Token

Kithkin Soldier token.

A token is a permanent that is not represented by a regular card with a casting cost.

Description

Richard Garfield created tokens for Alpha, as opposed to counters, to make The Hive possible. Usually, but not always, tokens are creatures.

Normally tokens can exist only on the battlefield, due to state-based effects. If a token leaves the battlefield and goes to another game zone, it can't change zones again, and it will be there only briefly before the state-based effect removes it.

Tokens are made of different cardstock than regular cards. They don't have the opaque layer in the middle.

History

Non-card tokens

There were so many cards in Fallen Empires that produced tokens and/or required counters that Wizards of the Coast issued a cardboard sheet of them in Duelist #4.

Citadel Gaming released a series "Magic Tokens" starting in 1995 made of a plastic material.

The first token cards

Special token cards were first printed for Unglued. Mark Rosewater has written that these cards were inspired by unofficial accessory cards used by Japanese players. Unglued's tokens proved so popular they spawned the new tokens given away in the Magic Player Rewards program.

Eighth Edition

Like for regular cards, the card frame for tokens was updated with Eighth Edition. "Token" now appeared in the type line, though it never became an official subtype.

Tenth Edition

Since Tenth Edition tokens appear as marketing cards in booster packs. Unlike earlier tokens, they don't have a regular card back, but feature advertisements instead. They also stopped printing "token" on the type line.

Magic 2015

Starting with Magic 2015 "Token" is now printed as a supertype on the type line.

Battle for Zendikar

For Battle for Zendikar, the ratio between token cards and other marketing cards was shifted heavily in favor of tokens. The new ratio is approximately 9:10 for tokens. Tokens’ rarity is based upon the rarity of the cards that make them.

Double-faced tokens

The first double-faced token was released as a special FNM card during the Innistrad block on April 6, 2012 (which featured a full moon). It fittingly represented a 1/1 human on one side, and a 2/2 wolf on the other. The Avacyn Restored prerelease Helvault kit followed up with double-sided Angel/Demon tokens.

The next chance for double-faced tokens came when the developers of Commander 2014 didn't have to share the tokens in that set with the brand team, and the production constraints that mandated Magic backs on the Duel Decks' tokens didn't apply. They created double-faced tokens which featured a different, unrelated, token on each side of the card.

Double-faced tokens made another appearance in pre-release packs for Eldritch Moon. These tokens are a 2/2 Zombie on either face, and are foil. From 2017 on, double-faced tokens were made available as prizes for the Magic League.

The Bundle for Amonkhet contained a pack of double-faced tokens that comprise a complete set of every token in the expansion.

Token miniatures

WizKids Creature Forge tokens

In September 2018, WizKids releases a miniature line focusing on token creature card favorites.

Relic tokens

Also in 2018, Ultra Pro produced a series of Magic: the Gathering tokens in durable hard plastic. These can double as life counters.

Token generation

All colors can make creature tokens. White and green, as the two primary creature colors, do it most often. White tends to make smaller creature tokens, usually 1/1s, while green tends to make larger ones, from 3/3 and up. White often will make multiple tokens at once since they're smaller. Black most often makes 2/2 Zombies. Red most often makes 1/1 Goblins. Sometimes red's token creatures are a little bigger and get exiled at end of turn.

Increasing the number of tokens

The effect to increase the number of tokens as they're being made, or making more after they've already been made, is also primary in blue and green (e.g.Doubling Season. White is secondary.

Magic Online

Because Magic Online needs to represent all the tokens in the game, art needs to be created for even the most insignificant tokens. And for some of that art, Magic Online is the only place it appears.

Rules

From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (Ravnica Allegiance (January 25, 2019))

Token

A marker used to represent any permanent that isn't represented by a card. See rule 110.5.

From the Comprehensive Rules (Ravnica Allegiance (January 25, 2019))

• 108.2b Tokens aren't considered cards-even a card-sized game supplement that represents a token isn't considered a card for rules purposes.

From the Comprehensive Rules (Ravnica Allegiance (January 25, 2019))

• 110.5. Some effects put tokens onto the battlefield. A token is a marker used to represent any permanent that isn't represented by a card.
  • 110.5a The player who creates a token is its owner. The token enters the battlefield under that player's control.
  • 110.5b The spell or ability that creates a token may define the values of any number of characteristics for the token. This becomes the token's "text." The characteristic values defined this way are functionally equivalent to the characteristic values that are printed on a card; for example, they define the token's copiable values. A token doesn't have any characteristics not defined by the spell or ability that created it.

