We’re only just starting to get our heads around Final Fantasy, and already the hype cycle for the next Magic: The Gathering set is upon us. Welcome to the new normal for six-sets-a-year Standard, I suppose. Edge of Eternities has already made its official debut at MagicCon: Las Vegas over the weekend.
So far, reactions to the set have been surprisingly positive. That said, it’s not all smiles. Some players have noticed a distinct lack of an expansion symbol on some Edge of Eternities cards, which is raising concerns in the community.
Wizards has been pushing the boat out more and more in terms of the visual layout of Magic cards in recent times. In the eyes of many players, this represents the erosion of the game’s core identity. With expansion symbols falling by the wayside in some cases now, that argument is only growing stronger. While it’s great to see a game still willing to boldly innovate at over 30 years old, it’s worth taking a moment to consider whether this move is a step too far.
Edge Of Eternities’ Missing Expansion Symbol
“Just a bit of feedback about Edge of Eternities Stellar Sights: I was really surprised when I saw the Mutavault before reading the article because I thought someone at WotC forgot the expansion symbol on the image. Something is missing, it’s very disturbing and the first thing I noticed about the card. […] We’ll the how this experiment goes, but to me the expansion symbol is part of what makes a Magic card a Magic card.”
old-planet, via Blogatog
If you caught the Edge of Eternities debut at MagicCon: Las Vegas, chances are you got a look at the tasty Mutavaults shown above. These are part of the Stellar Sights Bonus Sheet for the set. You’ll find one in every eight Play Boosters, and at least one in every single Collector Booster. The artwork, on both versions, is undeniably striking. What’s arguably even more so, however, is the distinct lack of any kind of expansion symbol on either version.
It’s odd to see a Magic: The Gathering card missing this crucial detail, and players like old-planet above were quick to clock the omission. In response, Mark Rosewater offered the following explanation via Blogatog:
“We have to be careful about expansion symbols on bonus sheets because they can imply format legality that isn’t true.”
Mark Rosewater, via Blogatog
As Rosewater answers go, this one is a bit of a head-scratcher. The vast majority of past Bonus Sheets in Magic have all had their own expansion symbol, which clearly differentiated them from the main set they came bundled with. This allowed players to quickly tell what was Standard-legal in a given pack and what wasn’t, if the radical art difference wasn’t enough.
The idea that removing the expansion symbol from the Edge of Eternities Bonus Sheet would alleviate confusion is, in itself, rather confusing. In the comments on the Blogatog post, players were quick to criticize Rosewater’s response as illogical.
“The set symbol is how i check format legality at a glance. if it has a set symbol different from the normal EoE symbol, then it’s probably not legal. when i see a card without a set symbol, i think ‘oh, that’s probably a weird treatment of a main set card’ (like Sothera the Supervoid, which also has no set symbol and is standard legal!).”
Spirawr, via Blogatog
It’s hard not to agree with the comments in this case. As Arixordragc notes, “Having something to refer to, even if you have to learn what it means, is better than having absolutely nothing to go on.” Removing the expansion symbol will likely lead to unnecessary busywork for new players and even established players. Magic cards have had expansion symbols for over 30 years now, after all, so it’s a significant change.
An Ongoing Experiment
One argument against this theory is the fact that Wizards have already done it once before. It was easy to miss, but the Through the Ages Bonus Sheet cards in Final Fantasy didn’t have a set symbol either. The unique layout used in that case made it pretty inconspicuous. The fact that it had the air of a ‘special’ set due to being Universes Beyond likely helped too.
Whatever the reason, players didn’t kick up a fuss about the lack of expansion symbol here like they are currently with Edge of Eternities. There was no major confusion around whether the cards were Standard-legal, either. Based on this, it could be that Wizards’ hunch, presented by Rosewater above, is actually correct. Maybe Bonus Sheets with no expansion symbols is the way to go in the future.
We should find out one way or another soon enough. In the Collecting article for Edge of Eternities, it states that this lack of symbol is an ongoing experiment for Wizards.
“Lands from the Stellar Sights bonus sheet do not have the EOS expansion symbol. However, you will see this symbol on MTG Arena while sorting through your collection. This is something we’re continuing to experiment with, so you may see some future cards that share a set code but don’t have an expansion symbol on the card.”
Wizards of the Coast
There are a couple of interesting things to note here. Firstly, a Stellar Sights expansion symbol does exist; it was just removed from physical versions of the cards. Second, that Arena players will actually be able to see it, if only while in the collection. This further complicates the discussion and makes things even more confusing.
If an expansion symbol for Stellar Sights has been created, and Wizards acknowledges its value in grouping cards for Arena, then why has it been removed from physical cards? The most likely explanation is as a cost-cutting method. Printing digital expansion symbols is free, whereas physical ones demand time and ink. If this experiment works out, then Wizards can save a lot of money in the long run.
Secret Lair-ification
Whether the lack of an expansion symbol on the Edge of Eternities Bonus Sheet bothers you or not, it’s hard to deny that it’s part of a larger trend. With each new expansion, Wizards is getting bolder with its aesthetic decisions. To coin a phrase, we seem to be experiencing the Secret Lair-ification of mainline Magic sets.
This was perhaps most obvious in the wild Showcase cards for Aetherdrift. We’ve seen it in more subtle ways in pretty much every recent set, mind you, be it Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Duskmourn, or Tarkir: Dragonstorm. Heck, even Foundations had Japan Showcase cards in it. What a Magic card looks like is changing, and changing fast.
An excellent example of this phenomenon from Edge of Eternities is the Singularity Foil version of Sothera, the Supervoid, pictured above. While not a Serialized card, this is an “extremely rare” find in Collector Boosters, and the “apex of collectability” for the set. It’s also a pretty radical take on a card layout, all things considered.
Not only does this version lack an expansion symbol, but it also lacks any kind of text at all. This puts it in a similar area to Final Fantasy’s Serialized Golden Chocobo. This treatment has received criticism for not really resembling a traditional Magic card. While it’s easy to dismiss such criticism in the case of a super-rare alternate version, the wider discussion is harder to ignore. Magic’s visual language is shifting, and we could see more than just expansion symbols vanish in the near future.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!
