-blue-2003-08-11 |date=August 22, 2022 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/black-2004-02-02 In the Black] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160046/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/black-2004-02-02 |date=August 22, 2022 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/seeing-red-2004-07-19-0 Seeing Red], [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/its-not-easy-being-green-2002-10-21-0 It's Not Easy Being Green] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160049/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/its-not-easy-being-green-2002-10-21-0 |date=August 22, 2022 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/just-artifacts-ma%E2%80%99am-2005-02-28 Just the Artifacts, Ma'am] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160042/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/just-artifacts-ma%E2%80%99am-2005-02-28 |date=August 22, 2022 }}, and [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/midas-touch-2005-11-14 Midas Touch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160027/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/midas-touch-2005-11-14 |date=August 22, 2022 }}.

These articles were updated and republished in 2015: [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/great-white-way-revisited-2015-07-13 The Great White Way Revisited] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607084016/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/great-white-way-revisited-2015-07-13 |date=June 7, 2021 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/true-blue-revisited-2015-07-20 True Blue Revisited] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606113020/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/true-blue-revisited-2015-07-20 |date=June 6, 2021 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/black-revisited-2015-07-27 In the Black Revisited] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043206/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/black-revisited-2015-07-27 |date=May 31, 2021 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/seeing-red-revisited-2015-08-03 Seeing Red Revisited] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043547/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/seeing-red-revisited-2015-08-03 |date=May 31, 2021 }}, [https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/its-not-easy-being-green-revisited-2015-08-10 It's Not Easy Being Green Revisited] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043337/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/its-not-easy-being-green-revisited-2015-08-10 |date=May 31, 2021 }}.</ref>
* {{legend-inline|#ffffde|White}} represents order, peace, and light, and draws mana from plains. White [[planeswalkers]] can summon individually weak creatures that are collectively strong as a group such as soldiers, as well as powerful creatures and leaders that can strengthen all of the player's creatures with additional abilities or strength. Their spells tend to focus on healing or preventing damage, protecting their allies, and neutralizing an opponent's advantages on the battlefield.<ref name="Dicebreaker-2020">{{Cite web|date=2020-03-02|title=What do the different Magic: The Gathering mana colours mean?|url=https://www.dicebreaker.com/series/magic-the-gathering/how-to/what-do-the-different-magic-the-gathering-mana-colours-mean|access-date=2020-10-26|website=Dicebreaker|language=en|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031032403/https://www.dicebreaker.com/series/magic-the-gathering/how-to/what-do-the-different-magic-the-gathering-mana-colours-mean|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Nerdist-2018">{{Cite news|date=2018-06-06|title=Getting into Magic: The Gathering – Color Profiles and Archetypes|url=https://nerdist.com/article/getting-into-magic-the-gathering-color-profiles-and-archetypes/|access-date=2020-10-26|website=Nerdist|language=en|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128122351/https://nerdist.com/article/getting-into-magic-the-gathering-color-profiles-and-archetypes/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Popular Mechanics-2020">{{Cite web|last=Orf|first=Darren|date=2020-08-11|title=So You Want to Play 'Magic: The Gathering'|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a26331076/how-to-play-magic-the-gathering/|access-date=2020-10-26|website=Popular Mechanics|language=en-US|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112022332/https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a26331076/how-to-play-magic-the-gathering/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{legend-inline|#348cc7|Blue}} represents intellect, logic, manipulation, and trickery, and pulls its mana from islands. Its magic is typically associated with the classical elements of [[Air (classical element)|air]] and [[Water (classical element)|water]]. Many of Blue's spells can interact or interfere with the opponent's spells as well as with the general flow of the game. Blue's magic is also associated with control, allowing the player to gain temporary or full control of the opponent's creatures. Blue creatures often tend to be weak but evasive and difficult to target.<ref name="Dicebreaker-2020" /><ref name="Nerdist-2018" /><ref name="Popular Mechanics-2020" />
* {{legend-inline|#000000|Black}} represents power, death, corruption, and sacrifice, drawing mana from swamps. Many of Black's creatures are [[undead]], and several can be sacrificed to make other creatures more powerful, destroy opponent's creatures or permanents, or other effects. Black creatures may be able to draw the life taken in an attack back to their caster, or may even be able to kill creatures through a deathtouch effect. Black's spells similarly coerce sacrifice by the player or their opponent through cards or life.<ref name="Dicebreaker-2020" /><ref name="Nerdist-2018" /><ref name="Popular Mechanics-2020" />
* {{legend-inline|#b01717|Red}} represents freedom, chaos, fury, and warfare, pulling its power from mountains. Its powers are associated with the classical [[Fire (classical element)|fire]] and [[Earth (classical element)|earth]] elements, and it tends to have the strongest spells such as fireballs that can be powered-up by tapping additional mana when cast. Red is an offense-oriented class: in addition to powerful creatures like dragons, red planeswalkers can summon weak creatures that can strike quickly to gain the short-term edge.<ref name="Dicebreaker-2020" /><ref name="Nerdist-2018" /><ref name="Popular Mechanics-2020" />
* {{legend-inline|#5bd488|Green}} is the color of life, [[nature]], evolution, and indulgence, drawing mana from forests. Green has the widest array of creatures to draw upon, ranging across all power levels, and generally is able to dominate the battlefield with many creatures in play at once. Green creatures and spells can generate life points and mana, and can also gain massive strength through spells.<ref name="Dicebreaker-2020" /><ref name="Nerdist-2018" /><ref name="Popular Mechanics-2020" />

Most cards in ''Magic: The Gathering'' are based on a single color, shown along the card's border. The cost to play them requires some mana of that color and potentially any amount of mana from any other color. Multicolored cards were introduced in the ''[[Legends (Magic: The Gathering)|Legends]]'' expansion and typically use a gold border. Their casting cost includes mana from at least two colors plus additional mana from any color. Hybrid cards, included with ''[[Ravnica: City of Guilds|Ravnica]]'', use a two-color gradient border. These cards can be cast using mana from either color shown, in addition to other mana costs. Finally, colorless cards, such as some artifacts, do not have any colored mana requirements but still require a general amount of mana to be spent to play.

A specific "colorless" mana system was introduced around 2016. This is mana without any specific color, represented by a diamond-like shape in a gray circle. Colorless mana costs for a card can only be met with sources that produce colorless mana, and cannot be met with any other colored mana source, compared to "generic" mana costs which can use any colored or colorless mana source.

===Luck vs. skill===
''Magic'', like many other games, combines chance and skill. One frequent complaint about the game involves the notion that there is too much luck involved, especially concerning drawing too many or too few lands.<ref>{{cite web | title = Magic Jargon | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | last = Knutson | first = Ted | date = September 9, 2006 | access-date = July 24, 2009 | url = http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Facademy%2F9 | archive-date = July 3, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130703173311/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Facademy%2F9 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Early in the game especially, too many or too few lands could ruin a player's chance at victory without the player having made a mistake. This in-game statistical variance can be minimized by proper deck construction, as an appropriate land count can reduce mana problems. In ''[[Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012]]'', the land count is automatically adjusted to 40% of the total deck size.<ref>{{cite web | title = Mmmmmmmmmana...Five Rules For Avoiding Mana-Screw | publisher = starcitygames.com | last = Moldenhauer-Salazar | first = Jay | date = March 23, 2000 | access-date = July 24, 2009 | url = http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/890.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090720032550/http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/890.html | archive-date = July 20, 2009 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

===Gambling===
The original set of rules prescribed that all games were to be played for [[Betting in poker#Ante|ante]]. Garfield was partly inspired by the game of [[Marble (toy)|marbles]] and added this rule because he wanted the players to play with the cards rather than simply collect them.<ref name="OWENS">{{Citation| last1 =Owens| first1 =Thomas S.| title =What did you eat for breakfast | first2 =Diana | last2 =Star| journal =Inside Collectible Card Games| year =1996| page =142}}</ref> The ante rule stated that each player must remove a card at random from the deck they wished to play with before the game began, and the two cards would be set aside together as the ante. At the end of the match, the winner would take and keep both cards. Early sets included a few cards with rules designed to interact with this [[gambling]] aspect, allowing replacements of cards up for ante, adding more cards to the ante, or even permanently trading ownership of cards in play. The ante concept became controversial because many regions had restrictions on [[games of chance]]. The ante rule was soon made optional because of these restrictions and because of players' reluctance to possibly lose a card that they owned. The gambling rule was also forbidden at sanctioned events. The last card to mention ante was printed in the 1995 expansion set ''[[Homelands (Magic: The Gathering)|Homelands]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ante? You Can Bet on It! {{!}} Cardmarket Insight|url=https://www.cardmarket.com/en/Magic/Insight/Articles/Ante-You-Can-Bet-on-It|access-date=2021-10-16|website=www.cardmarket.com|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016114919/https://www.cardmarket.com/en/Magic/Insight/Articles/Ante-You-Can-Bet-on-It|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-05|title=Magic: The Gathering - Early on, the Game Was Just Plain WEIRD|url=https://www.cbr.com/magic-the-gathering-weird-early-game/|access-date=2021-10-16|website=CBR|language=en-US|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016114917/https://www.cbr.com/magic-the-gathering-weird-early-game/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Symon|first=Evan|title=Magic Untapped - Upping the Ante: Remembering when your opponent's Magic cards were the prize|url=https://magicuntapped.com/index.php/articles/upping-the-ante-remembering-when-your-opponents-magic-cards-were-the-prize?highlight=WyJhbnRlIl0=|access-date=2026-02-06|website=magicuntapped.com|language=en-gb|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016114918/https://magicuntapped.com/index.php/articles/item/389-upping-the-ante-remembering-when-your-opponent-s-magic-cards-were-the-prize|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Organized play==
{{Main|Magic: The Gathering Organized Play|Wizards Play Network|Friday Night Magic|l2 = }}

[[File:Magic Players.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Officially sanctioned ''Magic'' tournaments attract participants of all ages and are held around the world. These players in [[Rostock]], Germany, competed for an invitation to a professional tournament in [[Nagoya]], Japan.]]

The [[Wizards Play Network]] (WPN), formerly the Duelists' Convocation International (DCI), is the organizing body for sanctioned ''Magic'' events; it is owned and operated by Wizards of the Coast. The WPN establishes the set allowances and card restrictions for the [[Magic: The Gathering formats#Constructed|Constructed]] and [[Magic: The Gathering formats#Limited|Limited]] formats for regulation play for tournaments as well as for other events.<ref name="2014Revision">{{cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Mike |title=Friday Night Magic changes |url=http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/ptktk/friday-night-magic-changes-2014-10-14 |access-date=23 May 2015 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |archive-date=January 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118141614/https://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/ptktk/friday-night-magic-changes-2014-10-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

"Thousands of games shops" participate in [[Friday Night Magic]] (FNM),<ref name="The Guardian-2015" /> an event sponsored by the WPN; it is advertised as "the event where new players can approach the game, and start building their community".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Troilo |first=Gabriele |title=Marketing In Creative Industries : Value, Experience and Creativity.|date=2015|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-38023-3|location=Basingstoke, UK |pages=110–112|oclc=966560595}}</ref> FNM offers both sanctioned tournament formats and all [[Magic: The Gathering formats#Casual formats|casual]] formats.<ref name="2014Revision" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Kendra|date=May 1, 2019|title=It's Time to Sanction Pauper|url=https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/kendrasmith-05012019-its-time-to-sanction-pauper|access-date=2021-09-15|website=www.coolstuffinc.com|language=en|archive-date=September 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915184755/https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/kendrasmith-05012019-its-time-to-sanction-pauper|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, ''[[The New Yorker]]'' reported that "even as it has grown in popularity and size, Magic flies low to the ground. It thrives on the people who gather at lunch tables, in apartments, or in one of the six thousand stores worldwide that Wizards has licensed to put on weekly tournaments dubbed Friday Night Magic".<ref name="newyorker" /> FNM tournaments can act as a stepping-stone to more competitive play.<ref name="fnm">{{cite web | title = Friday Night Magic | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = June 2009 | access-date = June 14, 2009 | url = http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=events%2Fmagic%2Ffnm&dcmp=ILC-MTGNTOP | archive-date = June 6, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130606041446/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=events%2Fmagic%2Ffnm&dcmp=ILC-MTGNTOP | url-status = dead }}</ref>

=== Tournaments ===
''Magic'' [[tournament]]s regularly occur in gaming stores and other venues. Larger tournaments with hundreds of competitors from around the globe sponsored by Wizards of the Coast are arranged many times every year, with substantial cash prizes for the top finishers.<ref name="prize" /> A number of websites report on tournament news, give complete lists for the most currently popular decks, and feature articles on current issues of debate about the game.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-15 |title=Best Websites to Find Competitive Magic: The Gathering Decks |url=https://www.tcgsnoop.com.au/articles/best-websites-competitive-mtg-decks |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=www.tcgsnoop.com.au |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, the WPN maintains a set of rules for being able to sanction tournaments, as well as runs its own circuit.<ref name="fnm" />

==== Pro Tour and Pro Club (2005-2019) ====
[[File:shadowmage infiltrator.jpg|thumb|upright|By winning a yearly Invitational tournament, [[Jon Finkel]] won the right for this card to feature his design and likeness.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barth |first=Chris |date=September 21, 2011 |title=A Magic The Gathering World Champion And Blackjack Pro Tries His Hand At A Hedge Fund |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisbarth/2011/09/21/a-magic-the-gathering-world-champion-and-blackjack-pro-tries-his-hand-at-a-hedge-fund/?sh=7af0868a7445 |work=Forbes |location= |access-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101215330/https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisbarth/2011/09/21/a-magic-the-gathering-world-champion-and-blackjack-pro-tries-his-hand-at-a-hedge-fund/?sh=7af0868a7445 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
The WPN ran the [[Magic: The Gathering Players Tour|Pro Tour]] as a series of major tournaments to attract interest.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Davis|first=Noah|date=2012-09-20|title=Do you believe in Magic... the Gathering?|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/9/20/3326708/magic-the-gathering-players-championship|access-date=2021-09-15|website=The Verge|language=en-US|archive-date=September 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915200728/https://www.theverge.com/2012/9/20/3326708/magic-the-gathering-players-championship|url-status=live}}</ref> The right to compete in a Pro Tour had to be earned by either winning a Pro Tour Qualifier Tournament or being successful in a previous tournament on a similar level. The Pro Tour would take place over the course of three days. The first two days were usually structured in a [[Swiss-system tournament|Swiss format]]. On the final day, the top eight players would compete with each other in a single-elimination format to select the winner.<ref name="pt">{{cite web | title = Pro Tour | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | year = 2009 | access-date = June 14, 2009 | url = http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Fevents%2Fprotour | archive-date = May 18, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140518133711/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Fevents%2Fprotour | url-status = dead }}</ref> At the end of the competition in a Pro Tour, players were awarded [[Magic: The Gathering Players Tour|Pro Points]] depending on their finishing place. If the player finished high enough, they would also be awarded prize money.<ref name="pt"/> Frequent winners of these events made names for themselves in the ''Magic'' community, such as [[Luis Scott-Vargas]], [[Gabriel Nassif]], [[Kai Budde]] and [[Jon Finkel]]. As a promotional tool, the DCI launched the [[Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] in 2005 to honor selected players.<ref name="PTHoF" />

At the end of the year the [[Magic: The Gathering World Championship|''Magic'' World Championship]] would be held. The World Championship functioned like a Pro Tour, except that competitors had to present their skill in three different formats (usually Standard, booster draft, and a second constructed format) rather than one. Another difference was that invitations to the World Championship could not be gained through Pro Tour Qualifiers. They could only be earned via the national championship of a country. Most countries sent their top four players of the tournament as representatives, though nations with minor ''Magic'' playing communities would sometimes only send one player. The World Championship also has a team-based competition, where the national teams compete with each other.<ref name="worlds2009">{{cite web | title = 2009 Magic: The Gathering Worlds Championships | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | year = 2009 | access-date = June 14, 2009 | url = http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=events%2Fmagic%2Fworlds | archive-date = March 29, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140329155235/https://wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=events%2Fmagic%2Fworlds | url-status = dead }}</ref>

At the beginning of the World Championship, new members were inducted into the Hall of Fame. The tournament also concluded the current season of tournament play and at the end of the event, the player who earned the most Pro Points during the year was awarded the title "[[Magic: The Gathering Players Tour#Pro Player of the Year|Pro Player of the Year]]". The player who earned the most Pro Points and did not compete in any previous season was awarded the title "[[Magic: The Gathering Players Tour#Rookie of the Year|Rookie of the Year]]".<ref name="worlds2009"/>

