Magic: the Gathering

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Magic Curiosities: Cards, Abilities, Illustrations, CMC and more

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Magic is also considered a collector's item. With that in mind, I'm bringing you some curiosities about different areas of the game. Check out!

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About Prints, Card Rarities and CMC

How many cards were printed in Magic: the Gathering?

Magic has a total of 19784 cards printed. It's quite a thing!

Have you ever wondered how many cards there are of each cost and by color? Which color had the most cards printed (was it the infamous blue?)?

Important: For all counting purposes, the game rules were followed. X cost cards, X is considered 0. Alternative cost cards, alternative cost is not considered. Cards with devoid are considered colorless.

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Which colors in Magic have the most cards printed?

To make it easier I put everything in a table (I love a table) as we see below:

Image content of the Website

Let's go to the impression ranking:

1st place – White

2nd place – Black

3rd place – Red

4th place – Green

5th place – Blue

6th place – Multicolored (Ravnica, was that you?)

7th place – Colorless

8th place – Lands

That's what you didn't expect: blue is not the most printed color, but it still remains the most hated by many.

Number of cards printed by cost

We can see that there is a curve in the increase in cost vs. number of cards printed.

Image content of the Website

Image content of the Website

With this, we can see that most of the printed cards have Converted Mana Cost (CMC) equal to 3. This may indicate that turn 3 cards are already starting to have a higher power level. But of course, this is not standard.

In early editions, the lower cost cards had a higher power level, and this was fixed during the Magic years. The cost of cards is related to their power level (higher cost creatures tend to have higher power and toughness, while spells have effects that can be considered a win condition in a match).

Now, when building your deck, think and analyze your mana curve a lot. This can generate your victory.

Magic: the Gathering, as it is a turn-based game, the mana cost of spells greatly influences the matches. We can see that Wizards of the Coast really believes in this so much that they follow a pattern when it comes to creating the edits and maintaining the numbers. Any drastic change in this paradigm can affect the game directly.

Wizards has a formula they've had for a few years to keep the game alive and healthy, but sometimes they get it wrong. In this article, we killed the curiosity of numbers and saw that we can use it to analyze our decks.

Amount of Magic card by rarity

Now let's take a look at the number of cards by rarity.

Image content of the Website

It seems that blue won in the number of rares, to the happiness of some and the sadness of others. I started to do an analysis in relation to cost x rarity. I made only two colors, but we can see that it follows the same pattern. The higher the cost, the greater the rarity.

Image content of the Website

With all these numbers, we see that Wizards of the Coast have a recipe for the development of the cards in relation to their cost x rarity and print quantity.

About Illustrations and Artists

In addition to being a game, Magic is also considered a collector's item. With that in mind, I'm bringing facts about all Magic illustrators.

All Magic Artists

There are many artists! We have a total of 766 artists who have already done their amazing illustrations and a total of 46984 cards.

Which Magic artist has the most card arts?

1st Kev Walker – with a total of 883 illustrations. Example card: Damnation

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2nd John Avon – with a total of 869 illustrations. Example card: Lotus Field

3rd Mark Tedin – with a total of 605 illustrations. Example card: Chaos orb

4th Dan Frazier – with a total of 571 illustrations. Example card: Berserk

5th Greg Staples – with a total of 547 illustrations. Example card: Aria of Flame

Magic artist duos who have worked together the most

1st Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai – with a total of 261 illustrations. Card example:

Image content of the Website

2nd Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt - with a total of 100 illustrations. Card example:

Image content of the Website

3rd Jana Schirmer & Johannes Voss - with a total of 38 illustrations. Card example

Image content of the Website

If you intend to be a Magic collector, starting with the artist is one of the best ways.

About Abilities and Keywords

Magic has 28 years of history; the amount of existing cards is huge and so are the abilities. In this article, I will bring all the abilities that exist in the game.

In the game's Comprehensive Rules, we have two terms to describe abilities: Keywords Actions and Keywords Abilities.

In the list below, I bring you all the abilities that are found in the rules, with the edition in which it first appeared, in addition to the year and number of cards that have that keyword.

