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Alpha, finished
What this set is
Beta is the second print run of the first Magic card list, two months after Alpha. It keeps Alpha's black border and art, and it is the version of that list most people mean when they say "Alpha and Beta" together, because Alpha's run was small and Beta's was larger.
Two changes matter. Beta adds Volcanic Island and Circle of Protection: Black, the two cards Alpha left out, which takes the list to 292 different cards. It also gives each basic land a third art, so the set has 302 cards in all. Beta's corners are cut to the same shape as every later card, which is how its cards are told apart from Alpha's.
Everything that makes Alpha matter is here too: the Power Nine, all ten original dual lands for the first time, and Commander staples such as Sol Ring, Demonic Tutor and Birds of Paradise. 48 cards are on the Reserved List, one more than Alpha because Volcanic Island is one of them.
Themes
Every mechanic in Beta
Flying
A creature with flying can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach. Reach is the modern keyword for what Giant Spider's text spelled out in 1993.
First strike
It deals combat damage before creatures without first strike, so it can kill a blocker or attacker before that creature deals any damage back.
Trample
Once lethal damage is assigned to every blocker, the rest goes through to the player. Without it, a blocked creature's whole power is absorbed by the block.
Regenerate
The next time the creature would be destroyed this turn, it is tapped, all damage is removed from it and it is removed from combat instead. It doesn't stop exile or a sacrifice.
Banding
Creatures with banding, plus up to one without, can attack as a group that is blocked as one. When a creature with banding blocks or is blocked, its controller divides the combat damage dealt to their creatures. It is rarely printed, and is one of the harder rules from this era to apply at the table.
Protection and landwalk
Protection from a color means it can't be blocked, targeted, damaged or enchanted by anything of that color. Landwalk (swampwalk, forestwalk) makes a creature unblockable while the defending player controls that land type.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
Beta is one code with the same ban picture as Alpha, since it is the same card list plus two cards neither of which is banned anywhere.
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. 23 of these cards are banned in Legacy, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk and Timetwister. Commander bans 17: the same Power cards except Timetwister, plus Balance, Channel, Fastbond, Time Vault, Chaos Orb, Crusade and the three ante cards (Contract from Below, Darkpact and Demonic Attorney). Vintage restricts 16 to one copy and bans only those three ante cards, Chaos Orb and Crusade. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Boosters, precons and singles from Beta are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
Where can I play Beta cards?
In Legacy, Vintage and Commander, minus the cards each format bans. Beta 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.
What is the difference between Alpha and Beta?
Beta added the two cards Alpha left out, Volcanic Island and Circle of Protection: Black, and a third art for each basic land. Its corners are cut like every later card, while Alpha's are rounder.
How do I tell Beta from Unlimited?
The border. Beta is black-bordered and Unlimited, the next printing of the same list, is white-bordered.
How many cards are in Beta?
302, which is 292 different cards with three arts for each of the five basic lands.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Limited Edition Beta released on Oct 4, 1993; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
Playing Beta in Commander?
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