    Example: Jade Mage has the ability "{2}{G}: Create a 1/1 green Saproling creature token." The resulting token has no mana cost, supertypes, rules text, or abilities.

  • 110.5c A spell or ability that creates a token sets both its name and its subtype. If the spell or ability doesn't specify the name of the token, its name is the same as its subtype(s). A "Goblin Scout creature token," for example, is named "Goblin Scout" and has the creature subtypes Goblin and Scout. Once a token is on the battlefield, changing its name doesn't change its subtype, and vice versa.
  • 110.5d If a spell or ability would create a token, but a rule or effect states that a permanent with one or more of that token's characteristics can't enter the battlefield, the token is not created.
  • 110.5e A token is subject to anything that affects permanents in general or that affects the token's card type or subtype. A token isn't a card (even if represented by a card that has a Magic back or that came from a Magic booster pack).
  • 110.5f A token that's in a zone other than the battlefield ceases to exist. This is a state-based action; see rule 704. (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)
  • 110.5g A token that has left the battlefield can't move to another zone or come back onto the battlefield. If such a token would change zones, it remains in its current zone instead. It ceases to exist the next time state-based actions are checked; see rule 704.

Examples

Teysa, Orzhov Scion has the ability: "Whenever another black creature you control dies, put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying onto the battlefield." "Dies" means precisely "is put into a graveyard from the battlefield" (rule 700.4). If you have a black creature token that gets destroyed, it will go to the graveyard, trigger Teysa's ability, then disappear, and finally the ability will be put on the stack. However, the token cannot be the target of spells or abilities whilst in the graveyard. Momentary Blink reads in part: "Exile target creature you control, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control." If this spell is used on a creature token, it will be exiled, but it cannot come back to the battlefield and so stays in the exile zone. It will cease to exist when state-based effects are next checked.

Token specific types

Some creatures and artifacts named in the legal subtype-list only appear on tokens.

