Masters Edition II
Encyclopedia
Masters Edition II is a Magic: The Gathering
expansion, exclusive for Magic: The Gathering Online
, that was released on September 22, 2008. It is the seventh compilation set, and features 245 cards, 80 of each rarity and the 5 snow-covered basic lands of Ice Age
. The cards in the set are mostly reprints from Fallen Empires through Alliances
.
. The set was designed to bring previously unreleased cards to Magic Online. Starting with Mirage
sets have been retroactively released, but many of the pre-Mirage cards were previously completely unavailable online. In 2007 its predecessor, Masters Edition
was released and its successor Masters Edition III
followed in 2009. On January 10, 2011 the fourth installment of the series was released.
While Masters Edition was rather unspecifically designed to bring some older cards to Magic Online, Masters Edition II, III, and IV were designed to bring more specific cards to the environment. The second installment of the series was to bring the youngest, previously unreleased cards to Magic Online. It thus consists mainly of cards from Fallen Empires, Ice Age
, Homelands
, and Alliances
. On the mechanical side it is the "Snow" set, leaning heavily on Ice Age mechanics. Finally, the Masters Editions since Masters Edition II all have a minor tribal theme. Mostly due to their prevalence in Fallen Empires, Orcs and Soldiers are the tribes used in Masters Edition II..
The cards in Masters Edition II 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.
Unlike the first Masters Edition, this set was meant to be drafted on its own. However, as head designer Erik Lauer admits in an article, "Masters Edition II wasn't a fan favorite." The limited environment was supposed to be slow and strategic, but often mistakes in drafting and playing were not apparent to players, thus leading to frustration as they could not make sense of the environment. Lauer also admitted that he made "a fair amount of mistakes" in the designing of the set.
— This is a highly efficient "tutor" card, originally from Portal: Three Kingdoms. Its paper counterpart is the most expensive card from Portal: Three Kingdoms at more than $200 due to the extreme scarcity of P3K cards.
— This card is one of the most efficient mana acceleration cards in Magic. Mana Crypt was never part of a regular Magic expansion; it was only available as a promotional item to the buyers of the early Magic novel, Final Sacrifice.
— Has often been called one of the most powerful cards in Magic. The card lets its controller draw a card for each life he or she chooses to spend.
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, exclusive for Magic: The Gathering Online
Magic: The Gathering Online
Magic: The Gathering Online or Magic Online is a direct video game adaptation of Magic: The Gathering, utilizing the concept of a virtual economy in order to preserve the collectible aspect of the card game. It is played through an Internet service operated by Wizards of the Coast, which went...
, that was released on September 22, 2008. It is the seventh compilation set, and features 245 cards, 80 of each rarity and the 5 snow-covered basic lands of Ice Age
Ice Age (Magic: The Gathering)
Ice Age is the eleventh Magic: The Gathering set and the sixth expansion set, released in June 1995. Set in the years from 450 to 2934 AR, the set describes a world set in perpetual winter due to the events in Antiquities...
. The cards in the set are mostly reprints from Fallen Empires through Alliances
Alliances (Magic: The Gathering)
Alliances is the fourteenth Magic: The Gathering set and eighth expansion set, released on 10 June 1996. It was released 8 months after Homelands, which is the longest gap between expansion sets in the history of the game. It is now the middle set in the Ice Age block since the July 2006 release of...
.
Set history
Masters Edition II was the second expansion exclusively released for Magic OnlineMagic: The Gathering Online
Magic: The Gathering Online or Magic Online is a direct video game adaptation of Magic: The Gathering, utilizing the concept of a virtual economy in order to preserve the collectible aspect of the card game. It is played through an Internet service operated by Wizards of the Coast, which went...
. The set was designed to bring previously unreleased cards to Magic Online. Starting with Mirage
Mirage (Magic: The Gathering)
Mirage was the fifteenth Magic: The Gathering set and ninth expert level set, released in October 1996. This expansion began the first official block set with one large expansion being followed by two smaller expansions all tied together through card mechanics and setting. This expansion also...
sets have been retroactively released, but many of the pre-Mirage cards were previously completely unavailable online. In 2007 its predecessor, Masters Edition
Masters Edition
Masters Edition 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...
was released and its successor Masters Edition III
Masters Edition III
Masters Edition III is a Magic: The Gathering expansion, exclusive for Magic: The Gathering Online, that was released on September 7, 2009. It is the eighth compilation set, and consists of 230 cards, 70 rare, 70 uncommons, 75 commons, and 15 basic lands...
followed in 2009. On January 10, 2011 the fourth installment of the series was released.
While Masters Edition was rather unspecifically designed to bring some older cards to Magic Online, Masters Edition II, III, and IV were designed to bring more specific cards to the environment. The second installment of the series was to bring the youngest, previously unreleased cards to Magic Online. It thus consists mainly of cards from Fallen Empires, Ice Age
Ice Age (Magic: The Gathering)
Ice Age is the eleventh Magic: The Gathering set and the sixth expansion set, released in June 1995. Set in the years from 450 to 2934 AR, the set describes a world set in perpetual winter due to the events in Antiquities...
, Homelands
Homelands (Magic: The Gathering)
Homelands was the thirteenth Magic: The Gathering set and seventh expert level set, released in October 1995. It was considered to be part of the Ice Age block until the announcement of Coldsnap in October 2005.- Storyline :...
, and Alliances
Alliances (Magic: The Gathering)
Alliances is the fourteenth Magic: The Gathering set and eighth expansion set, released on 10 June 1996. It was released 8 months after Homelands, which is the longest gap between expansion sets in the history of the game. It is now the middle set in the Ice Age block since the July 2006 release of...
. On the mechanical side it is the "Snow" set, leaning heavily on Ice Age mechanics. Finally, the Masters Editions since Masters Edition II all have a minor tribal theme. Mostly due to their prevalence in Fallen Empires, Orcs and Soldiers are the tribes used in Masters Edition II..
The cards in Masters Edition II 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.
Unlike the first Masters Edition, this set was meant to be drafted on its own. However, as head designer Erik Lauer admits in an article, "Masters Edition II wasn't a fan favorite." The limited environment was supposed to be slow and strategic, but often mistakes in drafting and playing were not apparent to players, thus leading to frustration as they could not make sense of the environment. Lauer also admitted that he made "a fair amount of mistakes" in the designing of the set.
Notable cards
- Allied duals —, , , , — The original dual lands can produce mana two different colors, but unlike any of their successors these lands do not come with a drawback which compensates for the fact that they are just stronger than basic lands. Of the ten original duals, Masters Edition II includes only the lands that can produce mana of colors that are neighbours on the color pie. These five cards are the most valuable in Masters Edition II. The other five duals were reprinted in Masters Edition IIIMasters Edition IIIMasters Edition III is a Magic: The Gathering expansion, exclusive for Magic: The Gathering Online, that was released on September 7, 2009. It is the eighth compilation set, and consists of 230 cards, 70 rare, 70 uncommons, 75 commons, and 15 basic lands...
.
— This is a highly efficient "tutor" card, originally from Portal: Three Kingdoms. Its paper counterpart is the most expensive card from Portal: Three Kingdoms at more than $200 due to the extreme scarcity of P3K cards.
— This card is one of the most efficient mana acceleration cards in Magic. Mana Crypt was never part of a regular Magic expansion; it was only available as a promotional item to the buyers of the early Magic novel, Final Sacrifice.
— Has often been called one of the most powerful cards in Magic. The card lets its controller draw a card for each life he or she chooses to spend.