Legends (Magic: The Gathering)
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| Legends | ||
|---|---|---|
| Release date | June 1994 | |
| Mechanics | Legendary permanents, Enchant Worlds, Multicolor cards |
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| Keywords | Bands with other, Rampage |
|
| Size | 310 cards | |
| Expansion code | LEG
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| Magic: The Gathering Chronology |
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| Revised | Legends | The Dark |
Legends was the seventh Magic: The Gathering set and the third expert level set, released in June 1994. It was the first expansion set to be sold in packs of 15 (previous expansions had been sold in packs of 8). The set, like Antiquities, was created by the group of students at the University of Pennsylvania that had helped Richard Garfield design the original game. The expansion symbol for Legends was the capital of a column.
There was one notable printing error with Legends: Each booster box contained only half of the uncommon cards in the set. This along with the limited number of cards available made collecting the entire 310-card set very difficult.
Legends is the oldest expansion to have been printed in a foreign language; the Italian Leggende was released in 1995, shortly after L'Oscurita (Italian The Dark). These two expansions were released in the opposite order in their original English printings.
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[edit] Secondary market
Legends was the last mainstream set printed to have any card in it sell for over $100 USD on the secondary market. Many cards prior to Legends in Alpha and Beta retail for over $100 due to their extreme rarity. Obviously all the Power Nine as printed in Unlimited fall under this category, however the Unlimited dual lands drop in price considerably as compared to their black bordered originals. Arabian Nights had power cards like Library of Alexandria, Bazaar of Bagdad, and Juzaam Djinn. Antiquities had Mishra's Workshop, a staple of certain types of Vintage decks. The next two expansions, The Dark and Fallen Empires, are significantly underpowered and underpriced compared to Legends. Few cards since the printing of Legends sell for over $25 USD on the open market when the set is released to print except for the occasional foil rare.
Recently with the Limited printing of Starter Level sets Starter and Portal Three Kingdoms some cards go for over $100.00 due to the limited printing and promotion of these sets.
[edit] Storyline
The story line of the Legends set was not revealed until the 3 Legends Cycle books were released many years after the set.
In the book Hazeon the 3rd in the cycle. The story follows the adventures of Hazezon Tamar who teams up with many other legends from the set such as Jedit Ojanen. The book takes place in the southern regions, including Scarwood on Jamuraa.
The story itself takes place chronologically well after the Ice Age, and sometime before Weatherlight as the first Airships are built by Johan who tried to conquer the entire continent. Many other legends of the set end up fighting Johans' army at the battle for Efrava.
[edit] Mechanics
Legends introduce several important mechanics to the game and each pack of cards contained a rules card explaining the new mechanics and keywords.
- Legendary - The Legendary play mechanic, known as the "Legends Rule" was introduced in this set. Legends are powerful creatures that only one copy of which can be in play at a time. Legends provided both Legendary Creatures and Legendary Lands, while Legendary Enchantments would not arise until Champions of Kamigawa.
- Enchant World - Enchantments that enchanted the entire "world." These enchantments would have an effect that affected all players at the same time and were limited to only one in play at a time.
- Multicolor - Legends was the first set to feature cards that required more than one color of mana to play. These cards were distinguished by a gold background and have become much more commonplace.
- Rampage - An ability that took effect whenever said creature became blocked by more than one creature. Creatures with Rampage would get a bonus to their power toughness for each creature blocking it beyond the first.
- Banding - A very complex game mechanic that was eventually dropped from the game after Weatherlight, Legends further complicated matters by creating creatures that banded only with creatures of a certain type. In essence, banding allowed multiple creatures to attack as a single unit, allowing the attacking to decide how damage was distributed to his or her creatures, if the defending player blocked. Legends is the only set to feature the "bands with other" mechanic, with the exception of the Unhinged card Old Fogey.
[edit] Card Count
| Colour/Type of Card | Number |
|---|---|
| Artifact | 29 |
| Black | 43 |
| Blue | 43 |
| Green | 43 |
| Land | 11 |
| Multi-color | 55 |
| Red | 43 |
| White | 43 |
| Status | Number in Set |
|---|---|
| Common | 75 |
| Rare | 121 |
| Uncommon | 114 |
[edit] References
- ^ Magic the Gathering: Official Encyclopedia, Project Editor, Roland Hall, Carlton Books Ltd., London, England, ISBN 1-85868-240-1
