Dark Magic The Gathering Cards
The Dark was the eighth Magic: The Gathering set and the fourth expert
level set, released in August 1994. The set continued the story begun
in Antiquities and recounted the aftermath of the events of that set.
The 119-card set had a dark, sacrificial theme, though unlike its
predecessor Legends it did not add any new keywords.
This set, as well as the next sets, Fallen Empires and Homelands,
are widely considered by players to be the weakest Magic sets. Unlike
all the previous sets, The Dark was created with an overall decrease in
the power level and the speed of the game. Initial problems with the
Power Nine in Alpha/Beta/Unlimited, the Library of Alexandria and Ali
from Cairo Arabian Nights, as well as Mana Drain and The Abyss in
Legends had led Magic designers to more closely consider all the
possibilities when creating an individual card. This led to an
underpowered set, and this trend continued until the Tempest expansion
in 1997, with the exception of only a few cards.
The Dark is also the oldest set released to not have a card retail
over $100 USD on the secondary market. In fact, so few of the cards are
generally considered "worthwhile" in this set that almost all of them
can be bought for less than $1 and all the rest usually under $11.
The Dark introduced no new mechanics. However, it did utilize several themes that would be used later on in Magic sets.
- "Sacrifice", where a player has to sacrifice something to gain the upper hand against an opponent, usually life or creatures. A good example of this is Blood of the Martyr.
- "Tribal", an archetype which would later be more prominent in
Magic, established its roots here. Specifically, Goblins received
boosts such as Goblin Caves and Goblin Shrine.
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Make Your Own Card
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