Yeah, it happens every time they keyword something that was previously not. There are other examples like Fervor and Goblin War Drums that were printed before Haste and Menace were keyworded respectively.
The verbiage used in the futureshifted card hint specifies that it has never appeared in a premier set (i.e. standard legal) outside of Future Sight. That means it is likely to be a card that has already been reprinted in a non-premier set such as a supplemental or box set. If it were a card that has never been reprinted period, then there would be no reason to specify in a premier set.
I wonder if the MDFC will be planeswalkers, with one side being Rowan and the other side being Will. So far, with the exception of a lone planeswalker deck Rowan, they've always been together via partner or on the same card.
If you're going to sharpie a basic as a placeholder, at the very least please use a land that does not match the color of your deck. E.g. It's utter nonsense for a mono-black deck to use Swamp marked as a Guardian Beast (or whatever). Use a Plains or something else so there's no way for anyone to potentially misunderstand the board state. Even better, use white boarder lands if you don't use them otherwise - anything to aid in indicating that one of these things is not like the others.
I believe that makes this the first standard expansion set since Tempest (Rath) to take place on a new plane without being named after the plane itself.
Are you referring to just recent times, like since they went to the one block Standard?
Because Dragon's Maze and Gatecrash don't refer to the plane.
Or, are you just counting the first block of a set?
As was noted by the response after yours, those were not taking place on a new plane.
Expansion sets taking place primarily on a new plane not yet visited in a previous expansion set:
Arabian Nights - Rabiah
Antiquities - Dominaria (with a sprinkle of Phyrexia)
Homelands - Ulgrotha
Tempest - Rath
Mercadian Masques - Mercadia
Mirrodin - Mirrodin
Champions of Kamigawa - Kamigawa
Ravnica: City of Guilds - Ravnica
Lorwyn - Lorwyn
Shards of Alara - Alara
Zendikar - Zendikar
Innistrad - Innistrad
Theros - Theros
Khans of Tarkir - Tarkir
Kaladesh - Kaladesh
Amonkhet - Amonkhet
Ixalan - Ixalan
Throne of Eldraine - Eldraine
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths - Ikoria
Kaldheim - Kaldheim
Strixhaven - Arcavios
I believe that makes this the first standard expansion set since Tempest (Rath) to take place on a new plane without being named after the plane itself.
As the first response says, they've been using two different card stocks for a few years now. It's not just the set boosters. You can get both types of stock in regular draft boosters. The packaging is different between them, so you know which you are getting before you open the pack, or even the box.
The darker, Japanese stock comes in boxes where the front flap that tucks into the box has slits in the corners to grip the two side flaps. The older stock doesn't use the slits and slides open easier. Also, the darker stock cards come in packs that use more material and are loose, allowing the cards to slide up and down. These packs typically have slits at the top and bottom allowing you to peel open the packs (though they barely work - you're better off packing the cards down and cutting the tops off with scissors). The older packs are tight and don't have the slits, they can be easily opened by pulling at the center seam. Once opened, the cards using the new stock are also packed in reverse order. And lastly, on top of the differences noted in the link above, the cards smell different too.
Why does the copyright date on the bottom say 2020 instead of 2021?
All the TSR cards revealed so far say 2020. They were probably printed and scheduled to be released last year but got pushed back. Regardless, now they share a piece of trivia with Visions - it was released in Feb. '97 but the cards have a '96 copyright.
If I just had to put a counterspell in a red deck, and only had room for one, I still think I'd chose Mages' Contest most of the time over Tibalt's Trickery. However, they both have their situational +'s and -'s. Perhaps I'll start messing with everyone and run 'em both in my mono-reds. I suppose it'd be no more or less surprising than Withering Boon is in a black deck.
T1: Mountain and Mana Crypt - Play Rograkh and Jeska
T2: Mountain - Play Madcap Skills and Blood Lust, or Blazing Shoal, or a myriad of other card combinations that get him to 7 power, then +0 Jeska and he deals 21 commander damage.
As was noted by the response after yours, those were not taking place on a new plane.
Expansion sets taking place primarily on a new plane not yet visited in a previous expansion set:
Arabian Nights - Rabiah
Antiquities - Dominaria (with a sprinkle of Phyrexia)
Homelands - Ulgrotha
Tempest - Rath
Mercadian Masques - Mercadia
Mirrodin - Mirrodin
Champions of Kamigawa - Kamigawa
Ravnica: City of Guilds - Ravnica
Lorwyn - Lorwyn
Shards of Alara - Alara
Zendikar - Zendikar
Innistrad - Innistrad
Theros - Theros
Khans of Tarkir - Tarkir
Kaladesh - Kaladesh
Amonkhet - Amonkhet
Ixalan - Ixalan
Throne of Eldraine - Eldraine
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths - Ikoria
Kaldheim - Kaldheim
Strixhaven - Arcavios
The darker, Japanese stock comes in boxes where the front flap that tucks into the box has slits in the corners to grip the two side flaps. The older stock doesn't use the slits and slides open easier. Also, the darker stock cards come in packs that use more material and are loose, allowing the cards to slide up and down. These packs typically have slits at the top and bottom allowing you to peel open the packs (though they barely work - you're better off packing the cards down and cutting the tops off with scissors). The older packs are tight and don't have the slits, they can be easily opened by pulling at the center seam. Once opened, the cards using the new stock are also packed in reverse order. And lastly, on top of the differences noted in the link above, the cards smell different too.
All the TSR cards revealed so far say 2020. They were probably printed and scheduled to be released last year but got pushed back. Regardless, now they share a piece of trivia with Visions - it was released in Feb. '97 but the cards have a '96 copyright.
T1: Mountain and Mana Crypt - Play Rograkh and Jeska
T2: Mountain - Play Madcap Skills and Blood Lust, or Blazing Shoal, or a myriad of other card combinations that get him to 7 power, then +0 Jeska and he deals 21 commander damage.