The Complete List of Magic Sets in Order

Last updated on September 30, 2022

Alms Collector | Illustration by Bram Sels

Magic has been around the block for a while, nearly 30 years at this point. The folks at Wizards of the Coast have been toiling away releasing new sets of cards every few months for almost the entire history of the game.

Each set has its own unique story not just with in-game lore, but how impactful the cards have been on the game as a whole. Some of these sets have major impacts on Magic which can still be felt to this day.

So let’s dive in and get to know everything there is to know about Magic’s sets!

How Many MTG Sets Are There?

Outnumber | Illustration by Tyler Jacobson

There’s uh… a lot of sets out there. Depending on how you count ‘em up there are roughly 140 MTG sets out there if you exclude supplemental sets like Commander decks, Duel Decks, etc.

I’m only counting “sets” as those that came with booster packs. This prevents a headache because listing every single Commander precon and Secret Lair would be painful for everyone involved.

Upcoming MTG Sets and Set Symbols

Witness the Future | Illustration by Anato Finnstark

Let’s start off with what isn’t out yet. These MTG sets will be Arriving Soon™ with different stories and legality available. There isn’t a lot out about most of these sets yet so info is pretty scarce for now. Here’s what I know:

Set Name	Set Code	Release Date	Set Symbol
Unfinity	UNF	April 1, 2022 (Delayed)
Dominaria United	DMU	September 2, 2022
The Brother's War	BRO	November 18, 2022
Jumpstart 2022	J22	December 2, 2022
Dominaria Remastered	DMR	January 13, 2023
Phyrexia: All Will Be One	ONE	February 10, 2023
March of the Machine	MOM	April 12, 2023
March of the Machine: The Aftermath	MAT	May 12, 2023
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth	LTR	June 23, 2023
Wilds of Eldraine	TBA	Fall 2023	TBA
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan	TBA	Winter 2023	TBA

List of Available MTG Sets and Set Symbols

Revoke Existence | Illustration by Adam Paquette

These are “everything else” that exists in the physical world:

