Interesingly, it seems that Alpha cards were unreservedly legal in the very early days of Magic - for example, the very first DCI tournament rules make no mention of Alpha cards.
To answer the intended question, in the 1998-1999 DCI tournament rules it states that decks must consist of all Alpha or all non-Alpha cards. In the 2000-2001 DCI tournament rules, it states that you could mix Alpha and non-Alpha cards provided you used opaque sleeves for your deck. I couldn't find the 1999-2000 tournament rules on the internet, but at least this narrows it down.
just to add a bit onto that, I looked at the wiki here because this post made me curious. The reason why a deck without sleeves would have to be either all Alpha or none at all was because of the corners of Alpha cards are more rounded than non-Alpha cards. I haven't examined cards from Alpha closely enough to know the difference but there must be one if there's that rule
just to add a bit onto that, I looked at the wiki here because this post made me curious. The reason why a deck without sleeves would have to be either all Alpha or none at all was because of the corners of Alpha cards are more rounded than non-Alpha cards. I haven't examined cards from Alpha closely enough to know the difference but there must be one if there's that rule
It's noticeable, especially when mixing unsleeved cards. IIRC, the curved corner on Alpha used an older 1/2" arc blade. The printer inadvertently(?) ordered and installed new 4mm blades for the Beta run. Simply do a Google image search for Alpha vs Beta MTG cards and you can easily see the difference.
In the early days, Alpha cards were flat out shunned and, for the most part, cheaper than their Beta versions. I woefully regret not buying a ****-ton of those cards back then. Oh well.
just to add a bit onto that, I looked at the wiki here because this post made me curious. The reason why a deck without sleeves would have to be either all Alpha or none at all was because of the corners of Alpha cards are more rounded than non-Alpha cards. I haven't examined cards from Alpha closely enough to know the difference but there must be one if there's that rule
It's noticeable, especially when mixing unsleeved cards. IIRC, the curved corner on Alpha used an older 1/2" arc blade. The printer inadvertently(?) ordered and installed new 4mm blades for the Beta run. Simply do a Google image search for Alpha vs Beta MTG cards and you can easily see the difference.
In the early days, Alpha cards were flat out shunned and, for the most part, cheaper than their Beta versions. I woefully regret not buying a ****-ton of those cards back then. Oh well.
I just looked and that's a huge difference. I guess with everyone using sleeves now, I probably just haven't noticed what versions of cards people use, even as someone who tries to play a reasonable amount of legacy.
I remember reading about how Alpha cards were a lot cheaper than Beta for a while because of the difference in the shape of the corners. I think it was in an old Beckett magazine because i used to love their magazine when they actually made a magazine strictly about MTG
From January 26, 1994, the first version of the Official WotC Tournament Rules:
Decks may be constructed from cards from the Limited (black border) series and from the Unlimited (white border) series. Use of cards from any of the expansion sets (i.e. Arabian Nights, etc) are permitted with the Referee's prior consent. Under no circumstances will cards from the Collector's Edition factory sets be permitted in tournament decks. They are easily distinguished from legal play cards by their square corners. Use of Collector's Edition factory set cards in a tournament deck will be interpreted by the Referee as a Declaration of Forfeiture (see Floor Rules, #9).
EDIT: Tom Wylie, Wizards Net Rep, in December 1994:
Alpha cards are not banned in Convocation play. However, Judges should be careful for obvious methods of trying to cheat by using alpha cards. One or two alpha cards can probably slide, but having alpha lands and non-alpha spells (or vice versa) is clearly marking the overall deck.
While the idea of someone having one or two alphas in their deck isn't all that thrilling, the two alternatives (ban alpha cards, or say that decks have to be 0% or 100% alpha) are even less appealling to us.
Tom Wylie, March 1995:
The optional rule for Type I tournaments allows the judge to eliminate this form of marking by requiring that decks be all or no alphas. Yes, playing with an alpha deck means that you can't play with expansion cards, Volcanic Islands, and so on. It is up to the judge of the event to decide whether elminating this form of deck marking is worth forcing people to make this kind of decision. In Type II tournaments, alpha cards are simply banned, since the format exists in part for new players, who should not be at a disadvantage simply because they don't have any alpha lands to mark their deck with.
