It  began when entrepreneur and game fanatic Peter Adkison met math professor and amateur game designer Richard Garfield. Together, they developed and brought Magic to market in the summer of 1993, printing 2.6 million cards of what became Alpha Edition.
By the time that fateful Gen Con was over, the entire print run was spoken for. Wizards of the Coast, a company Adkison has earlier formed to publish role-playing supplements, rushed to print more. Two months later, the 7.3 million cards of the Beta set were on the street. Together printings are known as the Limited Edition. Good luck finding any unopened product.

Magic Products Timeline
1993 - Alpha, Beta, Arabian Nights, Unlimited
1994 - Antiques, Legends, The Dark, Fallen Empires
1995 - 4th Edition, Ice Age, Chronicles, Homelands
1996 - Alliances, Mirage, Microsoft PC Game
1997 - Visions, 5th Edition, Portal, Weatherlight, Tempest
1998 - Stronghold, Portal: Second Age, Exodus, Unglued, Urza's Saga
1999 - Urza's Legacy, 6th Edition, Urza's Destiny, Mercadian Masques
2000 - Nemesis, Prophecy, Invasion
2001 - Planeshift, 7th Edition, Apocalypse, Odyssey
2002 - Torment, Judgment, Magic Online, Onslaught
2003 - Legions, Scourge, 8th Edition, Mirrodin
2004 - Darksteel, Fifth Dawn, Champions of Kamigawa
2005 - Betrayers of Kamigawa, Saviors of Kamigawa, 9th Edition, Ravinca
2006 - Guildpact, Dissension, Coldsnap, Time Spiral