After many delays and a total conversion from DOS to Windows 95, Microprose released the Magic: The Gathering computer game in April 1997. Aside from random duels against the computer using customizable decks, the game featured an enhanced campaign mode set in the plane of Shandalar, a deck builder, and a multimedia tutorial. Over 400 cards, taken from all sets printed to that date, were included. The Magic: The Gathering computer game was released in different languages: English (U.S. and U.K.): Magic: The Gathering®. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio French: Magic: L'Assemblée®. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio German: Magic: Die Zusammenkunft®. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio Italian: Magic: L'Adunanza®. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio Japanese (September 1997): Magic: The Gathering®. Cover Illustration Shivan Dragon by Melissa Benson Korean: Magic: The Gathering®. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio Spanish: Magic: El Encuentro®. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio Part of the Magic: The Gathering game is a set of 12 cards called Astral set which is not available in physical form. These cards incorporate various random attributes that would be difficult or impossible to replicate in real life and each card had its own associated sound effect. Astral cards were generally only able to be obtained in dungeons. In the first 50,000 boxes of the Magic: The Gathering computer game an oversized version of the Aswan Jaguar was included. Some of the cards in the Magic: The Gathering computer game produce tokens. These tokens are resembled by cards featuring unique artwork. Bottle of Suleiman (Arabian Nights) produces Djinn of the Bottle token. Mishra's Factory (Antiquities) produces Assembly Worker land. Necropolis of Azar (Astral card) produces Spawn of Azar token. Rukh Egg (Arabian Nights) produces Rukh token. Serpent Generator (Legends) produces Poison Snake token. Tetravus (Antiquities) produces Tetravite token. The Hive (Alpha) produces Wasp token. ERRORS, MISPRINTS AND TYPOS: The Djinn of the Bottle token was attributed to the wrong artist Jesper Myrfors instead of Randy Gallegos The Poison Snake token was attributed to the wrong artist Jeff A. Menges instead of Mark Tedin. The Spawn of Azar token was attributed to the wrong artist Rob Alexander instead of Randy Gallegos. The game code holds many more cards than appear in the game. Aside from the remaining unused standard cards, there are lots of development cards which represent unrealized concepts. Most of them have no art and none of them has card text.
In September 1997 an expansion set called Spells of the Ancients was released which increased the card pool by over 130 cards, taken from the Arabian Nights, Antiquities, and the core set. Additionally it added a sealed deck generator. It was released in different languages: English (U.S. and U.K.): Magic: The Gathering® Spells of the Ancients™. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin French: Magic: L'Assemblée® “Sortileges des Anciens™”. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin German: Magic: Die Zusammenkunft® “Spells of the Ancients™”. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin Japanese: Magic: The Gathering® Spells of the Ancients. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin Polish: CD bundled with Swiat Gier Komputerowych magazine, issue #7/2001. In February 1998 the main game was rereleased in a special edition named Duels of the Planeswalkers. The card pool was increased to over 480 cards, with the 80 new cards being from Legends and The Dark. Furthermore a software named ManaLink was added which allowed to play against other players online. It was released in different languages: English (U.S. and U.K.): Magic: The Gathering® Duels of the Planeswalkers™ French: Magic: The Gathering® Duels des Arpenteurs d'Univers™ Japanese: Magic: The Gathering® Duels of the Planeswalkers™. Cover Illustration Elves of Deep Shadow by Jesper Myrfors Polish: CD bundled with Swiat Gier Komputerowych magazine, issue #9/2001. For the Japanese version, 5 different products were available: Magic: The Gathering®: 26 September, 1997. Cover Illustration Shivan Dragon by Melissa Benson Spells of The Ancients®: 27 February, 1998. Cover Illustration Juzam Djinn by Mark Tedin Duels of the Planeswalkers®: 21 August, 1998. Cover Illustration Elves of Deep Shadow by Jesper Myrfors The Online Edition®: Magic: The Gathering and Duels of the Planeswalkers: Cover Illustration Fountain of Youth by Daniel Gelon The Online Plus®: Spells of The Ancients and Duels of the Planeswalkers: Cover Illustration Serra Angel by Douglas Shuler The Official Magic: The Gathering - Strategies & Secrets book was released on February 1997: Author: Beth Moursund Publisher: Sybex Inc ISBN-10: 0-7821-2031-8 ISBN-13 978-0782120318 385 pages Original retail price: $19.99 MAGIC THE GATHERING English Magic: The Gathering computer game front and disc. Magic: The Gathering computer game front and back. