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==History== * '''''Limited''''' and '''''Unlimited''''' ** ''[[Alpha|Limited Edition Alpha]]'', ''[[Beta]]'', and ''[[Unlimited]]'' started out with three 11 x 11 sheets. Basic lands were printed on all three sheets. However, as part of the idea to keep players from guessing rarities, the only lands on the rare sheet were four copies of <c>Island</c>.<ref>{{DailyRef|arcana/revising-base-set-2002-10-31|"Revising" the base set|[[Magic Arcana]]|October 31, 2002}}</ref><ref name="Random">{{DailyRef|25-random-things-about-magic-2009-02-16|25 Random Things About Magic|[[Mark Rosewater]]|February 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|making-magic/25-more-random-things-about-magic-2016-06-20|25 More Random Things About Magic|[[Mark Rosewater]]|June 20, 2016}}</ref> * '''''Revised''''' ** The ''[[Revised Edition]]'' still featured basic lands on the common and uncommon sheets, but not on the rare sheet anymore. * '''Early small sets''' ** For ''[[Arabian Nights]]'',<ref>{{DailyRef|arabian-rarities-2002-08-07|Arabian rarities|[[Magic Arcana]]|August 07, 2002}}</ref> ''[[Antiquities]]'', ''[[The Dark]]'', ''[[Fallen Empires]]'', ''[[Chronicles]]'' and ''[[Homelands]]'' only two print sheets were used. There were three times as many "common sheets" as there were "uncommon sheets". The distribution of the cards was convoluted; there were, for example, cards that showed up twice on the uncommon sheets (dubbed "U2" in rarity) would be twice as available as "U1" cards (which appeared once on the uncommon sheet), but still rarer than "C1" cards (which appeared once on the common sheet). * '''''Legends'' onwards''' **''[[Legends]]'' was the first expansion to use a rare sheet, which became the standard for future large expansions. * '''''Fourth Edition'' onwards''' **From ''[[Fourth Edition]]'' onwards, large sets came with a separate sheet for basic lands. *'''''Alliances'' onwards''' **''[[Alliances]]'' was the first small expansion to use a rare sheet, which became standard for future small expansions, up until ''[[Guildpact]]''. *'''''Mirage'' onwards''' ** Every [[large expansion]] from ''[[Mirage]]'' through ''[[Onslaught]]'' as well as the core sets in between had 110 cards of each rarity indicating that during this period of time, these sets were printed on 10 x 11 sheets.<ref>[http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=11040 Ben Bleiweis. SCG Daily - The Truth About Rarity. Starcitygames.com]</ref> Print sheets of 110 cards can also be deduced for the large sets up until ''[[Ravnica: City of Guilds]]'' and ''[[Ninth Edition]]''. * '''''Dissension'' onwards''' **Apparently, the return to 121-card sheets for small sets took place at the time of ''[[Dissension]]'', halfway through the [[Ravnica block]] * '''''Time Spiral'' onwards''' **The first large set to be printed on 121-card sheets again was ''[[Time Spiral]]'', which was followed by the ''[[Tenth Edition]]'' Core Set. * '''Alara block onwards''' **The [[Alara block]] set the default for large sets at 249 cards, and for small sets at 145 cards.<ref>{{DailyRef|news/changes-2008-06-02|Changes as of ''Shards of Alara''|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|June 2, 2008}}</ref> *'''''Magic 2015'' onwards''' **Starting with ''[[Magic 2015]]'', [[WotC]] changed the default from 60 uncommons to 80 uncommons for large sets, and from 60 commons to 70 commons for small sets, to provide a better environment for [[limited]] play in the [[Two-Block Paradigm]].<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/72463608134/why-does-magic-2015-have-269-cards-instead-of-the-usual|title=Why does Magic 2015 have 269 cards instead of the usual 249?|January 06, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{DailyRef|latest-developments/double-small-set-drafting-2015-12-04|Double Small-Set Drafting|[[Sam Stoddard]]|December 4, 2015}}</ref> *'''''Unstable''''' **The [[border]]less lands of ''[[Unstable]]'' required something known as "gutter cutting" where a thin strip is cut out between each card. In normal printing the cards butt up against one another.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/165248576443/how-does-the-black-border-and-no-border-on-a-sheet|title=How does the black border and no border on a sheet thing work?|September 12, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/166488794398/does-the-fact-that-the-unstable-basic-lands-are|title=Does the fact that the Unstable basic lands are gutter cut make more work for someone at Wizards?|October 16, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/671190506780360704/is-gutter-cutting-used-for-borderless-cards|title=Is Gutter Cutting used for borderless cards?|December 21, 2017}}</ref> *'''''Secret Lair Drop Series: Secretversary 2021''''' ** the ''[[Secret Lair Drop Series: Secretversary 2021|PixelSnowLands]]'' drop featured recycled test print sheets ("make ready sheets") as part of the packaging of the cards.<ref>{{YouTubeRef|tEDQFM0BD9U|Sustainable MTG Packaging & Something New in Secret Lair!|channel=[[Good Morning Magic]]|date=November 24, 2021}}</ref> ===Current practice=== Nowadays, regular sized cards are printed on 11 x 11 sheets. Each regular printing sheet features only cards of one [[rarity]] and language. The mythic rares are included on the rare sheet. Extras like [[token]]s and [[Marketing card|informational cards]] may be used to fill in the empty spots.<ref name="How"/> The cards are printed in a quantity distribution of (1:7):24:88 ([[mythic]]:[[rare]]:[[uncommon]]:[[common]]). This is one rare (+ mythic) sheet for 3 uncommon sheets and 11 common sheets (10 if one land sheet is used). The sheets are also printed in different quantities by language. Most [[Standard]]-[[legal]] large sets have multiple printings.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/148920150808/does-wotc-print-all-of-the-cards-for-a-block-at|title=Does WotC print all of the cards for a block at once?|August 14, 2016}}</ref> [[Foil]]s, special releases like the [[Commander series|Commander decks]], and other [[preconstructed theme deck]]s have their own print runs (two 60 card decks fitting on one sheet). Because these cards in decks are printed in addition to any cards in the normal print run, they are less rare than cards that are not in the decks. ===Future practice=== It is expected that at one time there will be a switch to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_on_demand print on demand], where rarities are sorted out digitally instead of on fixed print sheets.<ref>{{DriveRef|drivetowork160_2003.mp3|160|2003|}}</ref>
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