Mercadian Masques is the nineteenth 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...

 expansion

Expansion pack

An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...

 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

Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...

 "Reprint Policy". Mercadian Masques is set on the plane

Plane (Magic: The Gathering)

In Magic: The Gathering, planes are parallel universes in the Multiverse Planes are often confused with planets by Magic players, because most planes are named after their primary planets...

 of Mercadia.

Set details

Mercadian Masques featured 350 cards and was the first large expansion to use the new 6th Edition

6th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)

The Sixth Edition core set of Magic: The Gathering, also known as Classic, was released on April 27, 1999. It contains 350 cards, with reprints of cards from previous core sets, as well as some new reprints from expansion sets through the Weatherlight expansion.-Rule changes:The release of Sixth...

 rules. This was the first set to have an accompanying fat pack.

Keywords and mechanics

Unusually, Masques introduced no new keyword abilities to the game, although it did have several themes that were continued throughout its block. These included:

• Rebels and Mercenaries: creatures able to search through their controller's library and "recruit" creatures of a specific type directly into play.
• Spellshapers: creatures that had repeatable activated abilities that mimicked various classic spells, potentially turning otherwise useless cards into powerful effects. All of Masques's spellshapers required paying mana
  Mana
  Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
  
  , tapping the creature and discarding a card to use their ability.
• Masques also reintroduced spells with alternative casting costs, such as and . This mechanic had not been used since Visions
  Visions (Magic: The Gathering)
  Visions was the sixteenth Magic: The Gathering set and tenth expert level set, released in February 1997. This expansion continued the Mirage block by using the same setting and mechanics introduced in Mirage. The expansion symbol for Visions is a V-shaped symbol, which is the "triangle of war"...
  
  .

Cycles

Mercadian Masques has eight cycles:

• Depletion lands: , , , , and . These common lands came into play tapped with two depletion counters. Whenever each land is tapped for mana, a depletion counter is removed and the controller adds two mana of the appropriate color to his/her mana pool; when there are no depletion counters left, the land is sacrificed.
• Storage lands: , , , , and . Each of these uncommon lands come into play tapped and can be tapped either to add one storage counter to it, or to remove any number of storage counters to add that amount of colored mana to its controller's mana pool. These lands are similar to another cycle of "storage lands" in the Fallen Empires
  Fallen Empires
  Fallen Empires was the ninth Magic: The Gathering set and the fifth expansion set, released in November 1994. Out of the set of 187 cards, 102 were functionally unique, with the remainder being variant illustrations of other cards in the set. The mechanics of Fallen Empires include a tribal...
  
   expansion.
• Instantments: , , , , and . Each of these common Aura enchantments has flash.
• Mongers: , , , , and . Each of these uncommon 3/3 creatures has a cost of three colourless and one colored mana, depicted as strange-looking supernatural beings, have activated abilities costing 2 colourless mana that any player (not just the controller) can play.
• Rishadan pirates vertical cycle: , , and . When each of these blue pirates creatures comes into play, each of the controller's opponents is required to pay a certain amount of mana or sacrifice a permanent.
• Flailing creatures vertical cycle: , , and . Each of these red creatures can be made either more or less powerful, by any player willing to pay the mana.
• Unwilling creatures: , , , , and . Each of these uncommon creatures is undercosted for its color and power/toughness, but grants a boon to your opponent when it comes into play.
• Walls: , , , , and . Each of these common wall creatures has defender and a tap ability. "Vine Trellis" has seen the greatest amount of constructed play.