Invitation to a Pro Tour, Pro Points, and prize money could also be earned in lesser tournaments called [[Grand Prix (Magic: The Gathering)|Grand Prix]] that were open to the general public and held more frequently throughout the year.<ref name="gp">{{cite web | title = Grand Prix | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | year = 2009 | access-date = June 14, 2009 | url = http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=grandprix%2Fwelcome | archive-date = April 7, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407000158/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=grandprix%2Fwelcome | url-status = dead }}</ref> Grand Prix events were usually the largest ''Magic'' tournaments, sometimes drawing more than 2,000 players. The largest ''Magic'' tournament ever held was Grand Prix: Las Vegas in May 2015 with a total of 7,551 players.<ref name="vegas-7551">{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/what-s-it-like-to-be-a-top-magic-the-gathering-player-1798282613|title=What's it like to be a top Magic: the Gathering player?|last=Nelson|first=Samantha|website=avclub.com|publisher=Onion, Inc|date=30 August 2015}}</ref>

In 2018, Wizards of the Coast announced that 2019 would be the last season for The Pro Tour and the Pro Club.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022a">{{Cite web |title=The Next Chapter for Magic: Esports |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/next-chapter-magic-esports-2018-12-06 |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING |language=en |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163727/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/next-chapter-magic-esports-2018-12-06 |url-status=live }}</ref> With these changes, the system eliminated Nationals, the World Magic Cup, and the Team Series.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022a" />

==== Magic Pro League and the Player's Tour (2019-2022) ====
Starting with a partial season in 2019, the new organized play structure for Magic: The Gathering split into digital and tabletop play with separate Mythic Championships for ''[[Magic: The Gathering Arena]]'' and tabletop play.<ref name="Magic Esports-2024">{{Cite web |title=The Future of Magic Esports |url=http://magic.gg/news/the-future-of-magic-esports |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING {{!}} ESPORT |language=en |archive-date=April 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429035012/https://magic.gg/news/the-future-of-magic-esports |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Svelch |first1=Jan |title=Mediatization of a Card Game: Magic: The Gathering, Esports, and Streaming |journal=Media, Culture & Society |date=September 2020 |volume=42 |issue=6 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0163443719876536 |access-date=April 29, 2026}}</ref>The Magic Pro League (MPL) included the top 32 players from the previous season, although two players turned down their spots.<ref name="ESPN.com-2018">{{Cite web |date=2018-12-14 |title=Magic Pro League aims to establish MTG: Arena as the premier digital card game |url=https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/25534030/arena-premier-digital-card-game |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=ESPN.com |language=en |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171452/https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/25534030/arena-premier-digital-card-game |url-status=live }}</ref> The players were notably given a $75,000/year salary and the opportunity to win much more money in exclusive tournaments.<ref name="ESPN.com-2018" /> The new system consisted of several interconnected circuits: The Player's Tour, The Magic Pro League, Challengers/Rivals, Tabletop Mythic Championships, and Arena Mythic Championships.<ref name="Magic Esports-2024" /> The new organized play system did maintain the yearly World Championship, but it was made a more exclusive 16 player tournament. In order to compete in the World Championship in this structure you must have placed top four in MPL, placed top four in the Challengers/Rivals League, won one of the seven tabletop or arena Mythic Championships, or won of the previous year's World Championship.<ref name="Magic Esports-2024" />

While the Mythic Championships and Magic Pro League catered to the highest level of competitive play, the Player's Tour system was meant to give a path for average players to go from their local game store to the World Championship.<ref name="Magic Esports-2024" /> There were three regional Player's Tours for Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas.<ref name="Magic Esports-2024" /> There were several ways to qualify for a regional Player's Tour, including local store events, accumulating points at Gran Prix/MagicFests, and winning on [[Magic: The Gathering Online]].<ref name="Magic Esports-2024" />

In 2021, it was announced that the competitive play system would undergo another shift. Wizards of the Coast stressed a return to in-person play and the disbandment of The Magic Pro League after the 2021–2022 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Esports: Transitions and Getting Back to Gathering |url=http://magic.gg/news/esports-transitions-and-getting-back-to-gathering |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING {{!}} ESPORT |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922005754/https://magic.gg/news/esports-transitions-and-getting-back-to-gathering |url-status=live }}</ref> According to several players from the MPL, the messaging they received was that competitive Magic would no longer be supported as a full-time, high-paid esports profession.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Nick |date=2021-05-13 |title=2021-2022 Will Be Last Season For Pro Magic Play |url=https://articles.starcitygames.com/news/2021-2022-will-be-last-season-for-pro-magic-play/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Star City Games |language=en-US |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171409/https://articles.starcitygames.com/news/2021-2022-will-be-last-season-for-pro-magic-play/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Return of The Pro Tour ====
After announcing that The Magic Pro League would no longer be supported, Wizards of the Coast announced a return to the branding of The Pro Tour.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022b">{{Cite web |title=Return of the Pro Tour: Your Path to Playing Magic at the Highest Level |url=http://magic.gg/news/return-of-the-pro-tour-your-path-to-playing-magic-at-the-highest-level |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING {{!}} ESPORT |language=en |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922001516/https://magic.gg/news/return-of-the-pro-tour-your-path-to-playing-magic-at-the-highest-level |url-status=live }}</ref> With a simplified structure, the new Pro Tour system kept some of the original aspects from the system introduced in 2005, like a point system and the World Championship tournament each year.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022b" /> The new system starts players at Regional Championship qualifiers. Winners of local qualifiers advance to Regional Championships which would be comparable to a Grand Prix in the previous systems.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022b" /> If a player performs well enough at their Regional Championship, they can qualify for a Pro Tour tournament. Players who earned 10 wins in the previous pro tour or have enough Adjusted Match Win (AMW) points from the previous season also earn a Pro Tour Qualification.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022b" /> The World Championship under the new system will have around 128 players who will compete for a $1,000,000 prize pool.<ref name="Magic Esports-2022b" />

== Development ==

===Inception===
[[File:Richard Garfield (Spiel 2014 cropped).jpg|alt=Garfield smiling|thumb|upright=0.9|Garfield in 2014]]

[[Richard Garfield]] had an early attachment to games during his youth: before settling down in [[Oregon]], his father, an architect, had taken his family to [[Bangladesh]] and [[Nepal]] during his work projects. Garfield did not speak the native languages, but was able to make friends with the local youth through playing cards or marbles. Once back in the United States, he had heard of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' but neither his local game store nor his friends had a copy, so he developed his own version of what he thought the game would be based on the descriptions he had read, which he considered closer to ''[[Cluedo|Clue]]'', with players moving from room to room fighting monsters with a fixed end-goal. When Garfield eventually got copies of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' rulesets, he was surprised that it was a more open-ended game but was "dreadfully written".<ref name="newyorker"/> ''Dungeons & Dragons''{{'}}s open-endedness inspired him, like many others, to develop their own game ideas from it.<ref name="newyorker"/> For Garfield, this was a game he called ''Five Magics'', based on five elemental magics that were drawn from geographically diverse areas. While this remained the core concept of ''Five Magics'', Garfield continued to refine the game while growing up, often drastically changing the base type of game, though never planned to publish this game.<ref name="newyorker">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-twenty-five-year-journey-of-magic-the-gathering | title = The Twenty-five-year Journey Of Magic: The Gathering | first = Neima | last = Jahromi | date = August 28, 2018 | access-date = February 27, 2020 | magazine = [[The New Yorker]] | archive-date = November 1, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201101003740/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-twenty-five-year-journey-of-magic-the-gathering | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1991, Garfield was a doctoral candidate in [[combinatorics|combinatorial mathematics]] at [[University of Pennsylvania]] and had been brought on as an [[adjunct professor]] at [[Whitman College]]. During his candidacy, he developed his ideas and had [[playtest]]ed ''[[RoboRally]]'', a [[board game]] based on moving robots through a factory filled with hazards. Garfield had been seeking publishers for the title, and his colleague, Mike Davis, suggested the newly formed [[Wizards of the Coast]], a small outfit established by [[Peter Adkison]], a [[systems analyst]] for [[Boeing]] in Seattle.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/><ref name="newyorker"/> In mid-1991, the three arranged to meet in Oregon near Garfield's parents' home. Adkison was impressed by ''RoboRally'' but considered that it had too many logistics and would be too risky for him to publish. He told Garfield and Davis that he liked Garfield's ideas and that he was looking for a portable game that could be played in the downtime that frequently occurs at [[gaming convention]]s.<ref name="seattlemet origin">{{cite web | url = https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2017/12/spell-casters-a-magic-the-gathering-origin-story | title = Spell Casters, a 'Magic: The Gathering' Origin Story | first = Darrin | last = Davis | date = December 18, 2017 | access-date = February 27, 2020 | work = [[Seattle Metropolitan]] | archive-date = November 9, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032057/https://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-culture/2017/12/spell-casters-a-magic-the-gathering-origin-story | url-status = live }}</ref>

After the meeting, Garfield remained in Oregon to contemplate Adkison's advice. While hiking near [[Multnomah Falls]], he was inspired to take his ''Five Magics'' concept but apply it to collectible color-themed cards, so that each player could make a customizable deck, something each player could consider part of their identity.<ref name="newyorker"/> Garfield arranged to meet with Adkison back in Seattle within the week,<ref name="TOMARTS">{{Cite book| last =Tumbusch| first =T. M.| title =Tomart's Photo Checklist & Price Guide to Collectible Card Games, Volume One| year =1995| pages =88}}</ref> and when Adkison heard the idea, he recognized the potential that this would be a game that could be expanded on indefinitely with new cards in contrast to most typical tabletop games; Adkison later wrote on the idea on a [[USENET]] post "If executed properly, [the cards] would make us millions."<ref name="newyorker"/> Adkison immediately agreed to produce it.<ref name="adkonmtg">{{cite web|url=http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/beginning-2009-06-01|title=In The Beginning|last=Adkison|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Adkison|date=June 1, 2009|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|access-date=March 10, 2017|archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429022009/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/beginning-2009-06-01|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Initial design===
Garfield returned to Pennsylvania and set out to design the game's core rules and initial cards, with about 150 completed in the few months after his return. The type of gameplay centered on each color remained consistent with how ''Five Magics'' had been and with how ''Magic: The Gathering'' would stay in the future, such as red representing aggressive attacks.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/> Other games also influenced the design at this point, with Garfield citing games like ''[[Cosmic Encounter]]'' and ''[[Strat-o-matic Baseball]]'' as games that differ each time they are played because of different sets of cards being in play.<ref name="wotc garfield making">{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/creation-magic-gathering-2013-03-12 | title = The Creation Of Magic: The Gathering | first = Richard | last = Garfield | date = March 12, 2013 | access-date = February 27, 2020 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | archive-date = December 2, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201202160155/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/creation-magic-gathering-2013-03-12 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Initial "cards" were based on using available copyrighted art, and copied to paper to be tested by groups of volunteers at the university.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/> About six months after the meeting with Adkison, Garfield had refined the first complete version of his game.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/> Garfield also began to set the narrative of the game in "Dominia", a [[Multiverse (Magic: The Gathering)|multiverse]] of infinite "planes" from which players, as wizards, can draw power, which would allow for the vast array of creatures and magics that he was planning for the cards.<ref name="wotc garfield making"/>

Garfield has stated that two major influences in his creation of ''Magic: the Gathering'' were the games ''[[Cosmic Encounter]]'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjIYWtqWxtAC&q=%22most+influential+ancestor+is+a+game+for+which+I+have+no+end+of+respect%22&pg=PA191|title=Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games|date=February 8, 2008|access-date=January 8, 2012|isbn=9780240809748|last1=Fullerton|first1=Tracy|publisher=CRC Press|archive-date=April 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429034954/https://books.google.com/books?id=OjIYWtqWxtAC&q=%22most+influential+ancestor+is+a+game+for+which+I+have+no+end+of+respect%22&pg=PA191#v=snippet&q=%22most%20influential%20ancestor%20is%20a%20game%20for%20which%20I%20have%20no%20end%20of%20respect%22&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- This quote is from Garfield's article "The Creation of Magic: The Gathering", which is reprinted in the book Game Design Workshop, ISBN 1578202221--> which first used the concept that normal rules could sometimes be overridden, and ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''. One of the "''Magic'' Golden Rules" states that "Whenever a card's text directly contradicts these rules, the card takes precedence."<ref>{{cite web| title = Magic: The Gathering Comprehensive Rules| pages = 6–10| date = July 8, 2022| access-date = August 22, 2022| url = https://media.wizards.com/2022/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020220708.pdf| archive-date = August 9, 2022| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220809175643/https://media.wizards.com/2022/downloads/MagicCompRules%2020220708.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref> The ''Comprehensive Rules'', a detailed rulebook, exists to clarify conflicts.<ref name="rulebook">{{cite web | url =https://magic.wizards.com/en/rules | title =Magic: The Gathering Rules | access-date =August 22, 2022 | archive-date =August 14, 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220814184203/https://magic.wizards.com/EN/Rules | url-status =live }} This website contains a link to the most up-to-date version of the Comprehensive Rules.</ref>

Simultaneously, Adkison sought investment into Wizards of the Coast to prepare to publish the game. The company had already committed to completing ''[[The Primal Order]]'' rulebook, aimed to be compatible with most other role-playing systems on the market, which most investment was drawn to. He had to bring in a number of local [[Cornish College of the Arts|Cornish]] artists to create the fantasy art for Garfield's cards, offering them shares in Wizards of the Coast in payment.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/> After ''The Primal Order'' was published in 1992, Wizards of the Coast was sued by [[Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game|Palladium]] for copyright infringement, a case that was settled out of court and with the result that a second printing of ''The Primal Order'' removed the rules relevant to Palladium's system, but this case also financially harmed Wizards of the Coast.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/> Adkison decided to create a separate company, Garfield Games, for publishing the card game.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/>

While the game was simply called ''Magic'' through most of playtesting, when the game had to be officially named a lawyer informed them that the name ''Magic'' was too generic to be trademarked. ''Mana Clash'' was instead chosen to be the name used in the first solicitation of the game. However, everybody involved with the game continued to refer to it simply as ''Magic''. After further legal consultation, it was decided to rename the game ''Magic: The Gathering'', thus enabling the name to be trademarked.<ref name = "25things">{{cite web | title = 25 Random Things about Magic | last = Rosewater | first = Mark | author-link = Mark Rosewater | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = February 16, 2009 | access-date = August 5, 2009 | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/25-random-things-about-magic-2009-02-16 | archive-date = February 1, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230201221421/https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/25-random-things-about-magic-2009-02-16 | url-status = live }}</ref>

===First releases===
By 1993, Garfield and Adkison had gotten everything ready to debut ''Magic: The Gathering'' at that year's [[Gen Con]] in Milwaukee that August, but did not have the funds for production to have cards shipped to game stores in time. Adkison took a single box of cards with a handful of complete decks to the Wizards booth at [[Origins Game Fair]] hoping to secure the funds by demonstrating the game. Among those he demonstrated to were representatives of Wargames West, manufacturers of historical tactics games; the representatives eventually brought their CEO over, and after seeing the game, took Adkison to dinner and negotiated funding terms. Adkison returned with {{USD|40,000}}, enough to make the necessary orders.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/>

''Magic: The Gathering'' underwent a general release on August 5, 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg_tcg_abu_productinfo |title=Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited Editions |year=2008 |access-date=April 18, 2009 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112051/http://www.wizards.com/magic/tcg/productarticle.aspx?x=mtg_tcg_abu_productinfo |url-status=dead }}</ref> After shipping the orders, Adkison and his wife drove towards Milwaukee while making stops at game stores to demonstrate the game and drum up support for Gen Con. Their initial stops were quiet, but word of mouth from previous stops spread, and as they traveled south and west, they found larger and larger crowds anxiously awaiting their arrival.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/> Garfield met up with Adkison at Gen Con, where their shipment of 2.5 million cards had been delayed a day. Despite this, by the end of the convention, they had completely sold out.<ref name="seattlemet origin"/>

''Magic'' was an immediate success for Wizards of the Coast.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last1=Zane|first1=J. Pederb|title=Trumps, Shmumps: I'll Play My Unicorn|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/14/weekinreview/trumps-shmumps-i-ll-play-my-unicorn.html|access-date=September 22, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=August 14, 1994|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724024343/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/14/weekinreview/trumps-shmumps-i-ll-play-my-unicorn.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By October 1993, they had sold out their supply of 10 million cards.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19931118&slug=1732576 | title = Professor's Game Casts Magic Spell On Players | first = Lily | last = Eng | date = November 18, 1993 | access-date = February 27, 2020 | work = [[The Seattle Times]] | archive-date = May 31, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210531055840/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19931118&slug=1732576 | url-status = live }}</ref> Wizards was even reluctant to advertise the game because they were unable to keep pace with existing demand.<ref name="tps-syracuse">{{Cite news|first=Charley |last=Hannagan |title=Magic Playing Cards Conjure Up Big Business&nbsp;– The Cards Turn Player Into Sorcerers Who Cast Spells And Control Creatures |work=The Post-Standard (Syracuse) |page=A1 |date=March 31, 1994 }}</ref> Initially ''Magic'' attracted many ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' players,<ref name="tps-syracuse"/> but the following included all types of other people as well.<ref name = "npn94">{{Cite news|first=Glenn |last=Gaslin |title=Magic: The Gathering |work=Newport News |page=G1 |date=October 23, 1994 }}</ref>

===Expansions===
The success of the initial edition prompted a reissue later in 1993, along with expansions to the game. ''[[Arabian Nights (Magic: The Gathering)|Arabian Nights]]'' was released as the first [[List of Magic: The Gathering sets|expansion]] in December 1993. New expansions and revisions of the base game ("Core Sets") have since been released on a regular basis, amounting to four releases a year. By the end of 1994, the game had printed over a billion cards.<ref name="CHALK">{{Citation| last =Chalk| first =Titus| title =20 Years Of Magic: The Gathering, A Game That Changed The World| date =July 31, 2013| url =http://sabotagetimes.com/life/20-years-of-magic-the-gathering-a-game-that-changed-the-world/| access-date =August 11, 2013| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140522124157/http://sabotagetimes.com/life/20-years-of-magic-the-gathering-a-game-that-changed-the-world/| archive-date =May 22, 2014| url-status =usurped}}</ref> Until the release of ''[[Mirage (Magic: The Gathering)|Mirage]]'' in 1996, expansions were released on an irregular basis. Beginning in 2009 one revision of the core set and a set of three related expansions called a "block" were released every year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rosewater |first1=Mark |title=Making Magic, Stages of Design |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/stages-of-design |website=magic.wizards.com |access-date=April 29, 2026 |date=2024}}</ref>

This system was revised in 2015, with the Core Set being eliminated and blocks now consisting of two sets, released semiannually. A further revision occurred in 2018, reversing the elimination of the core sets and no longer constraining sets to blocks. While the essence of the game has always stayed the same, the rules of ''Magic'' have undergone three major revisions with the release of the ''[[Revised Edition (Magic: The Gathering)|Revised Edition]]'' in 1994, [[6th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)|''Classic'' Edition]] in 1999, and ''[[Magic 2010]]'' in July 2009.<ref name="rules2010">{{cite web | title = ''Magic 2010'' Rules Changes | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = June 10, 2009 | access-date = March 18, 2022 | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-2010-rules-change-2009-06-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150214064536/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-2010-rules-change-2009-06-10 | url-status = dead | archive-date = February 14, 2015 }}</ref> With the release of the ''[[8th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)|Eighth Edition]]'' in 2003, ''Magic'' received a major visual redesign.

