The moxen (plural for mox, the common name among this cycle of cards) are a powerful series of zero mana cost artifact cards, each depicting a piece of jewelry (usually containing a gemstone) and that produce some variety of mana.
Storyline
A full set powerful mana-infused gems infused was owned by Liana of Minorad. Liana gave them to Kristina of the Woods and Jared Carthalion during her duel with Ravidel at Minorad so that he would not take them. Ravidel claimed various times that the Moxen had once belonged to him; at the battle with Jared, Kristina, Altair of Coloni and Caliphear the Nightmare against Ravidel at the Dueling Chasm of Golthonor, Ravidel used the Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, and Mox Sapphire to activate the Mox Beacon.
Card History
The Original Moxen
The original five moxen are rare artifacts which produce one of the five colors of mana. The original moxen account for five of the Power Nine cards from the Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited sets (the earliest editions of Magic: The Gathering, printed in 1993) and thus are widely considered to be among the most powerful (and expensive) cards in the game. The cause for this is the ability to play multiples in a single turn, giving an unbalanced, extremely powerful mana acceleration which led to them being restricted in Vintage and completely banned in every other format very early in the game's history. All five of the original moxen (along with the original art for Mox Diamond) were illustrated by Dan Frazier. Due to the original moxen appearing in the Alpha and Beta releases of Magic: The Gathering they are also present within the Collectors' Edition and International Collectors' Edition sets (both also released in 1993).
Balanced Moxen
Apart from the original five, three others moxen have been released in various sets over the years. Each of these additional moxen were attempts by the game designers to create more balanced versions of the original moxen by way of adding additional costs beyond the zero mana casting cost. Despite these additional costs, each of the 'balanced' moxen are considered to be quite powerful and have found their way onto various banned and restricted lists over the years.
Un-Moxen
The non-DCI sanctioned Unglued and Unhinged sets feature one mox each: Jack-in-the-Mox from Unglued and Mox Lotus from Unhinged. Per the Unglued and Unhinged theme, each of these moxen include appropriately ridiculous abilities but are not usable in DCI sanctioned tournaments.
Magic: The Gathering Online Availability
Chrome Mox and Mox Opal both debuted on online along with the rest of their initial release sets, Mirrodin in 2003 and Scars of Mirrodin in 2010 respectively; thus they have been available online equally as long as they have been available offline. Mox Diamond eventually debuted online along with the rest of Stronghold in 2009, long after the sets initial release in 1998. The original moxen were unavailable on Magic: The Gathering Online until the online only set Vintage Masters debuted in June of 2014. These original moxen (along with the rest of the Power Nine and several other Vintage staples) use the Modern card frame and have alternative artwork, previously used for awards given to winners of the Vintage Championship tournament series held annually at Gen Con, by artist Volkan Baga (who also illustrated Mox Opal and the reprint of Mox Diamond for the From the Vault: Relics release).
Reprints
The original moxen and Mox Diamond were placed on the Reserved List by Wizards of the Coast and thus will never again be physically reprinted, thus maintaining their collectible value. An earlier version of Wizards of the Coast's Official Reprint Policy allowed for special premium reprints of cards found on the Reserved List, thus allowing for Mox Diamond to appear as a reprint in the From the Vault: Relics set, released in 2010. Anxiety caused in the secondary market after the reprinting of Mox Diamond caused Wizards of the Coast to strengthen their Official Reprint Policy by including the following: "Premium Cards - A previous version of this policy allowed premium versions of cards on the reserved list to be printed. Starting in 2011, no cards on the reserved list will be printed in either premium or non-premium form." Note that this policy does not apply to the 'printing' of cards for Magic Online, as the policy states: "Virtual Cards - This reprint policy only applies to physical, printed cards. It does not apply to cards released on Magic: The Gathering Online or in any other digital distribution." A premium version of Chrome Mox (which is not on the Reserved List) was reprinted (with new artwork by Alan Pollack) for use as a Grand Prix handout in 2009.
Sources
- The Shadow Mage
- Wayfarer
External link
- Wizards of the Coast's Official Reprint Policy
- Monty Ashley (May 10, 2010). "Alternate Moxen". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.