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio. Magic: The Gathering sealed Limited Edition Pack computer game front and back. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio and Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin. Magic: The Gathering computer game: U.K. version front and disc. Magic: The Gathering computer game: U.K. version. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio. French Magic: The Gathering French computer game front and disc. Magic: The Gathering computer game: French. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio. German Magic: The Gathering German computer game front and disc. Magic: The Gathering computer game: German. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio. Japanese Magic: The Gathering computer game: Japanese. Cover Illustration Shivan Dragon by Melissa Benson. Korean Magic: The Gathering computer game: Korean. Cover Illustration Spirit Link by Kaja Foglio. SPELL OF THE ANCIENTS English Spells of the Ancients expansion set front and disc. Spells of the Ancients expansion set front and back. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin. Spells of the Ancients expansion set: U.K. version front and disc. Spells of the Ancients expansion set: U.K. version. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin. French Spells of the Ancients French expansion set front and disc. Spells of the Ancients (Sortilèges des Anciens) expansion set: French. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin. German Spells of the Ancients expansion set sealed: German. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin. Japanese Spells of the Ancients expansion set: Japanese. Cover Illustration Juzám Djinn by Mark Tedin. Polish Spells of the Ancients Polish expansion set front and disc. Cover of Swiat Gier Komputerowych Polish Magazine, issue 07/2001 with Spells of the Ancients CD. DUELS OF THE PLANESWALKERS English Duels of the Planeswalkers Special Edition front and disc. Duels of the Planeswalkers Special Edition front and back. Japanese Duels of the Planeswalkers Japanese. Cover Illustration Elves of Deep Shadow by Jesper Myrfors. Polish Duels of the Planeswalkers Polish expansion set front and disc. The Online expansion set Japanese The Online expansion set: Japanese. Cover Illustration Fountain of Youth by Daniel Gelon. The Online Plus expansion set Japanese The Online Plus expansion set: Japanese. Cover Illustration Serra Angel by Douglas Shuler. MICROPOSE ADVERTISEMENTS FROM THE DUELIST, SCRYE, INQUEST, SPIN, ETC... Micropose Advertisements from February, March and April 1995. Micropose Advertisements from May 1995, July 1995 and August 1995. Micropose Advertisement from February 1996. Micropose Advertisements from May 1996. Micropose Advertisements from March and ? 1997. Micropose Advertisements from October 1997. Micropose Advertisements from page 24 of The Duelist #21 (January 1998) and page 1 of The Duelist #22 (February 1998). Micropose The Online expansion and Duels of the Planeswalkers Japanese Advertisements. MICROPOSE ASTRAL ART (1/12) MISSING: Aswan Jaguar Development card full art by Pat Morrissey. MISSING: Call from the Grave Development card full art by Quinton Hoover. MISSING: Faerie Dragon Development card full art by NéNé Thomas. MISSING: Gem Bazaar Development card full art by Liz Danforth. Goblin Polka Band Astral card Original Art by Quinton Hoover. MISSING: Necropolis of Azar Development card full art by Rob Alexander. MISSING: Orcish Catapult Development card full art by Melissa Benson. MISSING: Pandora's Box Development card full art by Amy Weber. MISSING: Power Struggle Development card full art by Mark Tedin. MISSING: Prismatic Dragon Development card full art by Amy Weber. MISSING: Rainbow Knights Development card full art by Douglas Shuler. MISSING: Whimsy Development card full art by Anson Maddocks. MICROPOSE DEVELOPMENT ART (2/3) Artificer's Guild Development card full art by Quinton Hoover. Blue Guild Development card cropped art and Original Art by Pat Morrissey. MISSING: Red Guild Development card full art by Melissa Benson. MICROPOSE TOKENS ART (1/7) Assembly Worker Tokens card Original Art by Kaja & Phil Foglio. MISSING: Djinn of the Bottle Tokens card full art by Randy Gallegos. MISSING: Poison Snake Tokens card full art by Mark Tedin. MISSING: Rukh Tokens card full art by Christopher Rush. MISSING: Spawn of Azar Tokens card full art by Randy Gallegos. MISSING: Tetravite Tokens card full art by Mark Tedin. MISSING: Wasp Tokens card full art by Sandra Everingham . MICROPOSE