Mirage (Magic: The Gathering)
Encyclopedia
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 introduced 5th Edition
rules (5th Edition was released in March 1997). Mirages expansion symbol is a palm tree. On 5 December 2005 Mirage was released on Magic: The Gathering Online
. It was the first set that was retroactively released on Magic Online.
modeled after Africa
) — the militaristic kingdom of the Zhalfirins, the religious state of Femeref, and the trading province of the Suq'Ata empire. Zhalfir was the warrior nation, based mainly on red. Femeref was mainly white, and featured clerics and healers, while the seafaring traders of Suq'Ata were mostly blue. Mirage concerned these three nations and their struggle against the evil wizard Kaervek
. Kaervek has imprisoned the powerful wizard and diplomat Mangara in an amber prison and the bulk of the story details the Jamuraans attempting to free Mangara. In addition to these events the planeswalker
Teferi has caused his island to disappear from existence for almost 200 years. It is the phasing of the entire island that led Kaervek and Mangara to Jamuraa in the first place.
, Mirage began as a set of modifications to Alpha by a group of Richard Garfield
's playtesters in winter 1992. Bill Rose, Charlie Catino, Joel Mick, Howard Kahlenberg, Don Felice and Elliott Segal created gameplay modifications and new cards that developed into "Menagerie", which developed over the course of three years. In October 1995, Mirage was sent to Wizards of the Coast
for development. Rose lead the development team of Mike Elliott, William Jockusch and Mark Rosewater, while Art Director Sue-Ann Harkey provided Mirages Africa
n influenced look.
While its origins in playtesting linked it to earlier sets, Mirage was not designed to stand alone. Mirage was created as an introduction to Jamuraa, with two more planned expansions to create a cohesive set. This model became the standard for Magic: The Gathering expansions and began the concept of "block rotation".
Mirages public debut was at Pro Tour Atlanta 1996, where professional Magic players had the challenge of playing sealed deck with cards they had never seen before. Mirage was also the first set to have pre-releases at more than one city.
Wizards of the Coast's design and development team considers Mirage to be the first set of the "Silver Age" or "modern" era of Magic. It was the first set to be designed with Limited and Constructed play in mind. Previous designs had been imbalanced for formats like draft and sealed-deck, and cards were designed for casual players rather than with thought of their impact on the tournament scene.
On December 5, 2005, Mirage was released on Magic: The Gathering Online
. This was the first time in the three-and-a-half years that the online version of the game had existed that an expansion older than Invasion
(2000) became playable on MTG Online. With their introduction on MTG Online, all Mirage cards received updated creature types and wordings to bring them in line with modern Magic cards.
, Planeshift
, Onslaught
, Planar Chaos
and Shards of Alara
.
The Nightstalkers were a set of three small creatures: , and . A player could sacrifice these three creatures from play to summon the legendary .
The "Insta-enchantments" were a cycle of auras that could be played as an instant. Thus, they could be used as a surprising maneuver, but if you did so they would last only one turn.
This set introduced two new keywords: flanking and phasing.
signed about 50 artists who had not worked on Magic
before, including fan favorites such as John Avon
and Donato Giancola
.
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...
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 introduced 5th Edition
5th Edition (Magic: The Gathering)
The Fifth Edition was the seventeenth Magic: The Gathering set and fifth core set, a revision of the base set released in March 1997. It contained 449 cards, counting multiple illustrations of basic lands, making it the largest card set in the game's history...
rules (5th Edition was released in March 1997). Mirages expansion symbol is a palm tree. On 5 December 2005 Mirage was released on 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...
. It was the first set that was retroactively released on Magic Online.
Storyline
The story concerns three of the most powerful nations of Jamuraa (a tropical continentContinent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
modeled after Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
) — the militaristic kingdom of the Zhalfirins, the religious state of Femeref, and the trading province of the Suq'Ata empire. Zhalfir was the warrior nation, based mainly on red. Femeref was mainly white, and featured clerics and healers, while the seafaring traders of Suq'Ata were mostly blue. Mirage concerned these three nations and their struggle against the evil wizard Kaervek
Kaervek
In the fictional multiverse of Magic: The Gathering, Kaervek is an evil sorcerer from the Burning Isles.A mage known for allegiance with many malign spirits and their allies throughout Urborg and Bogardan, chiefly the Nightstalkers and the easily manipulated Panther Warriors...
. Kaervek has imprisoned the powerful wizard and diplomat Mangara in an amber prison and the bulk of the story details the Jamuraans attempting to free Mangara. In addition to these events the planeswalker
Planeswalker
In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, a planeswalker is a mage with the ability to travel to different planes of existence.-Magic: The Gathering:...
Teferi has caused his island to disappear from existence for almost 200 years. It is the phasing of the entire island that led Kaervek and Mangara to Jamuraa in the first place.
Set history
Like Ice AgeIce 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...
