Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering expert-level block consisting of the expansion sets Time Spiral (October 6, 2006), Planar Chaos (February 2, 2007), and Future Sight (May 4, 2007). It is set on the plane of Dominaria, the first time that that plane had been visited since 8th Edition. The theme of the block was time. Time Spiral focused on the past, and is laden with references to previous Magic: the Gathering sets. The references are reflected in the card design, which incorporates special rules from older sets, and in special "Timeshifted" cards, which are cards reprinted from older sets using the older card design (abandoned three years previous with the 2003 release of Core Set 8th Edition.) Planar Chaos focused on the present, referencing previous Magic: The Gathering cards, but changing them in some way, such as changing their color or shifting their permanent type. Future Sight focused on the future, both in that it includes cards from settings not yet explored in previous sets as well as including game mechanics that did not exist until later sets. Time Spiral is typical among the first sets of a Magic: the Gathering block in that the cards are sold in four different forms. Four different theme decks, 60 card decks with themed, fixed composition were released, each featuring a different aspect of the set. The cards were sold in randomized packs, both as the typical 15-card booster packs and in larger 75-card tournament packs. Conception and design Time Spiral In his preview articles, Mark Rosewater described Time Spiral as an expansion focused on the past, with its successors, Planar Chaos and Future Sight, to be centered around the present and future respectively. This design was achieved through keywords and mechanics that interact with time, as well as cards based on those in previous sets, to promote a sense of nostalgia. Time Spiral was codenamed "Snap" during development. The size of the set had been in dispute prior to release, as Wizards issued two different sizes for the set, 301 and 422. Retailers were initially told that the set would include 422 cards; Wizards of the Coast sent a retraction email explaining that the set would in fact be 301 cards in size. The set size was then confirmed to be 301 cards, with 121 commons, 80 uncommons, 80 rares, and 20 basic lands. The confusion came about because Time