Keyword Actions/Keyword abilitiesFirst ApparitionYearCard Qty.
ActivateAntiquities1994683
AttachArabian Nights1993229
CastUnlimited Edition19931967
CounterLegends19942046
CreateLegends19941535
DestroyUnlimited Edition19931293
DiscardSummer Magic19941141
DoubleMirage1996215
ExchangeSummer Magic199445
ExileThe Dark19941452
FightHarperPrism Book Promos199496
MillIce Age1995280
PlayUnlimited Edition19933067
RegenerateLegends1994417
RevealLegends1994926
SacrificeArabian Nights19932284
ScryDarksteel2004229
SearchIce Age1995695
ShuffleUnlimited Edition1993842
TapAntiquities19942149
UntapAntiquities19941029
FatesealFuture Sight20072
ClashThe Dark199432
PlaneswalkPlanechase2009-
Set in MotionArchenemy2010-
AbandonArchenemy2010-
ProliferateScars of Mirrodin201037
TransformInnistrad2011111
DetainReturn to Ravnica201211
PopulateReturn to Ravnica201218
MonstrosityTheros201333
VoteConspiracy201423
BolsterFate Reforged201521
ManifestFate Reforged201525
SupportOath of the Gatewatch201616
InvestigateShadows over Innistrad201631
MeldEldritch Moon20163
GoadConspiracy: Take the Crown201616
ExertAmonkhet201728
ExploreIxalan201725
AssembleUnstable201725
SurveilGuilds of Ravnica201833
AdaptRavnica Allegiance201916
AmassWar of the Spark201923
LearnStrixhaven: School of Mages202121
DeathtouchLorwyn2007252
DefenderLegends1994295
Double StrikeLegions2003155
EnchantAntiquities19941614
EquipMirrodin2003415
First StrikeLegends1994549
FlashMirage1996463
FlyingLegends19942884
HasteIce Age1995752
HexproofPortal Three Kingdoms1999174
IndestructibleDarksteel2004251
IntimidateZendikar200938
LandwalkArabian Nights199368
LifelinkLorwyn2007328
ProtectionLegends1994328
ReachHomelands1995262
ShroudLegends1994118
TrampleThe Dark1994917
VigilanceIce Age1995512
WardStrixhaven: School of Mages / Commander 202120219
BandingArabian Nights199341
RampageLegends199420
Cumulative UpkeepIce Age199588
FlankingMirage199635
PhasingMirage199617
BuybackTempest199741
ShadowTempest199788
CyclingUrza's Saga1998281
EchoUrza's Saga199855
HorsemanshipPortal Three Kingdoms199936
FadingNemesis200020
KickerInvasion2000178
FlashbackOdyssey2001124
MadnessTorment200262
FearMirage199683
MorphOnslaught2002195
AmplifyLegions20039
ProvokeLegions200311
StormScourge200397
AffinityMirrodin200328
EntwineMirrodin200330
ModularDarksteel200423
SunburstFifth Dawn200416
BushidoChampions of Kamigawa200438
SoulshiftChampions of Kamigawa200427
SpliceChampions of Kamigawa200437
OfferingBetrayers of Kamigawa20055
NinjutsuBetrayers of Kamigawa200517
EpicSaviors of Kamigawa20055
ConvokeRavnica: City of Guilds200552
DredgeRavnica: City of Guilds200515
TransmuteRavnica: City of Guilds200515
BloodthirstGuildpact200624
HauntGuildpact200617
ReplicateGuildpact200613
ForecastDissension200611
GraftDissension200618
RecoverColdsnap20067
RippleColdsnap20066
Split SecondTime Spiral200617
SuspendTime Spiral200673
VanishingTime Spiral200616
AbsorbTime Spiral20061
Aura SwapTime Spiral20061
DelveTime Spiral200628
FortifyFuture Sight20071
FrenzyFuture Sight20072
GravestormFuture Sight20071
PoisonousFuture Sight20072
TransfigureFuture Sight20071
ChampionLorwyn200756
ChangelingLorwyn200749
EvokeLorwyn200730
HideawayLorwyn20076
ProwlMorningtide200819
ReinforceMorningtide200810
ConspireShadowmoor200811
PersistShadowmoor200829
WitherShadowmoor200836
RetraceEventide200815
DevourShards of Alara200830
ExaltedShards of Alara200835
UnearthShards of Alara200826
CascadeAlara Reborn200938
AnnihilatorRise of the Eldrazi201010
Level UpRise of the Eldrazi201026
ReboundRise of the Eldrazi201029
Totem ArmorRise of the Eldrazi201016
InfectScars of Mirrodin201062
Battle CryScars of Mirrodin20109
Living WeaponMirrodin Besieged201113
UndyingDark Ascension201224
MiracleAvacyn Restored201212
SoulbondAvacyn Restored201220
OverloadReturn to Ravnica201223
ScavengeReturn to Ravnica201229
UnleashReturn to Ravnica201215
CipherGatecrash201313
EvolveGatecrash201315
ExtortGatecrash201314
FuseDragon's Maze201317
BestowTheros201335
TributeBorn of the Gods201428
DethroneConspiracy20149
Hidden AgendaConspiracy201414
OutlastKhans of Tarkir201411
ProwessKhans of Tarkir201446
DashKhans of Tarkir201420
ExploitKhans of Tarkir201412
MenaceMirage1996199
RenownMagic Origins201521
AwakenBattle for Zendikar201523
DevoidBattle for Zendikar201599
IngestBattle for Zendikar201511
MyriadCommander 201520158
SurgeOath of the Gatewatch201615
SkulkShadows over Innistrad201619
EmergeEldritch Moon201614
EscalateEldritch Moon20168
MeleeConspiracy: Take the Crown20168
CrewKaladesh201644
FabricateKaladesh201614
PartnerCommander 2016201688
UndauntedCommander 201620166
ImproviseAether Revolt201717
AftermathAmonkhet201726
EmbalmAmonkhet201716
EternalizeHour of Devastation201712
AfflictHour of Devastation201711
AscendRivals of Ixalan201828
AssistBattlebond201818
Jump-StartGuilds of Ravnica201811
MentorGuilds of Ravnica201821
AfterlifeRavnica Allegiance201910
RiotRavnica Allegiance201917
SpectacleRavnica Allegiance201910
EscapeTheros Beyond Death202024
CompanionIkoria: Lair of Behemoths202012
MutateIkoria: Lair of Behemoths202038
EncoreCommander Legends202017
BoastKaldheim202117
ForetellKaldheim202146
DemonstrateCommander 202120215

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Altogether, there are 188 keywords, building a nice list of abilities. Some of them made history being considered too powerful, others are so strong that they name entire decks.

Dredge became the name of a deck.

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And what about this extremely lethal monk?

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This one was released and started getting banned everywhere.

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That ability that makes every Draft player's heart happy.

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This list gives you a good starting point for organizing your collection or even creating fun decks by choosing a ability as a base.