In 1996, Wizards of the Coast established the "[[Pro Tour (Magic: The Gathering)|Pro Tour]]",<ref name="PTHoF">{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-pro-tour-hall-fame-2005-06-06 | title = The ''Magic'' Pro Tour Hall of Fame | access-date = September 30, 2006 | last = Galvin | first = Chris | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = June 6, 2005 | archive-date = April 9, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180409163113/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-pro-tour-hall-fame-2005-06-06 | url-status = live }}</ref> a circuit of tournaments where players can compete for sizeable cash prizes over the course of a single weekend-long tournament. In 2009 the top prize at a single tournament was [[United States dollar|US$]]40,000.<ref name="prize">{{cite web | url = http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=protour%2Fdefault%2Fprizes | title = 2009 Pro Tour Prize Structures | year = 2009 | access-date = April 18, 2009 | publisher = [[The DCI]] | archive-date = June 11, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080611003501/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=protour%2Fdefault%2Fprizes | url-status = dead }}</ref> Sanctioned through the DCI, the tournaments added an element of prestige to the game by virtue of the cash payouts and media coverage from within the community. For a brief period of time, [[ESPN2]] televised the tournaments.<ref name="ESPN2">{{cite web | url = http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/neglect-and-reversion/ | title = Neglect and Reversion | year = 2009 | access-date = August 12, 2013 | work = The Hardball Times | archive-date = August 31, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130831131027/http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/neglect-and-reversion/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

By April 1997, {{formatnum:2}} billion cards had been sold.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Disaffected Fans Cheer D&D Buyout |url=https://www.wired.com/1997/04/disaffected-fans-cheer-dd-buyout/ |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=April 10, 1997 |access-date=June 23, 2018 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129131844/https://www.wired.com/1997/04/disaffected-fans-cheer-dd-buyout/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1999, Wizards of The Coast was acquired by [[Hasbro]] for $325 million, making ''Magic'' a Hasbro game.

A [[patent]] was granted to Wizards of the Coast in 1997 for "a novel method of game play and game components that in one embodiment are in the form of trading cards" that includes claims covering games whose rules include many of ''Magic'''s elements in combination, including concepts such as changing orientation of a game component to indicate use (referred to in the rules of ''Magic'' and later of Garfield's games such as ''[[Vampire: The Eternal Struggle]]'' as "tapping") and constructing a deck by selecting cards from a larger pool.<ref>{{cite patent|country=US|number=5662332|title=Trading Card Game Method Of Play|gdate=September 2, 1997 | fdate=October 17, 1995|inventor=Richard Garfield |assign1=[[Wizards of the Coast]]}}</ref> The patent has aroused criticism from some observers, who believe some of its claims to be invalid.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1998-01-09/519374/ | title = The Year in Gaming | access-date = August 27, 2014 | last = Varney | first = Allen | newspaper = [[The Austin Chronicle]] | date = January 9, 1998 | archive-date = April 25, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200425075500/https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1998-01-09/519374/ | url-status = live }}</ref> In 2003, the patent was an element of a larger legal dispute between Wizards of the Coast and [[Nintendo]], regarding trade secrets related to Nintendo's ''[[Pokémon Trading Card Game]]''. The legal action was settled out of court, and its terms were not disclosed.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031229005065/en/Pokemon-USA-Wizards-Coast-Resolve-Dispute | title = Pokemon USA, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Resolve Dispute | access-date = September 21, 2007 | publisher = [[Businesswire]] | date = December 29, 2003 | archive-date = March 19, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130319163917/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20031229005065/en/Pokemon-USA-Wizards-Coast-Resolve-Dispute | url-status = live }}</ref>

In February 2018, Wizards noted that between the years of 2008 and 2016 they had printed over 20 billion ''Magic: the Gathering'' cards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-25th-anniversary-page-facts-and-figures|title=Magic: the Gathering 25th anniversary Facts & Figures|website=Magic.Wizards.com|access-date=February 9, 2018|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604033745/https://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-25th-anniversary-page-facts-and-figures|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2022, ''[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]]'' reported that "over 20,000 unique ''MTG'' cards have been created" since the game's release.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pilon |first=Zachary |date=2022-06-30 |title=Wizards Is Releasing More Magic: The Gathering Sets Than Players Can Keep Up With |url=https://www.cbr.com/mtg-releasing-too-many-sets-wotc/ |access-date=2022-06-30 |website=CBR |language=en-US |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630172041/https://www.cbr.com/mtg-releasing-too-many-sets-wotc/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Wizards of the Coast has continued to release expansions and sets through 2023, though the number of such expansions released per year began to increase, leading to concerns from investors and analysis that the accelerated release may create market fatigue.<ref name="nytimes feb2023"/>

==Production and marketing==
{{See also|List of Magic: The Gathering sets}}

''Magic: The Gathering'' cards are produced in much the same way as normal [[playing card]]s. Each ''Magic'' card, approximately 63&nbsp;×&nbsp;88&nbsp;mm in size (2.5 by 3.5&nbsp;inches), has a face which displays the card's name and rules text as well as an illustration appropriate to the card's concept. 23,318 unique cards have been produced for the game {{As of|2016|09|lc=yes}},<ref name="Gatherer">{{cite web | url = https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&cmc=+%3E=%5b0%5d | title = Gatherer | access-date = January 22, 2019 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | archive-date = August 5, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805101611/https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&cmc=+%3E=%5B0%5D | url-status = live }}, the official ''Magic'' card database.</ref>
many of them with variant editions, artwork, or layouts, and 600–1000 new ones are added each year. The first ''Magic'' cards were printed exclusively in English, but current sets are also printed in [[Traditional Chinese]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Russian language|Russian]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/magic-korean-2011-08-23 | title = Magic in Korean | access-date = October 25, 2011 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = July 23, 2011 | archive-date = July 7, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170707062951/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/magic-korean-2011-08-23 | url-status = live }} shows the return to 11 languages as of the late release of ''Magic 2011'' in Korean.</ref>

The overwhelming majority of ''Magic'' cards are issued and marketed in the form of sets. For the majority of its history there were two types: the Core Set and the themed expansion sets. Under Wizards of the Coast's current production and marketing scheme, a new set is released quarterly.{{Update inline|date=July 2025|reason=Sets are released on a more-than-quarterly basis now.}} The majority of cards are sold in [[booster packs]], which contain fifteen cards normally divided into four rarities, which can be differentiated by the color of the expansion symbol.<ref group="note">For cards released prior to ''[[Exodus (Magic: The Gathering)|Exodus]]'', rarities must be checked against an external cardlist or database, as all expansion symbols were black.</ref> A fifteen-card booster pack will typically contain one rare (gold), three uncommons (silver), ten commons (black), and one basic land (colored black, as commons). Sets prior to ''Shards of Alara'' contained eleven commons instead of a basic land. ''Shards of Alara'' also debuted mythic rares (red-orange), which replace one in eight rare cards on average. There are also premium versions of every card with holographic foil, randomly inserted into some boosters in place of a common, which replace about one in seventy cards.
* Each standard-legal set since [[Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths|''Ikoria'']] (except ''Core 2021'') features 2-5 Commander decks, as the Commander format has become one of the most popular ways to play Magic, releasing preconstructed commander decks with every set allows for the creation of cards unique to the format that are thematically tied to the setting of their respective expansion, as well as giving more options to new players who want to try Commander.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-30 |title=Big Things Are Coming for Commander in 2020 {{!}} MAGIC: THE GATHERING |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/big-things-are-coming-commander-2020-2019-10-30 |access-date=2024-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030202334/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/big-things-are-coming-commander-2020-2019-10-30 |archive-date=October 30, 2019 }}</ref>
* Each set from ''[[Kaladesh]]'' to ''Core 2021'' (except ''Ikoria'') featured two Planeswalker decks, which were meant to help new players learn the game. They contained a 60-card pre-constructed deck with an exclusive Planeswalker, as well as several exclusive cards, two booster packs from the set they accompanied, as well as a rule guide and a card board box with an image of the included Planeswalker.
* Each set from Shards of Alara to Eldritch Moon featured five Intro Packs, which fulfilled the same function as planeswalker decks. They contained a 60-card pre-constructed deck, as well as two booster packs from the set they accompany and a rule guide.
* Each set from ''[[Mirrodin Besieged]]'' to ''[[Gatecrash]]'' featured two Event Decks, which were pre-constructed decks designed as an introduction to tournament play. Beginning with'' [[Dragon's Maze]]'', each set featured only one Event Deck. However, event decks were discontinued after the set ''[[Battle for Zendikar]]''.
* Previously, cards were also sold in Tournament Packs typically containing three rares, ten uncommons, thirty-two commons, and thirty basic lands.{{efn|group=note|"Typically" is used due to a change in card distribution in ''[[Time Spiral (Magic: The Gathering)|Time Spiral]]'' which allows premium cards of any rarity to replace Common cards instead of cards of their own rarity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Purple Reign|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/purple-reign-2006-09-25-0|first=Mark|last=Rosewater|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|date=September 25, 2006|access-date=December 16, 2023|language=en-US|archive-date=September 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921113123/https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/purple-reign-2006-09-25-0|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Tournament Packs were discontinued after ''Shards of Alara''.

The Core Sets began to be released annually (previously biennially) in July 2009 coinciding with the name change from [[10th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)|''10th Edition'']] to ''[[Magic 2010]]''. This shift also introduced new, never before printed cards into the core set, something that previously had never been done.<ref name="Recapturing the Magic with Magic 2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg%2Fdaily%2Ffeature%2F27a |title=Recapturing the Magic with Magic 2010 |author=Aaron Forsythe |date=February 23, 2009 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |access-date=October 28, 2011 |archive-date=September 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907071637/https://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg%2Fdaily%2Ffeature%2F27a |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, core sets were discontinued following the release of ''[[Magic 2015|Magic Origins]]'', on July 17, 2015, at the same time that two-set blocks were introduced.<ref name="Metamorphosis">{{cite web |url=http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mm/metamorphosis |title=Metamorphosis |author=Mark Rosewater |date=August 25, 2014 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |access-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-date=February 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205013503/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mm/metamorphosis |url-status=live }}</ref> Wizards of Coast announced on June 12, 2017, that they planned on revamping and reintroducing a revamped core set,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/metamorphosis-2-0-2017-06-12|title=Metamorphosis 2.0 Decks|author=Mark Rosewater|publisher=Wizards of the Coast|access-date=September 20, 2017|archive-date=February 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207100806/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/metamorphosis-2-0-2017-06-12|url-status=live}}</ref> and Core Set 2019 was released on July 13, 2018.

In addition to the quarterly set releases, ''Magic'' cards are released in other products as well, such as the ''[[Planechase]]'' and ''[[Archenemy (Magic: The Gathering)|Archenemy]]'' spin-off games. These combine reprinted ''Magic'' cards with new, oversized cards with new functionality. ''Magic'' cards are also printed specifically for collectors, such as the ''From the Vault'' and ''Premium Deck Series'' sets, which contain exclusively premium foil cards.

In 2003, starting with the ''[[8th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)|Eighth Edition]]'' Core Set, the game went through its biggest visual change since its creation—a new card frame layout was developed to allow more rules text and larger art on the cards, while reducing the thick, colored border to a minimum.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/card-face-redesign-faq-2003-01-20 | title = Card Face Redesign FAQ | access-date = September 30, 2006 | date = January 20, 2003 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | archive-date = March 29, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170329154945/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/card-face-redesign-faq-2003-01-20 | url-status = live }}</ref> The new frame design aimed to improve contrast and readability using black type instead of the previous white, a new font, and partitioned areas for the name, card type, and power and toughness. The card frame was changed once again in [[Magic 2015|Core Set 2015]], which maintained the same templating, but made the card sleeker and added a holo-foil stamp to every rare and mythic card to curtail counterfeiting.

For the first few years of its production, ''Magic: The Gathering'' featured a small number of cards with names or artwork with [[demon]]ic or [[occult]]ist themes, in 1995 the company elected to remove such references from the game. In 2002, believing that the depiction of demons was becoming less controversial and that the game had established itself sufficiently, Wizards of the Coast reversed this policy and resumed printing cards with "demon" in their names.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/where-have-all-demons-gone-2004-07-05 | title = Where Have All The Demons Gone Today | last = Rosewater | first = Mark | author-link = Mark Rosewater | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = July 5, 2004 | access-date = April 18, 2009 | archive-date = March 22, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160322064907/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/where-have-all-demons-gone-2004-07-05 | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2019, starting with ''Throne of Eldraine'', booster packs have a chance of containing an alternate art "showcase card". This is to increase the reward of buying boosters and make opening packs more exciting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/project-booster-fun-2019-07-20|title=Project Booster Fun|website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING|language=en|access-date=September 25, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207095705/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/project-booster-fun-2019-07-20|url-status=live}}</ref>

A new format, "Jumpstart", was introduced in July 2020 alongside the Core 2021 set. These are special themed 20-card booster packs, based on nearly 500 cards, several being reprints of cards from previous sets, with 121 possible packs available. Each is a curated set rather than random selection of cards, built around a theme, such as "Pirates" or "Unicorns". Each theme has a small number of possible card sets on that theme, distributed on a rarity basis, such that the specific booster that a player purchases will still be a random selection. Because many are reprints, not all Jumpstart cards are available to be used in the various Constructed formats but can be used in other modes of play.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2020/2/21/21147560/magic-the-gathering-new-format-jumpstart-boosters | title = Magic: The Gathering introduces a new format with its own 20-card booster packs | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = February 21, 2020 | access-date = July 17, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = January 15, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210115130157/https://www.polygon.com/2020/2/21/21147560/magic-the-gathering-new-format-jumpstart-boosters | url-status = live }}</ref> Jumpstart was designed to make it much easier to get into ''Magic'' by eliminating the deck-building but still providing some customization and randomness that comes with card acquisition and deck building. A special Jumpstart format was introduced for these boosters, where players select two desired themes, and are given a random booster from those themes and sufficient land cards to make a 60-card deck.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/17/21328327/magic-the-gathering-arena-jumpstart-new-format-new-cards | title = A new format of Magic launches online, with hundreds of new cards | first = Nicole | last = Carpenter | date = July 17, 2020 | access-date = July 17, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = January 13, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210113105618/https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/17/21328327/magic-the-gathering-arena-jumpstart-new-format-new-cards | url-status = live }}</ref>

