As we showed in Part 1, Magic: The Gathering had a wide variety of looks for the game's booster packs in just the game's firs three years.
By now it was 1996, and Magic was heading off for a new block - the Mirage block. Rather than outline their booster with just a basic card type, they decided to go with a more artful. Gone was the front of the booster declaring it a Deckmaster product. In fact, so much game art covered the front that you could barely tell a card outline was there.
However, Magic continued to do what they did with the Ice Age block and made the first expansion set have multiple artworks for the front, but the two block follow-ups have only one booster front. For example, this was the only booster we got for Weatherlight:
And, if you notice, other changes were made too. "A Richard Garfield Game" no longer appeared on the front, and any semblance of a cardback outline was gone. Magic was all in on the art to sell packs.
The Tempest block kicked off in late 1997, and while art and multiple artworks graced the covers, they also pronounced it as the beginning of the Rath Cycle. Confused about where you are at Magic-wise? Not anymore - you're on the Rath cycle now.
Stronghold kept this up in 1998 but Exodus, the last in the block, suddenly changed everything up again.
As Magic was expanding, they had begun highlighting other varieties of packs in response to many players finding it hard to go right into the expansions. So little level ovals starting appearing on boosters stating exactly who the cards inside were designed for.
Beginner level? That's for newbies. Core boosters, then still known as the "X-th Edition"? Those were for advanced players. But expansion boosters, which delved heavily into the Magic story? Those were for experts only now. They even began explaining it a bit on the back of the boosters.
The Urza block continued on where Exodus left off in terms of design. However, they removed the block's name (eg: 'The Rath Cycle') and decided to just put the name of the set as-is.
Although, curiously, the pattern of the first block expansion set getting multiple booster artworks and the following two only having one followed. Also, as foil cards were being added to booster packs here and there beginning with Urza's Legacy, the company added the words "Premium Cards Randomly Included" up top as a means to advertise that fact.
By now it was late 1999 and Mercadian Masques was about to come out. Wizards had a new logo coming out and Magic boosters needed another shift. And, oh boy, were they going to look a lot different.
We'll get to that in Part III.
