State of Play - July 16, 2025
Jake Ledson
Genesis of the Token
Before the language around tokens was formalized, creating a token looked different. The first card to create a token was The Hive in Alpha, a five-mana artifact that could be tapped for five mana to produce a 1/1 Wasp token, which gave players complete freedom in how they represented their new creature token. Players often used dice, coins, or matches to stand in for tokens. Eventually, players commonly used card backs with glass beads placed on top of cards to indicate that they were tapped.
The Dualist: The beginning of the paper token
It was not until two years later, in 1995, Wizards of the Coast issued the first official physical paper token, found on a cardboard sheet in the fourth edition of the Duelist magazine. The sheet comes with 14 different paper counters and 5 unique creature tokens: Goblin, Saproling, Citizen, Thrull, and Camarid tokens
The first official Token: Unglued
Magic’s first Un-set, Unglued, was perhaps best known for its novelty card designs and tongue-in-cheek references. However, this quirky set also introduced two features that have since become staples of modern Magic: full-art lands and token cards.
Tokens are now officially printed on standard 2.5 by 3.5-inch cardstock, the same size as a typical Magic card. The first series of these charming full-art tokens included a Squirrel, Pegasus, Zombie, Soldier, Goblin, and Sheep.
The Token Dilemma
Upon release, these tokens often confused players, as they featured the same cardbacks as regular Magic cards. As a result, many players mistakenly shuffled them into their decks. Eventually, Wizards of the Coast solved this token dilemma by shifting to double-sided tokens or having promotional material on the back of the card. Advertising services and events that can only live in the past, like planeswalker points, FMN events, and Magic Duels. Serving as a fossil record of Magic: The Gathering, a buried archive of player culture. Sifting through them, either being a nostalgic romp, or a source of FOMO for a time when players were more valued, and the soul of the game revolved around 1v1 FMN draft nights and kitchen table brewing.
The Future of the Token
What started as a novelty mechanic has only become an increasingly core part of Magic: The Gathering. Reflecting the broader evolution of the game, moving towards a more board/creature-centric design philosophy. Now, with more tokens being introduced into each new set, adding to the already over 300 existing unique tokens with cards in the thousands, manifesting these cardboard rectangles we have all become so attached to. Nothing has quite captured this push towards the token like the success of Bloomburrow and the Final Fantasy set. Bloomburrow alone has brought us 30 new unique creature tokens, carried by the offspring mechanic. As well as, The Final Fantasy set also brings us 24 new and unique tokens into the fray, mainly tied to its job select mechanic. An extremely flavorful mechanic bringing life into Final Fantasy’s iconic class system. I don’t think it's a coincidence that these are some of the best-selling sets of all time. Both are known as sets that brought in a whole new audience into the game. Creatures are what resonates, and creatures creating other creatures resonate even more so. Forecasting a future with many more creature tokens to come in Magic. From the perspective of someone who works for a company that caters to providing artistic and custom tokens, you will hear no complaints. The humble token has a lot to offer: another avenue for creative expression, a time capsule of magic identity, and most importantly, representing what’s happening in this confusing and cluttered game we love. Signing off <3