Tournament impact

For years after its release Mercadian Masques was considered to be an underpowered set. Reportedly, the designers were extremely gun-shy following the runaway power of the previous block and dialed back the power a tad too much; the same phenomenon would take place between the latter-day 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 and Kamigawa

Champions of Kamigawa

Champions of Kamigawa is the name of the Magic: The Gathering expansion set released October 1, 2004. The first set of the Kamigawa block, it set the stage for the block's story, which was inspired by Japanese myths and revolves around the battle between spirits and living beings.The set's...

 blocks. However, the set did produce a respectable amount tournament-quality cards, some of which are:

Reprinted cards

The following cards have been reprinted from previous sets and included in Mercadian Masques:
- was last seen in Mirage

Mirage (Magic: The Gathering)

Mirage was the fifteenth Magic: The Gathering set and ninth expert level set, released in October 1996. This expansion began the first official block set with one large expansion being followed by two smaller expansions all tied together through card mechanics and setting. This expansion also...

. - was last seen in 5th Edition

5th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)

The Fifth Edition was the seventeenth Magic: The Gathering set and fifth core set, a revision of the base set released in March 1997. It contained 449 cards, counting multiple illustrations of basic lands, making it the largest card set in the game's history...

. - was last seen in 6th Edition

6th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)

The Sixth Edition core set of Magic: The Gathering, also known as Classic, was released on April 27, 1999. It contains 350 cards, with reprints of cards from previous core sets, as well as some new reprints from expansion sets through the Weatherlight expansion.-Rule changes:The release of Sixth...

. This would be the last expansion to print the staple card Counterspell. - was last seen in Urza's Saga

Urza's Saga

Urza's Saga is the 15th expert level set, a 350-card Magic: The Gathering expansion set that debuted in October 1998. Some employees of Wizards consider it one of the most powerful sets ever released, with many cards now banned in tournament formats...

. This would be the last expansion to print the staple card Dark Ritual, though it would be reprinted with its Ice Age

Ice Age (Magic: The Gathering)

Ice Age is the eleventh Magic: The Gathering set and the sixth expansion set, released in June 1995. Set in the years from 450 to 2934 AR, the set describes a world set in perpetual winter due to the events in Antiquities...

 art and expansion symbol in one of Coldsnap

Coldsnap

For other uses of this term, see Cold snap.Coldsnap is the third set in the Ice Age block for the Magic:The Gathering collectible card game. It was released on July 21, 2006 by Wizards of the Coast. The set came out over ten years after Ice Age was released in June 1995, the longest period of time...

 's theme decks. - was last seen in Alliances

Alliances (Magic: The Gathering)

Alliances is the fourteenth Magic: The Gathering set and eighth expansion set, released on 10 June 1996. It was released 8 months after Homelands, which is the longest gap between expansion sets in the history of the game. It is now the middle set in the Ice Age block since the July 2006 release of...

. - was last seen in 5th Edition. - was last seen in 6th Edition. This wouldn't be seen in another expansion until Time Spiral

Time Spiral

Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering expansion set, released October 6, 2006. The set is laden with references to previous Magic: the Gathering sets and is the first to take place in Dominaria since the May 2003 set Scourge...

 (Eight years later). - was last seen in 5th Edition. - was last seen in Alliances. - was last seen in Visions

Visions (Magic: The Gathering)

Visions was the sixteenth Magic: The Gathering set and tenth expert level set, released in February 1997. This expansion continued the Mirage block by using the same setting and mechanics introduced in Mirage. The expansion symbol for Visions is a V-shaped symbol, which is the "triangle of war"...

. - was last seen in 6th Edition. - was last seen in Portal Second Age. - was last seen in Tempest

Tempest (Magic: The Gathering)

Tempest was the 20th Magic: The Gathering set and twelfth expert level set, and the first set in the Rath Block, released in October 1997. The release of Tempest represented a large jump in the power level of the card set, compared to the previous Mirage block. Many cards from Tempest instantly...

. - was last seen in Visions. - was last seen in Starter 1999. - was last seen in Portal Three Kingdoms

Portal Three Kingdoms

Portal Three Kingdoms is the third Magic: The Gathering expansion of the Portal block, and the third starter level set. Like the other expansions in the Portal block, Portal: Three Kingdoms is designed for beginners to Magic. The setting is heavily based on the Chinese historical novel Romance of...

