We’re still a little over a month away from the release of Dominaria Remastered, but because of the proximity of the release to Phyrexia: All is One on the calendar, Wizards of the Coast decided to experiment with something new and reveal all of the latest remastered set in a flurry of previews over a 48-hour period. Now that the dust has settled and we have the full list of cards, variants, and pack distribution, we can talk a bit about how to go about adding the DMR cards you want to your collection!
All-in-all 457 new cards are being brought into the world with this new product. The bulk of them, 261 (57.1%) are the modern-frame reprints that comprise the main draftable set. On top of that, however, are the 150 retro-frame bonus cards and 45 alternate art borderless cards and of course, the original-frame Counterspell promo that will be part of the set’s release celebration.
To distribute these cards will be two different styles of packs: draft boosters and collectors boosters currently retailing for approximately $8.00 and $30.00 USD respectively. Figuring out how best to collect the cards from this set will be a bit of a mix of financial analysis, collection priorities, and the general enjoyment of drafting this incredibly unique limited environment.
Let’s start by breaking down what’s in each booster pack starting with the draft booster:
- Card 1: Base Rare / Mythic OR Full-Art Rare / Mythic OR Retro-Frame Rare / Mythic*
- Card 2: Base Common OR Retro-Frame Common / Uncommon*
- Cards 3-5: 3x Base Uncommon (6% Chance for one of these to be a Full-Art Common)
- Cards 6-15: 9x Base Common (33% Chance for one of these to be a Traditional Foil of any rarity)
- Card 16: Retro-Frame Basic Land
- Card 17: Token or Ad Card
*Each draft booster only contains one retro-frame card, so if Card 1 has a retro-frame, Card 2 will be a base card, and vice-versa.
If you’re a collector who also enjoys playing limited environments then you’ll be happy to see that every draft booster (similar to Dominaria United) includes a card from the retro-frame bonus sheet. What’s also nice is that these packs contain a retro-frame basic land as well. Let’s take a quick look at the selection of retro-frame basic lands:
These are some really special lands from a wide range of Magic’s expansions that visited Dominaria. Let’s break them down
First up is John Avon’s legendary Plains #331 from Invasion. This piece has been reprinted several times but never with the original frame. It appeared in both 8th and 9th Edition Core Sets as well as 2003 and 2004 World Championship decks and Commander Anthology, Planechase Anthology, Commander 2011, and Planechase 2012, all of which featured the modern frame. As a fan of John Avon’s work (I exclusively use Unglued lands for everything) this would be at the top of my list to collect (as well as two more lands we’ll talk about).
Next is Plains #333 from Odyssey, illustrated by Eric Peterson. This is an iconic piece of basic land art (as many of these are) but the unique lightning bolt background has made this one a fan-favorite. It was reprinted with a gold border in the 2002 World Championship decks and then with a modern frame in Modern Horizons 2. The reprinting in the original frame should make this a great get for fans looking to employ this art in their Commander decks (perhaps with an Odyssey general like Atogatog or Pianna, Nomad Captain.
Moving on to Island we get one of the game’s most well-known pieces of art in the form of one of Mark Poole’s original Alpha set Islands. After the original run of Alpha and Beta, this art next saw a black-bordered treatment in Masters Edition but that was an online-only set for Magic the Gathering Online. Believe it or not, this artwork has never been reprinted with a black border and the correct card back (that’s right, it’s in 30th Anniversary Edition).
Joining Mark Poole’s old-school Island is Richard Wright’s Island #289 from Time Spiral. There’s definitely something about Magic fans and landscapes with lightning bolts because this is another fan favorite similar to Odyssey’s Plains #333. This land was reprinted in Commander 2014 but has never been given a retro-frame treatment until now. This will look great if you have a Time Spiral Cube or just like lightning bolt lands. Maybe build an Azorius Commander deck with this and the lightning Plains!
In case you didn’t know, Black is my favorite color in Magic so Swamp is my favorite land and Titus Lunter is one of my favorite modern artists. Lunter’s Swamp #259 from the Dominaria expansion itself has never been reprinted, let alone with a retro frame. I suspect this will end up being even more valuable than the original.
Romas Kukalis, who’s cards are just credited Romas, only illustrated eight Magic cards. Four of them were basic Swamps including Swamp #206 from Portal. This is another land that has never been reprinted. With it’s unique “white bark” tree in the foreground it is one of the more well-known pieces from this time period. By the way, the other four cards Romas illustrated just include a couple cards named City of Solitude and Squandered Resources. If you’re only going to illustrate a handful of cards it helps for a few of them to be legends.
