When last you heard from me, I was rambling on about coatings, with a focus on the finishes that we apply to the faces of our cards. In this installment, I would like to speak further about the stuff that is literally at the core of that Magic card in your hand—the paper.
Of course, Magic paper is no ordinary paper. It is playing card board. We use this style of paper (also referred to as stock) because the performance requirements of a playing card are different from your average game piece. While you might not choose to riffle shuffle your favorite Magic deck, you certainly could, as our playing card board is designed to bend and shuffle without creasing or otherwise damaging the stock.
How is this possible? Because most Magic paper is actually two sheets of special paper of a specific thickness and weight that have been laminated together. This construction is what gives the board it's "snap," a term we use collectively to describe the paper's pliability, rigidity, and strength. In the center is a special glue, and in the case of our proprietary Magic stock, that glue center is blue. The primary purpose of this dark colored center is another of those specific playing card requirements—opacity. Even reasonably thick normal papers are somewhat transparent when held to the light, and you certainly don't want to be able to see through your cards during gameplay!
Another often-overlooked element of a good playing card board is the surface coating. Paper coating is different from print coating in that it is applied in layers and calendered (polished) at the mill during manufacturing to achieve a desired surface. The properties we are most interested in this coating are whiteness, gloss, and smoothness.
For Magic, our papers are matte (as we do not want excessive glare) and have an even, smooth surface for printing. This surface works in tandem with our print coatings to achieve a specific look and feel.
That's the technical construction of a Magic card, but I know it's not what many of you came to this article for. I have read a lot of interesting theories, especially since my last article, about how we have changed our Magic stock over time. For the primary stock, I am here to tell you that the specification has not changed. Our primary proprietary Magic playing card board is the exact same specification it has been since 1993. Same thickness (or "caliper"), same basis weight, same core color, same manufacturing process since the beginning. Not to say that there haven't been differences. Paper is a natural product, and because it is made from different natural pulps, no two paper sheets are exactly identical. But improvements in technology and process insure that the sheets being produced today are more consistent than ever.
Another cool fact is that our primary board has been made at the exact same French mill since Magic was born.
In addition to being the birthplace of Magic card stock, This mill is a sustainable facility. It generates its own energy from the waste it produces! Of course, Magic paper is sustainable too. All of the pulps used in our playing card board are 100% FSC certified sustainably harvested.
Despite this history and great advances in process with our long-standing paper, we have continued to look for improvement—that next generation of playing card board.
Two years ago we worked with our partners to develop and qualify an additional Magic stock for our Japanese market. This stock is unique in that it has a different multi-ply construction, which retains all of the technical playing card board characteristics but combines them with added dimensional stability. We were even able to build in some recycled content into the certified pulp for this board.
Although originally exclusive to Japan, we have been working to expand the reach of cards produced on this stock. In fact, all players worldwide will have a chance to check out this paper with the upcoming Battlebond release.
I hope you found this look at playing card stock interesting. When I return next, I will show some of the behind the scenes process of how we take a card from a bunch of digital parts on the computer screen to the printing press.
100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck has a minimum deck size of 60 cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.
In Magic, your starting hand size is seven. However, you can mulligan if you don't like your hand at the start of the game, but then your starting hand size decreases by one. Your maximum hand size is seven. If you ever draw more than seven cards, you must discard down to seven by the end of your turn.
A "standard" deck of playing cards consists of 52 Cards in each of the 4 suits of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. Each suit contains 13 cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.
Key Takeaway: - Sticking to the minimum deck size of 60 cards in Magic the Gathering (MTG) provides increased consistency and better chances of drawing key cards, minimizing issues like mana flood or mana screw.
Playing a card means announcing the spell and paying its mana cost. That takes lands. The basic rule of thumb is that you play 17-18 lands in a 40 card deck, and 24 lands in a 60 card deck. If you are playing more than a couple cards with mana costs of five or higher, increase the number of lands.
The first collectible card game created was Magic: The Gathering, invented by Richard Garfield, and patented by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. The game has remained popular, with Wizards of the Coast claiming it to be the most widely played CCG as of 2009.
121.3. If there are no cards in a player's library and an effect offers that player the choice to draw a card, that player can choose to do so. However, if an effect says that a player can't draw cards and another effect offers that player the choice to draw a card, that player can't choose to do so.
103.5d In a multiplayer game using the shared team turns option, first each player on the starting team declares whether that player will take a mulligan, then the players on each other team in turn order do the same. Teammates may consult while making their decisions.
In a match of several games, the loser of the previous game chooses who takes the first turn. If the previous game was a draw, the player who made the choice in that game makes the choice in this game. The player chosen to take the first turn is the starting player.
Yes, Jokers are now included in a deck of 52 cards. But they are additional cards. So 52 plus - normally - 2 Jokers. Sometimes they match, sometimes they are different.
A standard 52-card French-suited deck comprises 13 ranks in each of the four suits: clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠). Each suit includes three court cards (face cards), King, Queen and Jack, with reversible (i.e. double headed) images.
The different editions of the base set each contain 302-449 cards, which have all been printed before, with the exception of Limited Edition, which was the game's first set. Expansion sets expand the game by adding new cards.
CONTENTS: Reference cards (listing the 10 Phases) and one deck of 108 cards; 24 each of red, blue, yellow, and green cards numbered “1” through “12,” four blue “Skip” cards, and eight “Wild” cards, two of each color. BEFORE PLAY: Choose one player to be dealer.
Standard games are one-on-one with a 60 card minimum for the main deck (up to 15 card sideboard). Winner is determined either by best of one, or best of three games. These games should last standard length for a game (about 20 minutes on average).
Introduction: My name is Pres. Lawanda Wiegand, I am a inquisitive, helpful, glamorous, cheerful, open, clever, innocent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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