Beta (Magic: The Gathering) - Set History

Set History

Beta was a revision of Alpha. It corrected the printing errors on some cards and clarified some rules. Two cards accidentally omitted from Alpha were restored: Circle of Protection: Black and Volcanic Island. A third accidentally omitted art variant for each of the five basic land cards was also restored, bringing the set's card count to 302; multiple illustrations of each card are counted separately, as the game's publisher does to generate the 302 total, while noting that without the separate art the total of the set was 292 actual cards bearing different names.

In the past, Beta versions of cards were worth more than their Alpha counterparts. This was mainly because the corners of Beta cards are rounded in the same fashion as later expansions, making them more desirable to players. However, multiple years ago opaque card sleeves appeared on the market and it became legal to mix Alpha cards with other Magic cards. This made Alpha practically as desirable as Beta, and even more so because of the smaller printing. Currently, Beta cards usually go for slightly lower prices than their Alpha counterparts, but their value still greatly surpasses any other printings.

The print run of Beta as given as 7.3 million or 7.8 million depending on the source. Despite the set's print run being about three times as big as Alpha's, Beta sold out as quickly as its predecessor. Because many players believed that the basic set would always be in print, most did not take care of their cards, thinking they could always replace them. Many players now have their cards rated by third party institutions such as the PSA to make them more competitive to sell on the open market. Only five Gem Mint Beta Black Lotus in the world have ever been given the highest PSA rank of 10. One was sold in a private auction for $20,000.

Sealed booster boxes of Alpha and Beta can be easily distinguished by the fact that Beta boxes have a UPC while Alpha boxes do not.