, Mirage began as a set of modifications to Alpha by a group of Richard Garfield
Richard Garfield
Richard Channing Garfield is a mathematics professor and game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech CCG, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle , The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally...
's playtesters in winter 1992. Bill Rose, Charlie Catino, Joel Mick, Howard Kahlenberg, Don Felice and Elliott Segal created gameplay modifications and new cards that developed into "Menagerie", which developed over the course of three years. In October 1995, Mirage was sent to Wizards of the Coast
Wizards 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...
for development. Rose lead the development team of Mike Elliott, William Jockusch and Mark Rosewater, while Art Director Sue-Ann Harkey provided Mirages Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n influenced look.
While its origins in playtesting linked it to earlier sets, Mirage was not designed to stand alone. Mirage was created as an introduction to Jamuraa, with two more planned expansions to create a cohesive set. This model became the standard for Magic: The Gathering expansions and began the concept of "block rotation".
Mirages public debut was at Pro Tour Atlanta 1996, where professional Magic players had the challenge of playing sealed deck with cards they had never seen before. Mirage was also the first set to have pre-releases at more than one city.
Wizards of the Coast's design and development team considers Mirage to be the first set of the "Silver Age" or "modern" era of Magic. It was the first set to be designed with Limited and Constructed play in mind. Previous designs had been imbalanced for formats like draft and sealed-deck, and cards were designed for casual players rather than with thought of their impact on the tournament scene.
On December 5, 2005, Mirage was released on 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...
. This was the first time in the three-and-a-half years that the online version of the game had existed that an expansion older than Invasion
Invasion (Magic: The Gathering)
Invasion is the 21st expert level set, and the first set in the Invasion block of cards of Magic: The Gathering. The rest of the block is Planeshift and Apocalypse. It contains 350 cards.-Set History:...
(2000) became playable on MTG Online. With their introduction on MTG Online, all Mirage cards received updated creature types and wordings to bring them in line with modern Magic cards.
Mechanics
Mirage introduced the first cycle of "charms". A charm is a spell that allow a player to choose among three different effects when the charm is played. Since then, similar cycles of charms have appeared in VisionsVisions (Magic: The Gathering)
Visions was the sixteenth Magic: The Gathering set and tenth expert level set, released in February 1997. This expansion continued the Mirage block by using the same setting and mechanics introduced in Mirage. The expansion symbol for Visions is a V-shaped symbol, which is the "triangle of war"...
, Planeshift
Planeshift (Magic: The Gathering)
Planeshift is the name of the second set in the Invasion block of cards of Magic: The Gathering, along with the expansions Invasion and Apocalypse. It contained 143 cards.-Set history:Planeshift continued Invasion's theme of multi-colored "gold" cards...
, Onslaught
Onslaught (Magic: The Gathering)
Onslaught is the 27th Magic: The Gathering expert-level expansion set. It was released in October 2002. The set's main theme is creature types , and much of the game play concerns interactions between these "tribes". The story continues the saga of the Mirari from the previous block of expansion sets...
, Planar Chaos
Planar Chaos
Planar Chaos is an expansion set, codenamed "Crackle," from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. The set was released on February 2, 2007. The pre-release events took place on January 20 and 21, 2007. It is the second set in the Time Spiral block...
and Shards of Alara
Shards of Alara
Shards of Alara is an expansion set from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. It is the 47th limited-edition expansion set for Magic and was released on October 3, 2008. On Magic Online Shards was released on October 20, 2008....
.
The Nightstalkers were a set of three small creatures: , and . A player could sacrifice these three creatures from play to summon the legendary .
The "Insta-enchantments" were a cycle of auras that could be played as an instant. Thus, they could be used as a surprising maneuver, but if you did so they would last only one turn.
This set introduced two new keywords: flanking and phasing.
- Flanking represents a fighting advantage. Any creature without flanking that blocks a creature with flanking gets -1/-1 until end of turn. This allows a creature with flanking to destroy creatures larger than itself, and even destroy creatures with a toughness of 1 before damage is assigned.
- Phasing represents the removal from existence caused by Teferi's experiments. A permanent with phasing enters and leaves play without any involvement by the player. At the beginning of a player's turn, before the untap phase, any permanents with phasing in play "phase out" (are removed from play into a special zone), and any "phased out" permanents return to play. At the time of the set's release, phasing triggered "leaves play" events but not "enters play" events. Following a rules modification in October 2005, phasing no longer triggers "leaves play" events.
Art
For Mirage, WizardsWizards 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...
signed about 50 artists who had not worked on Magic
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...
before, including fan favorites such as John Avon
John Avon
John Avon is a fantasy and science fiction illustrator. His work has been used for book covers, CD covers, games, toys and advertising campaigns.. He is best known for his artworks for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, of which he has produced over 200 paintings.-Biography:Jonathan...
and Donato Giancola
Donato Giancola
Donato Giancola is an American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy illustration.-Biography:Donato Giancola was born in 1967 and raised in Colchester, Vermont, near Burlington, Vermont...
.