Magic 2010
Encyclopedia
Magic 2010 is a Magic: The Gathering
expansion set, that was released on July 17, 2009. It is the eleventh core set for Magic: the Gathering. It is the first Core Set since Limited Edition Beta
(which included two cards accidentally left out of the original Limited Edition Alpha
) to feature new cards; about half the cards were new with the rest being reprints (in contrast to most previous core sets, which consisted entirely of reprints).
produces and markets the "Core" set of their marquee trading card game, Magic: The Gathering
. M10 was the first core set since Revised (the third edition) to not be labeled with an ordinal number
. Another important marketing change was that starting with Magic 2010, Wizards of the Coast releases a new core set every year, instead of every two years, as they did since 1995. Most significantly, Magic 2010 was the first core set since the very first editions of the game (Alpha
& Beta
, both released in 1993) to contain new cards; every other core set has contained only reprints from previous sets. Previous policy regarding which cards to reprint in the core sets led to the Core set product drifting away from its intended function. Wizards decided to introduce new cards into M10 so that the Core set could serve as a better introduction to the game for new players. There were 112 new cards printed in M10, the remainder being reprints.
M10 was the first core set to include "mythic rares" as well as the first core set to include planeswalkers, a relatively new card type which was first introduced in 2007. All five of the initial set of planeswalkers from Lorwyn
were reprinted in M10 as mythic rares.
Wizards of the Coast has also overhauled the core rules of the game
with the introduction of Magic 2010. The changes included the renaming of several zones and actions of the game, eliminate the 'mana burn' rule of the game and, and more relevant for gameplay, an alteration to the way combat damage is assigned. This was the first major alteration of the game rules since the introduction of 6th Edition
rules in 1999, and was instituted to make the game more streamlined and intuitive; previous damage-assignment rules, for instance, would allow a creature to, in the words of Magic Rules Manager Mark Gottlieb, "swing its fist to punch, vanish from the battlefield, and [still] have that punch land."
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
expansion set, that was released on July 17, 2009. It is the eleventh core set for Magic: the Gathering. It is the first Core Set since Limited Edition Beta
Beta (Magic: The Gathering)
Limited Edition Beta or just Beta for short was the second part, after revisions, of the first print run of the first Magic: The Gathering set. It was released only a few months after Limited Edition Alpha's publication to correct some minor problems in the rules and to make up for the fact that...
(which included two cards accidentally left out of the original Limited Edition Alpha
Alpha (Magic: The Gathering)
The name Alpha refers to the first print run of the original Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition, the first Magic: The Gathering card set. It premiered in a limited release at Origins Game Fair in 1993, with a general release that August. Its print run of 2.6 million cards sold out very quickly...
) to feature new cards; about half the cards were new with the rest being reprints (in contrast to most previous core sets, which consisted entirely of reprints).
Set details
Magic 2010 (or M10 for short) marked a major shift in the way Wizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
produces and markets the "Core" set of their marquee trading card game, Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
. M10 was the first core set since Revised (the third edition) to not be labeled with an ordinal number
Ordinal number (linguistics)
In linguistics, ordinal numbers are the words representing the rank of a number with respect to some order, in particular order or position . Its use may refer to size, importance, chronology, etc...
. Another important marketing change was that starting with Magic 2010, Wizards of the Coast releases a new core set every year, instead of every two years, as they did since 1995. Most significantly, Magic 2010 was the first core set since the very first editions of the game (Alpha
Alpha (Magic: The Gathering)
The name Alpha refers to the first print run of the original Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition, the first Magic: The Gathering card set. It premiered in a limited release at Origins Game Fair in 1993, with a general release that August. Its print run of 2.6 million cards sold out very quickly...
& Beta
Beta (Magic: The Gathering)
Limited Edition Beta or just Beta for short was the second part, after revisions, of the first print run of the first Magic: The Gathering set. It was released only a few months after Limited Edition Alpha's publication to correct some minor problems in the rules and to make up for the fact that...
, both released in 1993) to contain new cards; every other core set has contained only reprints from previous sets. Previous policy regarding which cards to reprint in the core sets led to the Core set product drifting away from its intended function. Wizards decided to introduce new cards into M10 so that the Core set could serve as a better introduction to the game for new players. There were 112 new cards printed in M10, the remainder being reprints.
M10 was the first core set to include "mythic rares" as well as the first core set to include planeswalkers, a relatively new card type which was first introduced in 2007. All five of the initial set of planeswalkers from Lorwyn
Lorwyn
Lorwyn is the 66th Magic: The Gathering set, 43rd expert level set, and the first set in the Lorwyn Block, released in October 2007. It is codenamed "Peanut"...
were reprinted in M10 as mythic rares.
Wizards of the Coast has also overhauled the core rules of the game
Magic: The Gathering rules
Magic: The Gathering is a playing and collectible card game with extremely detailed and, at times, complex rules. A very good knowledge of the game's rules is absolutely necessary to play the game...
with the introduction of Magic 2010. The changes included the renaming of several zones and actions of the game, eliminate the 'mana burn' rule of the game and, and more relevant for gameplay, an alteration to the way combat damage is assigned. This was the first major alteration of the game rules since the introduction of 6th Edition
6th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)
The Sixth Edition core set of Magic: The Gathering, also known as Classic, was released on April 27, 1999. It contains 350 cards, with reprints of cards from previous core sets, as well as some new reprints from expansion sets through the Weatherlight expansion.-Rule changes:The release of Sixth...
rules in 1999, and was instituted to make the game more streamlined and intuitive; previous damage-assignment rules, for instance, would allow a creature to, in the words of Magic Rules Manager Mark Gottlieb, "swing its fist to punch, vanish from the battlefield, and [still] have that punch land."