August 2005 - 350 Cards

Ninth Edition is the first set to be printed using a new template for enchantments. Previously, enchantments that were played on other permanents were called local enchantments and were printed with the type Enchant Creature, Enchant Land, etc. It has since been changed to Enchantment-Aura and the targeting restriction moved to the text box.

With Ninth Edition came a redesign of Fat Packs. The Fat Pack consisted of two boxes wrapped around by a card box wrapper featuring new art. The players guide was also reduced in size but was now sturdier. Also added were 6 divider pieces with artwork for inside the boxes.

In addition to the 350 cards available in booster packs, the Ninth Edition Core Game contained 9 "starter cards", labeled with the collector numbers S1 through S10 (there is no card labeled S6, however), which were not available in booster packs. These were simple "vanilla" creatures, which were designed to introduce new players to the game but which were regarded as bad cards and disliked by experienced players. Equipment, first introduced in the Mirrodin set, is also in Ninth Edition, although it was moved up in rarity. Furthermore, all mechanics now have reminder text; mechanics such as flying and trample did not in earlier sets.

Wizards of the Coast made an effort to simplify the type line, which had contained rules interactions that were not written on the card. Following this reasoning, the line 'Enchant something' was a problem for several reasons. It has been changed to 'Enchantment - Aura' and the targeting restriction moved to the text box.