Richard Garfield, Ph.D.

Richard Garfield, Ph.D. was originally released as a promotional card for the 2006 World Championships, designed by the game's creator, Richard Garfield, to honor his own influence on Magic: The Gathering. As a silver-bordered card, it operates outside the standard rules of the game, utilizing mechanics that reflect Garfield's scholarly background and his role as the architect of the trading card game genre. The card's design features art by Randy Gallegos, which depicts Garfield in a classroom setting, intentionally mirroring the aesthetic of a classic university professor to lean into the playful, meta-humorous nature of the Un-sets.

This specific foil version appeared within 'The List' for the Unfinity expansion, a curated collection of cards included in collector boosters that highlights notable or humorous moments from the game's history. Its inclusion in Unfinity allowed a new generation of players to access a card that had long been considered a rare curiosity of the early 2000s. The card remains a quintessential collector's piece, bridging the gap between the game's competitive origins and the lighthearted, experimental spirit of its special expansion sets.