What is a Textured Foil Magic: The Gathering Card?

If there’s one thing playgrounds taught me as a child, it’s that shinies are important. While in those days it was trying to get a shiny Manchester United badge for my Panini sticker album, the same is true for today’s CCGs, and Magic the Gathering foil cards are no different.

Magic the Gathering is a bespoke experience. Whether it’s the formats you participate in, the deck you battle with, or the personal card choices within it, the game you play is unique to you. Today you can even pick from a plethora of card styles; foil, extended border, alternative art, showcase frames, the options are almost endless! Whether it’s to bling out a deck or cube, or simply just to collect, foil Magic the Gathering cards are one of the finest styles out there, and one of the flashiest of all is the ‘Textured Foil’.

What is a Textured Foil?

Foil Magic the Gathering cards have been a part of the game since the release of Urza’s Legacy in 1999, and have been tinkered with ever since, from the ‘shooting star’ image used in the early iterations, to foil-etching in Commander Legends, to every kind of Magic the Gathering Foil you can imagine! There’s ‘Silver Screen Foiling’ in Innistrad: Double Feature, ‘Neon Ink Foiling’ in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and even ‘Galaxy Foiling’ in Unfinity. Double Masters 2022 was no different, introducing one of the most striking Magic the Gathering Foil styles to date, the Textured Foil.

A Textured Foil Magic the Gathering card has a special textured pattern to give the art a sense of movement, and they aren’t easy to find. Just five mythics in Double Masters 2022 have Textured Foil versions, which, as well as looking distinctive, can also be identified by having a higher collector number compared to the non-textured foil versions. Textured Foils returned in Dominaria United, once again in Collector Boosters, appearing on ‘stained glass’ variants of the 41 legends in the set.

Double Masters 2022 Booster Packs

Textured Magic the gathering foil cards are very special, and are only found in around three per cent of Double Masters 2022 booster packs, with each of the five textured mythics featuring the same art as its non-foil and traditional foil borderless treatments. As the name suggests, each Double Masters 2022 Collector Booster contains two rare or mythic rare borderless cards, one being non-foil, and the other either being a traditional foil or a textured foil.

Double Masters 2022 Textured Foil Mythics

The five Magic the Gathering cards from Double Masters 2022 to carry the Textured Foil treatment certainly deserve it, being five of the most powerful and sought-after mythics in the game:

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

In the running for the most powerful creature ever printed, especially when it hits the battlefield, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn is a cross-format all-star and the creature you want to cheat into play. They can’t counter it, and while its 15 power may not kill your opponent in one hit, the six permanents they have to sacrifice will surely put the game beyond doubt. Last seen imprisoned in Innistrad’s moon by the now-compleated Tamiyo, could she play a part in March of the Machine or the Aftermath? Time will tell!

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

The second of the Eldrazi titans to feature in the set, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth is a whole five mana cheaper to cast than Emrakul and comes with a card-advantage boost of four cards, so even if they deal with it, you’ve reloaded your hand. And yes, it’s a ‘cast’ trigger, so even if they have a Counterspell, those cards are yours. A 12/12 and four cards for 10 mana? Count me and my cultivates in!

Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre

Completing the Eldrazi trio, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre may be the smallest at just a 10/10, but carries a powerful enter-the-battlefield ability that destroys any permanent, while also being indestructible and thus being harder to remove than the other titans. With little fear of it dying, you’re going to swing in and get that Annihilator 4 trigger every time.

Wrenn and Six

Wrenn and Six is quite simply one of the most powerful planeswalkers ever created, designed to skip Standard and go straight into the eternal formats. That +1 ability seems innocuous until you start combining it with fetch lands and alike, and the -1 has redefined what creatures are playable in Modern and beyond, where cheap, efficient spells are key. Two-mana planeswalkers have come pretty far since Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded!  

Liliana, the Last Hope

One of the game’s most popular anti-heroes, Liliana returns with what may not quite be her most powerful form (looking at you, Liliana of the Veil), but one that has seen significant play: Liliana, the Last Hope won her debut Pro Tour (Pro Tour Eldritch Moon) flavourfully against the cosmic horror threat of Emrakul, the Promised End, with seven copies of the planeswalker featuring in the top 8.

Are there other textured foils in Magic the Gathering?

Currently the only two sets to feature Textured Foils are Double Masters 2022 and Dominara United, and only in Collector Boosters.

Dominaria United Collector Booster Foils

Found only in Dominaria United Collector Boosters, the Textured Foiling treatment was applied to the 41 ‘stained glass’ legendary creatures in the set, complete with a unique foil pattern and high-gloss varnish. The treatment really puts the focus on the legendary creatures of Dominaria, perfect for a set focused on the plane’s vast history and the rich characters within it, be they heroes or villains.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is the antagonist of the set, leading the Phyrexian invasion. Not only is it a serious Magic the Gathering card but the art is wicked, showing the praetor awakening the sleeper agents. Still in black, we also see the return Braids, now resurrected as a nightmare, and a perfect option for self-sacrifice ‘aristocrats’ style decks. Among the heroes in the set is Jodah, the Unifier, a new legends-matter Commander staple, whose art shows his mastery of all five-colours of mana. Everyone’s favourite immortal goblin, Squee, makes another comeback, looking Shakespearian, admiring his infamous toy in the eye-catching artwork.

Showcase: Dominaria United Textured Foil Edition Foils

As well as the main set, a special Secret Lair – Showcase: Dominaria United Textured Foil Edition – was released with Dominaria United, featuring the original five Legendary Elder Dragons from Legends. It was these Magic the Gathering cards that gave Commander its original name, Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH) due to the fact you had to use one of these dragons as your commander. While their stats might not live up to current expectations, these dragons – most notably the villainous Nicol Bolas – are an indelible part of Magic’s history, immortalised in these textured, stained-glass forms.

The Secret Lair features:

• 1x Textured Foil Showcase Stained Glass Arcades Sabboth
• 1x Textured Foil Showcase Stained Glass Chromium
• 1x Textured Foil Showcase Stained Glass Nicol Bolas
• 1x Textured Foil Showcase Stained Glass Vaevictis Asmadi
• 1x Textured Foil Showcase Stained Glass Palladia-Mors