With the release of the ''Murders At Karlov Manor'' set in February 2024, Wizards have introduced a new booster set called "Play boosters", which replace Draft and Set booster packs in the future. Play boosters contain 14 cards with a set distribution of common, uncommon, and rare/mythic cards, along with land and wildcards; however, within each of these, there is a chance for special "booster fun" variant. There is also a chance at a card from "The List", a limited number of cards from ''MTG''{{'s}} history. These boosters are intended to be usable for draft gameplay modes as well as for normal library expansion, as in years since the Set booster introduction, Wizards had found that stores favors those sales over Draft boosters.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamespot.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-is-totally-upending-how-you-buy-cards-this-february/1100-6518409/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f | title = Magic: The Gathering Is Totally Upending How You Buy Cards This February | first = Jason | last = Fanelli | date = October 16, 2023 | accessdate = October 21, 2023 | work = [[GameSpot]] | archive-date = October 22, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231022050052/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-is-totally-upending-how-you-buy-cards-this-february/1100-6518409/?ftag=CAD-01-10abi2f | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2025, Wizards announced that 2026 would have 7 standard-legal sets releasing, the highest ever. They also clarified that 2027 would return to the norm of 6.<ref name=Announcement2026>{{Cite web |title=Everything Announced for Magic: The Gathering in 2026 |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/everything-announced-for-magic-the-gathering-in-2026 |access-date=2025-11-04 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING |language=en-US}}</ref> 

===Writing and storyline===
{{Main|Multiverse (Magic: The Gathering)}}

Garfield had established that ''Magic: The Gathering'' took place in a Multiverse with countless possible worlds (planes), the game's primary events taking place on the planes of Dominaria, Ravnica, Zendikar, and Innistrad. Only extremely rare beings called Planeswalkers are capable of traversing the Multiverse. This allows the game to frequently change worlds so as to renew its mechanical inspiration, while maintaining planeswalkers as recurrent, common elements across worlds. Players represent planeswalkers able to draw on the magics and entities of these planes to do battle with others. Story elements were told through the cards' [[flavor text]], and a driving narrative.<ref name="mtg story of the story">{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/story-story-2003-05-27 | title = The Story of the Story | first = Brady | last = Dommermuth | work = MAGIC: THE GATHERING | date = May 27, 2003 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051127073716/http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom%2Ffeature%2F156 | archive-date = November 27, 2005 | access-date = March 1, 2020 | url-status = live }}</ref> The first expansion ''Arabian Nights'' designed by Garfield was based on ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'' folklore and include figures from that like [[Aladdin]].<ref name="u-m war #1 back material">{{cite book | title = Urza-Mishra War | publisher = [[Armada (comics)|Armada]] | date = September 1996 | first = Jerry | last = Prosser | volume = 1 }}</ref>

Early expansions were designed separately, each with their own internal narrative to establish concepts, keywords, and flavoring.<ref name="mtg story of the story"/><ref name="u-m war #1 back material"/> With ''[[Weatherlight]]'', the team wanted to start a longer arc that would cover multiple expansions over five years that would also extend into comics, magazines, and other media.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/fortune-favors-bold-2007-12-03 | title = Fortune Favors The Bold | first = Michael G. | last = Ryan | date = December 3, 2007 | access-date = February 28, 2020 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | archive-date = September 20, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200920211206/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/fortune-favors-bold-2007-12-03 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Weather(light) Report | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | author = Mark Rosewater | date = March 3, 2007 | access-date = January 8, 2012 | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/weatherlight-report-2007-12-03 | author-link = Mark Rosewater | archive-date = March 4, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170304175927/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/weatherlight-report-2007-12-03 | url-status = live }}</ref> However, with a change in oversight of the ''Magic: The Gathering'' team, player fatigue, and a disconnect between the novels and cards, this plan was scrapped, returning to the general approach of designing a narrative specific to one expansion.<ref name="mtg story of the story"/>

Wizards, which had regained the license from [[Harper Prism]] and Armada (an imprint of [[Acclaim Entertainment]]) to write novels for ''Magic: The Gathering'', still worked to integrate the novel writing staff with the game designers so that there was some cohesion between the game and books, but did not seek to make this a key priority as the ''Weatherlight'' goal had been.<ref name="mtg story of the story"/><ref name = "ask wizards 07/01/06">{{cite web | title=July 01, 2005 | work=Ask Wizards | url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-july-2005-2005-07-01 | first=Brady | last=Dommermuth | publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] | date=2005-07-01 | access-date=2007-12-30 | archive-date=August 22, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160026/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-july-2005-2005-07-01 | url-status=live }}</ref> Novels soon gave way to eBooks and later to shorter stories posted on the Wizards' website which fared better in terms of popularity.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Beyer|first1=Doug|title=eBooks And The Accessibility Of Magic's Story|url=http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ebooks-and-accessibility-magics-story|date=October 8, 2014|publisher=Wizards of the Coast|access-date=February 28, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112014902/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/ebooks-and-accessibility-magics-story|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2017, Wizards hired novelist and scriptwriter [[Nic Kelman]] as their Head of Story and Entertainment. Kelman became responsible for crafting the ''Magic: The Gathering'' [[Bible (screenwriting)|story bible]] from all established lore as reference for further expansions and for the external media.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/story/comic-con-2019-magic-the-gathering/ | title = The Story Universe of Magic: The Gathering Is Expanding | first = Adam | last = Rogers | date = July 21, 2019 | access-date = February 27, 2020 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | archive-date = November 7, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201107233936/https://www.wired.com/story/comic-con-2019-magic-the-gathering/ | url-status = live }}</ref> This task helped Kelmen to prepare the novel ''[[War of the Spark: Ravnica]]'' that was published just prior to the new set ''War of the Spark'', with cards retaining continuity with the novel and past events.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/18/18412105/magic-the-gathering-war-of-the-spark-planeswalker-death | title = Magic: The Gathering kills off a major character, creates a new Signature Spellbook | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = April 18, 2019 | access-date = February 27, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = November 8, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201108000125/https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/18/18412105/magic-the-gathering-war-of-the-spark-planeswalker-death | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Artwork===
{{See also|List of Magic: The Gathering artists}}

Each card has an illustration to represent the flavor of the card, often reflecting the setting of the expansion for which it was designed. Much of ''Magic''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s early artwork was commissioned with little specific direction or concern for visual cohesion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-january-2007-2007-01-01 |title=Ask Wizards |access-date=April 21, 2007 |last=Jarvis |first=Jeremy |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |date=January 1, 2007 |quote=In the 'old days', art descriptions were vague suggestions of images... Neither continuity nor the idea of worldbuilding (creating distinctive and unique worlds and settings) would become issues until some time later. |archive-date=June 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611114058/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-january-2007-2007-01-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> One infamous example was the printing of the creature Whippoorwill without the "flying" ability even though its art showed a bird in flight.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/flight-fancy-2003-11-21 |title=Flight of Fancy |access-date=April 21, 2007 |last=Buehler |first=Randy |author-link=Randy Buehler |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |date=November 21, 2003 |archive-date=November 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103135302/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/flight-fancy-2003-11-21 |url-status=live }}</ref> The art direction team later decided to impose a few constraints so that the artistic vision more closely aligned with the design and development of the cards. Each block of cards now has its own [[style guide]] with sketches and descriptions of the various races and places featured in the setting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-style-guide-part-1-2005-09-07 |title=The Magic Style Guide |access-date=April 21, 2007 |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |last=Cavotta |first=Matt |date=September 7, 2005 |archive-date=July 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723133031/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-style-guide-part-1-2005-09-07 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A few early sets experimented with alternate art for cards. However, Wizards came to believe that this impeded easy recognition of a card and that having multiple versions caused confusion when identifying a card at a glance.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-june-2002-2002-06-03 |title=Ask Wizards |access-date=February 15, 2007 |last=Chase |first=Elaine |date=June 17, 2002 |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |quote=While we don't like to completely rule anything out, there currently are not any plans to repeat the alternate art within a set model. The main reason is that most players recognize cards through the artwork. |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822160055/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-june-2002-2002-06-03 |url-status=live }}</ref> Consequently, alternate art is now only used sparingly and mostly for promotional cards.<ref group="note">A notable exception are Basic Land cards, but those are easily identifiable due to the oversized mana symbol in their text boxes.</ref> When older cards are reprinted in new sets, however, Wizards of the Coast usually prints them with new art to make the older cards more collectible,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/collecting-my-thoughts-2004-04-26|title=Collecting My Thoughts|last=Rosewater|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Rosewater|date=April 26, 2004|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|access-date=June 30, 2006|archive-date=August 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805041115/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/collecting-my-thoughts-2004-04-26|url-status=live}}</ref> though they sometimes reuse well-received artwork if it makes sense thematically.

At the back of each card, at the end of the word "Deckmaster", a pen stroke is visible. According to Wizards of the Coast, this is a printing error which was never corrected, as all card backs have to look the same.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-may-2004-2004-05-03-0|title=Ask Wizards - May, 2004|date=May 22, 2004|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429164236/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/ask-wizards-may-2004-2004-05-03-0 |access-date=February 6, 2023|archive-date=April 29, 2021 }}</ref>

As ''Magic'' has expanded across the globe, its artwork has had to change for its international audience. Artwork has been edited or given alternate art to comply with the governmental standards. For example, the portrayal of skeletons and most undead in artwork was prohibited by the [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]] until 2008.<ref>{{cite web | title = Chinese Skeleton | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = March 13, 2002 | access-date = April 18, 2009 | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/chinese-skeletons-2002-03-13 | archive-date = July 14, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160714122732/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/chinese-skeletons-2002-03-13 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Alternate Chinese Art in Ravnica Part 1 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | date = November 14, 2005 | access-date = April 18, 2009 | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/alternate-chinese-art-ravnica-part-1-2005-11-14 | archive-date = July 12, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160712003137/http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/alternate-chinese-art-ravnica-part-1-2005-11-14 | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Promotional crossovers===
Wizards of the Coast has introduced special cards and sets that include cross-promotional elements with other brands typically as promotional cards, not legal for Standard play and may not be playable even in eternal formats. Four promotional cards were sold at HasCon 2017, featuring three other Hasbro brands, ''[[Transformers]]'', ''[[Nerf]]'', and ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://io9.gizmodo.com/hasbros-own-convention-will-sell-you-a-giant-transforme-1797331311 | title = Hasbro's Own Convention Will Sell You a Giant Transformer That Actually Charges Your Phone | first = James | last = Whitbrook | date = July 28, 2017 | access-date = September 9, 2020 | work = [[Gizmodo]] | archive-date = November 9, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025608/http://io9.gizmodo.com/hasbros-own-convention-will-sell-you-a-giant-transforme-1797331311 | url-status = live }}</ref> A special three-card set based on characters from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' (another Hasbro brand) was sold as both physical product and digital items within ''MTG Arena'' to support the [[Extra Life (fundraiser)|Extra Life]] charity.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/10/3/20897496/my-little-pony-magic-the-gathering-crossover-cards-extra-life-charity | title = My Little Pony invades the world of Magic: The Gathering | first = Andrew | last = Webster | date = October 3, 2019 | access-date = April 2, 2020 | work = [[The Verge]] | archive-date = February 1, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210201002146/https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/10/3/20897496/my-little-pony-magic-the-gathering-crossover-cards-extra-life-charity | url-status = live }}</ref> The "Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths" set released in April 2020 included 16 [[kaiju]] monsters from [[Toho]] as promotional cards, such as [[Godzilla]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/2/21204339/magic-the-gathering-ikoria-cricket-godzilla-crossover | title = Magic: The Gathering's next set includes a Godzilla crossover, check out the first card | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = April 2, 2020 | access-date = April 2, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = February 5, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210205055139/https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/2/21204339/magic-the-gathering-ikoria-cricket-godzilla-crossover | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.destructoid.com/oh-my-godzilla-the-king-of-monsters-is-invading-magic-the-gathering-585592.phtml | title = Oh my Godzilla...the King of Monsters is invading Magic: The Gathering | first = Chris | last = Carter | date = April 2, 2020 | access-date = April 2, 2020 | work = [[Destructoid]] | archive-date = October 27, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201027035109/https://www.destructoid.com/oh-my-godzilla-the-king-of-monsters-is-invading-magic-the-gathering-585592.phtml | url-status = live }}</ref>

====Secret Lair====
The Secret Lair promotional series has also been used to introduce crossover cards from other brands (as well as special artists through Special Guest cards); these cards are generally legal for play and use existing cards with new art, names, and flavor to fit the theme.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blake |first1=Rasmussen |title=Secret Lair Recap |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/secret-lair-recap-2019-11-25 |website=magic.wizards.com |access-date=April 26, 2026 |date=2019}}</ref> As part of the Secret Lair set in 2020, a number of cards were made that featured crossovers with [[AMC Global Media|AMC]]'s television show ''[[The Walking Dead (TV series)|The Walking Dead]]'', which the development team felt was a natural fit since zombies were already part of the ''Magic'' game.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamespot.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-the-walking-deads-negan-is-now-a-magic-card/1100-6482651/ | title = Magic The Gathering: The Walking Dead's Negan Is Now A Magic Card | first = Mat | last = Elfring | date = September 28, 2020 | access-date = September 28, 2020 | work = [[GameSpot]] | archive-date = February 7, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210207120628/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/check-out-these-negan-and-zombie-magic-the-gathering-cards-from-upcoming-secret-lair-drop/1100-6482651/ | url-status = live }}</ref> A limited set of land cards in the Secret Lair featured paintings from [[Bob Ross]], licensed through his estate.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/bob-ross-is-coming-to-magic-the-gathering/ | title = Bob Ross Is Coming to Magic: The Gathering | first = Matthew | last = Gault | date = November 24, 2020 | access-date = November 24, 2020 | work = [[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] | archive-date = January 27, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210127064420/https://www.vice.com/en/article/93wag8/bob-ross-is-coming-to-magic-the-gathering | url-status = live }}</ref>

In June 2021, Wizards of the Coast announced a Secret Lair based on [[Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)|''Dungeons and Dragons cartoon'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon Resurrected as Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair Cards |url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-dragons-cartoon-magic-the-gathering-secret-lair/ |access-date=2021-07-03 |website=GAMING |date=June 17, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630070654/https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-dragons-cartoon-magic-the-gathering-secret-lair/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Secret Lair drops in 2021 featured cards based on ''[[Stranger Things]]'',<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/9/22526144/stanger-things-4-magic-the-gathering-podcast-netflix-geeked-week | title = Stranger Things is getting a companion podcast and Magic: The Gathering cards | first = Andrew | last = Webster | date = June 9, 2021 | access-date = June 9, 2021 | work = [[The Verge]] | archive-date = June 10, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210610084443/https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/9/22526144/stanger-things-4-magic-the-gathering-podcast-netflix-geeked-week | url-status = live }}</ref> while ''[[Fortnite]]'' and ''[[Street Fighter]]'' were featured in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-08-24-magic-the-gathering-gets-fortnite-and-street-fighter-expansions-in-2022 | title = Magic the Gathering gets Fortnite and Street Fighter cards in 2022 | first = Wesley | last = Yin-Poole | date = August 24, 2021 | access-date = August 24, 2021 | work = [[Eurogamer]] | archive-date = August 24, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210824163731/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-08-24-magic-the-gathering-gets-fortnite-and-street-fighter-expansions-in-2022 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hall|first=Charlie|date=2021-08-24|title=Magic: The Gathering is doing Fortnite and Street Fighter crossover sets|url=https://www.polygon.com/22639854/magic-the-gathering-fortnite-street-fighter-secret-lair-release-date-price|access-date=2021-08-25|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=August 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825001005/https://www.polygon.com/22639854/magic-the-gathering-fortnite-street-fighter-secret-lair-release-date-price|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, cards illustrated by [[mangaka]] [[Junji Ito]] were released as Special Guest cards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Special Guest: Junji Ito (English) {{!}} Secret Lair |url=https://secretlair.wizards.com/us/en/product/772012/special-guest-junji-ito-english |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Secret Lair store |language=en}}</ref>

The 2024 Secret Lair release featured cards based on ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'', including a Tim the Enchanter card based on the standard Prodigal Sorceror card which has been nicknamed Tim in honor of the film character by the Magic community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marks |first=Tom |date=2024-07-23 |title=Exclusive: Monty Python and the Holy Grail Gets a Magic: The Gathering Crossover |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-secret-lair-spoilers |access-date=2024-09-14 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> There are also Secret Lair cards based on musicians, mainly [[Post Malone]] (an avid fan of the card game),<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Sage |date=2022-10-10 |title=Post the Gathering: Post Malone Teams Up With Magic: The Gathering To Release New Card Packs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/post-malone-magic-the-gathering-secret-lair-card-packs-1234608197/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> and multiple drops featuring [[Hatsune Miku]] and various [[Vocaloid]] characters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diaz |first=Ana |date=2024-04-30 |title=Vocaloid queen Hatsune Miku is coming to Magic: The Gathering |url=https://www.polygon.com/24144527/magic-the-gathering-secret-lair-hatsune-miku-mtg-preorder-price-fan-art |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Nick |date=2024-09-17 |title=Third Hatsune Miku Secret Lair Drop Revealed |url=https://articles.starcitygames.com/magic-the-gathering/third-hatsune-miku-secret-lair-drop-revealed/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Star City Games |language=en-US}}</ref>

