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"Life is a resource that should only belong to the strong." -Shauku, Endbringer

Mirage has done all but sizzle up Magic: the Gathering. This October expansion chronicles the tales of the equatorial continent of Jamuraa, under siege by a mad sorcerer. Mirage introduced two new rules, flanking and phasing, as well as new spells such as mana source and Enchant Permanent and a revised rulebook. Theme decks benefited from a variety of creatures from dragons, djinns and efreets to merfolk and Griffins.

As promised earlier, Mirage also has a ten-card subset of collectible and playable cards within its 350 card set. The seven dragons (Canopy, Pearl, Volcanic, Catacomb, Mist, and Crimson Hellkite), the two dragon legends Zirilan and Hivis, and the white anti-dragon legend Rashida comprise this small subset.

Mirage has also provided a plethora of new artists, including Steve Luke and Una Fricker, as well as artists who entered the Magic crew at the time of Alliances, the sequel set to Ice Age. Visions will add several new artists, including Tony Diterlizzi (Necrosavant). Although several of the major artists of Magic exited, including Rob Alexander, Amy Weber, and Melissa Benson, many of the regular members of the art crew remain, including Pete Venters, Richard Kane Ferguson, Drew Tucker, and Christopher Rush (whose illustrations and paintings will return in Visions).

Mirage is now also the home to the second Atog, Foratog (another Atog, Chronatog, will appear in Visions-tune into the second page to see it), as well as the largest creature of Magic, the behemoth Phyrexian Dreadnought, a 12/12 trampling artifact creature that costs only 1 generic mana (obviously there is a drawback to this). Mirage has also heralded the return of the 'Jewelry', namely, the Black Lotus and Moxes, in the form of the six diamonds. Lion's Eye Diamond, the new incarnation of Black Lotus, has a serious drawback, and is indeed considered by many the worse Mirage card. The other diamonds, reincarnations of the Moxes, are uncommon.

Nine djinns and efreets have been added to Mirage, as well as a new library-tampering artifact, the Grinning Totem. A Time Walk with a twist, Final Fortune, can be combined with a Time Vault to make a combo that gives you a free turn-no drawbacks, no penalty. Taniwha, the new 7/7 trample, is balanced by its ability of phasing. Mirage also reprinted cards from the basic set to expansions. Sandstorm, Incinerate, and Memory Lapse still retain their common status in the new expansion.

Celestial Dawn, the Hammer of Bogardan, Sacred Mesa, and Crimson Hellkite are among the expensive and desired, all right behind the Grinning Totem. Quite a few Enchant Worlds, at least one for each color, are in Mirage, as well as a bunch of legends, from Hakim, Loreweaver, Taniwha, and Spirit of the Night to Sidar Jabari and Zuberi, Golden Feather.

Now the second largest expansion, right behind Ice Age, Mirage is sold in 15-card boosters and 60-card starters.

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