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Five shards, three colors each
What this set is
Shards of Alara is set on a plane split into five shards, each built from one color and its two allies: Bant (green-white-blue), Esper (white-blue-black), Grixis (blue-black-red), Jund (black-red-green) and Naya (red-green-white). 51 of its cards are three-color, and the five tri-lands, such as Jungle Shrine and Arcane Sanctum, tap for one shard's colors.
It is the set that introduced mythic rare, the rarity above rare. 15 of its cards are mythic, the five shard legends among them, and every set since has used the rarity.
Each shard has a mechanic: exalted for Bant, artifacts for Esper, unearth for Grixis, devour for Jund and power 5 or greater for Naya. Its legends, Sharuum the Hegemon, Kresh the Bloodbraided, Rafiq of the Many, Sedris, the Traitor King and Mayael the Anima, are still common three-color commanders.
Themes
Every mechanic in Shards of Alara
Exalted (Bant)
Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each instance of exalted among your permanents.
Unearth (Grixis)
Pay the unearth cost to return the creature from your graveyard with haste; it is exiled at the next end step or if it would leave the battlefield.
Devour (Jund)
As the creature enters, you may sacrifice any number of creatures; it enters with N +1/+1 counters for each one.
Mythic rare
Not a mechanic but a rarity: a tier above rare, appearing in place of a rare in some boosters. Shards of Alara has 15.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
Shards of Alara is a single code with nothing banned anywhere.
Not Standard-legal, and never Pioneer-legal: Pioneer starts at Return to Ravnica (October 2012). Everything here is legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander unless a ban list says otherwise. None of its cards is banned or restricted in any of those formats. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Commanders
The most played commanders from Shards of Alara
The legends this set is best known for. Tap one for its printings and what it costs.
Boosters, precons and singles from Shards of Alara are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
Where can I play Shards of Alara cards?
In Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander, minus the cards each format bans. Shards of Alara left Standard long ago and was never in Pioneer, which starts in 2012.
Did mythic rares start in Shards of Alara?
Yes. It introduced the mythic rare rarity, with 15 mythics.
What are the five shards?
Bant (green-white-blue), Esper (white-blue-black), Grixis (blue-black-red), Jund (black-red-green) and Naya (red-green-white): each a color and its two allies.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Shards of Alara released on Oct 3, 2008; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
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