Talk:Alpha (Magic: The Gathering)

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Note that there is currently a slight issue with Gatherer: it omits all of the Circles of Protection from Alpha, instead of correctly omitting CoP: Black but leaving the other four in. This is why the link in the infobox (correctly) says 290 cards, but if you follow the link, you'll find that Gatherer only finds 286. I've reported this to the Gatherer devteam, and hopefully it will be fixed in the near future.

Also, please be aware the Crystalkeep data claiming 295 cards for Alpha isn't really ideal, because it counts alternate art as separate cards, which is of possible interest to collectors, but is misleading for everyone else. I'll be going through the sets and changing this to Gatherer stats instead. --Ashenai

[edit] Notable cards

Since I believe that the "Notable Cards" of a set is a highly contentious issue, I'm going to explain exactly why I included the cards I did, and post proof of their notability here. If you decide to add to, remove from, or change the list of Notable Cards, please do the same, so we can have at least a minimal amount of objectivity. Thank you!

The Power Nine is notable because: They have all proven to be game-bendingly powerful, and are all restricted in tournament play. They are the most sought-after and expensive Magic cards in existence, all commanding enormous prices on the secondary market; $200-$2000 is typical for a single Power Nine card.

I'll remove the 'honorable mention' of Library of Alexandria. Multiple reasons. First of all, this is highly outdated. For at least five years now, it hasn't been anywhere near the most powerful land. Currently most players in the know would list at least Bazaar of Baghdad, Mishra's Workshop, Strip Mine and Tolarian Academy above it. Secondly, it is not in the Limited printing at all! The definition of Power Nine has become universally accepted, but this 'honorable mention' of Library definitely hasn't. Matti Nuortio, Oulu, Finland (talk) 13:10, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

The Boons are notable because: They were the first and best-known cycle. With the exception of Dark Ritual, they define the single most characteristic ability of each color to this day.

The Dual Lands are notable because: They are the best two-color lands to this day, and are included in every multicolor deck in which they are legal, with no exceptions (to the best of my knowledge). Along with the Power Nine, this makes them the only "auto-include" cards in all decks of the appropriate colors that I know of. (Well, Lightning Bolt and Dark Ritual may also fit the bill). They are also surprisingly expensive on the secondary market.

I consider the following cards Runners-up: Birds of Paradise, Channel, Counterspell, Disenchant, Fireball, Grizzly Bears, Serra Angel, Shivan Dragon, Stone Rain, and Swords to Plowshares. These cards would likely all be notable if they had been introduced in a later set, but the blinding fame of the current Alpha notable cards simply overshadows them, IMO. --Ashenai 16:35, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

I removed the dual lands; notable Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited cards should probably be cards that were only in Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited.

I added Chaos Orb, which is notable because: It was the first manual dexterity card, and there was only one other, ever, except for "Un" sets. It was also quite widely used while it was legal. --Ashenai 01:06, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

  • I think it's okay to add Birds of Paradise to the notable cards list. I think either Birds or Wrath of God holds the distinction of being printed in the most sets (at least for rares). Birds is one of the archetypal cards in green and it's notable if only because it is one of the cards that has helped define the color over the years (except for the flying bit).

Also, I think Swords to Plowshares is notable as an Alpha card, since it wasn't reprinted after about 1996 (Ice Age), and it is widely viewed as the best white removal card. It also defined what white "spot" creature removal would stand for: a universal (destroy creature instead of "destroy nonblack" etc.) removal spell that usually had the effect of enabling the creature's controller to benefit in some way (Afterlife, Reciprocate). Davemcarlson 23:37, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dropped Mechanics

  • If I remember correctly, Mark Rosewater once said that all of Garfield's original keyword abilities (Trample, Flying, Protection -- I can't think of others) were still in the game. In this article it mentions that banding was dropped from the game, but I'm not 100% sure if banding was in alpha. What do you guys know about this? Davemcarlson 23:29, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
  • There were three creatures with banding: Benalish Hero, Mesa Pegasus, and Timber Wolves Darkelfpoet 15:19, 17 May 2007 (UTC)