Masterpiece Series and Bonus Sheets

Fblthp the Lost card art

As I pondered what theme(s) to cover this month, I came across one of my first posts, on core sets and expansions. Perusing that made me realize how much the releases have changed since then. One concept increasingly common since that time has been Bonus Sheets, a 'sibling' of Masterpiece Series. Both are supplemental cards included as part of another set's release (though they generally relate to the theme of the main set in some way), but with some important distinctions.

Masterpiece Series

First released in the Battle for Zendikar block, these premium cards were foil reprints. They had alternate card frames, set symbols, and art. They were available only in boosters and very hard to get (Reddit claims you had a 1/432 chance for a Zendikar Expeditions card). (I never got one . . . not that I'm bitter.) Their scarcity can make them expensive. I don't know if Wizards stopped doing these, but it has been a few years since we saw them.

• Zendikar Expeditions (2015); 45 cards, all lands
• Kaladesh Inventions (2016); 54 cards, all artifacts
• Amonkhet Invocations (2017); 54 cards
• Zendikar Rising Expeditions (2020); 30 cards, all lands, similar look to Zendika Expeditions

Bonus Sheets

Bonus sheets are similar to Masterpiece Series, but the cards are much more available. They are reprints (not necessarily foil) with either retro frames (Magic's frame before 2003) or alternate card frames. They might come one or more to a booster pack. After a taste in 2006, they took off in 2021.

• Time Spiral Timeshifted (2006); 121 cards
• Time Spiral Remastered Timeshifted (2021); 121 cards (starting with card 290)
• Mystical Archive (2021); 63 cards
• Retro Frame Artifacts (2022); 63 cards
• Multiverse Legends (2022); 65 cards
• Enchanting Tales (2023); 63 cards

Points to Note

Bonus sheets are different than the showcase, extended art, or borderless cards that have become prevalent since Throne of Eldraine (original article explaining it all). In those cases, the cards are alternate versions of the 'normal'-framed cards in that set. Bonus sheets, on the other hand, offer cards unavailable in the normal set.

Since they come in packs, bonus sheet cards (and I assume Masterpiece Series as well) are legal in a limited enivornment: in other words, if you play draft or sealed, you could include them in a deck you make for that event. But in constructed, they are legal only in the format(s) the original card would be.

Final Thoughts

Bonus sheets are a nice way to access reprints of cards you missed the first time around, and they add a little flair in offering alternate treatments. On their own, they are cool. That said, when you combine these frames with others across Magic's history, it can make for an aesthetic mess (color/style clashing normally doesn't bother me, but in games, I guess I like a uniform look). And it can be potentially confusing for new players. So it is for some, but not all.