Darksteel is an expansion set for the game Magic: The Gathering

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...

, the second in the Mirrodin

Mirrodin

Mirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...

 block of sets that also features Mirrodin

Mirrodin

Mirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...

and Fifth Dawn

Fifth Dawn

Fifth Dawn is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set which was released in May 2004. It is the third and final set of the Mirrodin block. There are 165 cards overall, and like the rest of Mirrodin, an unusually large number of them are artifacts...

. It was released in February 2004, containing 165 cards. Darksteel continued the themes established in Mirrodin: Artifact cards, equipment and the mechanics that debuted. The expansion symbol for the set is the miniature version of the stylized .

Darksteel featured the powerful single card drawing engine masked as the infamous equipment . When it was eventually banned during block constructed a few months after Darksteel's release, Skullclamp was the first to have been banned in block constructed since Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques

Mercadian Masques is the nineteenth Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released in October 1999 as the first set in the Masques block. It is notable for being the first set not protected by Wizards of the Coast's "Reprint Policy"...

' .

Set history

Darksteel was the first "small" expansion to have 165 cards, whereas previous small expansions had 143, (with the exception of Legions which had 145 as a balance among the five colors.)

Storyline

The Darksteel Eye is the second novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 in the Mirrodin

Mirrodin

Mirrodin was the 50th Magic: The Gathering set, the 30th expert level set, and the first set in the Mirrodin Block, released in October 2003. It is a 306-card expansion set. It is also the name of the block containing the Mirrodin, Darksteel and Fifth Dawn expansion sets...

 Cycle by Jess Lebow. It continues the journey of Glissa, an elf, after the infiltration of the Synod and the recollection of all the golem Bosh's memories. They now must travel back across Mirrodin to seek the power that resides in the center of Mirrodin.

Mechanics

The following mechanics first appeared in Darksteel:

• Indestructible - Mechanic that made permanents indestructible. These permanents can't be destroyed by "destroy effects" or lethal damage. This mechanic, like double strike, was introduced in a small set but has become a common mechanic used in later sets as well; generally, small mechanics are used for a single set and then not used again. In the Darksteel card set, all indestructible cards are artifacts
  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...
  
  . In the story world, most of the indestructible artifacts are constructed of darksteel, a fictional material. This material appears in the cards' artwork as a dark gray metal with yellow motes of energy swirling around it. Indestructible cards in later sets do not conform to this pattern.
• Modular - A keyworded ability of artifact creatures, these creatures would come into play with a set number of counters and, upon the destruction of that creature, could transfer them to another artifact creature.
• Charge counters - One of the themes of the block, several artifacts in Darksteel functioned by accumulating these counters, which players could then spend for various effects. Most notable among these was , which can win the game entirely by itself if left alone.

Notable cards

• - A powerful card drawing machine in a deck full of creatures of any color. Often banned from competitive tournaments and casual playgroups alike.
• - Another powerful artifact that favors decks playing many creatures that has been banned in both Standard and Extended formats. It serves both as a catalyst and a means of resolving key creatures against counterspells.
• - Key beater of artifact heavy aggro decks, specifically those abusing the Affinity for artifacts mechanic. Arcbound Ravager was banned in Standard along with Disciple of the Vault and the five artifact lands.
• - An artifact that made spells the cost less than 3 cost 3, Trinisphere was restricted in Vintage tournaments on March 1, 2005. While it kept combo decks in check, it also had an extremely powerful interaction with the card , allowing it to be played on the first turn.

External links

• Wizards' Official page for Darksteel