Top 10 Most Impactful Magic Sets 

I think a fun list for the future would be top 10 sideboard cards. Cards that don't see a ton of play in the main deck but are frequent includes in the sideboard, like Leyline of the Void or Skysovereign.

Maybe it's not as impactful as sets on the video, but Ravnica block was a great way to explore two color combinations, giving them a defined identity, specific traits and card design that has been used again on the sets that came after them.

New Phyrexia and the Ravnica block definitely belong here. New Phyrexia was such a huge power creep that a lot of cards introduced there are still played today and Ravnica redefined Magic's identity. Dual color decks are still so commonly referred to with their Ravnica guild name that it's hard to overlook the impact the sets had, if not from a game play standpoint, then just the essence of what Magic is.

it would have been cooler to see the versions of the cards as printed in those sets. just my opinion

Ravnica definitely deserves a spot on this list. It ended up being the progenitor for modern limited design. Signpost uncommons telling players what a color pair was all about came out of this set. the shock lands that are played in every format they're legal came from this set. The set also had the "what guild are you?" marketing, that was so effective they've revisited Ravnica several times and attempted to recreate that strong identity in other sets such as Alara, Tarkir, and most recently Strixhaven. It wasn't the first set to have factions, but it was the first to tie factions so clearly into the overarching set design, theming, and card design. Investing people in not just a set of mechanics they find fun, but a whole identity for the color pairs has to be one of the most impactful developments MtG has done since the very first set. And on that note, I think it's hard to argue the most impactful set in all of MtG isn't Alpha. The legacy of the Power 9 rings strong even with people who never even touched the set, and even in the face of numerous power crept or flat out design mistakes that have been printed over the years, such as Oko or Skullclamp. Many other cards like Sol Ring, Lightning Bolt, and Dark Ritual see regular play in multiple formats to this day. And on top of that, it was the very first TCG of any kind. If hit hadn't been such a smash-hit success, not only would we maybe not have MtG be as dominant as it is, but games like Yu-Gi-Oh, the Pokemon TCG, Flesh and Blood, and dozens of other TCGs probably wouldn't even exist. It's honestly surprising how little has changed since Alpha first came out, and a clear sign of just how successful the set was that so much of what it set up has endured over the years and influenced entire other games.

I feel like you missed one set on this list: New Phyrexia. The power creep of the phyrexian mana cards impacted every format and some still see play to this day today.

You definitely missed Legends. It introduced legendary creatures, the centerpiece of the most popular format in MTG, EDH. Furthermore it introduced multicolor cards, which gave players completely new options in deckbuilding and playing.

I swore original Ravnica block would have made the list. It’s so impactful at every two color deck not named after a specific card or combo is likely named after one of the guilds.

If you're highlighting cards from a specific set you should use the card art from that set.

I honestly expected the very first set to at least get an honorable mention. Since it literally started the game. Can't get much more impactful than that.

I found you by binging your world of warcraft videos, just to find out that you also do magic the gathering which I love even more and now I'm binging all of this! Keep up the good work man you're great!

Honorable mention goes to the Un-sets, having many cards memorable just for how out they were. It was also the first set with full card layouts for basic lands. Many cards in general from the sets have unorthodox layouts. The fact that the cards frequently invent entirely new concepts that need special rulings is also notable. Having an unique card border color just to contain the craziness is the best TL;DR about it.

Ravnica: City of Guilds absolutely deserves a spot on this list (probably in the top 3-5 tbh) for the dredge mechanic alone. It completely changed not only the way people played the game, finally understanding the value of the graveyard, but the way sets were designed as well. It took 6 years for them to release another graveyard themed set, and they did so by including some of the most powerful graveyard hate in the game’s history, as well as DRASTICALLY depowering the graveyard theme/mechanic. You could also argue that Chronicles belongs here for the simple fact that it drove the creation of the reserved list.

Other sets worth mentioning OG Ravnica Block Shards of Alara Khans ofTarkir A/B/U

I'd put legends near number 1 for introducing legendary creatures, multicolored cards, the concept of color cycles, and 15 card packs The most popular format EDH (Elder dragon highlander) would not exist without the legendary elder dragons. The story would be more disconnected if you could not represent the characters on cards Etc.

I’d take the onslaught block over lorwyn tbh. Storm as a keyword was completly broken and gave a lot of tribal decks life

Your content is good but i really wish you used the original old border cards insteand of reprints when talking about older sets.

