Plague Rats

Plague Rats was originally released in the 1993 Alpha set for Magic: The Gathering, designed by Richard Garfield as a foundational black-aligned creature. The Unlimited Edition printing in 1993 served as the first mass-market expansion for the game, utilizing the same iconic artwork by Christopher Rush. The design intent behind the card was to leverage a unique mechanical scaling effect, where each additional copy of the card on the battlefield increased the power and toughness of every other Plague Rat, rewarding players for drafting or drawing multiples of the same unit.

Christopher Rush, a legendary illustrator in the early history of the game, provided the visceral, dark aesthetic that helped define the visual language of early Magic. His portrayal of a swarming, indistinct mass of rodents captured the dread associated with black mana in the game's color pie. Upon its release, the card became a staple of early limited play and casual formats, remembered by long-term collectors for its distinctive ability to alter the state of the board through sheer numerical superiority.