Wizards of the Coast released the original Portal set in June 1997. This set was designed as an introductory product for new players. It featured simplified rules and did not include complex mechanics like instant spells or artifacts.
For collectors of Chinese cards, the original Portal set is highly historic. It was officially released in two distinct Chinese versions: Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.
– Portal
| Set code | POR |
| Release date | May 1997 |
| Border | Black |
Chinese printing details
| Traditional Chinese set size | 215 set cards + 7 alternate text cards+ 12 support cards |
| Simplified Chinese set size | 215 set cards + 6 alternate text cards |
| Product types | Simplified chinese : Booster pack box (60 packs) – Booster pack (10 cards), 2-Player Starter Deck box (12 starters) – 2-Player Starter Deck (70 cards) Traditional chinese : Booster pack box (36 packs) – Booster pack (15 cards), 2-Player Starter Deck box (12 starters) – 2-Player Starter Deck (70 cards) |
| Language-exclusive artworks | 29 exclusive artworks for the Simplified chinese version |
| Known misprints | 4 misprints |
| Printing differences | Expansion symbol with 2 different versions in simplified chinese |
Two chinese versions
While the set list is mostly identical across languages, the two Chinese versions have significant differences in distribution, card availability, and artwork.
Traditional Chinese Version : 入門版
Target Market: Distributed primarily in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Availability: While it features the standard worldwide artwork, this version had a very limited distribution. Finding clean singles, let alone sealed booster boxes, is exceptionally difficult today, making the Traditional Chinese printing a highly rare prize for vintage Asian Magic collectors.
Card Design: The cards feature standard artwork, identical to the English and Japanese printings.
Simplified Chinese Version : 博图
Target Market: Distributed exclusively in Mainland China.
Availability: Because local tournament play and distribution networks were still very small in Mainland China in 1997, the print run for this version was very low. As a result, the Simplified Chinese Portal version is highly rare and highly sought after by global collectors, especially the exclusive alternate art pieces.
Card Design: The Famous “Alternate Arts” Cards. Due to strict censorship regulations regarding skeleton, zombie, and blood depictions in Mainland China at the time, Wizards of the Coast replaced the artwork for multiple cards. There are 29 specific cards that feature exclusive, unique alternate artwork found only in the Simplified Chinese printing.
Portal in Simplified Chinese and its expansion symbol
If you look closely at the cards, you will notice a strange detail about the Portal expansion symbol in simplified chinese. In a normal set, the logo is always the same. However, in this set, the symbol has two different versions, and there is no clear reason why. On some cards, logo is standard. On other cards, the logo is much darker and completely filled in.
In fact, no single card has both versions. Each specific card in the set uses either one logo or the other. This strange choice makes the set even more unique and mysterious.
Alternate Arts in Simplified Chinese Portal
Another major reason why the set matters is its alternate artwork.
To completely replace the 29 forbidden illustrations, Wizards of the Coast did not simply reuse old art from other sets. Instead, they specially hired local Asian artists to create brand-new, exclusive illustrations for the Mainland Chinese market.
Artists like Lu Yan and Suen Chi-Wai were brought in to redraw these cards, blending classic Magic fantasy with traditional artistic influences. This makes the Simplified Chinese Portal set incredibly unique: it is not just a translated product, but a distinct cultural variation featuring art you cannot find anywhere else in the world.
Misprints and Printing Oddities in Chinese Portal
Another important part of the set’s reputation comes from misprints and print oddities.
There are major documented errors in this set that are highly sought after by collectors, for example :
- Dread Reaper: This massive black creature was mistakenly printed without the Flying mechanic listed on the card text.
- Deep-Sea Serpent: A visual manufacturing error where the card’s name was printed with an incorrect ink-layer alignment.
Chinese Portal support cards
Because the original Portal (1997) was explicitly designed to teach new players how to play Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast included special Support Cards inside the product line :
- 2 List Cards. Complete Portal Card List Card 1 of 2 and Complete Portal Card List Card 2 of 2. These 2 cards can be found inside the 2-Player Starter Deck.
- 10 Strategy Cards. These are 10 non-playable, double-sided insert cards featuring instructional text, turn summaries, basic game rules, and deckbuilding strategies instead of standard Magic card mechanics. These 10 cards can be found inside booster packs.
These cards only exist in Traditional Chinese.
More Support Cards informations on magiclibrarities
Portal alternate text cards
Beyond the standard booster packs, the 2-Player Starter Deck contained unique variations. Wizards of the Coast printed specific alternate illustrations exclusively for these pre-constructed products.
