Magic: The Gathering -- Official Encyclopedia, Volume 1: The Complete Card Guide (Paperback)

by Beth Moursund (Author), Mark Rosewater (Introduction) "Of the cards that were removed from the Revised Edition, most were taken out because they tended to unbalance game play..." (more)
Key Phrases: cumulative upkeep, untap phase, redirect damage cannot, Current Errata, Urza's Tower, Ice Age (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Volume 1 of the Official Encyclopedia features more than 2,000 cards from Antiquities to Legends, including discontinued cards, promotional cards, and misprints. The history and significance of each expansion complement each set.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560252146
• ISBN-13: 978-1560252146
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #645,493 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good even for casual collectors., February 10, 2001

By	Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Volume 1 covers 4th Edition, Chronicles, Ice Age, Alliances, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark, Fallen Empires, and Homelands. There's also a section devoted to discontinued cards (leading off with, of course, Black Lotus and the original Mox cards). Cards that were removed but reintroduced before this book was published are not listed as discontinued. A page near the end of the book displays 6 of the most significant promotional cards that weren't just previews of upcoming releases.

Each set of cards covered is provided with an introduction, describing any new twists added for that set (including new types of decks that came about as a result), and any famous (or infamous) cards in that set. (A blowup of the artwork of Mirror Universe figures prominently for Legends, along with "The entire R&D team would have to be hit by a bus before we'd reprint Mana Drain.") The introductions are generally pretty entertaining and provide an informative overview (including descriptions of storylines that were added or updated by the release being described).

The individual cards for each set are listed in alphabetical order; they're shown at about 3/4 actual size. The versions of Magic that included those cards (at the time of printing) are specified, as well as any errata. The card lists' images are enough to hold the attention of even a casual collector, since the flavor text is legible and the artwork is printed well.

After covering the individual sets, the book presents "Misprints and Oddities", such as the Wyvern cards. (Errors in text are covered either with short errata for the individual cards, or in "Overlong errata" for text errors that were to big to include where the card was described.) The book concludes with a "Deckbuilders Indexes" section, as in the later volumes of the Magic encyclopedia.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For collectors, August 9, 2000

By A Customer

Very nice book if you're curious about older cards. I liked getting a chance to see all the old cards together, to see some some cards I'd never seen before because they're too rare.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book belongs on your coffee table., April 30, 2002

By A Customer

I've had this book for years. I took it off the shelf and brought it over to an RPG game at a friends house. Just so I could do some causal reading. Everyone wanted to see the book. Even people who don't play Magic the Gathering (MTG).

If you collect magic cards, or play - these books are an excellent resource. If you want to see what the older cards look like, they are in this book.