| Revised Edition | |
|---|---|
| Set Information | |
| Set symbol | |
| Themes and mechanics | None new |
| Keywords/ability words | None new |
| Set size | 306 (75 Common 95 Uncommon 121 Rare) |
| Expansion code | 3ED[2] |
The Revised Edition, or Revised as it is commonly called, is the third edition of the Magic Core Sets. It was released in April 1994.
Revised booster
Set details
Revised was the first Core Set to "rotate" some cards out, some of which were considered to be "problem cards," and replace them with other cards from previously printed limited expansions. The expansions available at the time were Arabian Nights and Antiquities.[3]
Due to the printing process, it is possible to get basic land cards in an uncommon or common card slot. The chance is approximately 21.5% for uncommons and 38.02% for commons. This is because the printer put lands on all the uncommon and common sheets.
A production oversight resulted in the "bevel" that framed the cards being cropped off. Also, well-used printing films gave the cards faded colors. Many players complained at the lack of quality of the set; both the card power and the look.
Marketing
Cards were available from mid April 1994 through mid April 1995. The print run is estimated at 500 million cards. The cards were sold in 60-card starter decks and 15-card boosters. The starter deck rulebook has Shivan Dragon on the cover and a checklist on the back and last pages. Revised was the first set that was supplemented with a special Gift Box. The Revised Gift Box (released on November 15, 1994) included two starter decks, 30 glass counters, a flannel bag for storing the counters, an illustrated rulebook and a card collectors' checklist.
Revised was the first set to be published in other languages than English: French, German and Italian.
Rules
As the players' knowledge of the game and its potential developed, so did the knowledge of the designers and developers. Their collaboration led to the first Pocket Players' Guide, which solidified the rules of Magic. However, for later editions the rules would change many times over.
Revised introduced the first tap symbol: A slightly tilted T inside a gray circle. The artifact types Mono and Poly became obsolete, the types were removed from cards that had them and tap symbols were added where they were previously implied by the type. The set also changed references to mana color in card texts to mana symbols.[4]
Cycles
Revised has 5 cycles.
- Circles of protection: Each of these common white enchantments has a mana cost of
and the ability to prevent the all damage from a source of a given color for 
— Circle of Protection: White, Circle of Protection: Blue, Circle of Protection: Black, Circle of Protection: Red, and Circle of Protection: Green. - Dual lands:
- Allied colors: Rare lands with two basic land types that each produce mana of an allied pair of colors — Tundra, Underground Sea, Badlands, Taiga and Savannah.
- Enemy colors: Rare lands with two basic land types that each produce mana of an enemy pair of colors — Scrubland, Volcanic Island, Bayou, Plateau and Tropical Island.
- Laces: Each of these rare instants permanently changes the color of a permanent or a spell on the stack — Purelace, Thoughtlace, Deathlace, Chaoslace, and Lifelace.
- Lucky charms: Each of these uncommon artifacts has a triggered ability that allows the controller pay to gain 1 life when a spell of a given color resolves — Ivory Cup, Crystal Rod, Throne of Bone, Iron Star, and Wooden Sphere.
- Wards: Uncommon white Auras with enchant creature that grant protection from a color — White Ward, Blue Ward, Black Ward, Red Ward and Green Ward.
Mirrored pairs
Revised has 23 mirrored pairs.
- Ankh of Mishra and Dingus Egg are both rare artifacts that deal damage when a land enters or leaves play.
- Air Elemental and Earth Elemental are both uncommon Elementals with a mana cost of MM and a power of 4.
- Benalish Hero and Timber Wolves are both 1/1 creatures with banding and a mana cost of M.
- Castle and Orcish Oriflamme are both uncommon enchantments that conditionally affect a creature's power or toughness.
- Crusade and Bad Moon are both rare enchantments with a converted mana cost of 2 and an effect to give all creatures of its color +1/+1.
- White Knight and Black Knight are both uncommon Knights with a mana cost of MM, power/toughness of 2/2, first strike and protection from the other's color.
