The Dark

The Dark is the fourth Magic expansion and was released on August 8, 1994. It is not part of any block.
==Set details==
The Dark was printed on sheets of 121 cards and contains 119 unique cards. The set's rarity breakdown is: 41 commons (1@C1, 40@C3) and 78 uncommons (35@U1, 43@U2). The C1 card and U2 cards are together considered the uncommons of the set, and the U1 cards are considered the "rares".
The Dark includes a goblin tribal theme, powerful abilities with intense colored mana and upkeep costs, and the return of Poison counters. The expansion symbol of the set is a thin crescent moon to evoke The Dark’s tone. The Dark introduced the first multicolored noncreature card, the first common multicolored card, and the first enemy-pair multicolored card.
Each of the lands in The Dark has a unique dark grey-purple-colored text box, which was reprinted on the Chronicles version of <c>Safe Haven</c>. 
===Marketing===
The Dark was sold in eight-card booster packs which included six commons and two uncommons. Cards were available from mid-August 1994 through mid-November 1994. Wizards announced the print run to be 62 million cards.Beth Moursund (2002). The Complete Encyclopedia of Magic: The Gathering, Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN-10 1-56025-443-2. The Dark was the first Magic expansion that was released in the Italian language (the Italian Legends was released later).
===Storyline===
The expansion was introduced with a short story describing the ominous and powerful nature of the dark magic from which the set took its name.Ice, Kathy, Beverly Marshall Saling, & Rick Saling Marshall. (1994). "The Dark". The Duelist. Issue 2, Summer 1994.
In the flavor text of the set's cards, another story was told: The climax of the Brothers' War was the Sylex Blast, which lofted debris into the air blotting out the sun and creating The Dark. Without the sun the climate begins to cool, and an anti-magic religion comes to power, blaming the Sylex blast and its effects on all magic and its users. Persecution of these magic-using wizards led to the creation of the fabled City of Shadows in the east and the Conclave of Mages in the west, where they hid themselves during this time.
====Storyline sources====
Title 	Author 	Publishing date	Setting (plane)	Featuring
The Dark* 	Kathy Ice 	Summer 1994 	Mirrankkar 	Mindrel, Brand
Inheritance (Tapestries)* 	S. D. Perry 	July 1995 	Dominaria 	Leen, Scio, Mita, Seran, Katlya, Shaim, Rag Man, Keil
A Monstrous Duty (Distant Planes)* 	Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury	June 1996 	Dominaria 	Torya Longshanks, Rogan, Jess, Delly, Lacjsi (mentioned), Mairsil (mentioned), Ith (mentioned)
Dark Legacy* 	Robert E. Vardeman 	November 1996 	Dominaria 	Yunnie, Mytaru, Essa, Heryeon, Mehonvo, Usru, Noadia, Peemel, Offero, Apepei, Digody, Edara, Pioni, Dylees, Deguhe, Maeveen O'Donagh, Vervamon, Jenns, Boyzen, Quopomma, Iro, Isak Glen'Dard, Ihesia, Sacumon, Tiyint, Coernn, Ferantia, Aesor, Hoty, Oseltei, Slyfoot, Sten El-rohar, Lani Thesavert, Pardano, Otto, Felal, Nesha, Dalalego, Oji, Rontiquerio, Wesim, Adterlo, Tavora, Pardano, Feyne, Ehno
A Song out of Darkness (The Colors of Magic)	Loren L. Coleman 	February 1999 	Dominaria 	Temken, Gwenna
Bound in Shallows (The Colors of Magic) 	Kevin T. Stein 	February 1999 	Dominaria 	Annise, Dumoss
Loran's Smile (The Colors of Magic) 	Jeff Grubb 	February 1999 	Dominaria 	Feldon, Loran, Drafna, Hurkyl (mentioned), the Archimandrite (mentioned)
The Gathering Dark 	Jeff Grubb 	June 1999 	Dominaria 	Arkol, Ith, Mairsil, Rag Man, Vervamon (mentioned), Jodah, Voska, Jarsyl (mentioned), Thargrin (mentioned), Tanar, Delphine, Michelle, Dobbs, Sima, Togath, Fendah, Tivadar, Barl, Lucan, Drusilla, Alex, Betje, Shannan, Ophenia, San-Lo, Dorine, Dervish, Jonko, Orm, Nedastophalites, Remarin, Ingles, Wode
The Fog (The Dragons of Magic) 	Tim Ryan 	August 2001 	Dominaria 	Agrippa, Lyssius, Pari
*These stories are of pre-revisionist canon.
==Creature types==
The Dark greatly expanded the concept of a tribe, or a specific creature type (briefly touched upon in Legends with the kobold creature type). It contains six goblins, a card named <c>Goblin Rock Sled</c>, two creatures with abilities that reference goblins, two Auras that can give a bonus to goblins, and a sorcery to destroy all goblins — <c>Tivadar's Crusade</c>. Despite this creature-type theme, most of the rest of the set used unusual, creature-specific creature types like other early expansions.