These 7 specific cards were designed exclusively for the Portal (1997) 2-Player Starter Deck. They were not available in standard booster packs and often featured simplified rules text or unique layouts meant for learning the game:
- Warrior’s Charge (White)
- Hand of Death (Black)
- Blaze/ (Red)
- Raging Goblin (Red — Does not exist in Simplified Chinese)
- Anaconda/ (Green)
- Elite Cat Warrior (Green)
- Monstrous Growth (Green)
The “Raging Goblin” exception
While Raging Goblin is an iconic red card found in English and Traditional Chinese Portal Starter Decks (often featuring special entry-level flavor text), it was completely removed from the product lineup in Mainland China. Because of this, it is entirely impossible to find a Simplified Chinese version of this card from the 1997 release.
Key cards to look for
Aside from the Alternate Arts cards already covered, if you are looking for the most valuable, unique, and sought-after cards in Traditional or Simplified Chinese, these are the absolute grails of the Portal set:
- The Angels (Starlit Angel & Archangel): Angels are notoriously difficult to find in both Chinese editions. Starlit Angel and Archangel are among the most desired and iconic cards in the entire set. Their striking artwork combined with extreme scarcity makes any Chinese angel a legendary centerpiece for vintage collectors.
- The Dragons (especially Ebon Dragon): The dragons from this set are highly prized, with Ebon Dragon leading the pack. Finding these massive, iconic creatures in clean Chinese printings is an incredible challenge due to the low print runs, making them massive targets for high-end collectors.
- Cruel Tutor: The most iconic black tutor from this set. The Simplified Chinese version is exceptionally famous because its original artwork (showing a skeleton) was censored, making its unique visual variant a true collector’s favorite.
- Personal Tutor: A highly played blue card in casual and competitive eternal formats. Its Simplified Chinese printing is highly sought after because it features an exclusive look that sets it completely apart from standard worldwide copies.
The case of Starlit Angel
Starlit Angel is a truly unique uncommon. In Mainland China, the Simplified Chinese version is the single most sought-after card in the entire set. Collectors love it because it is an iconic angel, and it features a highly prized exclusive Alternate Arts illustrated by the artist Xu Xiaoming (徐晓鸣).
However, there is an incredible twist for the standard version. Worldwide, the standard Portal Starlit Angel was illustrated by Rebecca Guay, an artist who is immensely popular among Asian collectors. Because Mainland China received the Xu Xiaoming art instead, Rebecca Guay’s classic version is actually the “rare Alternate Arts” from the perspective of the Chinese market. For this reason, the Traditional Chinese version featuring Rebecca Guay’s artwork is highly desirable, and over time, it could eventually become even more sought-after on the Chinese market than its Simplified Chinese counterpart.
The Starlit Angel Dilemma: Which Chinese version is truly the most desirable?
Final thoughts on Chinese Portal
Collecting Portal in Chinese is one of the most unique and rewarding challenges in Magic history. While the Simplified Chinese version gets most of the spotlight for its famous alternate artworks and censored illustrations, the Traditional Chinese set is a hidden beast to complete due to its brutal booster box rare distributions and scarcer starter decks. The biggest hurdle lies inside the booster boxes. A standard Traditional Chinese booster box contained only 36 rare cards in total. In contrast, Simplified Chinese boxes yielded 60 rare cards due to their unique 10-card booster format (1 rare, 2 uncommons, 2 lands and 5 commons).
This set combines every single ingredient that makes it one of the most important landmarks in Chinese Magic history, even surpassing the iconic Portal Three Kingdoms. It has it all: a tiny print run, an initially unloved release, the highest number of Alternate Arts in the game’s history, misprints, unique starter deck exclusives, and rare instructional support inserts. Combined with iconic dragons, highly sought-after angels, and completely different localization strategies between the two Chinese versions, everything is in place. Portal is, without a doubt, the ultimate set for chinese collectors.
Rarity level
Chinese Traditional – Portal
While collectors frequently focus on the massive amount of alternate artworks found in the Simplified Chinese edition, completing the Traditional Chinese Portal set is arguably an even greater challenge. Despite having a similarly microscopic print run, the distribution of Traditional Chinese cards makes a master set exceptionally difficult to finish.
Furthermore, the 2-Player Starter Deck are incredibly scarce today, and the instructional support cards were routinely thrown away by players in 1997. Ultimately, even if the Traditional Chinese edition commands lower market prices than its famous alternate-art sibling, it remains the far more difficult twin to fully complete.
Chinese Simplified – Portal
The Simplified Chinese Portal set is widely considered one of the holy grails of vintage Magic collecting. Its primary claim to fame is its massive gallery of alternate artworks, making it the single expansion with the highest number of variant illustrations in Magic history due to regional censorship rules. Completing a flawless master set is still an immense challenge : acquiring a complete, mint-condition collection requires exceptional patience and a significant financial investment.