A [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] Secret Lair set was released in November 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Myers |first=Maddy |date=2024-10-18 |title=First Marvel characters in Magic are Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, Wolverine, and Storm |url=https://www.polygon.com/mtg-magic-the-gathering/467652/mtg-marvel-secret-lair-drop-preview-cards-cap-iron-man-black-panther-wolverine-storm-spider-man-release-date-price |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Benjamin Abbott |date=2024-10-21 |title=MTG Marvel explained, from release date to pricing |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/tabletop-gaming/mtg-marvel-explained-from-release-date-to-pricing/#section-mtg-marvel-release-date |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=gamesradar |language=en}}</ref> In 2025, Secret Lair featured ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' and ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Magic: The Gathering's 2025 Lineup Features Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, And SpongeBob |url=https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/magic-the-gatherings-2025-lineup-features-final-fantasy-spider-man-and-spongebob/2900-5889/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Maas |first1=Jennifer |title=Magic: The Gathering Sets 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Secret Lair Collections: First Look at Seven New Cards Revealed (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2025/gaming/news/magic-the-gathering-sonic-the-hedgehog-secret-lair-cards-1236441713/ |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=August 12, 2025 |date=June 27, 2025}}</ref>

====Universes Beyond====
The Universes Beyond series has been used to bring more crossover properties into ''Magic'' such as ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.pcgamer.com/magic-the-gathering-is-adding-warhammer-40k-and-the-lord-of-the-rings-to-its-deck/ | title = Magic: The Gathering is adding Warhammer 40K and The Lord Of The Rings to its deck | first = Natalie | last = Clayton | date = February 25, 2021 | access-date = February 25, 2021 | work = [[PC Gamer]] | archive-date = March 2, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210302140858/https://www.pcgamer.com/magic-the-gathering-is-adding-warhammer-40k-and-the-lord-of-the-rings-to-its-deck/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Whereas Secret Lair sets may only consist of a few cards that may be unplayable under normal rules, Universes Beyond sets include dozens of cards, including Commander decks and booster packs, and their cards are play-legal and often usable in most Magic gameplay formats.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hall|first=Charlie|date=August 24, 2021|title=Magic: The Gathering's Lord of the Rings crossover will be a complete, draftable set|url=https://www.polygon.com/22639970/magic-the-gatherings-lord-of-the-rings-crossover-modern-legal-draft-commander-secret-lair|access-date=August 24, 2021|website=Polygon|archive-date=August 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824215032/https://www.polygon.com/22639970/magic-the-gatherings-lord-of-the-rings-crossover-modern-legal-draft-commander-secret-lair|url-status=live}}</ref> Universes Beyond sets for ''[[Doctor Who]]'', and ''[[Jurassic Park (franchise)|Jurassic Park]]'' were released in 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-every-upcoming-universes-beyond-crossover/ | title = Magic: The Gathering – Every Upcoming Universes Beyond Crossover | first = Ryan | last = Hay | date = August 25, 2023 | accessdate = October 28, 2023 | work = [[TheGamer]] | archive-date = August 5, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230805203104/https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-every-upcoming-universes-beyond-crossover/ | url-status = live }}</ref> In 2025, in addition to sets based on ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' and ''[[Spider-Man]]'', all future Universes Beyond sets will be made legal to play in all formats.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/mtg-magic-the-gathering/470491/final-fantasy-art-reveal-universes-beyond-standard-legal-announcement | title = Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy reveal arrives with big changes for the beloved TCG | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = October 25, 2024 | accessdate = October 25, 2024 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref> Sets based on video games ''[[Fallout (franchise)|Fallout]]'' and ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', were released as well.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/23820428/magic-the-gathering-universes-beyond-fallout-assassins-creed-final-fantasy | title = Fallout, Final Fantasy, and Assassin's Creed are coming to Magic: The Gathering | first = Cass | last = Marshall | date = August 3, 2023 | accessdate = October 28, 2023 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = October 28, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231028161411/https://www.polygon.com/23820428/magic-the-gathering-universes-beyond-fallout-assassins-creed-final-fantasy | url-status = live }}</ref> Wizards has also partnered with [[Marvel Comics]] to bring several "tent-pole" sets featuring Marvel characters to the game, starting with a ''Spider-Man'' themed set, which was released in 2025, and continuing with a Marvel Super Heroes set, released in June 2026.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/23925728/magic-the-gathering-marvel-crossover | title = Marvel characters join Magic: The Gathering in 2025 | first = Joshua | last = Riveria | date = October 23, 2023 | accessdate = October 28, 2023 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = October 27, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231027230325/https://www.polygon.com/23925728/magic-the-gathering-marvel-crossover | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=Announcement2026/>

====''Dungeons & Dragons''====
Wizards has continued to develop a strong connection between the ''Magic'' and the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' ''(D&D)'' [[Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings#Magic: The Gathering planes|universes]], also owned by Wizards of the Coast. Greg Tito, Wizards of the Coast Senior Communications Manager, said that "there is a huge crossover between ''Magic'' players and ''D&D'' players".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Baird|first=Scott|date=2020-06-08|title=D&D Live Is Combining Reality TV & Mafia/Werewolf In Reality RP [EXCLUSIVE]|url=https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-dd-live-reality-rp-tv-mafia-werewolf-in-reality/|access-date=2020-08-19|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US|archive-date=October 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001224937/https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-dd-live-reality-rp-tv-mafia-werewolf-in-reality/|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2021, a ''D&D'' themed set expansion, ''[[Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms|Adventures in the Forgotten Realms]]'', was released; it is based on the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' campaign setting.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/dungeons-and-dragons-magic-the-gathering-dd-adventures-in-the-forgotten-realms | title = Dungeons & Dragons Becoming a Magic: The Gathering Set Next Year | first = Joe | last = Skrebels | date = September 1, 2020 | access-date = September 1, 2020 | work = [[IGN]] | archive-date = September 1, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200901182017/https://www.ign.com/articles/dungeons-and-dragons-magic-the-gathering-dd-adventures-in-the-forgotten-realms | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/22424684/dungeons-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-set-preview-cards | title = Your first look at the Dungeons & Dragons Magic: The Gathering crossover set | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = May 7, 2021 | access-date = May 7, 2021 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = May 20, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210520210728/https://www.polygon.com/22424684/dungeons-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-set-preview-cards | url-status = live }}</ref> Separately, elements of ''Magic'' have been brought into the role-playing game. The first such official crossover was a ''D&D'' [[campaign setting]] book for the plane of [[Ravnica (Magic: The Gathering)|Ravnica]], a ''Magic'' expansion introduced in 2005 and 2006 and later revisited in the 2018 expansion ''[[Guilds of Ravnica]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-28|title=Dungeons and Dragons is Set to Crossover with Magic the Gathering|url=https://screenrant.com/dungeons-and-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-2/|access-date=2020-08-19|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101122825/https://screenrant.com/dungeons-and-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-2/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Polygon-2018" />

''[[Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica]]'' was also published in 2018 to correspond with the newer ''Magic'' expansion's release.<ref name="Polygon-2018">{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/23/17603740/dungeons-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-book-ravnica-dnd-mtg | title = Dungeons & Dragons gets a major crossover with Magic: The Gathering this fall | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = July 23, 2018 | access-date = April 2, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = November 9, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031236/https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/23/17603740/dungeons-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-book-ravnica-dnd-mtg | url-status = live }}</ref> A second campaign setting book, ''[[Mythic Odysseys of Theros]]'' (2020), introduced the plane of [[Theros]] to ''D&D'' and corresponded with the 2020 ''[[Theros Beyond Death]]'' expansion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Baird|first=Scott|date=2020-07-28|title=James Wyatt & F. Wesley Schneider Interview: D&D's Mythic Odysseys Of Theros|url=https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-mtg-james-wyatt-f-wesley-schneider/|access-date=2020-08-19|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US|archive-date=November 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122174527/https://screenrant.com/dungeons-dragons-mtg-james-wyatt-f-wesley-schneider/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos]]'' (2021) introduces the [[Strixhaven: School of Mages|2021 ''Magic'' expansion]] as a ''D&D'' campaign setting;<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/22522569/dungeons-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-strixhaven-curriculum-of-chaos-release-date-price | title = Magic: The Gathering's Strixhaven setting comes to D&D in a new campaign book | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = June 7, 2021 | access-date = June 7, 2021 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = June 8, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210608152044/https://www.polygon.com/22522569/dungeons-dragons-magic-the-gathering-crossover-strixhaven-curriculum-of-chaos-release-date-price | url-status = live }}</ref> it was released in December 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nelson|first=Samantha|date=December 6, 2021|title=D&D's Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos understands what makes college memorable|url=https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22821170/dungeons-dragons-strixhaven-curriculum-of-chaos-review|access-date=December 7, 2021|website=Polygon|language=en-US|archive-date=December 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207015002/https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22821170/dungeons-dragons-strixhaven-curriculum-of-chaos-review|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical reviews===
[[Greg Gorden]] reviewed ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ''[[White Wolf (magazine)|White Wolf]]'' #38 (1993), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "Small game companies struggle along until they get their breakout product. West End Games had ''Star Wars''. White Wolf had ''Vampire''. I feel ''Magic'' is Wizards of the Coast's breakout game... if their cards fall right."<ref name="WW38">{{Cite magazine |last=Gorden |first=Greg |authorlink=Greg Gorden |date=1993|title=Feature Review, Magic: The Gathering |magazine= [[White Wolf Magazine]] |number=38 |pages=38–42 |url=https://imgur.com/a/eXnwt2m}}</ref>

[[Scott Haring]] reviewed ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ''[[Pyramid (magazine)|Pyramid]]'' #4 (Nov./Dec., 1993), and stated that "Not only is ''Magic'' the best gaming bargain to come down the pike in memory; not only is it the most original idea in years; it's also a delightfully addictive game that you and your friends will find impossible to put down."<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=477 | title=Pyramid: Pyramid Pick: Magic: The Gathering | access-date=December 5, 2019 | archive-date=September 27, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927132016/http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=477 | url-status=live }}</ref> Marcelo A. Figueroa reviewed the game in a 1993 issue of ''[[Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer]]'', noting both positives and negatives, stating that, "despite all of its flaws, it's as endearing as ''[[Star Fleet Battles]]''{{-"}}.<ref name=Figueroa5>{{cite magazine |last= Figueroa |first= Marcelo A.|date= 1993|title= Magic: The Gathering|magazine= [[Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer]]|number=7|page=5}}</ref> Overall, Figueroa rated the game a 7 out of 10.<ref name=Figueroa5/>

Paul Pettengale reviewed ''Magic: The Gathering'' [[Magic: The Gathering core sets, 1993–2007#Fifth Edition|5th Edition]] for ''[[Arcane (magazine)|Arcane]]'' magazine, rating it an 8 out of 10 overall, and stated that "''Magic: The Gathering'' is an excellent and absorbing game, which has a huge following (you're never going to be short of people to play with). However, some of the rules structures are clumsy and make it overly complicated. The ''5th Edition'' is not as much fun to play as earlier core sets, though most people will be creating decks with cards from other expansions too, which makes it more exciting. ''Magic'' is still one of the very best CCGs, but ''5th Edition'' adds little to it, and takes too much away."<ref name="Arcane19">{{cite journal | last = Pettengale |first = Paul | title = Games Reviews | journal = [[Arcane (magazine)|Arcane]] | issue = 19 | pages =60–61 |date=May 1997}}</ref>

A 2004 article in ''[[USA Today]]'' suggested that playing ''Magic'' might help improve the social and mental skills of some of the players. The article interviewed players' parents who believe that the game, similar to sports, teaches children how to more gracefully win and lose. ''Magic'' also contains a great amount of strategy and vocabulary that children may not be exposed to on a regular basis. Parents also claimed that playing ''Magic'' helped keep their children out of trouble, such as using [[illegal drugs]] or joining [[Gangs in the United States|criminal gangs]]. On the other hand, the article also briefly mentions that ''Magic'' can be highly addictive, leading to parents worried about their children's ''Magic'' obsession.<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-06-20-magic_x.htm |title=''Magic the Gathering'' casts its spell |author=Slavin, Barbara |newspaper=USA Today |date=June 20, 2004 |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-date=May 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531043831/http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-06-20-magic_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, until 2007, some of the better players had opportunities to compete for a small number of scholarships.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Fevents%2Fmss |title=Magic Scholarship Series : Daily MTG : Magic: The Gathering |publisher=Wizards.com |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=March 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308185000/http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom%2Fevents%2Fmss |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Jordan Weisman]], an American game designer and entrepreneur, commented

<blockquote>I love games that challenge and change our definition of adventure gaming, and ''Magic: The Gathering'' is definitely one of a very short list of titles that has accomplished that elusive goal. By combining the collecting and trading elements of baseball cards with the fantasy play dynamics of role-playing games, ''Magic'' created a whole new genre of product that changed our industry forever.<ref name="HG">{{Cite book | contribution=Magic: The Gathering | title=[[Hobby Games: The 100 Best]] | last=Weisman | first=Jordan | author-link=Jordan Weisman | editor-last=Lowder | editor-first=James | editor-link=James Lowder | publisher=[[Green Ronin Publishing]] | year=2007 | pages=192–195 | isbn=978-1-932442-96-0}}</ref></blockquote>

In 2015, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that an estimated 20 million people played ''Magic'' around the world and that the game had a thriving tournament scene, a professional league, and a weekly organized game program called [[Friday Night Magic]].<ref name="The Guardian-2015">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/10/magic-the-gathering-pop-culture-hit-where-next|title=How Magic: the Gathering became a pop-culture hit – and where it goes next|last=Duffy|first=Owen|date=July 10, 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 9, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204180206/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/10/magic-the-gathering-pop-culture-hit-where-next|url-status=live}}</ref>

A July 2019 article in ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek|Bloomberg]]'' reported that "''Magic'' is part of the [Hasbro's] 'franchise brands,' a segment that accounted for $2.45 billion in net revenue for the company last year, bigger than its emerging, partner and gaming brand units combined. [Chris] Cocks said ''Magic'' accounts for a 'meaningful portion' of that, with KeyBanc estimating the game's contribution is already more than $500 million—including both the physical cards and the nascent digital version. Of the franchise brands, only ''Magic'' and Monopoly logged revenue gains last year".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-07/hasbro-s-free-magic-the-gathering-arena-official-launch-is-2019|title=Move Over Monopoly: Hasbro's Next Big Growth Engine Is Magic|last=Deaux|first=Joe|date=July 7, 2019|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|access-date=July 9, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108015604/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-07/hasbro-s-free-magic-the-gathering-arena-official-launch-is-2019|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Magic: The Gathering Arena]]'', in open beta testing since September 2018, is a [[free-to-play]] [[digital collectible card game]] with [[microtransaction]] purchases based on ''Magic''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/19/magic-the-gathering-arena-open-beta-test-september-27/|title=Magic: The Gathering — Arena launches open beta test September 27|date=September 19, 2018|website=VentureBeat|language=en-US|access-date=July 9, 2019|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924213630/https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/19/magic-the-gathering-arena-open-beta-test-september-27/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.destructoid.com/magic-arena-adds-a-battle-season-pass-gets-it-all-wrong-with-daily-xp-caps-559855.phtml|title=Magic: Arena adds a battle/season pass, gets it all wrong with daily XP caps|website=Destructoid|date=July 6, 2019|language=en|access-date=July 9, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002350/https://www.destructoid.com/magic-arena-adds-a-battle-season-pass-gets-it-all-wrong-with-daily-xp-caps-559855.phtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2022, ''The Gamer'' and ''[[Kotaku]]'' reported on the increased product release schedule for ''Magic: The Gathering''<ref name="Kotaku-2022">{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2022 |title=Toy Company Slammed For Getting Greedy With Magic: The Gathering |url=https://kotaku.com/mtg-30th-anniversary-black-lotus-transformers-warhammer-1849779811 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128195518/https://kotaku.com/mtg-30th-anniversary-black-lotus-transformers-warhammer-1849779811 |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=[[Kotaku]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Parlock |first=Joe |date=2022-05-02 |title=Help, There's Too Much Magic: The Gathering Stuff Launching In The Rest Of 2022 |url=https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-2022-busy-too-much-hype/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128201924/https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-2022-busy-too-much-hype/ |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}</ref> with ''The Gamer'' opining that the increased number of preview seasons for the game was leading to exhaustion within the community and had "drained the well of enthusiasm dry".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parlock |first=Joe |date=2022-10-11 |title=Magic: The Gathering Content Creators Are Exhausted |url=https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-content-creators-are-exhausted/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128201925/https://www.thegamer.com/magic-the-gathering-content-creators-are-exhausted/ |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}</ref> Wizards released a commemorative product, ''Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition'', for $999; this product rereleased cards which were not sanctioned for tournament play.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Diaz |first1=Ana |last2=Hall |first2=Charlie |date=October 4, 2022 |title=Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary includes 60 random cards for $999 |url=https://www.polygon.com/23387739/mtg-magic-the-gather-30-anniversary-box-price-collectible |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128195512/https://www.polygon.com/23387739/mtg-magic-the-gather-30-anniversary-box-price-collectible |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="CNET-2022">{{Cite web |last=Bricknell |first=James |date=December 1, 2022 |title=Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Set Is a Decadent $1,000 Splurge |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/magic-the-gathering-30th-anniversary-set-is-a-decadent-1000-splurge/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128195515/https://www.cnet.com/culture/magic-the-gathering-30th-anniversary-set-is-a-decadent-1000-splurge/ |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> [[CNET]] stated that "it's not a practical purchase, it's a piece of art".<ref name="CNET-2022" /> Both [[WBUR-FM|WBUR]] and ''[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]'' reported that many fans were unhappy with the price point of the product.<ref name="WBUR-2022">{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2022 |title='Magic: The Gathering' angers fans with 30th anniversary collectible cards |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/11/16/magic-the-gathering-prices |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127074437/https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/11/16/magic-the-gathering-prices |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vice-2022">{{Cite web |date=October 6, 2022 |title=Magic: The Gathering Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary by Selling $1,000 Boosters |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/magic-the-gathering-celebrates-30-year-anniversary-by-selling-dollar1000-boosters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128195512/https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zqnw/magic-the-gathering-celebrates-30-year-anniversary-by-selling-dollar1000-boosters |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> ''Vice'' commented that there is "a growing divide in the ''Magic: The Gathering'' community between the casual players and the collectors" as "some rich collectors have turned the cards into a kind of commodities market [...]. Wizards of the Coast has increasingly catered to this kind of consumer" leading to products that are too expensive for many casual players.<ref name="Vice-2022" /> [[CNBC]] reported that "Bank of America downgraded the stock of Wizard of the Coast's owner, Hasbro"<ref name="WBUR-2022" /> in November 2022 with analyst Jason Haas stating that changes to the ''Magic: The Gathering'' "brand amount to Hasbro 'killing its golden goose{{'"}} and highlighting that the "primary concern" is the overproduction of "''Magic'' cards which has propped up Hasbro's recent results but is destroying the long-term value of the brand".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harring |first=Alex |date=November 14, 2022 |title=Bank of America says Hasbro could fall 34% due to company ruining 'Magic: The Gathering' card game |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/14/bank-of-america-says-hasbro-could-fall-34percent-as-company-kills-magic-the-gathering-card-game.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128195518/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/14/bank-of-america-says-hasbro-could-fall-34percent-as-company-kills-magic-the-gathering-card-game.html |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |access-date=January 28, 2023 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kotaku-2022" />

