October 2003 - 306 Cards

Mirrodin is notable for being the first expansion set to feature the new card front design (debuted - 8th Edition).

The setting for Mirrodin is a plane by the same name. An artificial world created by the planeswalker Karn, and named after the mirari by Memnarch, Mirrodin's environments and inhabitants mix organic and metallic ideologies. Mirrodin is orbited by four satellites, which are called by suns and moons that correspond to red, black, white and blue magic. Green was notably absent until (storyline) Glissa Sunseeker became a conduit for its birth.

The set focuses on five main regions on Mirrodin, each corresponding to a part of the Magic color pie:

• The Oxidda Chain, a range of mountains populated by goblins and the human Vulshok tribe.
• The Tangle, a dense jungle populated by elves, the human Sylvok tribe and horrible beasts.
• The Mephidross, a dreadful swamp, and a home of Nim (zombies) and the human Moriok tribe.
• Quicksilver Sea, a sea of mercury populated by Vedalken and the human Neurok tribe.
• Razor Grass Fields, the plains of Mirrodin, overgrown with sharp metallic grass and home to the Leonin, the human Auriok tribe and Loxodon.

The main character of the story is the elf Glissa Sunseeker, who visits all these places, guided by revenge against the machines that killed her family.

Below is the list of mechanics introduced by Mirrodin:

• Affinity - This keyword reduces the total cost of the spell by the number of permanents in play of a certain type, for instance "affinity for artifacts" under your control. This mechanic was extremely powerful and "Affinity" decks quickly monopolised Magic: The Gathering tournaments (see below), eventually resulting in sweeping bannings of the most powerful Affinity-related cards in an effort to revive the tournament scene.
• Artifact lands - While artifact creatures were not a new story, Mirrodin introduced artifact lands. These were the great helpers to the previous mechanic, increasing the artifact count while still being considered lands.
• Imprint - This keyword allows a player to "imprint" some card on the artifact (removing that card from the game). That artifact's effect depends on the card imprinted (for example you can imprint a creature on Soul Foundry and then activate it to reproduce copies of that creature).
• Entwine - An ability on spells, which normally require a player to choose only one of multiple effects. By paying the Entwine cost, all of the effects occur.
• Equipment - A new artifact subtype that denotes things which could be wielded or worn by creatures. Equipment functions like "Enchant Creature" cards of (now called Auras) in that they provide some effect while attached to the creature. Unlike Auras, however, Equipment can only be attached to creatures you control in most cases, and can remain in play even if they aren't attached to anything. Equipment has gone on to be a staple of Magic in general, being featured in future core sets and expansions.