Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition Announced but It'll Cost You

Magic: The Gathering's 30th anniversary in 2023 began in earnest today with Wizards of the Coasts announcing Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition, a commemorative, collectible set (alongside some new video game crossover cards). Drawing inspiration from Limited Edition Beta, Magic: The Gathering's very first core set from October 1993, Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition will pay homage to classic Magic: The Gathering cards by using vintage artwork from the game's early days and a subset of cards featuring Magic: The Gathering's original card frames. Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary cards are not tournament legal. The set is intended as a nostalgic celebration of Magic: The Gathering's three decades of history.

But that level of nostalgia comes at a price. Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition goes on sale on November 28th with a $999 price tag. The set will have a limited-edition print run.

According to the announcement post on DailyMTG.com, "Each display of 30th Anniversary Edition will contain four packs of pure nostalgia reimagined in a modern context. Each pack contains 15 cards, 13 cards in the modern frame—1 rare, 3 uncommons, 7 commons, and 2 basic lands—plus one basic land in the retro frame, one additional retro frame card, and a token."

Also of note, about three out of every 10 Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition packs include a rare retro frame card that can be "anything from a Black Lotus to a Mahamoti Djinn to a Volcanic Island." This amounts to some packs including two rares, and a smaller subset including two cards in the famed "Power 9." On the flip side, the highly sought-after dual lands appear twice as frequently as any of the non-dual land rare cards. That goes for both the modern and retro frame rare slots.

Almost every card included in Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition has the same rarity it debuted with in Limited Edition Beta. That means there are no mythic rares, and no cards have shifted rarities. The cards do have modern phrasing and modern card corners, and some of the original art has been touched up to appear "clearer" and more modern.

The one exception is Sol Ring, a fan-favorite card. For Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition, Wizards of the Cost had a new batch of original art created to appear on common rarity card Sol Ring copies in both modern and retro frames, in addition to Sol Ring appearing in the uncommon slot.

Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary Edition goes on sale for $999 on November 28th. It is expected to ship in early 2023.