BOOK The Official Magic: The Gathering - Strategies & Secrets book front cover and back. MICROPOSE MANUALS Magic: The Gathering U.S. manual front and back. Magic: The Gathering U.K. manual front and back. Magic: The Gathering Japanese manual front and disc. Spells of the Ancients U.K. manual front and back. Duels of the Planeswalkers manual front and back. MICROPOSE THE DUELIST CONTEST Micropose Contest page 86 of The Duelist #17 (June 1997). MICROPOSE OVERSIZED CARD Oversized Verduran Enchantress for Microprose release party that took place at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Las Vegas in January 1997. EXTERNAL LINKS Expanding Shandalar, by Beth "Bethmo" Moursund in The Duelist Online - Wayback Machine Astral Cards; Feature Article - February 12, 2009 - Wayback Machine A Magic History of Time; Feature Article Broken Link A Magic History of Time; Feature Article - June 1, 2009 - Wayback Machine The Goblin Polka Band tune Magic The Gathering 1997 MicroProse (Full Soundtrack) Broken Link Magic The Gathering 1997 MicroProse (Full Soundtrack). MicroProse Magic: The Gathering FAQ by Dana Huyler Broken Link MicroProse Magic: The Gathering FAQ by Dana Huyler - Wayback Machine INTERNAL LINKS 6 x 9 Cards - Oversized Aswan Jaguar |
SET | NUM | CARDNAME | ARTIST | SOURCE | DATE | INFO | ||
001 | Aswan Jaguar | Pat Morrissey | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
002 | Call from the Grave | Quinton Hoover | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
003 | Faerie Dragon | NéNé Thomas | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
004 | Gem Bazaar | Liz Danforth | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
005 | Goblin Polka Band | Quinton Hoover | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
006 | Necropolis of Azar | Rob Alexander | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
007 | Orcish Catapult | Melissa Benson | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
008 | Pandora's Box | Amy Weber | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
009 | Power Struggle | Mark Tedin | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
010 | Prismatic Dragon | Amy Weber | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
011 | Rainbow Knights | Douglas Shuler | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
012 | Whimsy | Anson Maddocks | Magic: The Gathering computer game card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
SET | NUM | CARDNAME | ARTIST | SOURCE | DATE | INFO | ||
001 | Artificer's Guild | Quinton Hoover | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
002 | Black Guild | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
003 | Blue Guild | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
004 | Bright Society | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
005 | Crystal Ball | Frank Frazier | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
006 | Dark Society | Quinton Hoover | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
007 | Data Card | None | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
008 | Gladiator | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
009 | Green Guild | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
010 | Grey Society | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
011 | Master | Mark Tedin | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
012 | MPS Logo | Frank Frazier | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
013 | None | None | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
014 | Red Guild | Melissa Benson | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
015 | Royalty | Phil Foglio | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
016 | Veteran | Dan Frazier | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
017 | White Guild | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
018 | Wizard of the Cost Logo | Unknown | Magic: The Gathering computer game development card | 1997-04 | YES | |||
SET | NUM | CARDNAME | ARTIST | SOURCE | DATE | INFO | ||
001 | Assembly Worker | Kaja & Phil Foglio | Magic: The Gathering computer game Mishra's Factory token | 1997-04 | YES | |||
002 | Djinn of the Bottle | Jesper Myrfors | Magic: The Gathering computer game Bottle of Suleiman token | 1997-04 | YES | |||
003 | Poison Snake | Jeff A. Menges | Magic: The Gathering computer game Serpent Generator token | 1997-04 | YES | |||
004 | Rukh | Christopher Rush | Magic: The Gathering computer game Rukh Egg token | 1997-04 | YES | |||
005 | Spawn of Azar | Rob Alexander | Magic: The Gathering computer game Necropolis of Azar token | 1997-04 | YES | |||
006 | Tetravite | Mark Tedin | Magic: The Gathering computer game Tetravus token | 1997-04 | YES | |||
007 | Wasp | Sandra Everingham | Magic: The Gathering computer game The Hive token | 1997-04 | YES | |||