That ravnica set I would say probably should have been uo there not only were the shocklands introduced it gave names to the two color combinations that are still used to this day

I'm surprised Onslaught was not on this list. Onslaught had many really powerful cards, many that still see play today. Cards like Exalted Angel, the fetch lands, and Goblin Piledriver were extremely powerful cards for their day. Also, don't forget about Future Sight (the card) as well as Biorhythm, a card that can win the game instantly.

Onslaught is easily in the top 5 as fetchlands are some of the most powerful cards ever printed.

Liliana of the Veil was a critical piece of how I was able to beat a Hypergenesis that allowed my opponent to put a Progenitus and Emrakul into play in an SCG Legacy tournament. Swords to Plowshares the Shardless Agent, search up Karakas with my Knight of the Reliquary for the Emrakul and then Liliana forcing my opponent to sacrifice their last creature, the Progenitus.

For me, personally, among some of the other ones you've already said, really impactful sets for me include Invasion, Ravnica, Torment, Time Spiral, and Tempest. And Prophecy, because it was the set I first started in (I had so many Rhystic Studies back in the day!).

I was expecting dominaria 2018 to be in this list for introducing saga and teferi, hero of dominaria, but it was a good list regardless ;).

I would have for sure added New Phyrexia because of both the Infect, Proliferate and Phyrexian Mana mechanics. It may not be as straight-up powerful as other sets here, but cards Dismember, Gutshot, Gitaxian Probe and Mutagenic Growth have had a real impact on the game as a whole.

Ice Age: First set to introduce stand alone expansion play. Only one I can think of.

4:16 "Vintage does not ban cards for power concerns." Except Lurrus of the Dream Den before the Companion rules were changed.

Waiting for the second part of this topic because Ravnica citie of guilds wasn't in the list

I want to say if you ever plan on doing a episode on greatest sets of time in magic for Draft, Kamigawa Neon Dynasty is incredibly good for draft specifically. Otherwise hope your doing well.

I find it curious that you did not mention the equipment mechanic/artifact type that was introduced in Mirrodin.

Amazing!

First Friday Noght Magic after Urzas Saga was released I won with a RG echo (pouncing jaguar, shivan raptor, acidic soil). I crushed two blue academy stroke decks thanks to meltdown in the sideboard. I’m not saying academy/stroke wasn’t broken, but sometimes it couldn’t pull it off in 4 turns and you could race it. I’m not just any scrub, I was on the pro tour twice and had many many PTQ top 8s from 2000-2007.

The impact of onslaught was huge. Fetechlands

I would LOVE to see a Futuresight like set, as well as lots of mechanics that are completely forgotten, like Aura Swap and fortification. Also, there are almost no support in levelling creatures (or artifacts that levels up, which do not exist yet), except for proliferate

5:03 - Dreadhorde Anarchist 😆

Ikoria should have mentioned here, imagine the companion mechanic was too strong, banning the cards wasnt enough, they ended up changing the companion rule. Also dont forget this is where the fetchable tri-land first introduced which seen plays for multiple formats

Top 10 MTG Creators TheManaLogs should collab with.

I loved Urzas block and think that power level should be the standard.

I'm curious what were the magic sets that led to set rotation being a thing in Magic the Gathering?

We need a video like this but for Yu-Gi-Oh!

Urzas Saga is also the block with the best arts in history of mtg. Besides the ban worthy cards it also added mechanics like cycling.

A great video! BUT... if you're talking about a set, why use pictures of cards from other sets? Of course. They were originally printed in the set you're talking about. But I find it really anticlimactic to talk about MIRAGE, showing a LED from Vintage masters, for example...

Mirage and Visions were two halves of one set called Menagerie, not designed as a block with Weatherlight. Weatherlight started the Weatherlight Saga, where they decided to create a larger storyline. The first block designed as a block was the Rath Cycle. Also, Urza's Destiny (oddly) is the most impactful because of Opalescence and Humilty and the resulting 6th Edition Rules, which effectively made Magic a different game than it was.

I would have noted that Eldraine was also when Showcase cards were introduced, at least insofar as a normalcy to be cracked in packs.

“(Innistrad’s) unique theming including werewolves…” The Dark: Am I a joke to you?

