Sunglasses of Urza

Sunglasses of Urza was originally released in the 1993 Alpha set as part of the debut of Magic: The Gathering. The card was designed to interact with the game's early mechanics involving looking at face-down cards or opponent hands, fitting the lore of Urza, a powerful artificer within the game's sprawling multiverse narrative. The Collectors' Edition was a non-tournament-legal boxed set released in 1993 to offer players a chance to own cards that had become difficult to acquire due to high demand, featuring a distinctive gold-bordered back to differentiate them from standard game pieces.

The artwork was commissioned from Dan Frazier, one of the most prolific and iconic illustrators from the game's earliest days. Frazier's aesthetic, characterized by a distinctively hand-painted, slightly surrealist style, helped establish the visual identity of the game's artifacts. His rendition of the Sunglasses of Urza leans into the theme of arcane technology, portraying the glasses as both a functional magical tool and a mystical relic, which remains a nostalgic favorite among long-time collectors who value the classic artistic roots of the hobby.