What does the Shards of Alara set symbol look like?

Shards of Alara uses a unique expansion symbol — the icon shown at the top of this page — printed on every card in the set. On a rare or mythic rare it appears in gold or orange; on commons it's black.

What is the Shards of Alara set code?

The three- or four-letter set code for Shards of Alara is “ALA”. You'll see it in the bottom-left of each card next to the collector number.

How do I tell what rarity a Shards of Alara card is?

Look at the color of the set symbol: black = common, silver = uncommon, gold = rare, orange/bronze = mythic rare. Special and bonus-sheet cards may use their own treatments.

How can I identify a Shards of Alara card quickly?

Scan it with Tappr. The app recognizes the artwork and expansion symbol together and returns the exact set, collector number, rarity, and live market price in seconds.

Set symbol & card ID

Shards of Alara set symbol

How to spot a Shards of Alara card at a glance — the expansion symbol, the ALA set code, and what the symbol's color tells you about rarity.

Set code

ala

Released

Oct 2008

Cards

250

Type

Expansion

How to identify Shards of Alara cards

1
Find the expansion symbol on the right edge of the type line (or bottom-center on older frames) — for Shards of Alara it's the icon shown above.
2
Read its color to get the rarity: black is common, silver is uncommon, gold is rare, and orange or bronze is mythic rare.
3
Check the bottom-left corner for the collector number and the set code “ALA” to confirm you're looking at Shards of Alara.
4
Still unsure? Scan the card with Tappr — it reads the art and symbol together and names the exact set and printing.