Alpha : 285
Revised: 250
Fourth Edition: 211
Fifth Edition: 151
Sixth Edition: 79
Seventh Edition: 60
Eighth Edition: 40
Ninth Edition: 24
Tenth Edition: 16
Magic 2010: 8
Magic 2011: 2
Magic 2012: 1
With last year's Magic 2012, Giant Spider became the winner of Core Set Survivor. But what about the future? Will Giant Spider continue to reign unchallenged in Magic 2013? To find out the answer,
No! Giant Spider is not in the Magic 2013 Core Set! That means there will no longer be any card that appears in every core set. We've achieved 100% turnover.
The New Core Set Survivor
So now, the Core Set Survivor game has to change, since we ran out of cards doing it the old way. There are two ways we can calculate things from now on:
1. What Card Has Been in the Most Core Sets?
Right now, it's clearly Giant Spider, right? Well, maybe not! Through Magic 2012, the following cards had only missed one core set each:
- Birds of Paradise (skipped Ninth Edition)
- Giant Growth (skipped Magic 2012)
- Llanowar Elves (skipped Eighth Edition)
- Unsummon (skipped Ninth Edition)
If any of these cards makes it into Magic 2013, there will be a tie for "what card has been in the most core sets." But that might not be as interesting as...
2. What Card Has Been in the Core Set the Longest?
Through Magic 2012 (because we don't want to give away any more information about the upcoming Magic 2013 than we have to), the answer is still Giant Spider, which has been in thirteen straight core sets. But what's next? What cards that are neither basic lands nor Giant Spider have been in the core set the longest? What's the longest current streak?
Gravedigger and Pacifism have been in every core set since Sixth Edition, making seven in a row. Next, Lava Axe, Mind Rot, and Serra Angel have been in every core set since Seventh Edition, making six in a row.