Set Name	Set Code	Release Date	Set Symbol
Limited Edition Alpha	LEA (1E)	August 1993
Limited Edition Beta	LEB (2E)	October 1993
Arabian Nights	ARN (AN)	December 1993
Unlimited Edition	2ED (2U)	December 1993
Antiquities	ATQ (AQ)	March 1994
Revised Edition	3ED (3E)	April 1994
Legends	LEG (LE)	June 1994
The Dark	DARK (DK)	August 1994
Fallen Empires	FEM (FE)	November 1994
Fourth Edition	4ED (4E)	May 1995
Ice Age	ICE (IA)	June 1995
Chronicles	CHR (CH)	July 1995
Homelands	HML (HM)	October 1995
Alliances	ALL (AL)	June 1996
Mirage	MIR (MI)	October 1996
Visions	VIS (VI)	February 1997
Fifth Edition	5ED (5E)	March 1997
Weatherlight	WTH (WL)	June 1997
Tempest	TMP (TE)	October 1997
Stronghold	STH (ST)	February 1998
Exodus	EXO (EX)	June 1998
Unglued	UGL (UG)	August 1998
Urza's Saga	USG (UZ)	October 1998
Urza's Legacy	ULG (UL)	February 1999
Sixth Edition	6ED (6E)	April 1999
Urza's Destiny	UDS (UD)	June 1999
Mercadian Masques	MMQ (MM)	September 1999
Nemesis	NEM (NE)	February 2000
Prophecy	PCR (PY)	June 2000
Invasion	INV (IN)	September 2000
Planeshift	PLS (PS)	January 2001
Seventh Edition	7ED (7E)	April 2001
Apocalypse	APC (AP)	May 2001
Odyssey	ODY (OD)	October 2001
Torment	TOR	February 2002
Judgment	JUD	May 2002
Onslaught	ONS	October 2002
Legions	LGN	January 2003
Scourge	SCG	May 2003
Eighth Edition	8ED	July 2003
Mirrodin	MRD	October 2003
Darksteel	DST	February 2004
Fifth Dawn	5DN	June 2004
Champions of Kamigawa	CHK	October 2004
Unhinged	UNH	November 2004
Betrayers of Kamigawa	BOK	February 2005
Saviors of Kamigawa	SOK	June 2005
Ninth Edition	9ED	July 2005
Ravnica: City of Guilds	RAV	October 2005
Guildpact	GPT	February 2006
Dissension	DIS	May 2006
Coldsnap	CSP	July 2006
Time Spiral	TSP	October 2006
Planar Chaos	PLC	February 2007
Future Sight	FUT	May 2007
Tenth Edition	10E	July 2007
Masters Edition	MED	September 2007
Lorwyn	LRW	October 2007
Morningtide	MOR	February 2008
Shadowmoor	SHM	May 2008
Eventide	EVE	June 2008
Shards of Alara	ALA	September 2008
Conflux	CON	February 2009
Alara Reborn	ARB	April 2009
Magic 2010	M10	July 2009
Zendikar	ZEN	October 2009
Worldwake	WWK	February 2010
Rise of the Eldrazi	ROE	April 2010
Magic 2011	M11	July 2010
Scars of Mirrodin	SOM	October 2010
Mirrodin Besieged	MBS	February 2011
New Phyrexia	NPH	May 2011
Magic 2012	M12	July 2011
Innistrad	ISD	September 2011
Dark Ascension	DKA	February 2012
Avacyn Restored	AVR	May 2012
Magic 2013	M13	July 2012
Return to Ravnica	RTR	October 2012
Gatecrash	GTC	February 2013
Dragon's Maze	DGM	May 2013
Modern Masters	MMA	June 2013
Magic 2014	M14	July 2013
Theros	THS	September 2013
Born of the Gods	BNG	February 2014
Journey into Nyx	JOU	May 2014
Conspiracy	CNS	June 2014
Magic 2015	M15	July 2014
Khans of Tarkir	KTK	October 2014
Fate Reforged	FRF	January 2015
Dragons of Tarkir	DTK	March 2015
Modern Masters 2015	MM2	May 2015
Magic Origins	ORI	July 2015
Battle for Zendikar	MFZ	October 2015
Oath of the Gatewatch	OGW	January 2016
Shadows over Innistrad	SOI	April 2016
Eternal Masters	EMA	June 2016
Eldritch Moon	EMN	July 2016
Conspiracy: Take the Crown	CN2	August 2016
Kaladesh	KLD	September 2016
Aether Revolt	AER	January 2017
Modern Masters 2017	MM3	March 2017
Amonkhet	AKH	April 2017
Hour of Devastation	HOU	July 2017
Ixalan	XLN	September 2017
Iconic Masters	IMA	November 2017
Unstable	UST	December 2017
Rivals of Ixalan	RIX	January 2018
Masters 25	A25	March 2018
Dominaria	DOM	April 2018
Battlebond	BBD	June 2018
Core Set 2019	M19	July 2018
Guilds of Ravnica	GRN	October 2018
Ultimate Masters	UMA	December 2018
Ravnica Allegiance	RNA	January 2019
War of the Spark	WAR	May 2019
Modern Horizons	MH1	June 2019
Core Set 2020	M20	July 2019
Throne of Eldraine	ELD	October 2019
Theros: Beyond Death	THB	January 2020
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths	IKO	April 2020
Jumpstart	JMP	July 2020
Core Set 2021	M21	July 2020
Double Masters	2XM	August 2020
Zendikar Rising	ZNR	September 2020
Commander Legends	CNR	November 2020
Kaldheim	KHM	February 2021
Time Spiral Remastered	TSR	March 2021
Strixhaven: School of Mages	STX	April 2021
Modern Horizons 2	MH2	June 2021
Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms	AFR	July 2021
Innistrad: Midnight Hunt	MID	September 2021
Innistrad: Crimson Vow	VOW	November 2021
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty	NEO	February 2022
Streets of New Capenna	SNC	April 2022
Double Masters 2022	2X2	July 2022
Dominaria United	DMU	September 2, 2022
The Brother's War	BRO	November 18, 2022
Jumpstart 2022	J22	December 2, 2022
Dominaria Remastered	DMR	January 13, 2023
Phyrexia: All Will Be One	ONE	February 10, 2023
Beatdown	BTD	October 2000

List of Magic Online Only Sets

Exclusion Mage | Illustration by Chris Seaman

Set Name	Set Code	Release Date	Set Symbol
Tempest Remastered	TPR	May 6, 2015
Vintage Masters	VMA	June 16, 2014
Masters Edition IV	ME4	January 10, 2011
Masters Edition III	ME3	September 7, 2009
Masters Edition II	ME2	September 22, 2008
Masters Edition	MED	September 10, 2007

List of MTG Arena Only Sets

Exclusion Ritual | Illustration by Daniel Ljunggren

Set Name	Set Code	Release Date	Set Symbol
Amonkhet Remastered	AKR	August 13, 2020
Kaladesh Remastered	KLR	November 12, 2020
Jumpstart: Historic Horizon	J21	April 26, 2021
Alchemy: Innistrad	A22	December 9, 2021
Alchemy: Kamigawa	A22	March 17, 2022
Alchemy: Baldur's Gate	A22	July 7, 2022
Alchemy: Dominaria United	A22	October 6, 2022
Shadows over Innistrad Remastered	TBA	First half of 2023	TBA

You can also see a list of MTG Arena exclusive cards.