On the other hand, Rob Alexander is one of Magic’s more prolific illustrators with dozens of basic lands to his name. Dominaria Remastered features Portal Second Age Mountain #160 in all of its triple-peak glory. This piece has been reprinted with a white border (Battle Royale) and with the modern frame (Archenemy) but never again with its original frame until now.
The other mountain in Dominaria Remastered is the second of three (!!!) lands in the set illustrated by arguably Magic’s most well-known landscape artist, John Avon. Mirage was the first expansion that Avon illustrated cards for and Mountain #346 is a stunning example of his work. So stunning in fact this artwork has been re-used for the following sets: Anthologies, Sixth Edition Classic, Starter 1999, World Champ Decks 1999, Battle Royale, World Champ Decks 2000, 8th Edition Core Set, World Champ Decks 2003, 9th Edition Core Set, and even an MTG Arena Promo. But this will be its first reprint with the original frame and a black border. Rejoice!
Let’s dive right into John Avon’s Forest #349 from Onslaught. This piece, from inside the forest depicting a bright light on the horizon, is just absolute perfect John Avon artwork. Look at those lines of light. Keep looking. Don’t stop until you lose yourself in the warmth of the forest you can now feel yourself in. This piece was also seen in many more sets including 8th and 9th Edition plus some World Champs decks. Not as popular as the previous Mountain but possibly the most “John Avon” of the three featured Avon lands.
Last but certainly not least is Forest #348 from Urza’s Saga, illustrated by Anthony S. Waters. Waters illustrated Magic cards beginning with Legends in 1994 through Alara Reborn. This particular piece of basic land art has never previously been reprinted.
So now we’ve gone through all 10 retro basic lands and honestly, maybe you never thought of yourself before as the kind of person who needed to meticulously curate exactly which basic land they put into each deck, but I hope you are now, because that’s where some of the most enriching self-expression in a Magic deck can be found. After all, basic lands make up the vast majority of any deck you put them in, don’t they? Why wouldn’t you want basic lands that speak to your soul if you have to stare at them constantly?
Okay, so you get one retro basic land in every draft booster. That’s sweet. Of course you’re one-in-three-packs traditional foil could also be a basic land. Even sweeter, especially with those lightning lands. But what about Collector’s Boosters? What if you don’t want to play limited but you really like the look of these cards. What’s in a Collector’s booster?
- Card 1: Traditional Foil Retro-Frame or Extended Art Rare / Mythic
- Card 2: Non-Foil Extended Art Rare / Mythic
- Card 3: Non-Foil Retro-Frame Rare / Mythic
- Card 4: Traditional Foil Retro-Frame or Extended Art Common / Uncommon
- Card 5-6: 2x Non-Foil Retro-Frame or Extended Art Common / Uncommon
- Card 7: Traditional Foil Base Rare / Mythic
- Card 8-9: 2x Traditional Foil Base Uncommon
- Card 10-14: 5x Traditional Foil Base Common
- Card 15: Traditional Foil Retro-Frame Basic Land
- Card 16: Traditional Foil Double-Sided Token
I have to admit I’m not sure if any of the “Common” traditional foil card slots can also include the retro-frame basic lands. I’m going to assume the answer is no because the retro-frame land cards are almost certainly printed on a specific bonus sheet to get them inserted in this way. So if you want these lands, they’ll be abundantly available as a one-off in every pack you open whether its a traditional foil in a Collectors booster or a non-foil in a Draft booster.
Here’s a fun tip though for those of you ready to break into basic land collecting: your friends will love giving you their basic lands. This is one of the best things about collecting basic lands. Everyone needs them. Everyone has them. Most of us like different ones. So swapping with your friends after a draft to get the lands you need for your retro-frame Cube or whatever will be a ton of fun.
That’s all for today, join us later this week for part two of our Collecting Dominaria Remastered guide where we’ll take a look at the rest of the retro-frame sheet and then for part three when we cover the extended art selections and any oddities in the base set worth a second look.
Rich Stein (he/him) has been playing Magic since 1995 when he and his brother opened their first packs of Ice Age and thought Jester’s Cap was the coolest thing ever. Since then his greatest accomplishments in Magic have been the one time he beat Darwin Kastle at a Time Spiral sealed Grand Prix and the time Jon Finkel blocked him on Twitter.