Antiquities is the second
Magic: The Gathering expansion set. It was the first set to have a
backstory unique to
Magic that explores the mythos of the
Magic universe. It is unique among all sets in that almost every card has the word "artifact" printed on it somewhere, either because it is an artifact or because it interacts with artifacts in some way.
Storyline The storyline of
Antiquities is originally told through the flavor text of the cards in the set. It is given in full in the 1998 novel "
The Brothers' War" written by
Jeff Grubb. In 1999 the prequel, "The Thran" by
J. Robert King, appeared. It describes the events leading to the Thran-Phyrexian War and the conflict itself. The Thran are the civilization that created the powerstones that are the cause of the separation and ensuing conflict of Urza and Mishra. The story of
Antiquities takes place on the plane of
Dominaria and centers on the two brothers Urza and Mishra. Urza is born on the first day of the year 0 AR and his brother, Mishra, on the final day of that year. Ten years later, when their father falls ill, they are sent as apprentices to their father's friend, the artificer Tocasia. After several years at Tocasia's camp where the brothers made several inventions and discoveries, they explore the Caves of Koilos, a place filled with Thran artifacts. There the brothers each find one half of a powerstone that sealed the gate to the plane of
Phyrexia, which is also located in the caves. Mutual desire for the other's piece of the powerstone eventually leads them to turn the power of their stones onto each other. Attempting to end the duel, Tocasia puts herself into the middle, leading to her inadvertent death. Afterwards, the brothers separate and leave the excavation site. In the following years, Urza and Mishra come into positions of substantial power in Yotia and among the Fallaji people respectively. After some hostilities, the empires eventually conduct open warfare against each other. The events during the conflict lead to both Urza and Mishra acquiring the leadership among their people. The conflict becomes an all-out war, but no side is able to gain the upper hand. In the final battle of the conflict, both armies fight to a standstill. Eventually, Urza activates the , an artifact that Urza's lieutenant Tawnos received from Mishra's lieutenant Ashnod. The activation of the artifact triggers a blast that destroys the site of the last battle, the island of Argoth, and thus ends the war by destroying both armies. In the aftermath of the conflict, the blast triggered by the Golgothian Sylex upsets the climate of Dominaria leading to an Ice Age. The last days of this conflict were expanded upon further in the 1998 expansion set ''Urza's Saga''.
Rarity Antiquities cards were sold in booster packs that contain eight cards, two from the uncommon sheet, and six from the common sheet. Of the cards in
Antiquities, 29 are U3, meaning that they appear three times on the uncommon print sheet. 4 are U2, and the remaining 26 uncommons are U1. These are usually dubbed the rares of the set. Also the card '''', a U2, exists in two versions, one barely noticeably missing the circle behind the activation cost of the ability. For collector's purposes, Tawnos's Weaponry is thus sometimes counted as two U1 cards. Of the commons, 25 are C4. The remaining commons are 5 C2 and 11 C1. The C1 commons are usually dubbed as uncommons, as a C1 card is exactly as rare as a U3 card. ==''Urza's Saga''==