What Were Blocks?

Champions of Archery | Illustration by Donato Giancola

Expansion sets for Magic were originally grouped into “blocks,” a collection of two to four sets that all shared a common theme and setting. They usually started with one “large” set followed by two or three smaller sets of cards and a core set (I’ll get to that in a second).

This system was in place starting back in 1996/97 with the Mirage block and continued until 2015 when it transitioned to a two-set per block system called the “Two-Block Paradigm,” discontinuing core sets altogether.

Blocks were eventually shelved after Wizards realized the Two-Block Paradigm was problematic for a lot of reasons, mainly because of a lack of reprints and issues with developing sets. Wizards replaced the system with the current “Three-and-One” model where each release is a large standalone set and we get a new core set every summer.

What’s a Core Set?

Into the Core | Illustration by Whit Brachna

Magic initially used to refer to these as “basic sets” or “base sets,” and they weren’t wrong. Core sets made up a large portion of the common cards that players used regardless of format and age. These sets were mostly reprints of cards from other sets and featured reminder text on cards to help new players. The card themselves didn’t feature keywords or mechanics that were exclusive to expansion sets, instead featuring “evergreen” mechanics that were more common and less complex.

Core sets have been a part of Magic since its inception. Despite a brief pause from 2015 to 2018 WotC released one every year. 2021 sets took a bit of a deviation from this as Forgotten Realms was originally designed as a core set but evolved into its current incarnation as development continued.

Wizards hasn’t yet released any details about the next core set for summer 2022, so it may happen again where we just get another less complex set in exchange for a core set.

What Were Starter, Advanced, and Expert-Level Sets?

Leveler | Illustration by Carl Critchlow

Because Magic has such a wide variety of complexity, Wizards implemented a rating system for products with the release of Fifth Edition in 1997. These were introduced to better inform new players how complex a set or product would be.

Starter-Level Sets

Starter-level was the lowest level of complexity and offered a great starting point for new players. Starting with products like the Portal trilogy and Starter 99/00, these were marketed to bring new players into the game.

These products were quietly discontinued, but you can find similar products with starter decks from your local game store or boxed sets like the 2021 Arena starter kit.

Advanced-Level Sets

Advanced-level is the “baseline” for the game, exclusively belonging to core sets.

Expert-Level Sets

Expert-level was the height of the rating system and were the most complex mechanics and thematic cards available. Every expansion set was also traditionally an expert-level set.

This rating system was put out to pasture in 2007 with the release of Lorwyn, though I can’t find any announcements from Wizards as to why. I suspect that the sheer amount of set releases and most of them being expansion sets (which are always expert-level) meant there was no real need to continue the rating system anymore.

What’s a Supplemental Set?

Enhanced Awareness | Illustration by Ryan Alexander Lee

While Standard is the primary driver for printing new cards and it was the most popular format until Commander, there was still a demand for other products that didn’t have to affect the fragile Standard environment or were focused on a different aspect of gameplay like drafting (with Conspiracy), multiplayer (Archenemy and Battlebond), or new formats like Jumpstart.

We’d eventually begin to see other types of supplemental sets that introduced new cards to the game but still wouldn’t be introduced to Standard as traditional expansions. Products like Commander decks, Modern Horizons, and Masters sets quickly became extremely popular and continue to this day. The newest product line is the Universes Beyond series with IPs that aren’t owned by Wizards of the Coast.

Can You Mix Magic Sets?

Combine Chrysalis | Illustration by Hector Ortiz

Of course you can mix sets! This is how we come up with formats for play. Standard, Modern, Pioneer, Historic, Vintage, Legacy, and other formats are all made up of different sets with their own rules on what sets are considered legal in that format.

How Often Do Magic Sets Come Out?

In a regular year, Wizards releases a new Standard-legal set every three months. The only exception in recent memory are the Innistrad twins Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow, which were released within two months of each other. Supplemental sets are printed between these release windows, usually also one per quarter.

Wrap Up

Summary Judgement | Illustration by Deruchenko Alexander

Magic wouldn’t be where it is without its unique set structure to introduce new cards into the game. You can see how it’s affected other TCGs as well, with many of them operating on a similar structure. We’ll definitely be seeing the boundaries pushed in the future with new structures and new sets getting bolder and bolder as they’re announced. While some of us may be getting exhausted by the never-ending hype train, all we can do for now is hang on tight.

What’s your favorite set? Do you have any fond memories of sets old or new? Let me know in the comments or reach Draftsim on Twitter.

Stay safe out there, and keep slinging that cardboard!