Think you should also consider mechanics, creature types, rule changes, etc., though that might be hard to quantify for a list like this. I know it's not the set itself, but 6th Edition was hugely impactful due to all the rule changes that came along with it. Also, a personal favorite of mine would be Tempest. It gave us cool things like: Wasteland Time Warp Grindstone (nearly $50 card) Eldamri, Lord of Leaves ($50+ card) Altar of Dementia Lotus Petal Scroll Rack Aluren ($50+ card) *Slivers in general* (1st set to introduce them) Corpse Dance Intuition ($100+ card) Cursed Scroll Earthcraft ($100+ card) The Medallion Cycle (popular in EDH) Ancient Tomb (nearly $100 card) Humility ($50+ card) Mirri's Guile (popular in EDH) Reanimate And I'm sure other cool stuff! Oh, pretty sure it gave us the Shadow mechanic too 😅

No Onslaught? It introduced the Fetch Lands.

im missing zéndikar rising: alternate art spam and booster changes

I would have nominated Onslaught just for the fetch lands, an entire format was created just to exclude those things. Though I'm also a bit biased since that's the set I have the most experience with, having really only played from around that time to Darksteel(the expansion after Mirrodin), and was my introduction to Drafts.

Great video but the only annoying thing are the shining crazy backgrounds. It's more distracting than the cards.

I think Zendikar rising deserve a honorable mention, the double face land change when it comes to deck building.

I don't play MTG, but I've watched enough of this channel that as soon as he said "Food Token", I knew Oko was coming.

The lighting effect for War of the Spark made it impossible to keep watching the video- it's practically a strobe light, and I'm not even normally affected by strobe lights.

Hmm… interesting perspective. Arabian nights is the first expansion and should be 1st because it has the 10th piece of power if you know what that is and this is also around the time of side boarding getting added into the 10th edition of scry magazine on its release. Legends probably after that. Chronicals is impactful yes… I guess but for all the wrong reasons as you describe. I’d say 3rd edition, revised is probably also a close competitor for the number 1 slot. That’s when the game blew up… they printed so many of those damn cards and so many people wanted to play. The influence of that release can’t be understated.

In every single video there is a moment where I find myself asking who this man is. What human hasn't ever heard the word "harbinger" why is there always one word that makes this man sound like a straight up alien

Mirrodin also introduced equipment

I think these videos are good. I would say though, I feel like you should be a bit more discerning when choosing which card images you use. It’s just weird hearing you talk about cards from one set, but showing a different printing.

The last that I played and collected was from the release of fifth edition all the way up to about Erza’s destiny and I remember buying starter boxes which I mean sealed box of multiple starters. I got one of stronghold mercadian masque n booster box of legacy I called mox diamond had so many good foils from legacy had quite a few awesome saga cards like time spiral guy as cradle force of will can’t quite remember them all then on top of them had four of every dual lands except tiger and tundra three of which were unlimited and had an unlimited max pearl at the time I quit my max diamond was worth $60 and Max pearl because was not in good shape roughly 90 to 100 and the dual lands we’re going for between 15 and 30 for the revised and the unlimited I believe we’re roughly $45-$60. I ended up selling everything about two years maybe three before the big boom of collecting basically before it became popular to be a nerd, and I nearly ended myself and cried myself to sleep for weeks looking up the prices and seeing that every dual land was over $100. My max could’ve been anywhere from 500 to 1000 the diamond was worth several hundred my collection today would have probably been worth close to $20,000 and I sold it all for I believe 350 to 500

Kinda expected Ikoria to be on this list, especially with the whole companion debacle.

Cards are very rarely banned in vintage. However Ikoria while not the most impactful the companion mechanic and Lurus was so powerful for the format it was banned from Vintage for some time. Also notably Oko in the year of its printing was so powerful a player turned their Lotus into an Elk for the winning match . Lab man was played in the modern deck Ad Nauseam prior to War of the Spark jace and later oracle prior to the lotus bloom ban.

Thought Ravnica was gonna be on the list.

Dragon’s Rage Channeler not being mentioned in MH2 is criminal. Card is almost as good as Ragavan.

No set was more impactful than Limited Edition. What about the first design of pitch spells in Alliances? Force of Will is the backbone of eternal formats. Onslaught introduced Fetchlands which continues to be essential for basically any serious mana base. And Ravnica for the modern set design it brought and defining the color pairs. Let's not forget about Sixth Edition, and its total reworking of the ruleset it brought with it. If Limited Edition is the most impactful set, then Sixth Edition is the second most impactful set on how we all play Magic: the Gathering.

Alpha should always and forever be #1 as all TCGs owe their existence to Alpha.

Kinda surprised not to see Ikoria on this list. The companion mechanic alone should probably let it be on the list. Then it also introduced the first ever Tri lands

Alpha: So spaketh he, let there be Magic.

