Wizards of the Coast has announced a sweeping redesign of its Magic: The Gathering products beginning with its Shards of Alara block, which premieres this fall.  The changes include the size of sets, the rarity scheme, the composition of boosters and Fat Packs, Intro Packs instead of Theme Decks, and the associated publishing schedule.   

 

Set sizes are being substantially reduced, both for the first, larger release in a new block, and for subsequent expansions.  The Shards of Alara release will include 249 cards, the second set in the block, codename “Paper,” will include 145 cards, and the third set, codename “Scissors,” will also include 145 cards.  There will be over 100 fewer cards in a year’s worth of Magic releases than for any previous year.  The goals of the reduction are to make it easier for new players to get into Magic, and to make it easier for existing players to keep up.

The rarity scheme is also changing.  For Shards of Alara, the set will include 15 mythic rare cards, a new level of rarity, which will appear in one out of every eight booster packs instead of a rare.  The set will also include 53 rares, 60 uncommons, 101 commons, and 20 basic land cards.  The “Paper” and “Scissors” sets will each include 10 mythic rares, 35 rares, 40 uncommons, and 60 commons.  A full parallel foil set will be available, with premium foil versions of mythic rare cards distributed inside booster packs in the same manner as existing foils are. 

 

Boosters will now include a basic land card, making the expected composition of a booster pack one rare, three uncommons, ten commons, one basic land and one tip card or token (with a mythic rare card instead of a rare card in roughly one out of eight packs). 

 

Five different Intro Packs will be released with each set, all at $12.29 MSRP, the same as Theme Decks.  The decks in Intro Packs will have fewer cards, 41 instead of 61 in a Theme Deck; and a Booster Pack will be included in each Intro Pack, bringing the total number of cards to 56.  These changes add up to an extra foil rare and three fewer uncommons, two fewer commons, and no premium land card vs. the Theme Decks.  Each Intro Pack will also include a set-specific insert explaining the mechanics and the pre-constructed decks, and a learn-to-play insert for new players. 

 

The publishing plan will include a Planeswalker’s Guide, with full color illos and an in-depth review of the showcased plane.  Planeswalker’s Guide to Alara will street on September 2nd.  In the winter, a Planeswalker Novel will be released; and in the spring, a block novel, replacing the current cycle of books that tells the story behind the TCG sets.  Another Planeswalker Novel will be released in the summer. 

 

Fat Packs will continue to include eight booster packs, and will now include an excerpt from the most current publishing offering instead of the set-based novels that used to be included.