Do New "Playtest" Cards Point To Reserved List Reprints In The Future?

A few days ago, we got very strange, somewhat cryptic news via an article titled "A tale of a non-tournament legal Counterspell" over on Magic.wizards.com. It showed a weird version of Counterspell, which looked like some of the playtest cards we've seen in the past. The only thing that accompanied the image was a few enigmatic paragraphs that left more questions than answers. So, let's take a look at what we do know and if it points to what many players are thinking.

New Playtest Cards Incoming

If you're familiar with the Myestry Booster playtest cards, this will look like something you've seen before. Kind of? For those who aren't familiar with them, they're black & white card faces that are made to look like homemade cards pasted on top of regular cards. Members of the R&D team do the art, and there are no collector numbers. In the case of the Mystery Booster playtest cards, even the names were changed to comical, and the effects were whacky. They said "test card" on the card itself and were not tournament legal.

This counterspell is different, though. It does say playtest, but unlike previous versions, it has the official card name and art. However, it states clearly in the article where this was revealed that the card (and any others coming in the future) is not tournament legal. So, this is a non-legal, playtest version of a legal card. What's the purpose of this?

According to the original article, it's just "supercool." And while it may be cool, what they plan to do with these non-legal playtest cards wasn't clear. Here is everything WOTC had to say on the matter:

That's it. 170 words, and the picture you saw above is all we got. And these few paragraphs don't provide much info. To paraphrase and condense their post, "Here's a counterspell that looks like a playtest card but has official art and card name. Despite Counterspell being an official, legal card, this version won't be playable. And word has it that there will be more of these in the future. Oh, and again, not tournament legal!"

So, what does this little teaser mean? Many players think it points to using "playtest" cards to reprint Reserved List cards.

Does This Indicate Reserved List Reprints?

Let me start with what the Reserved List is. It's a list of cards that will never be reprinted in a tournament-legal paper set, literally or via a functionally identical card. This restriction includes promotional products like Judge promos and Secret Lair drops. The list is in place to help the cards maintain their value on the secondary market.

30th Anniversary Edition

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast released a commemorative, collectible set that included non-tournament legal reprints of Beta, which consists of a plethora of Reserved List cards. However, considering they had alternative backs and aren't tournament legal, they don't technically violate the obligation put in place with the RL.

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While the 30th Anniversary Edition product was a big flop, the cards are scarce and have value. And it shows that WOTC can technically reprint RL cards under the banner of "non-tournament" versions. As many have pointed out, this essentially makes them "official proxies." Considering how many of the 170 words of the statement above were devoted to making sure we knew the upcoming playtest cards weren't legal, it seems to indicate where they're going with the cards.

Playtest Cards Will Be Magic 30 2.0

With that preface out of the way, I want to point out two key factors.

First, is the card choice itself. Why Counterspell? Because it's a contemporary card, that makes you think these playtest cards might be modern of cards. However, Counterspell was also printed in Magic's very first sets. It's just reprinted a ton since then. This means that the playtest cards could 100% be of ABU, even though the card they choose for the announcement doesn't immediately ring alarm bells the way a Mox or a Lotus would.

Next, look at the date in the bottom left corner of the card. It says January 2023, which is odd. This card was printed seven months ago! When did Magic 30 come out? At the end of 2022. This means they started printing these soon after that product flopped. Now this is just speculation, but it feels like they're laying the groundwork to release more Magic 30-type products. Again, why else go so hard to ensure we know the cards aren't legal?

And as mentioned, we've had playtest cards before, and everything that made them "playtest" cards isn't here. They aren't new or unique cards like the original ones and no longer have the aesthetics of the cards that R&D tests with. I struggle to develop alternative ideas about why these cards would exist and why the announcement was made the way it was, if not some RL shenanigans.

Conclusion

The announcement (link here) is hard to make sense of. There's really no info there aside from "Look at this super cool card. It's a version of a playable card that you can't play." Which doesn't make much sense at all. Why would anyone want a version of a highly-played $1 card that they can't play with? My guess is because it's part of a more extensive set... And Counterspell was part of MTG's oldest sets. Comment below and let me hear your thoughts on this and its meaning.