I would add BFZ because it introduced the trash diamond symbol to curse MTG forever. 😂 Ikoria could have been iconic if the ability token mechanic stayed. I'd also add the second Mirrodin block for making Poison decks playable. And finally, ROE for the ridiculously powerful and satisfying Eldrazi Titans with Annihilation. Also Time Spiral brought back the Slivers, shoulndt be forgotten.

urzas saga didnt bring the ban hammer, it brought the entire ban hardware store

I absolutely love inniatrad.

surprised og ravnica wasn't on this. shocklands

There are three sets that should have been on the list for their impact. Alpha created the game and had the power nine. If Mirage is on the list for its focus on block, how is Legends not there when it created EDH and Commander. Chronicles allowed new players access to important cards and caused the reserve List.

I feel like Kaladesh should've been on the list, and possibly Alara for similar reasons I see for Ravnica. But for Kaladesh, it introduced vehicles which have sometimes even warped standard around them, not quite as impactful as the Planeswalker type, but still very eventful

Ahhh, good old Bogart Harbringer.

Laboratory maniac saw play in both doomsday and cephalid breakfast

Wish you would show the original arts

5:25 fairy tails? Like snow?

I think tempest really deserves a spot

This list seems a bit off.. what about Legends (introducing Legends), original Ravnica (shocklands), Odyssey (graveyard), Onslaught (fetch lands), Shards of Alara (mythics), Alpha/Beta/Unlimited, these sets obviously had impact to Magic as a whole

Surprised ravnica didn't appear 🙃

I actually expected Alpha to be #1

Original Magic lore was that YOU were the planeswalker. Fallen Empires deserves a spot on this list. Before Fallen Empires, Magic sets were woefully underprinted and hard to get after their first week of release. Legends sold out immediately and increased tenfold in price per pack on the secondary market within weeks of release. The Dark had many shops imposing a limit as to how many packs you could purchase per week. Fallen Empires was the first set to make cards widely available by being printed to demand rather than one arbitrary number that guessed how much product would sell. This change in availability lead to the creation of the Type 2 format, now known as standard. You can't get much more impactful on the game than that.

Masques block suffered for Saga's sins.

loved uraza saga was a great time for blue players

No Ikoria? I would think that the introduction of the Companion ability would be enough to get it a spot.

I wanna see the top ten _least_ impactful magic sets tbh

Wait, Mirage is the “earliest” set? LEGENDS??? The introduction of multi-colored cards and legendary creatures?

Good content, but could you please tone down the flashing, noisy backgrounds?

Homelands- for providing a voluminous reference on how to NOT design MTG sets.

How Ikoria wasn't on this list is beyond me. Lurrus was banned in Vintage, Legacy, Modern, and Pioneer. Lurrus was the first card banned in Vintage for power level reasons since 1996. The Companion mechanic had to be completely re-worked due to its power level. I don't understand the flow of this list. Impactful can be viewed through many lenses as demonstrated. Lorwyn is there for its design impact and so is Mirage, but despite the lasting design of block formats, the gap in their ranking is huge. War of the Spark imhas design impact and Dreadhorde Anarchist is banned. Everything else is for power level, but Eldraine really was really just Oko, all the other bans were standard. Just doesn't feel like there's a consistent throughline of hierarchy, does lasting impact matter more? Or does immediate impact with bans?

10:36 "Necrobeeba"

Man how can u not cite thoughtseize when talking about lorwyn?

Surprised Ikoria didn't come up due to just companions being printed

very cool vid, but i hate the fact that you are talking about cards of specific sets and show us prints from others, like when you talk about future sight and show prints of time spiral, makes it lose a lot of "importance" to the set (sorry for bad english)

I think *Ikoria* should have taken a spot as the first set designed for an online space, Arena. It introduced Mutate which is worded real clunky in the physical game and Companion which is generally considered one of the most busted mechanics ever made. It also gave us the Triomes which have become staples in most formats and the Godzilla alts being printed in a main set.

Bruh, not using the original art per set is killing me D:.

I swear if Alpha is #1 because it's the set that started it all...

How is Limited Edition not number 1 on the list?

Ughhhh I feel like alpha shoulda DEFINITELY have been somewhere on this list lol

Shoulda used the original set cards, with set symbols, not reprints. Also Mirage has Phyrexian Dreadnaught, and Flash, and to a lesser extent Spirit of the Night.

I mean... Underworld Breach is arguably better than YWill which is crazy to even think about.

Chronicles introduced the reserved list. It was an answer to complaints of not being able to get older cards, like from Legends, but the reprints freaked people out that their original copies would lose value. So, Wizards released the reserved list as a promise not to reprint high dollar cards like the Power 9.