THE EARLY YEARS: CORE SETS (Magic the Gathering Proxies Mtg proxy cards Proxy magic mtg cards)
ALPHA, BETA, AND UNLIMITED (also known as ABU)
were the first three Magic sets printed, and essentially are three printings
of the same set. They contain the rarest and most desirable of all Magic
cards. The most sought-after Magic cards are the Power Nine: Ancestral
Recall, Black Lotus, Mox Emerald. Mox Jet, Mox Pearl, Mox Ruby, Mox
Sapphire, Time Walk, and Timetwister. The only times they have been
printed in tournament-legal format are in the ABU sets.
All three of these sets sold through immediately at release 25 years ago,
so the demand for them was high and continues to be huge to this day.
ALPHA
Release Date: 8/5/93
Set Size: 295 Cards (116 Rares, 95 Uncommons, 74 Commons, 10 Basic
Lands)
Expansion Symbol: [No expansion symbol; no copyright date]
Expansion Code: LEA (Limited Edition Alpha)
Language: English
BETA
Release Date: 10/1/93
Set Size: 302 Cards (117 Rares, 95 Uncommons, 75 Commons, 15 Basic
Lands)
Expansion Symbol: [No expansion symbol; no copyright date]
Expansion Code: LEB (Limited Edition Beta)
Language: English
UNLIMITED
Release Date: 12/1/93
Set Size: 302 Cards (117 Rares, 95 Uncommons, 75 Commons, 15 Basic
Lands)
Expansion Symbol: [No expansion symbol; no copyright date]
Expansion Code: 2ED
Language: English
Set overviews: The first three Magic sets printed are Alpha, Beta and
Unlimited (also known as ABU). They are essentially three printings of the
same set. Alpha was the first run sold at Gen Con in 1993. Beta was the
first major reprint of Alpha, with seven cards added in — a third picture of
each of the five Basic Lands and two cards that were accidentally left out of
the Alpha printing (Circle of Protection: Black and Volcanic Island).
Unlimited is a reprint of Beta, but with a white border.
When Wizards first started reprinting Magic sets, they decided that the
reprint sets would have a white border to distinguish them from the
original printings of the cards, and to give the original versions further
collect ability. This would continue for all reprint sets until 10th Edition.
Alpha, Beta and Unlimited may have (essentially) the same cards, but
you can easily distinguish them from one another.
Alpha: Black-bordered. The corners on Alpha cards (and only Alpha Set overviews: The first three Magic sets printed are Alpha, Beta and Unlimited (also known as ABU). They are essentially three printings of the same set. Alpha was the first run sold at Gen Con in 1993. Beta was the first major reprint of Alpha, with seven cards added in — a third picture of each of the five Basic Lands and two cards that were accidentally left out of the Alpha printing (Circle of Protection: Black and Volcanic Island). Unlimited is a reprint of Beta, but with a white border. When Wizards first started reprinting Magic sets, they decided that the reprint sets would have a white border to distinguish them from the original printings of the cards, and to give the original versions further collectability. This would continue for all reprint sets until 10th Edition. Alpha, Beta and Unlimited may have (essentially) the same cards, but you can easily distinguish them from one another. Alpha: Black-bordered. The corners on Alpha cards (and only Alpha cards) are more round than square. The major difference between Alpha and Beta are these borders. Beta: Black-bordered. The corners on Beta cards are the standard slightly rounded corners. If you hold up a Beta card and an Alpha card in a stack, voifll be able to see that the corners on an Alpha card are cut shorter (rounder) than a Beta card. If you can't tell if a card is Alpha or Beta, you can size it up against any other Magic card. If it lias significantly more rounded corners, it's Alpha. If it matches up with other Magic cards, it's Beta. Unlimited: White-bordered. Since Unlimited is the only one of these three sets to be white-bordered, it s easy to distinguish from the other two.