==== Reception to crossovers ====
Despite commercial success, Universes Beyond and Secret Lairs has had mixed reception among fans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plante |first=Corey |date=2025-12-23 |title=Magic: The Gathering is bigger than ever — and harder to define |url=https://www.polygon.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-2025-review-universes-beyond/ |access-date=2026-01-16 |website=Polygon |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Polygon-2025">{{Cite web |last=Kleinman |first=Jake |date=2025-08-12 |title=Magic boss Mark Rosewater finally admits some players don't like Universes Beyond |url=https://www.polygon.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-universes-beyond-ongoing-complaints-mark-rosewater/ |access-date=2026-01-16 |website=Polygon |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Polygon-2026">{{Cite web |last=Plante |first=Corey |title=MTG might go even further than Universes Beyond in 2026 |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/mtg-might-go-even-further-than-universes-beyond-in-2026/ar-AA1TQW8P?ocid=BingNewsVerp |website=Polygon}}</ref> The integration of [[Intellectual property|IP]] into all formats and the higher cost of crossover cards were characterized as "ongoing complaints" by ''Magic''{{'}}s head designer [[Mark Rosewater]], although according to Rosewater, "that sentiment continually shrinks over time."<ref>{{Cite web |title=State of Design 2025 |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/state-of-design-2025 |access-date=2026-01-16 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Polygon-2025" /> 

In Polygon's look at ''Magic''{{'}}s 2026 set schedule, Plante argues the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle]] set "widens the definition of what might 'fit' in ''Magic''" and compared the universes to DC's ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''.<ref name="Polygon-2026" /> The creative changes have been compared to Fortnite's gradual inclusion of pop culture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MTG's Universes Beyond Is Charting A Complicated Course |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/mtg-s-universes-beyond-is-charting-a-complicated-course/ar-AA1NsvON?ocid=BingNewsVerp |website=CGMagazine}}</ref> Curtis Silver in ''[[Forbes]]'' argued there were many potential creative opportunities in adding TMNT to Magic, such as ooze effects and food tokens.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Silver |first=Curtis |title=Imagining What's Next For MTG: Universes Beyond |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/curtissilver/2025/08/14/imagining-whats-next-for-mtg-universes-beyond/ |access-date=2026-01-16 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> The Gamer writer Eric Switzer framed the [[Dwight Schrute]] Secret Lair drop as "IP slop" and "cringe", questioning the connection between the character and his cards.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Switzer |first=Eric |title=Magic's Dwight Schrute Secret Lair Is My Breaking Point With Universes Beyond |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/magic-s-dwight-schrute-secret-lair-is-my-breaking-point-with-universes-beyond/ar-AA1NUKq1?ocid=BingNewsVerp}}</ref>

===Awards===
* 1994: [[List of Mensa Select recipients#1994 New York, NY|Mensa Select Award]] winner<ref name = "wotcawards">{{cite web | title = Awards | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | year = 2006 | access-date = August 5, 2009 | url = http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Awards/default.aspx | archive-date = December 13, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213092246/http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Awards/default.aspx | url-status = dead }}</ref>
* 1994: [[Origins Awards]] for ''Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board game of 1993'' and ''Best Graphic Presentation of a Board game of 1993''<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1993 | title=Origins Award Winners (1993)| publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design| access-date=April 18, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080507063628/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1993 |archive-date = May 7, 2008}}</ref>
* 1994: Origins Award for the ''[[Legends (Magic: The Gathering)|Legends]]'' expansion as ''Best Game Accessory''<ref name = "wotcawards"/>
* 1995: [[Deutscher Spiele Preis]] special award for new game mechanics<ref>{{cite web|title=Preisträger |publisher=Friedhelm Merz Verlag |access-date=March 26, 2012 |url=http://www.deutscherspielepreis.de/p060.php4 |language=de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009010736/http://www.deutscherspielepreis.de/p060.php4 |archive-date=October 9, 2010 }}</ref>
* 1995: Italian Gaming Society ''Gioco dell'Anno'' award winner<ref name = "wotcawards"/>
* 1996: [[As d'Or#Super As d'Or|Super As d'Or]] award for "Best New Game Concept and Genre Introduced in France"<ref name = "wotcawards"/>
* 1997: ''[[InQuest Gamer|InQuest]]'' Fan Award for Best CCG Expansion for the ''[[Weatherlight]]'' expansion<ref name = "wotcawards"/>
* 1998: Origins Award for the [[Urza's Saga]] expansion as ''Collectible Card Game Expansion of the Year''<ref name="1998 Origins Awards">{{cite web|url=http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1998/list-of-winners| title=Origins Award Winners (1998)| publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design| access-date=November 1, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071031072248/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1998/list-of-winners |archive-date = October 31, 2007}}</ref>
* 1999: Inducted alongside Richard Garfield into the [[Origins Award#Hall of Fame games and publications|Origins Hall of Fame]]<ref name="1998 Origins Awards"/>
* 2003: [[Games (magazine)|''Games'' Magazine]] selected ''Magic'' for its [[Games 100#Hall of Fame|Games Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/gameslinks/hallofame.html| title=GAMES Hall of Fame| publisher=GAMES Magazine| access-date=April 9, 2010| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417062722/http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/gameslinks/hallofame.html| archive-date=April 17, 2010| df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* 2005: Origins Award for the [[Ravnica: City of Guilds]] expansion as ''Collectible Card Game Expansion of the Year''<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/2005 | title=Origins Award Winners (2005)| publisher=Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design| access-date=March 26, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080516075856/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/2005 |archive-date=May 16, 2008 }}</ref>
* 2009: Origins Award for the [[Shards of Alara]] expansion as ''Collectible Card Game Expansion of the Year''<ref>{{cite web| url=http://critical-hits.com/2009/06/27/origins-awards-2009| title=Origins Awards 2009| last=Chalker| first=Dave| publisher=critical-hits.com| access-date=June 14, 2010| date=June 27, 2009| archive-date=June 29, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629222441/http://www.critical-hits.com/2009/06/27/origins-awards-2009/| url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2012: Origins Award for the [[Innistrad]] expansion as ''Collectible Card Game Expansion of the Year''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gama.org/OriginsAwards/tabid/2720/Default.aspx |title=The 38th Annual Origins Awards Winners |publisher=The Game Manufacturers Association |access-date=February 10, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127025141/http://gama.org/OriginsAwards/tabid/2720/Default.aspx |archive-date=January 27, 2013 }}</ref>
* 2015: Origins Award for the [[Khans of Tarkir]] expansion as ''Best Collectible Card Game of the Year''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.originsawards.net/177-2/ | title = Origins Award Winners 2015 | publisher = The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design | access-date = February 10, 2016 | year = 2015 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160221132820/http://www.originsawards.net/177-2/ | archive-date = February 21, 2016 | df = mdy-all }}</ref>
* 2019: Inducted into the [[National Toy Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2019/11/08/Matchbox-Cars-Magic-The-Gathering-coloring-books-make-Toy-Hall-of-Fame/6541573229760/ | title = Matchbox Cars, Magic: The Gathering, coloring books make Toy Hall of Fame | first = Ben | last = Hooper | date = November 8, 2019 | access-date = November 8, 2019 | work = [[United Press International]] | archive-date = May 31, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043421/https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2019/11/08/Matchbox-Cars-Magic-The-Gathering-coloring-books-make-Toy-Hall-of-Fame/6541573229760/ | url-status = live }}</ref>
In addition, several individuals including [[Richard Garfield]] and [[Donato Giancola]] won personal awards for their contributions to ''Magic''.<ref name = "wotcawards"/>

===Legacy===
The success of ''Magic: The Gathering'' led to the creation of similar games by other companies as well as Wizards of the Coast themselves. Companion Games produced the [[Galactic Empires|Galactic Empires CCG]] (the first science fiction trading card game), which allowed players to pay for and design their own promotional cards, while [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]] created the ''[[Spellfire]]'' game, which eventually included five editions in six languages, plus twelve expansion sets. Wizards of the Coast produced ''[[Vampire: The Eternal Struggle|Jyhad]]'' (now called ''Vampire: The Eternal Struggle''), a game about modern-day vampires. Other similar games included trading card games based on ''[[Star Trek Customizable Card Game|Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Star Wars Customizable Card Game|Star Wars]]''.<ref name = "npn94"/> ''Magic'' is often cited as an example of a 1990s collecting fad, though the game's makers were able to overcome the bubble traditionally associated with collecting fads.<ref name="NPR01">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/03/11/392381112/episode-609-the-curse-of-the-black-lotus|title=Episode 609: The Curse Of The Black Lotus|date=March 11, 2015|work=Planet Money|publisher=NPR|access-date=March 9, 2016|archive-date=May 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043501/https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/03/11/392381112/episode-609-the-curse-of-the-black-lotus|url-status=live}}</ref> Its popularity often was associated with addictive behavior similar to [[gambling]] through the allure of gaining new cards in booster packs and expansions, and due to this, ''Magic: The Gathering'' has been sometimes called "cardboard crack" by both fans and critics.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/25/hearthstone-blizzard-strategy-trading-cards-greg-austin | title = Hearthstone: how a game developer turned 30m people into card geeks | first = Keith | last = Stuart | date = June 25, 2015 | access-date = November 6, 2021 | work = [[The Guardian]] | archive-date = June 3, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160603015931/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/25/hearthstone-blizzard-strategy-trading-cards-greg-austin | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/magic-the-gathering-design-the-most-popular-card-game-in-the-world/ | title = How to design the most popular card game in the world | first = Luke | last = Lancaster | date = April 12, 2016 | access-date = November 6, 2021 | work = [[CNet]] | archive-date = November 6, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211106214613/https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/magic-the-gathering-design-the-most-popular-card-game-in-the-world/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

===Secondary market===

There is an active [[secondary market]] in individual cards among players and game shops. This market arose from two different facets: players seeking specific cards to help complete or enhance their existing decks and thus were less concerned on the value of the cards themselves; and from collectors seeking the rarer cards for their monetary value to complete collections.<ref name="wired market 2020">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/story/the-stockbrokers-of-magic-the-gathering-play-for-keeps/ | title = The Stockbrokers Of Magic: The Gathering Play for Keeps | first = Cecilia | last = D'Anastasio | date = April 23, 2020 | access-date = April 23, 2020 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | archive-date = January 23, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210123003139/https://www.wired.com/story/the-stockbrokers-of-magic-the-gathering-play-for-keeps/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Many physical and online stores sell [[Singles (cards)|single cards]] or "playsets" of four of a card. Common cards rarely sell for more than a few cents and are usually sold in [[bulk cards|bulk]]. Uncommon cards and weak rare cards typically sell from 10¢ up to US$1.<ref name="mtgpeertrader.com">{{cite web|title=Price Change List - Recent Magic The Gathering / MTG Card Price Changes|url=http://mtgpeertrader.com/trade/pricechangelist|website=MTG PeerTrader|access-date=January 18, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211055853/http://mtgpeertrader.com/trade/pricechangelist|archive-date=February 11, 2016}}</ref>

A few of the oldest cards, due to smaller printings and limited distribution, are highly valued and rare. This is partly due to the Reserved List, a list of cards from the sets ''Alpha'' to ''[[Urza's Destiny]]'' (1994–1999) that Wizards has [[Promissory Estoppel|promised]] never to reprint.<ref>{{cite web | title = Official Reprint Policy | year = 2016 | access-date = June 26, 2020 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | url = https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/official-reprint-policy-2010-03-10 | archive-date = February 7, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210207141301/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/official-reprint-policy-2010-03-10 | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weber |first1=Daniel |title=Exploring Markets: Magic the Gathering - a Trading Card Game |journal=IUBH Discussion Papers - Business & Management |date=2021 | access-date = April 29, 2026 |issue=3/2021 |page=9 |url=https://ideas.repec.org//p/zbw/iubhbm/32021.html}}</ref>Legacy-only cards on the Reserved List are in short supply due to smaller print runs of the game's earliest releases, and may be worth $200 to $1,000 or higher. Certain Vintage cards—the oldest cards in Magic, with most on the Reserved List, such as the "[[Power Nine]]"—can easily cost more than $1,000 apiece.<ref name="Charlie Hall">{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/magic-the-gathering%E2%80%99s-black-lotus-sells-for-166k-at-auction-doubling-its-value/ar-BBUoTb8|title=Magic: The Gathering's Black Lotus sells for $166K at auction, doubling its value|author=Charlie Hall|work=Polygon|publisher=MSN|access-date=April 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427041747/https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/magic-the-gathering%25E2%2580%2599s-black-lotus-sells-for-166k-at-auction-doubling-its-value/ar-BBUoTb8|archive-date=April 27, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[list of most expensive CCG cards|most expensive card]] that was in regular print, versus a promotional or special printing, is the [[Black Lotus (Magic: The Gathering)|Black Lotus]], which are today valued at thousands of dollars. In 2019, an anonymous buyer purchased an unsigned "Pristine 9.5 grade" [[Beckett Media|Beckett Grading Services]]-graded Alpha Black Lotus for $166,100.<ref name="Charlie Hall"/> A [[Professional Sports Authenticator#Grading scale|PSA "Gem Mint 10" graded]] Alpha ''Black Lotus'', framed in a case signed by its artist Christopher Rush, sold at auction for $511,100 in January 2021,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2021/1/27/22253079/magic-the-gathering-black-lotus-auction-price-2021 | title = Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus card sells for $511,100 at auction | first = Charlie | last = Hall | date = January 27, 2021 | access-date = January 27, 2021 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = February 6, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210206194350/https://www.polygon.com/2021/1/27/22253079/magic-the-gathering-black-lotus-auction-price-2021 | url-status = live }}</ref> while a similar ''Black Lotus'' of the same quality sold for $540,000 in March 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/23644519/magic-the-gathering-black-lotus-auction-price-2023 | title = Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus card sells for a record $540,000 | first = Oli | last = Welsh | date = March 17, 2023 | accessdate = March 17, 2023 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = March 17, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230317123918/https://www.polygon.com/23644519/magic-the-gathering-black-lotus-auction-price-2023 | url-status = live }}</ref> In July 2023, the singleton "[[One Ring]]" card printed as part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' crossover set was found by a retail worker in [[Toronto]], who later sold it to rapper [[Post Malone]] for {{USD|2 million|long=no}}.<!--Do not change the value in the preceding template to $2.64 million: the cited source's title says $2.64 million, but that source converted the value from US dollars to Canadian dollars.--><ref name="oneringcard">{{cite web| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/one-ring-card-found-1.6895945| title='My hands were literally shaking': Ultra-rare 'One Ring' game card found by Toronto collector| website=cbc.ca| date=3 July 2023| first1=Lane| last1=Harrison| first2=Derick| last2=Deonarain| archive-date=4 July 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704124249/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/one-ring-card-found-1.6895945| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/post-malone-one-ring-canada-1.6925849|website=cbc.ca|date=2 August 2023|title=Toronto man sells ultra-rare 'One Ring' card to rapper Post Malone for $2.64M|access-date=August 2, 2023|archive-date=August 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802225756/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/post-malone-one-ring-canada-1.6925849|url-status=live}}</ref> A mint-condition Alpha Black Lotus sold for $3 million in April 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/magic-gathering-mtg-black-lotus-mint-1851448690 |title=Magic: The Gathering Card Sells for Record-Breaking $3 Million and Fans Don't Believe It |date=May 2024 |access-date=May 1, 2024 |archive-date=May 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501153008/https://kotaku.com/magic-gathering-mtg-black-lotus-mint-1851448690 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The secondary market started with [[comic book store]]s and [[hobby shop]]s displaying and selling cards, with the cards' values determined somewhat arbitrarily by the employees of the store. Hobbyist magazines, already tracking prices of sports [[trading card]]s, engaged with the ''Magic'' secondary market by surveying the stores to inquire on current prices to cards, which they then published.<ref name="wired market 2020"/> With the expansion of the Internet, prices of cards were determined by the number of tournament deck lists a given card would appear in. If a card was played in a tournament more frequently, the cost of the card would be higher, in addition to the market availability of the card.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=3217179|title=Economic Insights from Internet Auctions|first1=Patrick|last1=Bajari|first2=Ali|last2=Hortaçsu|date=January 1, 2004|journal=Journal of Economic Literature|volume=42|issue=2|pages=457–486|doi=10.1257/0022051041409075 | issn = 0022-0515 }}</ref><ref name="wired market 2020"/>

