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'''''Eighth Edition'''''
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MTGEigthSymbol1jpg
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9
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July 28 , 2003
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350 cards
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''''''''''
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'''''8th Edition'''''
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''''' Mirrodin '''''
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'' (8th Edition) or Core Set was the standard base set for the collectible trading card game, 's release in
2005 . Its expansion symbol is the number
8 with 3 cards behind it.
- ''Eighth Edition'' was set to be released to coincide with the 10th Anniversary of original release, so the creators took a different approach to the base set. Every previous expansion had at least one card reprinted in ''Eighth'' that had not been reprinted in the base set before, with a series of votes on the Wizards website deciding what got reprinted. ''Eighth'' was also the first base set with a prerelease card (though some claim it was a 10th Anniversary card, not a prerelease). ''Eighth'' features many cards from older base sets and expansions. While many of these cards were very powerful during their original print run, some are not quite as powerful in newer tournament settings.
- ''Eighth Edition'' is the first set to feature the controversial 'new look' for Magic cards, which initially received mixed views. For example, some players claimed the new look ruined the 'classical' fantasy feel of the game. The most obvious changes were the card borders, but the font was also changed (from Goudy Medieval to Matrix Bold) and mana symbols in the text box were no longer colored (however this latter change did not last long).
To fulfill the goal of at least one card from each set, 8th edition included many new cards into the core set, many of which would in turn phase out when 9th edition was introduced in July 2005. 8th Edition is the first Core Set to be released after the colors were restructured at the beginning of Onslaught block. As a result, cards excluded from 8th Edition included Counterspell, Prodigal Sorcerer, and Disenchant, which had been reprinted in every numbered edition previous to 8th. Prodigal Sorcerer's ability to deal damage has moved from Blue to Red, and the ability to cheaply destroy artifacts and enchantments has moved from White to Green. Other versions of Disenchant appear in higher casting versions, still in mono white, and other blue counter cards obviously still exist. However, there has been an increasing trend by the R&D department of Wizards to remove most 'hard counterspells' from newer set in exchange for 'soft counterspells' that will give opponents some sort of option or drawback to not let their spell be countered.
8th edition also reprinted several cards from normal sets with changed rarity. Some changed from common to uncommon, and from uncommon to rare.
- , from Prophecy
- , last seen in Unlimited
- , originally a promotional card for an MTG novel
- from Homelands
- from Portal: Three Kingdoms
- from Arabian Nights
- from Ice Age
With the transition to 8th edition, several 7th edition cards were left behind. Tournament staples such as , '''
Llanowar Elves ''', '''
Counterspell ''', and '''
Duress ''', all fell by the wayside. Some of these cards were very famous and had been with the game since its inception, and their removal caused a major uproar among players.
The series, a perennial core set entity, was modified from common to uncommon status.
A number of cards, such as Vizzerdrix, got reprinted only for the Core Game, a tool to teach Magic to new players, and didn't occur in booster packs, a refreshing change to many players.
''Eighth Edition'', as with its predecessors, does not feature any mechanics that were not present in previous versions of the base set, despite the reprintings from other sets. However, some abilities from previous versions of the base set were absent, including Banding.
Ground stall is fairly typical to core set draft, but the introduction of more regenerating creatures at the common level in 8th edition led to an even higher propensity. In addition to the usual , '''
Deepwood Ghoul ''' and '''
Horned Troll ''' both appeared as cheap and common answers to threats on the ground.
Various additions and omissions affected the strength of individual colors and archetypes in draft. While white lost the combat advantage of cards like '''
Master Decoy ''' and fliers like '''
Angel of Mercy ''' appeared as anchors for a drafting strategy focusing on board control and evasion. With the loss of pingers like '''
Prodigal Sorcerer ''' and the rare '''
Mawcor ''', blue lost its direct damage strength. In 8th edition, blue drafters implemented cards like '''
Puppeteer ''' and '''
Dehydration ''', supplemented by a wide array of fliers, for board control and evasion similar to white. Green continued to focus on churning out huge groundpounders, with '''
Nantuko Disciple ''' as a key element in combat dominance. Red observed some minor changes, but the general burn removal strategy remained the same.
