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Factions, and a lot of commons
What this set is
Fallen Empires is built around factions, and most of them are creature types: Thrulls in black, Merfolk and Homarids in blue, Thallids and other Fungus in green, Orcs, Dwarves and Goblins in red, and Human soldiers in white. Its 102 different cards come in 187 versions, because 35 of its 36 commons were printed with three or four different arts.
The Thallids are the part that lasted. They gain a spore counter each upkeep and remove three to make a 1/1 Saproling, which is where green's Saproling tokens started. Later Dominaria sets brought Saprolings back.
Two of its commons are famous in older formats: Hymn to Tourach makes a player discard two cards at random, and High Tide doubles the blue mana from Islands for a turn. Both are banned in Pauper. 27 cards are on the Reserved List, though few of them are valuable, since the set is known for having been printed in very large quantities.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
Fallen Empires is a single code with no Legacy, Vintage or Commander bans at all.
Not Standard-legal, and not Modern-legal as a set: Modern starts at Eighth Edition (July 2003). A card from here that was reprinted in a later Modern-legal set is Modern-legal in this printing too, because legality follows the card, not the printing. None of its cards is banned in Legacy, Vintage or Commander. Pauper, the commons-only format, bans Hymn to Tourach and High Tide. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Boosters, precons and singles from Fallen Empires are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
Where can I play Fallen Empires cards?
In Legacy, Vintage and Commander, minus the cards each format bans. Fallen Empires is too old for Standard, Pioneer or Modern as a set, though any card that was later reprinted in a Modern-legal set is Modern-legal in every printing.
Why does Fallen Empires have so many versions of each common?
35 of its 36 commons were printed with three or four arts each, so 102 different cards became 187.
Is Hymn to Tourach legal?
It is legal in Legacy, Vintage and Commander. Pauper bans it, along with High Tide.
Where do Saprolings come from?
Fallen Empires' Thallids, which gain spore counters each upkeep and remove three to make a 1/1 Saproling.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Fallen Empires released on Nov 1, 1994; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
Playing Fallen Empires in Commander?
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