Beta (Magic: The Gathering)
Encyclopedia
Limited Edition Beta or just Beta for short was the second part, after revisions, of the first print run of the first Magic: The Gathering
set. It was released only a few months after Limited Edition Alpha
's publication to correct some minor problems in the rules and to make up for the fact that the first run had completely sold out. Clarifications were made to the rulebook, and Richard Garfield
's short fiction "Worzel's Tale" was removed to make room. Like Alpha it had no expansion symbol, and the text on the bottom left consisted of only the artist credit. Although many players speak of them as different sets, officially they are the same set.
In the past, Beta versions of cards were worth more than their Alpha counterparts. This was mainly because the corners of Beta cards are rounded in the same fashion as later expansions, making them more desirable to players. However, multiple years ago opaque card sleeves appeared on the market and it became legal to mix Alpha cards with other Magic cards. This made Alpha practically as desirable as Beta, and even more so because of the smaller printing. Currently, Beta cards usually go for slightly lower prices than their Alpha counterparts, but their value still greatly surpasses any other printings.
Though Beta had a larger print run of 7.3 million cards versus 2.6 million, it sold out as quickly as its predecessor. Because many players believed that the basic set would always be in print, most did not take care of their cards, thinking they could always replace them. Many players now have their cards rated by third party institutions such as the PSA to make them more competitive to sell on the open market. Only five Gem Mint Beta Black Lotus in the world have ever been given the highest PSA rank of 10. One was sold in a private auction for $20,000. This card was sold to the individual who also owns the original canvas artwork of the Black Lotus painted by Christopher Rush
.
Sealed booster boxes of Alpha and Beta can be easily distinguished by the fact that Beta boxes have a UPC
while Alpha boxes do not.
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
set. It was released only a few months after Limited Edition Alpha
Alpha (Magic: The Gathering)
The name Alpha refers to the first print run of the original Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition, the first Magic: The Gathering card set. It premiered in a limited release at Origins Game Fair in 1993, with a general release that August. Its print run of 2.6 million cards sold out very quickly...
's publication to correct some minor problems in the rules and to make up for the fact that the first run had completely sold out. Clarifications were made to the rulebook, and Richard Garfield
Richard Garfield
Richard Channing Garfield is a mathematics professor and game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech CCG, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle , The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally...
's short fiction "Worzel's Tale" was removed to make room. Like Alpha it had no expansion symbol, and the text on the bottom left consisted of only the artist credit. Although many players speak of them as different sets, officially they are the same set.
Set history
Beta was a revision of Alpha. It corrected the printing errors on some cards and clarified some rules. Two cards accidentally omitted from Alpha were restored: and . A third accidentally omitted art variant for each of the five basic land cards was also restored, bringing the set's card count to 302; multiple illustrations of each card are counted separately, as the game's publisher does to generate the 302 total, while noting that without the separate art the total of the set was 292 actual cards bearing different names.In the past, Beta versions of cards were worth more than their Alpha counterparts. This was mainly because the corners of Beta cards are rounded in the same fashion as later expansions, making them more desirable to players. However, multiple years ago opaque card sleeves appeared on the market and it became legal to mix Alpha cards with other Magic cards. This made Alpha practically as desirable as Beta, and even more so because of the smaller printing. Currently, Beta cards usually go for slightly lower prices than their Alpha counterparts, but their value still greatly surpasses any other printings.
Though Beta had a larger print run of 7.3 million cards versus 2.6 million, it sold out as quickly as its predecessor. Because many players believed that the basic set would always be in print, most did not take care of their cards, thinking they could always replace them. Many players now have their cards rated by third party institutions such as the PSA to make them more competitive to sell on the open market. Only five Gem Mint Beta Black Lotus in the world have ever been given the highest PSA rank of 10. One was sold in a private auction for $20,000. This card was sold to the individual who also owns the original canvas artwork of the Black Lotus painted by Christopher Rush
Christopher Rush
Christopher Rush is an illustrator for Magic: The Gathering. In total, he has illustrated over 100 cards for the series. Most of his work for Wizards of the Coast was done on the earliest sets, where he also helped with various design and marketing issues...
.
Sealed booster boxes of Alpha and Beta can be easily distinguished by the fact that Beta boxes have a UPC
Universal Product Code
The Universal Product Code is a barcode symbology , that is widely used in North America, and in countries including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand for tracking trade items in stores. Its most common form, the UPC-A, consists of 12 numerical digits, which are uniquely assigned to each trade item...
while Alpha boxes do not.
Notable cards
- The "Power NinePower NineThe term Power Nine refers to a set of nine specific cards in the game of Magic: The Gathering. These cards were only printed early in the game's history and consist of Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, Mox Emerald, Mox Pearl, and Timetwister.The Power Nine...
": , , , , , , , , and . These are widely considered the most powerful cards in Limited Edition, and are among the most powerful in all of Magic. All of these cards are now restricted in tournament play; players may only include one copy of each in a deck. The color distribution of the Power Nine is heavily skewed; six of the cards are Artifacts, while the other three are Blue cards. - The Dual Lands: , , , , , , , , and . These lands provide two colors of mana with the benefit of possessing two basic land types, an uncommon trait on non-basic lands. All future dual lands would be printed with restrictions. They are now a defining part of the Legacy and Vintage formats, due in particular to their ability to be searched for by the various Fetchlands released many years later.
- The "Boons": , , , , and . This was the first and most famous cycle in Magic. All of them provided an effect in the number three. The cards defined the core ability of each color, but they proved to be extremely disparate in power. Of the five, the blue, black and red boons were considered to be too powerful, while the white boon too weak. The green boon, Giant Growth, was considered most balanced and appeared in every single core set through Magic 2011. Magic 2012 was the first core set in which it was not included. Many modern variations on the other cards have been printed, including , , , and . It is also worth noting that Healing Salve has been reprinted several times, and that Lightning Bolt was reprinted in Magic 2010 and Magic 2011.
- : The first Magic card that required manual dexterity to play effectively. The only other such card not in UngluedUngluedFor the Stone Temple Pilots song, please see Unglued .Unglued is the name of a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, the first silver-bordered, non-tournament-legal Magic: The Gathering expansion set released. It came out in August 1998. Its symbol is a cracked egg...
or UnhingedUnhingedUnhinged is the name of one of the few English-only expansions to the game Magic: The Gathering. It is a humorous parody set, and is far less serious than traditional Magic expansions...
was , from LegendsLegends (Magic: The Gathering)Legends was the seventh Magic: The Gathering set and the third expansion set, released in June 1994. It was the first expansion set to be sold in packs of 15 . The set was designed by Wizards of the Coast co-founder Steve Conard and friend Robin Herbert in Canada before the game was initially...
. These two cards are currently banned in most sanctioned tournament formats.