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Historical Rules · Effective 1 February 2012

Section 206: Expansion Symbol

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Chapter 2 · Parts of a Card

Section 206

206. Expansion Symbol

5 rules

  1. 206.1

    The expansion symbol indicates which _Magic_ set a card is from. It's a small icon normally printed below the right edge of the illustration.

  2. 206.2

    The color of the expansion symbol indicates the rarity of the card within its set. A red-orange symbol indicates the card is mythic rare. A gold symbol indicates the card is rare. A silver symbol indicates the card is uncommon. A black or white symbol indicates the card is common or is a basic land. A purple symbol signifies a special rarity; to date, only the _Time Spiral_ (R) "timeshifted" cards, which were rarer than that set's rare cards, have had purple expansion symbols. (Prior to the _Exodus_ (TM) set, all expansion symbols were black, regardless of rarity. Also, prior to the _Sixth Edition_ core set, with the exception of the Simplified Chinese _Fifth Edition_ core set, _Magic_ core sets didn't have expansion symbols at all.)

  3. 206.3

    A spell or ability that affects cards from a particular set checks only for that set's expansion symbol. A card reprinted in the core set or another expansion receives that set's expansion symbol. Any reprinted version of the card no longer counts as part of its original set unless it was reprinted with that set's expansion symbol.

  4. 206.4

    Players may include cards from any printing in their constructed decks if those cards appear in sets allowed in that format (or those cards are specifically allowed by the _Magic_ Tournament Rules). See the _Magic_ Tournament Rules for the current definitions of the constructed formats (<www.wizards.com/wpn/Events/Rules.aspx>).

  5. 206.5

    The full list of expansions and expansion symbols can be found in the _Magic_ Products section of the Wizards of the Coast website (<www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Article.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/products/allproducts>).