When [[eBay]], [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], and other large online markets started to gain popularity, the ''Magic'' secondary market evolved substantially, with the site TCGPlayer.com launched in 2008 being the first that not only compiled the pricing data but allowed for players to buy and sell cards for ''Magic'' and other CCGs directly via the site. TCGPlayer developed a metric called the TCG Market Price for each card that was based on the most recent sales, allowing for near real-time valuation of a card in the same manner as a [[stock market]].<ref name="wired market 2020"/> Buying and selling ''Magic'' cards online became a source of income for people who learned how to manipulate the market.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2687095| jstor = 2687095| title = Optimal Card-Collecting Strategies for Magic: The Gathering| journal = The College Mathematics Journal| volume = 31| issue = 1| pages = 15–21| year = 2000| last1 = Bosch | first1 = R. A. }}</ref> As of late 2013, Wizards of the Coast has expressed concern over the increasing number of [[counterfeit]] cards in the secondary market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27693_Counterfeit-Cards.html|title=StarCityGames.com - Counterfeit Cards|work=StarCityGames.com|access-date=May 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502211806/http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27693_Counterfeit-Cards.html|archive-date=May 2, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Wizards of the Coast has since made an effort to counteract the rise of counterfeits by introducing a new holo-foil stamp on all rare and mythic rare cards as of [[Magic 2015]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/en|title=Magic: The Gathering &#124; Official site for MTG news, sets, and events|website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921071824/https://magic.wizards.com/en|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''Magic'' secondary market has become an [[Magic: The Gathering finance|area of study]] for consumer research,<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Auctions on the Internet: What's Being Auctioned, and How?|author=David Lucking-Reiley|journal=The Journal of Industrial Economics|volume=48|number=3|date=September 2000|pages=227–252|jstor=117554|trans-title=January 1, 2017|doi=10.1111/1467-6451.00122}}</ref> and the most expensive ''Magic'' cards are among the [[List of most expensive CCG cards|most expensive CCG cards]]. Some people make a career out of [[market manipulation]], creating mathematical models to analyze the growth of cards' worth, and predict the market value of both individual cards, and entire sets of cards.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Economic Insights from Internet Auctions|author1=Patrick Bajari|author2=Ali Hortaçsu|journal=Journal of Economic Literature|volume=42|number=2|date=June 2004|pages=457–486|jstor=3217179|trans-title=January 1, 2017|doi=10.1257/0022051041409075}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1086/383430|title=Using the Imagination: Consumer Evoking and Thematizing of the Fantastic Imaginary|journal=Journal of Consumer Research|volume=31|pages=136–149|year=2004|last1=Martin|first1=B. A. S.|citeseerx=10.1.1.583.8014}}</ref> ''Magic''{{'}}s economy has also been tied to the introduction of [[Bitcoin]] and other cryptocurrencies, as ''Magic'' cards represent a physical asset that can be converted back and forth into the virtual currency.<ref name="wired market 20202">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-stockbrokers-of-magic-the-gathering-play-for-keeps/|title=The Stockbrokers Of Magic: The Gathering Play for Keeps|first=Cecilia|last=D'Anastasio|date=April 23, 2020|access-date=April 23, 2020|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|archive-date=January 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123003139/https://www.wired.com/story/the-stockbrokers-of-magic-the-gathering-play-for-keeps/|url-status=live}}</ref> Nearly all of ''Magic''{{'}}s trading market is unregulated, and issues related to [[insider trading]] based on planned changes to the game have occurred. Active ''Magic'' financial traders have gained a poor reputation with more casual ''Magic'' players due to the lack of regulations, and that the market manipulations makes it costly for casual players to buy single cards simply for purposes for improving decks.<ref name="wired market 20202" />

===Academic analysis===
There are several examples of academic, peer-reviewed research concerning different aspects of ''Magic: The Gathering''. One study examined how players use their imaginations when playing. This research studied hobby players and showed how players sought to create and participate in an epic fantasy narrative.<ref>Martin, Brett A. S. (2004), [http://www.basmartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Martin-2004-JCR.pdf "Using the Imagination: Consumer Evoking and Thematizing of the Fantastic Imaginary"], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906225502/http://www.basmartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Martin-2004-JCR.pdf |date=September 6, 2012 }}, ''Journal of Consumer Research'', 31 (June), 136-149.</ref> Another example used online auctions for ''Magic'' cards to test revenue outcomes for various auction types.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lucking-Reiley | first1 = D | year = 1999 | title = Using Field Experiments to Test Equivalence between Auction Formats: Magic on the Internet | journal = American Economic Review | volume = 89 | issue = 5 | pages = 1063–1080 | jstor = 117047 | doi = 10.1257/aer.89.5.1063 | url = http://eller.arizona.edu/~reiley/papers/RevenueEquivalence.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030424213723/http://eller.arizona.edu/~reiley/papers/RevenueEquivalence.pdf | archive-date = April 24, 2003 | df = mdy-all | citeseerx = 10.1.1.8.8301 }}</ref> A third example uses probability to examine ''Magic'' card-collecting strategies.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bosch | first1 = R.A. | year = 2000 | title = Optimal Card-Collecting Strategies for Magic: The Gathering | journal = College Mathematics Journal | volume = 31 | issue = 1| pages = 15–21 | jstor=2687095 | doi=10.2307/2687095}}</ref>

Using a specific set of cards in a specialized manner has shown ''Magic: The Gathering'' to be [[Turing complete]].<ref>{{cite news | title = Magic: The Gathering is Turing Complete | first1 = Alex | last1= Churchill | first2 = Stella | last2= Biderman | first3= Austin | last3= Herrick | date = March 24, 2019 | arxiv=1904.09828 }}</ref>{{Explain|date=June 2021}} By proving this, the researchers assert that ''Magic: The Gathering'' is so complex as to be Turing complete and capable of being "programmed" to perform any task, that in terms of playing an actual game of ''Magic'', "the winning strategy is non-computable", making it an improbable challenge to devise computer opponents that can play ''Magic'' in a mathematically optimal manner.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/06/its-possible-to-build-a-turing-machine-within-magic-the-gathering/ | title = It's possible to build a Turing machine within Magic: The Gathering | first = Jennifer | last = Ouellette | date = June 23, 2019 | access-date = February 28, 2020 | work = [[Ars Technica]] | archive-date = November 30, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201130112858/https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/06/its-possible-to-build-a-turing-machine-within-magic-the-gathering/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Franchise==
''Magic: The Gathering'' video games, comics, and books have been produced under licensing or directly by [[Wizards of the Coast]].

===Other traditional games===
In 2015 Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro published ''Magic: The Gathering – Arena of the Planeswalkers''. Arena of the Planeswalkers is a tactical board game where the players maneuver miniatures over a customizable board game, and the ruleset and terrain is based on [[Heroscape]], but with an addition of spell cards and summoning. The original master set includes miniatures that represent the five Planeswalkers Gideon, Jace, Liliana, Chandra, and Nissa as well as select creatures from the Magic: The Gathering universe.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/167698/magic-gathering-arena-planeswalkers | title = Magic: The Gathering – Arena of the Planeswalkers | year = 2015 | access-date = July 13, 2015 | publisher = [[boardgamegeek]] | archive-date = May 31, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210531055849/https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/167698/magic-gathering-arena-planeswalkers | url-status = live }}</ref> They later released an expansion ''Battle for Zendikar'' featuring multi-color Planeswalkers Kiora and Ob Nixilis and a colorless Eldrazi Ruiner, and a second master set Shadows Over Innistrad which has 4 new Planeswalkers and also includes the addition of cryptoliths.

===Video games===
{{See also|Magic: The Gathering video games}}

There are currently two official video game adaptions of ''Magic: The Gathering'' for online play. ''[[Magic: The Gathering Online]]'', first introduced in 2002, allows for players to buy cards and boosters and play against others including in officially-sanctioned tournaments for prize money. ''[[Magic: The Gathering Arena]]'', introduced in 2019, is fashioned after the [[free-to-play]] ''[[Hearthstone]]'', with players able to acquire new cards for free or through spending real-world funds. ''Arena'' is currently limited to online events with in-game prizes, but is currently being positioned by Wizards of the Coast to also serve as a means for official tournament play, particularly after the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. Both ''Online'' and ''Arena'' are regularly updated with new Core and Expansion cards as well as all rule changes made by Wizards.<ref name="vb magic vgs">{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/28/magic-the-gatherings-digital-history-from-first-build-to-end-step/view-all/ | title = Magic: The Gathering's digital history, from first build to end step | first = Aidan | last = Moher | date = June 28, 2020 | access-date = June 29, 2020 | work = [[Venture Beat]] | archive-date = June 30, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200630175319/https://venturebeat.com/2020/06/28/magic-the-gatherings-digital-history-from-first-build-to-end-step/view-all/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

In addition, Wizards of the Coast has worked with other developers for various iterations of ''Magic: The Gathering'' as a card game in a single-player game format. [[Microprose]] developed 1997 ''[[Magic: The Gathering (MicroProse)|Magic: The Gathering]]'' and its expansions, which had the player travel the world of Shandalar to challenge computer opponents, earn cards to customize their decks, improve their own Planeswalker attributes and ultimately defeat a powerful Planeswalker. [[Stainless Games]] developed a series of titles starting with 2009's ''[[Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers]]'' and culminating with 2015's ''[[Magic Duels]]'', a [[free-to-play]] title. The ''Duels'' series did not feature full sets of ''Magic'' cards but selected subsets, and were initially designed to couple a challenging single-player experience with an advanced artificial-intelligence computer opponent. Later games in the series added in more deck-building options and multiplayer support.<ref name="vb magic vgs"/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gamerbytes.com/2009/07/magic_the_gathering_sells_1700.php | title = XBLA: Magic: The Gathering Sells 170,000 in 5 Weeks | publisher = [[Gamer Bytes]] | first = Ryan | last = Langley | date = July 23, 2009 | access-date = August 10, 2009 | archive-date = November 10, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101110055030/http://www.gamerbytes.com/2009/07/magic_the_gathering_sells_1700.php | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Additional games have tried other variations of the ''Magic: The Gathering'' gameplay in other genres. [[Acclaim Entertainment|Acclaim]] developed a [[real-time strategy game]] ''[[Magic: The Gathering: BattleMage]]'' in 2003, in which the player's abilities were inspired by the various cards.<ref name="vb magic vgs"/><ref>{{Cite news|first=Dennis |last=Lynch |title=Two companies offer The Gathering, but only one is spellbinding |work=Chicago Tribune |page=8 |date=March 20, 1997 }}</ref> Acclaim also had made a 1997 [[arcade game]] ''Magic: The Gathering – Armageddon'', a ''[[Breakout (video game)|Breakout]]''-style [[trackball]]-based game, but only as many as six cabinets were known to have been made.<ref name="vb magic vgs"/> Hiberium and D3 Publisher developed ''[[Magic: The Gathering – Puzzle Quest]]'', combining deck building with match-3-style casual gaming. This was released in December 2015 as a [[freemium]] game and continues to be updated with new card sets from the physical game.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/magic-the-gathering-and-puzzle-quest-go-great-together-1748056275 | title = Magic: The Gathering And Puzzle Quest Go Great Together | first = Mike | last = Fahey | date = December 15, 2015 | access-date = June 29, 2020 | work = [[Kotaku]] | archive-date = September 21, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200921133820/https://kotaku.com/magic-the-gathering-and-puzzle-quest-go-great-together-1748056275 | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Cryptic Studios]] and [[Perfect World Entertainment]] have started beta tests for ''[[Magic: Legends]]'', a [[massively multiplayer online]] [[action role-playing game]] for personal computers and consoles.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/07/magic-the-gathering-is-becoming-an-mmo/ | title = Magic: The Gathering is becoming an MMO | first = Mike | last = Minotti | date = June 7, 2017 | access-date = June 7, 2017 | work = [[Venture Beat]] | archive-date = November 12, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201112000806/https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/07/magic-the-gathering-is-becoming-an-mmo/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The title was cancelled ahead of its full release in 2021; executive producer Stephen Ricossa explained that the game's creative vision had "missed the mark".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Carpenter|first=Nicole|date=2021-06-29|title=Magic: Legends will shut down in October, before game's full release|url=https://www.polygon.com/22555993/magic-legends-october-shut-down-no-console-release-date-beta|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Polygon|language=en|archive-date=July 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702194944/https://www.polygon.com/22555993/magic-legends-october-shut-down-no-console-release-date-beta|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to official programs, a number of unofficial programs were developed to help users track their ''Magic: The Gathering'' collection and allow for rudimentary play between online players. Examples of such programs included ''[[Apprentice (Magic: The Gathering software)|Apprentice]]'', ''[[Magic Workstation]]'', ''[[Deck Daemon]]'', ''[[CardMaster]]'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/Duelist6-1995/page/n51/mode/2up | title=Duelist issue 6 - 1995 | date=1995 }}</ref> ''XMage'', and ''Cockatrice''. These programs are not endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.<ref name="vb magic vgs"/>

===Novels===
{{See also|List of Magic: The Gathering novels}}

[[Harper Prism]] originally had an exclusive license to produce novels for ''Magic: The Gathering'', and published ten books between 1994 and 1996. Around 1997, the license reverted to Wizards, and the company published its own novels to better tie these works to the expansion sets from 1998 to about 2011. A tie-in young adult novel, published by [[Penguin Random House]], was announced for February 2026.<ref name=Announcement2026/> 