May 1999 Rule Summary:
D.8.2 - If a deck contains Alpha printing cards, it must consist entirely of them. You should also inform the head judge that your deck is so constructed. [Tournament Rules 10/01/96]
In the year 2000, In the year 2000:
MAGIC: THE GATHERING DCI Floor Rules
1999–2000 Tournament Season
Effective June 1, 2000:
102. Authorized Cards
Alpha cards (cards from the first print run of the basic set) may be used in decks containing non-Alpha cards only if all cards are placed in opaque sleeves, and only if the sleeves could not be considered marked.
If sleeves are not used, Alpha cards may only be used in decks that consist of Alpha cards exclusively.
--
Later floor rules and universal tournament rules list the same basic rule under a "marked cards" section.
just to add a bit onto that, I looked at the wiki here because this post made me curious. The reason why a deck without sleeves would have to be either all Alpha or none at all was because of the corners of Alpha cards are more rounded than non-Alpha cards. I haven't examined cards from Alpha closely enough to know the difference but there must be one if there's that rule
It's noticeable, especially when mixing unsleeved cards. IIRC, the curved corner on Alpha used an older 1/2" arc blade. The printer inadvertently(?) ordered and installed new 4mm blades for the Beta run. Simply do a Google image search for Alpha vs Beta MTG cards and you can easily see the difference.
In the early days, Alpha cards were flat out shunned and, for the most part, cheaper than their Beta versions. I woefully regret not buying a ****-ton of those cards back then. Oh well.
I just looked and that's a huge difference. I guess with everyone using sleeves now, I probably just haven't noticed what versions of cards people use, even as someone who tries to play a reasonable amount of legacy.
I remember reading about how Alpha cards were a lot cheaper than Beta for a while because of the difference in the shape of the corners. I think it was in an old Beckett magazine because i used to love their magazine when they actually made a magazine strictly about MTG
My dates might be off since this is all from memory....
Sleeves had improved significantly in the last 20 years. You really only had two options at first. Hard top loaders and penny sleeves. The current sleeve design wasn't introduced until, IIRC, 1995 or 1996 but they sucked because the opaque Ultra-Pro logo blocked the P/T. They were ALL clear, no color, no inner sleeves. It was very easy to see marked cards. Notably, reversing the Ultra-Pro sleeves so the logo was on the back was also considered marking the cards by many judges and players at the time. I think the earliest colored sleeves was introduced around 1997 or 1998 and they were pricey at the time and the UP logo was still in the wrong place so many players didn't use them.
For a long time, players could actually request their opponent de-sleeve their decks. There are horror stories of players doing really dickish things like playing Soldier of Fortune against an unsleeved deck.
logo-less, color backed sleeves eventually appeared (I still have a very old deck sleeved up in them). Shortly after "tight fit", not inner, sleeves appeared too (I have some of those). It was around this time I saw nearly everyone begin sleeving the decks in modern sleeves.
TLDR: the crucial change was the introduction of opaque backed sleeves.
There were other issuses with Alpha besides rounded corners. Orcish Oriflamme had the wrong CMC, Cyclopean Tomb had no CMC, and Elvish Archers had their power and toughness juxtaposed are the ones that come to mind along with wrong artists credit on many cards. Also Unsummon’s text was crazy weird.
There were other issuses with Alpha besides rounded corners. Orcish Oriflamme had the wrong CMC, Cyclopean Tomb had no CMC, and Elvish Archers had their power and toughness juxtaposed are the ones that come to mind along with wrong artists credit on many cards. Also Unsummon’s text was crazy weird.
You forgot the unplayable Red elemental Blast or the Unsummon that instructed you to CARD the enchantments on a creature.
Those don't make the cards marked. Just annoying to play. Many early Magic sets have similar errors. Take a look at the revised printing of Serendib Efreet.
Really, the Alpha corners are more like the Wyvern cards. You can play them without sleeves but they all had to be identical on their backs. But who wanted a pure Fallen Empires deck anyways? No basic lands.
Please move to the proper forum if this is not it.
Thanks
To answer the intended question, in the 1998-1999 DCI tournament rules it states that decks must consist of all Alpha or all non-Alpha cards. In the 2000-2001 DCI tournament rules, it states that you could mix Alpha and non-Alpha cards provided you used opaque sleeves for your deck. I couldn't find the 1999-2000 tournament rules on the internet, but at least this narrows it down.
It's noticeable, especially when mixing unsleeved cards. IIRC, the curved corner on Alpha used an older 1/2" arc blade. The printer inadvertently(?) ordered and installed new 4mm blades for the Beta run. Simply do a Google image search for Alpha vs Beta MTG cards and you can easily see the difference.