- Blue Elemental Blast and Red Elemental Blast are both common instants (formerly interrupts) with a mana cost of M and with a modal ability to either destroy a permanent of the other's color or counter a spell of the other's color.
- Braingeyser and Mind Twist are both rare sorceries that cause target player to draw or discard cards.
- Deathgrip and Lifeforce are each uncommon enchantments with an activated ability to counter a spell of the other's color for MM.
- Earthquake and Hurricane are both sorceries that have a mana cost of M and deal X damage to all non-flying or flying creatures and each player.
- Feedback and Wanderlust are both uncommon Auras that deal 1 damage to the controller of the enchanted permanent during each of their upkeeps.
- Water Elemental and Fire Elemental are both uncommon Elementals with a mana cost of MM and a power/toughness of 5/4.
- Holy Strength and Unholy Strength are both common Auras with enchant creature that give a mirrored bonus to the enchanted creature's power/toughness.
- Living Lands and Kormus Bell are both rare cards that turned lands of a particular type into 1/1 creatures.
- Lord of Atlantis and Goblin King are both rare Lords that give +1/+1 and landwalk of its color to its creature type.
- Manabarbs and Power Surge are both rare red enchantments that deal damage to a player based on the number of lands he or she does or does not tap.
- Mons's Goblin Raiders and Merfolk of the Pearl Trident are both 1/1 common creatures with creature types that are affected by Lord of Atlantis and Goblin King.
- Phantom Monster and Roc of Kher Ridges are both 3/3 creatures with flying and a mana cost of M.
- Serra Angel and Sengir Vampire are both uncommon 4/4 flying creatures with a mana cost of MM and a combat-related ability.
- Smoke and Winter Orb both allow players to only untap one of a type of permanent each turn.
- Tsunami and Flashfires are both uncommon sorceries that have a mana cost of M and destroy lands of a particular enemy type.
- Wall of Bone and Wall of Brambles are both Walls with regeneration and a mana cost of M.
- Wall of Water and Wall of Fire are both 0/5 Walls illustrated by Richard Thomas with a silouetted figure behind a wall and the activated ability "M: [this] gets +1/+0 until end of turn."
Summer Magic
When the Revised Edition was in production in 1994, a number of problems with the set became apparent. The colors were washed out, the picture for Serendib Efreet was wrong, and there was a growing concern with the Satanic images on some of the cards. The solution was to print a fixed version of the Revised Edition, code-named "Edgar",[5] which has since come to be known as Summer Magic because it was printed in the summer of 1994. The cards were distributed in regular Revised Edition boosters – no Summer edition starters were produced.
Despite its intended function as a fixed Revised Edition, there were many problems with the printing. On some cards, the colors were too dark. Serendib Efreet had its artwork corrected, but the artist credit was not. The artist name for Plateau was not corrected. Hurricane was printed with a blue border and became the most famous and most desired Summer Magic card of all. Because of all these flaws, the entire print run was recalled for destruction which led to the great Revised Edition shortage of 1994. However, about four cases (40 booster boxes) of "Edgar" survived and were shipped to locations in the U.S. and England. Probable locations include Tennessee, Texas, and Ireland.
Summer Magic cards can best be recognized by their prominent 1994 copyright date (a feature missing in Revised), as well as their richer colors. Today a Summer Magic Birds of Paradise is worth well over a thousand dollars. Among the rarest Magic cards in existence are the blue Hurricanes.[6][7]
Misprints
Misprinted Serendib Efreet
- Ivory Tower — Margaret Organ-Kean's name is misspelled "Margaret Organ-Keen".
- Onulet — Incorrect artist is listed; it should be Anson Maddocks, not Kerstin Kaman.
- Plateau — Incorrect artist is listed, it should be Cornelius Brudi, not Drew Tucker.[8]
- Serendib Efreet — Printed with a green background and the picture of the Ifh-Bíff Efreet. It still has the proper casting cost and text, however.