Chrome Mox

Chrome Mox debuted in Mirrodin in October 2003. MRD #152 is a rare illustrated by Donato Giancola and is available in nonfoil and traditional foil.

Premium references: Kaladesh Inventions MPS #9 is Kieran Yanner's foil-only version. Special Guests SPG #92 uses Princess Hidir's art in nonfoil and traditional foil; the separate #102 is first-place foil. World Championship reproductions need a different playability check.

When Chrome Mox enters, its imprint ability lets you exile a nonartifact, nonland card from your hand. Its tap ability then produces one mana of a colour of that exiled card. The choice to exile is optional, but without a suitable coloured card linked to it, its tap ability produces no mana.

A multicoloured imprinted card gives a choice among its colours each time you activate the mana ability. A colourless card does not let Chrome Mox make colourless mana. The catalogue's current rulings explicitly distinguish colours from the colourless mana symbol.

This is a different exchange from Sol Ring's colourless acceleration or Arcane Signet's commander-based colour choice. Urza's Saga can find Chrome Mox because its actual mana cost is {0}, but putting it onto the battlefield does not supply an imprinted card automatically.

MRD #152 is the 2003 first printing, with Giancola's illustration and a choice of nonfoil or foil. The original's rare symbol belongs to that edition; later Masters and Special Guests entries can have a mythic rarity without changing the identity of the Mirrodin copy.

World Championship Decks 2004 includes reproductions of Chrome Mox. WC04 #ap152 uses Giancola's art in the Aeo Paquette deck and is nonfoil only. Its catalogue explicitly marks that printing as not legal for tournament play, even though other Chrome Mox printings can be legal in their supported formats. Treat it as a historical deck collectible rather than an interchangeable sanctioned-play copy.

The 2009 Grand Prix promo, PGPX #2009, introduces Alan Pollack's artwork in foil only. Eternal Masters EMA #219 in June 2016 instead credits Volkan Baga, with both ordinary finishes. Later that year, Kaladesh Inventions MPS #9 adds Yanner's illustration and the distinctive Invention presentation.

Double Masters in August 2020 brings Franz Vohwinkel's alternative illustration on #358. Aetherdrift's February 2025 Special Guests release adds Hidir's #92 and first-place foil #102. Their SPG set code is separate from the main set's DFT code.

Giancola's MRD #152 anchors an original Mirrodin collection. The WC04 reproduction retains that artist but changes what the physical edition is intended for. Pollack's Grand Prix promo and Baga's Eternal Masters card move to separate illustrations, so neither is simply another finish of the debut image.

Yanner's MPS #9 combines an Invention frame with a different artist. Vohwinkel's Double Masters #358 offers another illustration across the borderless presentation. Compare those images directly before treating both as equivalent upgrades to the same picture.

Hidir's Special Guests art gives a useful finish comparison because #92 and #102 keep the artist fixed. If that image is your preference, the next decision is between its ordinary finishes and first-place foil rather than between unrelated Invention and Masters illustrations.

The original MRD #152, EMA #219 and borderless 2XM #358 each have nonfoil and traditional foil options. PGPX #2009 and MPS #9 are foil-only records. There is no official nonfoil choice within those two particular entries.

SPG #92 has nonfoil and traditional foil; #102 is the separate first-place foil record. Wizards describes that treatment as a gold-like foil layer extending across the border and identifies its source as first-place Box Topper packs in Collecting Aetherdrift. First-place is the product's finish name, not evidence that the copy was awarded to a tournament winner.

Keep the set and number with any saved comparison. A listing described only as foil Chrome Mox can refer to several artists and surfaces. ManaScout's shimmer is illustrative; photographs are needed to assess an actual Invention or first-place surface and the condition of the offered copy.

For the first release: compare nonfoil and traditional foil MRD #152. Both preserve Giancola's original illustration and Mirrodin identity.

For a playing budget: compare current tournament-appropriate nonfoil editions in comparable language and condition. Do not substitute WC04 #ap152 solely because its listing is cheaper; its reproduction status changes what you can use it for.

For tournament-promo history: PGPX #2009 gives Pollack's separate illustration in a foil-only edition. For a different modern-frame image with a nonfoil option, compare Baga's EMA #219.

For a frame or finish collection: compare Yanner's MPS #9 against Vohwinkel's 2XM #358 for the image and frame first. For Hidir's art, compare SPG #92 with #102 to decide whether the first-place surface is the part you want.

Start with the Mirrodin original, the Invention and Special Guests #92 as three distinct visual directions. If the last image wins, add #102 for a finish comparison. Keep World Championship reproductions in a separate collecting decision so that a historical edition is not mistaken for a sanctioned-play purchase.

The live explorer may highlight a ManaScout Pick. Treat it as a visual starting point and compare the exact printing, finish and available price data before deciding.

Urza's Saga — Compare the enchantment land that can search for an artifact with Chrome Mox's exact mana cost.

Sol Ring — Explore a different one-card source of artifact acceleration and its own Invention.

Mana Vault — Compare another artifact with an original printing and later premium editions.

Arcane Signet — Contrast the imprint requirement with a mana rock tied to commander colour identity.

Printing details reviewed on 2 November 2026. The shortlist links to individual MTG.wtf catalogue records; official Wizards sources support the rules and product treatments. The live explorer retrieves its records and price fields from Scryfall.

MTG.wtf: Mirrodin printing and mana rulings.

MTG.wtf: World Championship reproduction and playability.

MTG.wtf: Pollack's Grand Prix promo.

MTG.wtf: Yanner's foil-only Invention.

MTG.wtf: Vohwinkel's box-topper edition.

Wizards: Special Guests and first-place foil.