In the early days, Alpha cards were flat out shunned and, for the most part, cheaper than their Beta versions. I woefully regret not buying a ****-ton of those cards back then. Oh well.
I just looked and that's a huge difference. I guess with everyone using sleeves now, I probably just haven't noticed what versions of cards people use, even as someone who tries to play a reasonable amount of legacy.
I remember reading about how Alpha cards were a lot cheaper than Beta for a while because of the difference in the shape of the corners. I think it was in an old Beckett magazine because i used to love their magazine when they actually made a magazine strictly about MTG
Decks may be constructed from cards from the Limited (black border) series and from the Unlimited (white border) series. Use of cards from any of the expansion sets (i.e. Arabian Nights, etc) are permitted with the Referee's prior consent. Under no circumstances will cards from the Collector's Edition factory sets be permitted in tournament decks. They are easily distinguished from legal play cards by their square corners. Use of Collector's Edition factory set cards in a tournament deck will be interpreted by the Referee as a Declaration of Forfeiture (see Floor Rules, #9).
EDIT: Tom Wylie, Wizards Net Rep, in December 1994:
Alpha cards are not banned in Convocation play. However, Judges should be careful for obvious methods of trying to cheat by using alpha cards. One or two alpha cards can probably slide, but having alpha lands and non-alpha spells (or vice versa) is clearly marking the overall deck.
While the idea of someone having one or two alphas in their deck isn't all that thrilling, the two alternatives (ban alpha cards, or say that decks have to be 0% or 100% alpha) are even less appealling to us.
Tom Wylie, March 1995:
The optional rule for Type I tournaments allows the judge to eliminate this form of marking by requiring that decks be all or no alphas. Yes, playing with an alpha deck means that you can't play with expansion cards, Volcanic Islands, and so on. It is up to the judge of the event to decide whether elminating this form of deck marking is worth forcing people to make this kind of decision. In Type II tournaments, alpha cards are simply banned, since the format exists in part for new players, who should not be at a disadvantage simply because they don't have any alpha lands to mark their deck with.
May 1999 Rule Summary:
D.8.2 - If a deck contains Alpha printing cards, it must consist entirely of them. You should also inform the head judge that your deck is so constructed. [Tournament Rules 10/01/96]
In the year 2000, In the year 2000:
MAGIC: THE GATHERING DCI Floor Rules
1999–2000 Tournament Season
Effective June 1, 2000:
102. Authorized Cards
Alpha cards (cards from the first print run of the basic set) may be used in decks containing non-Alpha cards only if all cards are placed in opaque sleeves, and only if the sleeves could not be considered marked.
If sleeves are not used, Alpha cards may only be used in decks that consist of Alpha cards exclusively.
--
Later floor rules and universal tournament rules list the same basic rule under a "marked cards" section.
My dates might be off since this is all from memory....
Sleeves had improved significantly in the last 20 years. You really only had two options at first. Hard top loaders and penny sleeves. The current sleeve design wasn't introduced until, IIRC, 1995 or 1996 but they sucked because the opaque Ultra-Pro logo blocked the P/T. They were ALL clear, no color, no inner sleeves. It was very easy to see marked cards. Notably, reversing the Ultra-Pro sleeves so the logo was on the back was also considered marking the cards by many judges and players at the time. I think the earliest colored sleeves was introduced around 1997 or 1998 and they were pricey at the time and the UP logo was still in the wrong place so many players didn't use them.
For a long time, players could actually request their opponent de-sleeve their decks. There are horror stories of players doing really dickish things like playing Soldier of Fortune against an unsleeved deck.
logo-less, color backed sleeves eventually appeared (I still have a very old deck sleeved up in them). Shortly after "tight fit", not inner, sleeves appeared too (I have some of those). It was around this time I saw nearly everyone begin sleeving the decks in modern sleeves.
TLDR: the crucial change was the introduction of opaque backed sleeves.
You forgot the unplayable Red elemental Blast or the Unsummon that instructed you to CARD the enchantments on a creature.
Those don't make the cards marked. Just annoying to play. Many early Magic sets have similar errors. Take a look at the revised printing of Serendib Efreet.
Really, the Alpha corners are more like the Wyvern cards. You can play them without sleeves but they all had to be identical on their backs. But who wanted a pure Fallen Empires deck anyways? No basic lands.
No, but they were among the contributing factors in the banning of Alpha in tournaments for a time.