The following creature types are introduced in this expansion: 
Original summon type	Later creature type
Bandit 	Human Rogue
Brother 	Human Shaman
Cave People 	Human
Exorcist 	Human Cleric
Hunter 	Human Cleric
Miracle Worker 	Human Cleric
Mob 	Human
People of the Woods 	Human
Pikemen 	Human Soldier
Preacher 	Human Cleric
Robber 	Human Rogue
Scavenger Folk 	Scavenger, then Human
Sister 	Human Shaman
Squire 	Human Soldier
Tracker 	Human
Uncle Istvan 	Human
Leech 	(Unchanged)
Lurker 	Beast
Nameless-Race 	(No creature type)
Whippoorwill 	Bird
Ball Lightning 	Elemental
Eel 	Fish
Shark 	Fish, then back to Shark
Rock Sled 	Goblin
Eater 	Horror
Rag Man 	Minion
General 	Orc Warrior
Niall Silvain 	Ouphe
Viper 	Snake
Banshee 	Spirit
Fallen 	Zombie
Murk Dwellers 	Zombie
The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Drake, Elf, Goblin, Hag, Imp, Knight, Leviathan, Merfolk, Monster, Rat, Ship (later changed to Spirit), Slug, Treefolk, Wall, Wizard, Wurm and Zombie.
==Cycles==
The Dark has no cycles.
The recurring cycle of color hosers is broken. Some green and blue cards support black and red, instead of hosing them. Metaphorically, in the Dark, White was abandoned by its allies Green and Blue.
 Color hosers
White 	Black
(P/T depend on opponent's black) 	(P/T depend on opponent's white)
(destroy black creatures) 	(damage depending on opponent's white)
White 	Red
(destroy Goblins) (protection from red)	(put Goblins onto the battlefield, give protection from white)
 "Traitor colors"
Green for Black 	Blue for Red
(black mana source) (ability activated by black mana) (polychrome black/green card)	(ability activated by red mana)
In later expansions, there will be cycles of allied color cards. In the Dark, this cycle is broken. As stated above, White is betrayed by its Green and Blue allies.
 Allied colors
Green & Red 	Red & Black 	Black & Blue
(polychrome green/red card)	(polychrome red/black card)	(blue card, ability activated by black mana)
===Pairs===
The Dark has one mirrored pair
Mirrored Pairs	Mirrored Pairs	Description
 	 	Both have names related to the Book of Common Prayer, and are both uncommon sorceries with a mana cost of 1MM that exile two permanents of a certain type.
==Notable cards==
*<c>Ball Lightning</c> is a favorite red creature. It inspired many hasty disposable creatures, including <c>Skizzik</c>, <c>Blistering Firecat</c>, <c>Spark Elemental</c>, and <c>Lightning Serpent</c>. Before receiving errata, Ball Lightning only had to be sacrificed at the beginning of the end step of the turn it enters the battlefield instead of at the end step of any turn, allowing some loopholes around its intended impermanence before errata was issued to fix it.
*<c>Maze of Ith</c> is a powerful land with a reusable single-creature <c>Fog</c> effect that slowed many games down significantly.
*<c>Tormod's Crypt</c> is one of the best sideboard cards against decks that use the graveyard as a resource.
*<c>Blood Moon</c> is a Modern staple first printed in The Dark.
==Functional reprints==
The Dark has one functional reprint:
*<c>Goblin Hero</c> is a functional reprint of <c>Gray Ogre</c> from Revised and <c>Raging Bull</c> from Legends, save for creature type.
==Trivia==
*Many cards in this set blatantly conflict with today's ideas of a color pie. <c>Erosion</c> is blue land destruction. <c>Fire and Brimstone</c> is white direct damage. <c>Fissure</c> is red targeted creature destruction. <c>Holy Light</c> is white toughness reduction. <c>Mana Vortex</c> is blue mass land destruction. <c>Merfolk Assassin</c> offers blue repeatable creature destruction. <c>Mind Bomb</c> is blue direct damage or discard. <c>Preacher</c> offers white repeatable creature control. <c>Witch Hunter</c> is both white direct damage and repeatable bounce. <c>Word of Binding</c> is black creature tapping.
*Although the multicolored cards in the Legends expansion did not, the three multicolored cards in The Dark have reminder text to remind the player that the card counts as two colors.
*Only one of the four lands printed in The Dark produces mana.
==Misprints==
The artist Dennis Detwiller is incorrectly credited as Denise Detwiler on the following cards:
*<c>Flood</c>
*<c>Goblin Rock Sled</c> 
*<c>Merfolk Assassin</c> 
*<c>Pikemen</c> 
*<c>Scavenger Folk</c> 
*<c>Squire</c> 
*<c>Tivadar's Crusade</c>
==References==
==External links==
* (old)
*Official The Dark Information Product Page (new)
*The Dark checklist