. - was last seen in Weatherlight. - was last seen in 6th Edition. - was last seen in 6th Edition. - was last seen in Ice Age. - was last seen in 5th Edition.

Functional reprints

Mercadian Masques has 17 functional reprints:
of "Cloud Pirates from Portal

Portal (Magic: The Gathering)

Portal is the eighteenth Magic: The Gathering set and first starter level set, released on May 1, 1997. Depending on the language, the set contains between 221 and 228 cards.-Set history:...

 (save for creature type). of "Azimaet Drake" from Mirage

Mirage (Magic: The Gathering)

Mirage was the fifteenth Magic: The Gathering set and ninth expert level set, released in October 1996. This expansion began the first official block set with one large expansion being followed by two smaller expansions all tied together through card mechanics and setting. This expansion also...

. of "Knight Errant" from Starter 1999 (save for creature type). of "Igneous Golem" from Mirage. of "School of the Unseen" from Alliances

Alliances (Magic: The Gathering)

Alliances is the fourteenth Magic: The Gathering set and eighth expansion set, released on 10 June 1996. It was released 8 months after Homelands, which is the longest gap between expansion sets in the history of the game. It is now the middle set in the Ice Age block since the July 2006 release of...

. of "Dakmor Ghoul" from Starter 1999 (save for creature type). of "Fyndhorn Bow" from Ice Age

Ice Age (Magic: The Gathering)

Ice Age is the eleventh Magic: The Gathering set and the sixth expansion set, released in June 1995. Set in the years from 450 to 2934 AR, the set describes a world set in perpetual winter due to the events in Antiquities...

. of "Iron Tusk Elephant" from Mirage (save for creature type). of "Goblin Glider" from Portal Second Age. of "Dakmor Bat" from Portal Second Age and "Bog Imp" from Starter 1999 (save for creature type). of "Bog Rats" from 6th Edition

6th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)

The Sixth Edition core set of Magic: The Gathering, also known as Classic, was released on April 27, 1999. It contains 350 cards, with reprints of cards from previous core sets, as well as some new reprints from expansion sets through the Weatherlight expansion.-Rule changes:The release of Sixth...

 (save for creature type). of "Cloud Spirit" from Stronghold

Stronghold (Magic: The Gathering)

Stronghold was the 21st Magic: The Gathering set and thirteenth expert level set, and the second set in the Rath Block, released in March 1998. The block includes Tempest and Exodus. Stronghold contains 143 cards...

 (save for creature type). is a functional reprint of "Lynx" from Starter 1999 and Zodiac Monkey from Portal Three Kingdoms

Portal Three Kingdoms

Portal Three Kingdoms is the third Magic: The Gathering expansion of the Portal block, and the third starter level set. Like the other expansions in the Portal block, Portal: Three Kingdoms is designed for beginners to Magic. The setting is heavily based on the Chinese historical novel Romance of...

 (save for creature type). is a functional reprint of "Tar Pit Warrior" from Visions

Visions (Magic: The Gathering)

Visions was the sixteenth Magic: The Gathering set and tenth expert level set, released in February 1997. This expansion continued the Mirage block by using the same setting and mechanics introduced in Mirage. The expansion symbol for Visions is a V-shaped symbol, which is the "triangle of war"...

 (save for creature type). is a functional reprint of "Slashing Tiger" from Portal Three Kingdoms and "Razorclaw Bear" from Portal Second Age}} (save for creature type). is a functional reprint of "Veteran Cavalier" from Starter 1999 and "Alaborn Grenadier" from Portal Second Age. of "Hill Giant" from Portal, "Tor Giant" from Ice Age, "Ogre Warrior" from Starter 1999 and Barbarian Horde from Portal Three Kingdoms (save for creature type).

Theme decks

Each of the Mercadian Masques theme decks has at least one spellshaper, a theme of the set. The pre-constructed theme decks are:

• Deepwood Menace
• Disrupter
• Rebel's Call
• Tidal Mastery