Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Tracking Power of Persuasion's Print Runs Across Expansions

In MTG lore and practice alike, the journey of a card through printings is a microcosm of the game's ever-shifting ecosystem. When we talk about tracking print frequency across expansions, we’re not just chasing rumor or price spikes—we’re mapping how Wizards of the Coast experiments with mana costs, card text, and flavor across sets. Power of Persuasion, a blue sorcery from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms ( AFR), serves as an inviting case study. Its d20-powered outcome table is as flavorful as it is strategic, and its actual print history offers a clean lens on how a single card can thread through a single printing versus a multifold print run later on. 🧙‍♂️🔥💎

Set the stage: AFR and the blue dice of fate

Power of Persuasion costs {2}{U} and arrives in AFR as an uncommon blue spell. Its oracle text is a tiny drama in three acts: you pick an opponent’s creature, you roll a d20, and the result determines tempo, topdeck order, or even control. The outcomes are delightfully punishing or oddly telegraphed, depending on how you read the roll: 1–9 returns the creature to its owner’s hand, 10–19 lets its owner decide top or bottom of their library, and a natural 20 lets you seize control until the end of your next turn. The dice-influenced whimsy is quintessentially MTG with a dash of D&D, a flavor that AFR wears proudly on its sleeve. 🎲⚔️

“Choose target creature an opponent controls, then roll a d20. 1–9: Return it to its owner's hand. 10–19: Its owner puts it on their choice of the top or bottom of their library. 20: Gain control of it until the end of your next turn.”

From a design perspective, the card embodies the tension between control and volatility that blue decks chase. It trades a predictable effect for a chance to disrupt your opponent’s plan—or to slipstream into a surprising advantage. The art by Brian Valeza reinforces the theme: a poised mind reading the room, a spark of magic ready to tilt outcomes with a single whisper. This is the kind of card that makes a table grin and a metagame strategist start muttering about game-theory implications. 🧙‍♂️🎨

Print runs in practice: single print or recurring echoes?

According to Scryfall’s data for Power of Persuasion ( AFR), the card has a documented print in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms with rarity listed as uncommon. The data also shows that the card’s reprint flag is false, and there’s no evident variation in its printed form (no alternate art or extended print). In short, as of AFR’s release window, Power of Persuasion appeared once in a standard AFR print run, with foil and nonfoil finishes, and it did not immediately spawn a reprint in a following set. This creates a clean baseline for tracking: a distinct, one-shot print run, at least initially, versus the long tail of reprint cycles that many powerful or iconic cards accumulate over years. The card’s price snapshot—roughly a few cents in standard market terms—also hints at its position as a quirky but not overwhelmingly demanded spell in the modern era. Still, the card’s uniqueness in its dice-driven flavor ensures it remains a topic of curiosity for collectors and casual players alike. 💎

How to model print frequency across expansions

If you’re building a data-forward view of how cards travel through expansions, here are practical steps, using Power of Persuasion as a reference point:

• Capture the base print: Record the set, rarity, and print date (AFR, uncommon, 2021-07-23 in this case). Note if the card is part of a basic or special product line (booster, bundle, etc.).
• Check for reprints: Verify across major databases (Scryfall, Gatherer, MTGJSON) whether the card appears in subsequent expansions or special editions. Power of Persuasion shows no reprint flag at present, giving it a clean baseline.
• Identify secondary finishes: Foil vs nonfoil counts and any etched or alternative art variants. The AFR card lists both foil and nonfoil finishes, which can influence collector value and supply dynamics over time.
• Timeline of availability: Track the card’s availability window, from initial release to any announced reprint windows or vault products. Even if a card isn’t reprinted, product lines (Masters sets, promos) can affect liquidity and demand. 🧠
• Market signals: Monitor price data, playability in formats, and EDH/Commander relevance. A card with dice-driven control can cling to niche but devoted decks, keeping it in circulation despite a modest price.

In this framework, Power of Persuasion stands as a compact data point: a single AFR printing, with a measurable foil footprint, and no later reprints at the time of data collection. For analysts, it’s a crisp anchor to compare with cards that have multiple prints, shared mechanics, or cross-set reprints. The broader lesson is that print frequency isn’t just about how many times a card is printed; it’s about how often it remains a viable strategic option across formats and metas. 🧙‍♂️🎲

What this means for players and collectors

For players, Power of Persuasion is a reminder of the fun and risk of blue control—especially in a roll-of-the-dice framework. You weigh tempo gains against the chance your own board state could be altered in unpredictable ways. For collectors, the card’s AFR print with foil variants offers a snapshot of early-2020s crossovers between MTG and D&D—a pairing that still captivates fans who savor both strategic depth and flavorful storytelling. The card’s price trajectory, modest as it is, reflects its status as a quirky, fun pick rather than a staple modern staple—yet any given game night could turn on a precise 20 and a well-timed tempo swing. 🔥⚔️

As enthusiasts, we celebrate not just the mechanics but the stories that surround them. The Power of Persuasion sample invites us to imagine a campaign where magic and dice determine fate, where a single spell can shuffle outcomes as deftly as a rogue slides a card through a deck. And while print runs may rise and fall with time, the idea of tracing a card’s journey across expansions remains a powerful way to understand MTG’s evolving design choices and collecting culture. 🎲💎

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