Magic Player Reward 2001

Magic Player Reward 2003

Magic 2015 token

Token	Color	Type	P/T	Additional Rules	Source	Printings
Camarid	Blue	Creature — Camarid	1/1		Homarid Spawning Bed Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII
Caribou	White	Creature — Caribou	0/1		Caribou Range
Citizen	White	Creature — Citizen	1/1		Icatian Crier Icatian Town Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII
Clue	Colorless	Artifact — Clue		, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.	Bearer of Overwhelming Truths Briarbridge Patrol Bygone Bishop Byway Courier Confirm Suspicions Confront the Unknown Declaration in Stone Drownyard Explorers Erdwal Illuminator Expose Evil Fleeting Memories Gone Missing Humble the Brute Jace's Scrutiny Magnifying Glass Ongoing Investigation Press for Answers Root Out Survive the Night Tamiyo's Journal Thraben Inspector Tireless Tracker Trail of Evidence Ulvenwald Mysteries Weirding Wood
Deserter	White	Creature — Deserter	0/1		Kjeldoran Home Guard
Germ	Black	Creature — Germ	0/0		Batterskull Bonehoard Flayer Husk Grip of Phyresis Lashwrithe Mortarpod Necropouncer Scytheclaw Sickleslicer Skinwing Strandwalker
Graveborn	Black/Red	Creature — Graveborn	3/1	Haste	Balduvian Dead Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper
Orb	Blue	Creature — Orb	X/X	Flying	Phantasmal Sphere
Pentavite	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Pentavite	1/1	Flying	Pentavus
Pincher	Colorless	Creature — Pincher	2/2		Summoning Station
Prism	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Prism	0/1		Diamond Kaleidoscope
Sand	Colorless	Creature — Sand	1/1		Dune-Brood Nephilim
Sand Warrior	Red/Green/White	Creature — Sand Warrior	1/1		Hazezon Tamar
Saproling	Green	Creature — Saproling	1/1		Aether Mutation Artifact Mutation Aura Mutation Bramble Elemental Death Mutation Deathbloom Thallid Deathspore Thallid Supply Dreampod Druid Druidic Satchel Elvish Farmer Erhnam Djinn Avatar Fertile Imagination Fists of Ironwood Flash Foliage Fungal Infection Fungal Plots Fungal Sprouting Ghave, Guru of Spores Golgari Germination Grand Ossuary Greener Pastures Jade Mage Jund Battlemage Korozda Guildmage Last Stand Morbid Bloom Mycologist Mycoloth Necrogenesis Nemata, Grove Guardian Night Soil Overgrown Armasaur Pallid Mycoderm Pollenbright Wings Psychotrope Thallid Rith, the Awakener Rith's Charm Roots of All Evil Saproling Cluster Saproling Infestation Saproling Migration Saproling Symbiosis Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII Savage Thallid Scatter the Seeds Seed Spark Selesnya Evangel Selesnya Guildmage Slimefoot, the Stowaway Spontaneous Generation Spore Burst Spore Swarm Sporemound Sporesower Thallid Sporogenesis Sporoloth Ancient Sprout Sprout Swarm Sprouting Thrinax Tendershoot Dryad Thallid Thallid Devourer Thallid Germinator Thallid Shell-Dweller Thelonite Hermit Tukatongue Thallid Ulasht, the Hate Seed Utopia Mycon Verdant Embrace Verdant Force Verdeloth the Ancient Vitaspore Thallid Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree Yavimaya Sapherd
	Green	Creature — Saproling	*/*	This creature's power and toughness are each equal to the number of fade counters on Saproling Burst.	Saproling Burst
Serf	Black	Creature — Serf	0/1		Sengir Autocrat
Servo	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Servo	1/1		Accomplished Automaton Ambitious Aetherborn Angel of Invention Animation Module Cogworker's Puzzleknot Cultivator of Blades Elegant Edgecrafters Glint-Sleeve Artisan Highspire Artisan Iron League Steed Marionette Master Master Trinketeer Maulfist Squad Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter Peema Outrider Propeller Pioneer Retrofitter Foundry Saheeli, the Gifted Servo Exhibition Visionary Augmenter Weaponcraft Enthusiast
Splinter	Green	Creature — Splinter	1/1	Flying Cumulative upkeep	Splintering Wind
Survivor	Red	Creature — Survivor	1/1		Varchild, Betrayer of Kjeldor Varchild's War-Riders
Tetravite	Colorless	Creature — Tetravite	1/1	Flying This creature can't be enchanted.	Tetravus
Triskelavite	Colorless	Artifact Creature — Triskelavite	1/1	Flying Sacrifice this creature: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player.	Triskelavus

Silver-bordered

Token	Color	Type	P/T	Additional Rules	Source	Printings
Giant Teddy Bear	Pink	Creature — Giant Teddy Bear	5/5		Water Gun Balloon Game

Full list

• Comprehensive Token Table - A comprehensive sortable table that lists every possible token that can be generated in Magic: the Gathering, the properties of those tokens, and the cards responsible for their creation (does not include tokens that copy other cards).

Trivia

• The first non-creature token was the enchantment token copies of Imperial Mask that can be given to your teammates.
• The second non-creature token was the Gold artifact token produced by Gild from Born of the Gods and King Macar, the Gold-Cursed from Journey into Nyx.
• The third non-creature token are the Land Mine artifact tokens produced by Goblin Kaboomist from Magic 2015 Core Set.
• Intangible Virtue is a Lord-type enchantment that gives +1/+1 and vigilance to creature tokens.
• Tokens were featured as rules card 4 of 9 in the Magic 2011 set.
• Saprolings are the token creature type most easily created, 63 unique cards are capable of specifically creating them.
• The first non-copy token with non-keyword rules text was the Tetravite token produced by Tetravus from Antiquities.
• The first non-copy token with an activated ability was the Skeleton token produced by Drudge Spell from Homelands.
• The first non-copy token that could produce another token was the Ooze token produced by Mitotic Slime from Magic 2011 Core Set.
• Prototype Portal from Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrorworks from Mirrodin Besieged both make artifact tokens that do not have to be creatures, and were the first cards to do so. Technically the older Soul Foundry from Mirrodin could have done this, but as it copies a creature card, the first cards it could use to create noncreature tokens were the God cards from Theros block.

External links

• List of tokens on Scryfall
• Jared Yost (February 2, 2015 ), The Strange World of Collectible Tokens, Blog.MTGPrice.com