Masters Edition

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Masters Edition
A circle and a quarter-circle
Released	10 September 2007
Size	195 cards (60 rare, 60 uncommon, 60 common, 15 basic land)
Exp. code	MED
	v · d · e

Masters Edition (officially abbreviated "MED") is a Magic: The Gathering expansion, exclusive for Magic: The Gathering Online, that was released on September 10, 2007. It is the sixth compilation set, and features 195 cards printed before Mirage, 60 of each rarity and the 15 basic lands of Beta. The first implement of Masters Edition has no clear focus on the mechanical side, thus keyworded abilities are all abilities that were part of the original Magic core sets.

Set history

Invasion was the first expansion released on Magic Online. Since then, the older expansions from Mirage forward have been retroactively released with accompanying draft and sealed queues. The sets before Mirage, however, were not built for limited play and would not present a fun or balanced draft environment.^[1] Because of the nature of the online environment, most cards enter the system through drafting. The Masters Edition series is Wizards of the Coast's solution to bring the game's earliest cards online in draftable sets. Masters Edition was originally meant to be drafted with 10th Edition^[2] but its popularity led Wizards to create Masters Edition-only drafts.^[3] The set was heavily focused on nostalgia and included some of the most popular casual cards from the early sets. Notably, it was missing powerful early cards like the original dual lands. This was done because at the time of the set's release the Magic Online client was in a transitional state from version 2.5 to version 3. Wizards knew that the updated client would be able to carry more player traffic and wanted to wait to release the dual lands to a larger audience. The set's one chase rare, Force of Will, has seen drastically short supply because of the timing of this release.

The set's popularity led to three follow up sets in the series, in 2008, 2009, and 2011.

The cards in Masters Edition are all available in regular and premium foil versions. As all of the cards were originally released before the foiling process was introduced to Magic and most have not been reprinted since, these cards are now available as premium foils for the first time and exclusively for Magic Online.

Notable cards

• Force of Will — This card was originally released in Alliances as an uncommon but is reprinted as a rare in Masters Edition. Force of Will is a staple in almost every competitive Legacy and Classic (the online almost-equivalent of Vintage) deck, that includes blue. It is thus highly sought after and has become the most expensive card on Magic Online with its foil version selling for more than $200.^[4]

• Hymn to Tourach — Originally released in Fallen Empires as a common, Hymn to Tourach is now an uncommon in Masters Edition. Despite coming from Fallen Empires, a set often shunned as one of the weakest ever, the card is one of the most efficient discard spells in Magic.

References

1. ^ LaPille, Tom (14 January 2011). "How to Make a Time Machine". Wizards of the Coast. http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/ld/125. Retrieved 14 January 2011. 
2. ^ "Masters Edition Release Events". Wizards of the Coast. Sep 2007. http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Article.aspx?x=magic/magiconline/article082707b. Retrieved 14 Jan 2011. 
3. ^ "Draft with the Masters". Wizards of the Coast. Sep 2007. http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/qm28. Retrieved 14 Jan 2011. 
4. ^ "MED Blue". MTGOTraders. 13 June 2010. http://www.mtgotraders.com/store/MED_blue.html. Retrieved 13 June 2010. 

External links

• Official Masters Edition website
• Official announcement
• Masters Edition Previews
• Official Master's Edition Spoiler List