===Comics===
{{See also|Multiverse (Magic: The Gathering)#Comics titles}}

In 1994, Wizards of the Coast gave an exclusive license to Armada Comics, an imprint of [[Acclaim Entertainment]], to publish comic books. The comics were not developed in concert with the game and were created with divergent ideas to the game.<ref name="mtg story of the story" /><ref name="CoolStuffInc.com-2018">{{Cite web|last=Annelli|first=Jay|date=July 24, 2018|title=Magic Story 100: Where to Start|url=https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/jayannelli-07242018-magic-story-100-where-to-start|access-date=2020-08-20|website=CoolStuffInc.com|language=en|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129093626/https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/jayannelli-07242018-magic-story-100-where-to-start|url-status=live}}</ref> However, "much of the lore established" by Armada Comics was "the foundation from which the rest of continuity was built. [...] Some of the details changed (or were '[[Retroactive continuity|retconned]]', in popular fan speak), but for the most part the core of these stories stayed the same".<ref name="CoolStuffInc.com-2018" /> The comics came to a sudden end in 1996 when Acclaim started to run into financial trouble.<ref name="GeekWire-2018">{{Cite web|last=Wilde|first=Thomas|date=2018-08-10|title='Magic: The Gathering' returns with a new comic book in celebration of 25th anniversary|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/magic-gathering-returns-new-comic-book-celebration-25th-anniversary/|access-date=2020-08-20|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128114920/https://www.geekwire.com/2018/magic-gathering-returns-new-comic-book-celebration-25th-anniversary/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998, a new four-issue limited comic series was published by [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse]].<ref name="GeekWire-2018" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Magic: The Gathering: Gerrard's Quest (Volume)|url=https://comicvine.gamespot.com/magic-the-gathering-gerrards-quest/4050-34897/|access-date=2020-08-20|website=Comic Vine|language=en|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129065522/https://comicvine.gamespot.com/magic-the-gathering-gerrards-quest/4050-34897/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2011, [[Hasbro]] and [[IDW Publishing]] accorded to make a four-issue mini-series about ''Magic: The Gathering''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://idwpublishing.com/news/article/1938 | title = Hasbro, Inc., and IDW Publishing to launch Magic: The Gathering Comic Books | date = September 1, 2011 | access-date = May 2, 2012 | publisher = [[IDW Publishing]] | url-status = dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421100936/http://idwpublishing.com/news/article/1938 | archive-date = April 21, 2012 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> with a new story but heavily based on MTG elements and with a new Planeswalker called ''Dack Fayden'', the story of which mainly developed in the planes of Ravnica and Innistrad. The series started in February 2012.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=11304 | title = Preview: Magic: The Gathering #1 | date = February 1, 2012 | access-date = May 2, 2012 | website = [[Comic Book Resources]] | archive-date = March 4, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063056/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=11304 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 2018, a four-issue mini-series on the Planeswalker Chandra Nalaar was released.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Spry|first=Jeff|date=2018-11-30|title=IDW casts a potent spell in our exclusive look at new Magic: The Gathering comic series|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/idw-casts-a-potent-spell-in-our-exclusive-look-at-new-magic-the-gathering-comic-series|access-date=2020-08-20|website=SYFY WIRE|language=en|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108121644/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/idw-casts-a-potent-spell-in-our-exclusive-look-at-new-magic-the-gathering-comic-series|url-status=dead}}</ref> A sequel mini-series was announced in 2019,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Arrant|first=Chris|date=May 22, 2019|title=MAGIC: THE GATHERING Summoned Back to Comic Books with TRIALS OF ALARA|url=https://www.newsarama.com/45280-magic-the-gathering-summoned-back-to-comic-books-with-trials-of-alara.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522211937/https://www.newsarama.com/45280-magic-the-gathering-summoned-back-to-comic-books-with-trials-of-alara.html|archive-date=2019-05-22|access-date=2020-08-20|website=gamesradar.com|language=en}}</ref> however, it was cancelled before publication.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Johnston|first=Rich|date=September 21, 2019|title=IDW Cancels "Magic The Gathering: Chandra: The Trials Of Alara" Comic Before Publication|url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/idw-cancels-magic-the-gathering-chandra-the-trials-of-alara-comic-before-publication/|access-date=2020-08-20|website=bleedingcool.com|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111204059/https://bleedingcool.com/comics/idw-cancels-magic-the-gathering-chandra-the-trials-of-alara-comic-before-publication/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2021, [[Boom! Studios]] acquired the comic license of ''Magic: The Gathering'' and announced for a new ''Magic'' series for April 2021.<ref>{{Citation|title=Magic: The Gathering Returns to Comics in April 2021 - IGN|date=January 21, 2021|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-comic-boom-studios-ravnica-zendikar|language=en|access-date=2021-01-23|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128153934/https://www.ign.com/articles/magic-the-gathering-comic-boom-studios-ravnica-zendikar|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Spry|first=Jeff|date=2021-03-12|title=Assassins target mystical Planeswalkers in Boom's new Magic: the Gathering comic series|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/boom-studios-new-magic-the-gathering-series-magic|access-date=2021-03-14|website=SYFY WIRE|language=en|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319042624/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/boom-studios-new-magic-the-gathering-series-magic|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film===
In January 2014, [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] acquired the rights to produce a ''Magic: The Gathering'' film with [[Simon Kinberg]] as producer and [[TSG Entertainment]] (its co-financing partner), and [[Allspark#Allspark Pictures|Allspark Pictures]] as co-financers, after [[Universal Pictures]] allegedly dropped the film from their schedule (both Universal and Hasbro had been developing the original ''Magic: The Gathering'' film since 2009).<ref>{{cite web|last=Kit|first=Borys|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fox-bring-magic-gathering-big-670529|title=Fox to Bring 'Magic: The Gathering' to the Big Screen (Exclusive)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 13, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2016|archive-date=February 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207140754/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/fox-bring-magic-gathering-big-670529|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2014, Fox hired screenwriter [[Bryan Cogman]] to write the script for the film.<ref>{{cite news|title='Game Of Thrones' Scribe Bryan Cogman Takes On 'Magic The Gathering' For Fox|url=https://deadline.com/2014/06/game-of-thrones-scribe-bryan-cogman-takes-on-magic-the-gathering-for-fox-787900/|access-date=June 18, 2014|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=June 12, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714214114/http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/game-of-thrones-scribe-bryan-cogman-takes-on-magic-the-gathering-for-fox/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019 following [[Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney|Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets]], the film along with numerous other properties in development at Fox were cancelled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegamer.com/disney-cancels-mega-man-magic-the-gathering-fox-merger/|title=Disney Just Scrapped Mega Man, Magic: The Gathering, And Sims Movies|last=Switzer|first=Eric|date=August 8, 2019|access-date=August 10, 2019|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234920/https://www.thegamer.com/disney-cancels-mega-man-magic-the-gathering-fox-merger/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2016, ''Enter the Battlefield'', a documentary about life on the Magic Pro Tour was released. The film was written by Greg Collins, Nathan Holt, and Shawn Kornhauser.<ref>{{cite web|title=Enter the Battlefield: Life on the Magic - The Gathering Pro Tour (2016)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5628044/fullcredits|publisher=IMDb|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111122759/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5628044/fullcredits|url-status=live}}</ref>

The production team behind ''[[The Toys That Made Us]]'' will produce a documentary ''Igniting the Spark, The Story of Magic: The Gathering''.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2020/2/14/21138231/magic-the-gathering-documentary-igniting-the-spark-toys-that-made-us | title = Magic: The Gathering documentary on the way from the team behind The Toys That Made Us | first = Julia | last = Lee | date = February 14, 2020 | access-date = February 14, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = May 31, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043341/https://www.polygon.com/2020/2/14/21138231/magic-the-gathering-documentary-igniting-the-spark-toys-that-made-us | url-status = live }}</ref>

Hasbro and [[Legendary Entertainment]] announced a partnership in February 2025 for a live action film and television franchise based on MTG, starting with a feature film.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/mtg-magic-the-gathering/520568/mtg-movie-announcement-legendary-dune-dark-knight|title=Magic: The Gathering movie greenlit from Dune and Dark Knight studio Legendary|first=Tasha|last=Robinson|website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |date=February 6, 2025}}</ref> In April 2025, [[Matt Johnson (director)|Matt Johnson]] was reported to be the top choice to direct, and a February 2026 interview with Johnson confirmed "that's very much happening."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cavanaugh |first=Patrick |date=2026-02-03 |title='Magic: The Gathering' Director Confirmed; Movie Is "Full Speed Ahead" [Exclusive] |url=https://movieweb.com/magic-the-gathering-movie-update-matt-johnson-director/ |access-date=2026-03-04 |website=MovieWeb |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://deadline.com/2025/04/magic-the-gathering-movie-matt-johnson-the-dish-1236364556/|title= 'BlackBerry's Matt Johnson Eyed To Direct 'Magic: The Gathering' Movie For Hasbro Entertainment & Legendary – The Dish|date= April 9, 2025|access-date= June 25, 2025|first= Matt|last= Grobar|work= Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> In June 2025, Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald were hired as the writers of the film.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://deadline.com/2025/06/magic-the-gathering-movie-noah-gardner-aidan-fitzgerald-writers-1236441529/|title= Noah Gardner & Aidan Fitzgerald Tapped To Write Live-Action 'Magic: The Gathering' Movie|date= June 24, 2025|access-date= June 25, 2025|first= Matt|last= Grobar|work= Deadline Hollywood}}</ref>

===Television series===
In June 2019, Variety reported that [[Russo brothers|Joe and Anthony Russo]], [[Wizards of the Coast]], and [[Entertainment One]] (then-owned by Hasbro) had teamed with [[Netflix]] for an animated ''Magic: The Gathering'' television series.<ref>{{cite web|last=Otterson|first=Joe|url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/magic-the-gathering-animated-series-netflix-russo-brothers-1203230595/|title=Magic: The Gathering Animated Series From Russo Brothers Set at Netflix|website=Variety|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=June 3, 2019|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107233248/https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/magic-the-gathering-animated-series-netflix-russo-brothers-1203230595/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/03/netflix-magic-the-gathering/|title=Netflix is making an animated series based on Magic: The Gathering – TechCrunch|website=techcrunch.com|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=June 25, 2019|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025040636/https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/03/netflix-magic-the-gathering/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2019 at [[San Diego Comic-Con]], the Russos revealed the logo of the animated series and spoke about doing a live-action series.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|url=https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-russo-brothers-magic-the-gathering-netflix-comic-con-anthony-russo-joe-russo-1202649299/|title=Russo Brothers Say Animated 'Magic: The Gathering' Might Spinoff Into Live Action Series – Comic-Con|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 19, 2019|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107225528/https://deadline.com/2019/07/the-russo-brothers-magic-the-gathering-netflix-comic-con-anthony-russo-joe-russo-1202649299/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkD4j3R-F0| title = Battle of the Planets, Magic: The Gathering, and Grimjack Updates from Joe Russo| website = [[YouTube]]| date = April 22, 2020| access-date = May 7, 2020| archive-date = November 22, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201122074437/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkD4j3R-F0| url-status = live}}</ref> During the Magic Showcase virtual event in August 2021, they revealed that [[Brandon Routh]] would be the voice of Gideon Jura, and that the series was slated to premiere sometime in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Maas|first=Jennifer|url=https://www.thewrap.com/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series-premiere-date-2022-brandon-routh-gideon-first-look/|title=Netflix's 'Magic: The Gathering' Series to Launch in 2022, Brandon Routh to Voice Gideon (Photo)|website=The Wrap|date=August 24, 2021|access-date=August 21, 2021|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531162709/https://www.thewrap.com/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series-premiere-date-2022-brandon-routh-gideon-first-look/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Russo brothers, along with [[Henry Gilroy]] and [[José Molina (writer)|Jose Molina]], have since separated from the project, and production has been entrusted to [[Jeff Kline]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/magic-the-gathering-jeff-kline-new-creative-team-netflix-animated-series-russo-brothers-exit-1234818588/|title='Magic the Gathering': Jeff Kline Leads Creative Team Of Netflix Animated Series After Russo Brothers Depart|date=August 20, 2021|access-date=March 22, 2022|archive-date=March 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322111519/https://deadline.com/2021/08/magic-the-gathering-jeff-kline-new-creative-team-netflix-animated-series-russo-brothers-exit-1234818588/|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2023, the series was briefly mentioned in a Hasbro investors meeting.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/magic-the-gathering-game/news/magic-the-gathering-netflix-series-isnt-dead-2023 | title=Magic: The Gathering's animated Netflix show still lives - if barely | date=October 31, 2023 }}</ref> In December 2023, [[Lionsgate Canada|Entertainment One]] was sold off to [[Lionsgate Studios|Lionsgate]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2023/08/lionsgate-eone-hasbro-acquisition-confirmed-1235453869/|title=Hasbro Confirms Sale Of eOne To Lionsgate For $500M|first=Max|last=Goldbart|date=August 3, 2023|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=December 22, 2023 |title=Lionsgate Studios Deal to Spin Off From Starz Values Business at $4.6 Billion |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/lionsgate-studios-spinoff-spac-deal-starz-1235849347/ |access-date=December 27, 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2024, [[Netflix]] announced the series has restarted development with [[Terry Matalas]] as showrunner and [[Hasbro Entertainment]] as production studio.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=September 19, 2024 |title='Magic: The Gathering': Netflix Starts Animated Adaptation From Scratch With Terry Matalas As New Showrunner|url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/magic-the-gathering-netflix-animated-adaptation-terry-matalas-1236094965/ |access-date=September 19, 2024 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> The series was previewed at [[Annecy International Animation Film Festival]] in June 2025.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lang|first=Jamie|title='Minecraft,' 'Clash of Clans,' 'Magic the Gathering' and 'Ghostbusters' Series Teased at Netflix Annecy Studio Focus|url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/global/minecraft-clash-of-clans-magic-the-gathering-netflix-1236429388/|website=Variety|date=June 11, 2025|access-date=June 11, 2025}}</ref>

===Parodies===
In 1998, PGI Limited created ''[[Havic: The Bothering]]'', which was a parody of ''Magic: The Gathering''. Wizards of the Coast, which owned the rights to ''Magic: The Gathering'', took active steps to hinder the distribution of the game and successfully shut out PGI Limited from attending GenCon in July 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oracle.wizards.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9808a&L=spellfire-l&D=1&O=D&P=9286|title=Home - company.wizards.com|access-date=January 18, 2010|archive-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217091952/http://oracle.wizards.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9808a&L=spellfire-l&D=1&O=D&P=9286|url-status=dead}}</ref> In an attempt to avoid breaching [[copyright]] and [[Richard Garfield]]'s patent, each [[Booster pack|starter deck]] of ''Havic'' had printed on the back side, "This is a Parody", and on the bottom of the rule card was printed, "''Do not have each player'': construct their own library of predetermined number of game components by examining and selecting [the] game components from [a] reservoir of game components or you may infringe on U.S. Patent No. 5,662,332 to Garfield."<ref>Havic: The Bothering Skool Daze by Peter L. Gray, Sist-Airs, Vinyl Vineshtein Cards, 60 Pages, Published 1998, 1st Edition, starter decks rule card printed by PGI Limited, 30 Shorhaven Rd., Norwalk, CT 06855, {{ISBN|0966700503}}</ref>

Five official parody expansions of ''Magic'' exist: ''[[Unglued (Magic: The Gathering)|Unglued]]'', ''[[Unhinged (Magic: The Gathering)|Unhinged]]'', ''[[Unstable (Magic: The Gathering)|Unstable]]'', ''[[Unsanctioned (Magic: The Gathering)|Unsanctioned]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://magic.wizards.com/de/products/Unsanctioned|title=Unsanctioned – An Unruly Head-to-Head Fight Club|publisher=Wizards of the Coast|access-date=April 1, 2020|archive-date=May 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531043350/https://magic.wizards.com/de/products/Unsanctioned|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''Unfinity''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosewater |first=Mark |date=2021-11-29 |title=To Unfinity and Beyond |url=https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/unfinity-and-beyond-2021-11-29 |access-date=2022-01-06 |website=MAGIC: THE GATHERING |language=en |archive-date=January 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106121701/https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/unfinity-and-beyond-2021-11-29 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of the cards in these sets feature silver borders and humorous themes. The silver-bordered cards are not legal for play in WPN-sanctioned tournaments. In ''Unfinity'', the silver border was replaced by a holo-foil acorn stamp (in place of the standard rare holo-foil stamp) to denote the same unplayable restriction. Unlike the previous parody sets, however, some ''Unfinity'' cards were not printed with an acorn stamp, and are thus legal for 'eternal' formats such as Commander and Legacy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Partlow |first=Emma |date=February 7, 2023 |title=What is an Acorn Card in MTG's Unfinity? |url=https://infinite.tcgplayer.com/article/What-is-an-Acorn-Card-in-MTG-s-Unfinity/2eac9119-d752-492e-a539-610df6489cfd/ |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=TCGPlayer |archive-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011152421/https://infinite.tcgplayer.com/article/What-is-an-Acorn-Card-in-MTG-s-Unfinity/2eac9119-d752-492e-a539-610df6489cfd/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group="note"|30em}}
{{notelist}}
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |last=Flores |first=Michael J. |year=2006 |title=Deckade: 10 Years of Decks, Thoughts and Theory |location=New York |publisher=top8magic.com |isbn=978-0-9778395-0-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moursund |first=Beth |year=2002 |title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Magic: The Gathering |location=New York |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |isbn=978-1-56025-443-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Waters |first=Anthony |year=1998 |title=The Art of Magic: A Fantasy of World Building and the Art of the Rath Cycle |location=Renton, WA |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |isbn=978-0-7869-1178-3}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite magazine|title=How Magic was born|last=Adkinson|first=Peter D.|authorlink=Peter Adkison|magazine=[[The Duelist (magazine)|The Duelist]]|issue=6|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|pages=8–9}}
* {{Cite magazine |author= ((Editor))|date=May–June 1994 |title= Magic: The Fix; A Compilation of Articles and Collector's Checklists for Magic: The Gathering Addicts|magazine= [[Shadis]] |issue=13|publisher=The Alderac Group|pages= 33–38 }}
* {{Cite magazine |last= Emrich|first= Alan|date= November–December 1993 |title= Magic: The Gathering, From Game to Obsession in 0.4 Hours, A Review & Compendium|magazine= [[Shadis]] |issue=10|publisher=The Alderac Group|pages= 12–21 }}
* {{cite magazine|title=The expanding worlds of magic|last=Garfield|first=Richard|authorlink=Richard Garfield|magazine=[[The Duelist (magazine)|The Duelist]]|issue=4|page= |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]|pages=15–17}}
*{{cite magazine|title=Five years|magazine=The Duelist|issue=33|publisher=Wizards of the Coast|pages=56–71|date=January 1999}}<!-- about the first five years of MTG, with various sub-features -->

==External links==
{{sister project links|display=''Magic: The Gathering''|d=Q207302|wikt=no|s=no|species=no|v=no|voy=no|n=no|q=no}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://archive.org/details/shadismagazine/Shadis/Shadis%20Magazine%20%2317.5/page/n31/mode/2up Review] in ''[[Shadis]]''
* [https://mtg.wiki/ ''Magic the Gathering'' wiki]

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