Fourth Edition (often abbreviated as 4th Edition) is a key set in Magic: The Gathering's history, released in April 1995. This core set was essentially a reprint set, revisiting older cards from earlier sets like Revised Edition, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, and The Dark, while introducing some new design changes to improve the game’s overall feel and consistency.

Key Features of Fourth Edition:

1. Card Composition & Reprints:

   • 51 cards were removed from Revised Edition (the previous core set), while 122 cards from the sets mentioned above were added.
   • It marked the first time that basic lands were printed on a separate sheet from other cards, allowing for more room to include additional spells in the common and uncommon slots of booster packs.
   • No lands in boosters: The fact that lands were printed separately made it possible to package boosters without lands, a big change from previous sets.

2. Distribution & Borders:

   • The set maintained the white border policy for core sets, a tradition for Magic core sets at the time. However, the cards’ borders were far more saturated in color, giving them a cleaner and more visually appealing design compared to earlier sets.
   • Black-bordered versions: In response to Wizards’ policy that cards could only appear in white-bordered core sets if they had already appeared in a black-bordered set, Renaissance sets were printed for several languages like German, French, and Italian to make black-bordered versions of the cards.
   • Multi-language printing: The Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese versions of Fourth Edition were printed with black borders initially, but soon after, white-bordered versions were released in the Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese languages.

3. Mana Symbols and Tap Symbol:

   • Redesigned mana symbols: Each of the five colors received a new version of its mana symbol. For example, the red mana symbol (a fireball) lost the flame licks coming off of it, and the green symbol (the tree) received a slightly altered design, with more slender branches.
   • New tap symbol: A new tap symbol was introduced, where the arrow was now curved and the card being tapped was represented by a black rectangle behind it. This was a slight change from previous tap symbols, which were represented more simply as a straight arrow.

4. The “T 2nd” Symbol: This refers to the second tap symbol variant used in the set, which was a small design shift in the tap symbol used on cards.

5. Beveled Frame & Saturated Colors:

   • The set restored the beveled frame that was missing in the Revised Edition, bringing back a more familiar look.
   • The colors of the cards were more vibrant and saturated, offering a brighter visual appeal compared to earlier sets.

6. Unreleased Alternate Run:

   • An interesting bit of history with Fourth Edition is the existence of an alternate print run that was produced by the United States Playing Card Corporation in Cincinnati. This print run, due to a dispute between the companies, was never officially published, making it an intriguing piece of Magic's early production history.

Key Set Characteristics:

• Rarity Distribution: Fourth Edition was the first core set where the ratio of commons, uncommons, and rares were standardized, meaning each booster pack contained an equal number of each rarity, a trend that would continue for large sets until Mirrodin (2003).
• New White Mana Symbol: A redesigned white mana symbol (the “W” inside a circle) was introduced as part of this set, becoming the standard for future printings.
• Copyright Notice: Cards in Fourth Edition feature a 1995 copyright notice, marking the year of its release.

Legacy:

Fourth Edition helped set the stage for future core sets by refining some of the earlier design choices of Magic: The Gathering, especially with regard to how sets were structured and printed. It is fondly remembered for its classic cards, many of which are still popular in formats like Vintage and Legacy today.