October 1996
Rejuvenated by the success of Alliances, Magic was back in full health and ready for its second large expansion, Mirage. With the Mirage release, Wizards began a new product schedule. From then on, Magic expansions would be spaced three to four months apart. Each cycle would begin in the fall with a new large expansion; the next two expansions would build on that set. Then the cycle would begin anew with next year’s large expansion.
Like Ice Age, Mirage was sold in both decks and booster packs. It has been a year and a half since the last revision of the Magic rulebook, so the designers took the opportunity provided by Mirage decks to release a new version. The new rules simplified the handling of interrupts; broke down attacking, blocking, and damage prevention into better-defined step, and cleaned up various other areas.
The Mirage set also included two now abilities, flanking and phasing. Flanking was simple enough that each card with the ability included reminder text explaining what it did. Phasing, on the other hand, was the most complicated Magic ability yet other than banding. It prompted rules questions and caused problems in unexpected combinations for years.
Besides the new abilities, Mirage cards introduced some new card mechanics. The first allowed enchantments to be cast as instants. The second, “charms,” were one-mana instants offering a choice of three different effects. The flexibility added value to the spells, enabling the designers to include abilities in the set that weren’t quite powerful enough to be spells themselves.
Each of the recent expansions had gone a little further toward using a story as background rather than just a setting; Mirage leaped in that direction. It was designed around a large story that would take two expansions to complete. The story took place in another part of Magic’s world of Dominaria, on a continent named Jamuraa. The artwork on the cards reflected this tropical jungle setting, with scenery, cultures, and costumes all designed specifically for this set.
