Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights was the first expansion set for Magic the Gathering.  It was released in Decemember 1993, five months after the original game had been released.  The theme for the set was based on the classic Middle Eastern tales, 1001 Arabian Nights, which featured characters such as Aladdin, Sinbad and numerous djinni.  The symbol for the set was the Arabian scimitar.  The cards quickly sold out, especially in the UK, and even at the time were very sought after by players and collectors alike.

Set Design

It had originally been planned to make the expansion set with a pink back, as opposed to the normal black Magic the Gathering back.  The rationale behind this was to allow players to choose whether they wanted to play against Arabian Nights or not, in effect making it like an optional add on.  It was also felt there would be a risk that the game could become too complex. However, just before publication the feedback from players had been so negative, it was decided to make the backs the same as standard Magic cards.  Instead the scimitar symbol was inserted so that people could recognise the cards as being from the Arabian expansion set.  This is considered by many to be the most important decision made in Magic history, and has certainly contributed to the long lasting appeal of Magic.

Notable Errors

Differences in print runs led to there being two different generic mana symbols, one light and another slightly smaller and darker.  This is why although there are 78 unique cards, when taking into account the light and dark variants, most collectors consider the set to be 92 cards in size.

Notice the difference in the mana symbols - the dark variant is on the left

The inclusion of the Arabian mountain was also by error.  Orignally it had been planned to remove all basic land from the set.  However, the mountain was left in by accident.

Famous Cards

Bazaar of Baghdad : This powerful and expensive land card has the ability to both draw and discard cards, which is instrumental to the powerful Madness and Dragon archetypes. Baghdad was the central location for many of the tales of the Arabian Nights.

Juzam Djinn : Considered to be one of the best black creatures ever, it remains so to this day.  It is also the most expensive black card to purchase.  Juzam comes from the arabic term for "evil". Two swamps and a dark ritual for 2nd turn 5/5....nasty

Library of Alexandria : An extremely powerful card that allows a player to draw a card when he has seven in hand.  It was made famous by Zak Dolan using it in his deck which won the first world championship.  Some people even consider this to be part of the Power 9.  Throw in a Library of Leng and say a Howling Mine, and you can tunnel that deck!!!  Alexandria itself was mentioned in The Arabian Nights as a centre of learning and knowledge.

Collecting

This remains one of the most difficult Magic the Gathering sets to complete.  As mentioned above there are 92 cards to collect.  Cards vary in price from £1 up to £150 for the Bazaar of Baghdad in mint condition (a rare find indeed). Unopened booster packs retail for at least $100, if you can find one.  Perhaps one of the rarest finds in Magic would be an unopened booster box, which has a value of over $9450. Due to it being the first ever set it still holds much nostalgia value for many players, and is my favourite set.

Legend

Legend has it that two pallets of Arabian Nights boosters were seized by Canadian customers officers back in 1993 and impounded.  If the rumours are true they are still being held in a customs compound somewhere in Canada.  For many Magic the Gathering players, finding them would be the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail, or even better Amazing Fantasy #15 in gem mint condition!

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