<p>According to the rule 109.3 which states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>109.3. An object’s characteristics are name, mana cost, color, color indicator, card type, subtype,  supertype, rules text, abilities,
  power, toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, and life modifier. Objects 
  can have some or all of these characteristics. Any other information
  about an object isn’t a  characteristic. For example, characteristics
  don’t include whether a permanent is tapped, a spell’s  target, an
  object’s owner or controller, what an Aura enchants, and so on.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Which means that the expansions symbol on the card is no longer a characteristic. </p>

<p>This might explain it more: <a href="https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/255c&amp;page=3" rel="nofollow">https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/255c&amp;page=3</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>109.3</p>
  
  <p>Expansion symbols are no longer a characteristic. Magic cards are
  recognized as individual game pieces by their English card names. One
  of the central tenets of that system is that all cards with the same
  name are considered the same for deck building and play purposes. This
  system lets us reprint cards, print promo cards, and have cards appear
  in many languages. But three older cards referred to cards from a
  specific expansion, and that runs contrary to the system. The Arabian
  Nights Bird Maiden and the Fourth Edition version should be the same,
  but City in a Bottle says they're not. In fact, it makes the original
  version worse!</p>
  
  <p>So, cards will no longer refer to expansion symbol as a
  characteristic. <strong>The three cards that used to do this (City in a
  Bottle, Golgothian Sylex, and Apocalypse Chime) will receive errata in
  a future update to refer to cards "originally printed" in the Arabian
  Nights, Antiquities, and Homelands sets, respectively).</strong> This means
  that City in a Bottle no longer affects any cards named Mountain. It
  also means that those three cards can affect cards that were in the
  appropriate set and then reprinted. City in a Bottle will affect the
  aforementioned Fourth Edition Bird Maiden.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T12:15:57.390Z
2013-10-22T12:15:57.390Z
Lyrion
<p>These are the oracle rulings regarding City in a Bottle, found on <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=904" rel="nofollow">its Gatherer page</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ul>
  <li>Token creatures and counters created by Arabian Nights cards are not removed.</li>
  <li>City in a Bottle only affects cards with the Arabian Nights scimitar symbol on them, or permanents that are copies of those cards. It does not affect reprints of cards that originally came from the Arabian Nights expansion.</li>
  </ul>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T12:55:58.977Z
That second ruling is no longer valid. The Oracle text has changed. See Lyrion's answer.
ikegami
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T12:14:18.997Z
2013-10-22T13:01:06.740Z
2013-10-22T13:01:06.740Z
Ivo Geersen
<p>If I cast <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bCity%20in%20a%20Bottle%5d">City in a Bottle</a>, what cards are affected? I remember hearing something about a rules change revoking the set symbol as a characteristic, meaning that cards like this would affect all cards first printed in the Arabian Nights set, is this correct?</p>

<p>I cant find anything in the rulings or on gatherer to that effect</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T13:01:21.267Z
Just looking at the card text on Gatherer seems to make it pretty clear.
bwarner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T13:19:50.487Z
@bwarner it did to me too, which is why i asked, because i had heard differently (as Lyrion has pointed out for us, gatherer is just out of date currently)
Patters
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T13:38:45.667Z
I meant that the Oracle text specifically says "Cards that were originally printed in Arabian Nights".
bwarner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T13:41:25.770Z
@Rawrgramming I did have to do some searching but Bwarner is slightly right aswell, under cardtext in gatherer it says: "Players can't play cards originally printed in the Arabian Nights expansion." Which is the new rule, only the rulings haven't been updated yet.
Lyrion
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-22T14:31:41.997Z
good point, I didn't notice that. The rulings do directly contradict the oracle text though, so I  doubt I would be the only one scratching their head as to what to believe following a gatherer visit.
Patters
<magic-the-gathering>
How does city in a bottle work?
Patters
# How does city in a bottle work?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-10-22)

If I cast [City in a Bottle](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bCity%20in%20a%20Bottle%5d), what cards are affected? I remember hearing something about a rules change revoking the set symbol as a characteristic, meaning that cards like this would affect all cards first printed in the Arabian Nights set, is this correct?

I cant find anything in the rulings or on gatherer to that effect

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Just looking at the card text on Gatherer seems to make it pretty clear.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 it did to me too, which is why i asked, because i had heard differently (as username_2 has pointed out for us, gatherer is just out of date currently)  
> **username_1**: I meant that the Oracle text specifically says "Cards that were originally printed in Arabian Nights".  
> **username_2**: @Rawrgramming I did have to do some searching but Bwarner is slightly right aswell, under cardtext in gatherer it says: "Players can't play cards originally printed in the Arabian Nights expansion." Which is the new rule, only the rulings haven't been updated yet.  
> **username_0**: good point, I didn't notice that. The rulings do directly contradict the oracle text though, so I  doubt I would be the only one scratching their head as to what to believe following a gatherer visit.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-10-22. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

According to the rule 109.3 which states:

> 109.3. An object’s characteristics are name, mana cost, color, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, abilities,
> power, toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, and life modifier. Objects
> can have some or all of these characteristics. Any other information
> about an object isn’t a characteristic. For example, characteristics
> don’t include whether a permanent is tapped, a spell’s target, an
> object’s owner or controller, what an Aura enchants, and so on.

Which means that the expansions symbol on the card is no longer a characteristic.

This might explain it more: <https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/255c&page=3>

> 109.3
>
> Expansion symbols are no longer a characteristic. Magic cards are
> recognized as individual game pieces by their English card names. One
> of the central tenets of that system is that all cards with the same
> name are considered the same for deck building and play purposes. This
> system lets us reprint cards, print promo cards, and have cards appear
> in many languages. But three older cards referred to cards from a
> specific expansion, and that runs contrary to the system. The Arabian
> Nights Bird Maiden and the Fourth Edition version should be the same,
> but City in a Bottle says they're not. In fact, it makes the original
> version worse!
>
> So, cards will no longer refer to expansion symbol as a
> characteristic. **The three cards that used to do this (City in a
> Bottle, Golgothian Sylex, and Apocalypse Chime) will receive errata in
> a future update to refer to cards "originally printed" in the Arabian
> Nights, Antiquities, and Homelands sets, respectively).** This means
> that City in a Bottle no longer affects any cards named Mountain. It
> also means that those three cards can affect cards that were in the
> appropriate set and then reprinted. City in a Bottle will affect the
> aforementioned Fourth Edition Bird Maiden.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-10-22. Score: 0

These are the oracle rulings regarding City in a Bottle, found on [its Gatherer page](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=904):

> * Token creatures and counters created by Arabian Nights cards are not removed.
> * City in a Bottle only affects cards with the Arabian Nights scimitar symbol on them, or permanents that are copies of those cards. It does not affect reprints of cards that originally came from the Arabian Nights expansion.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: That second ruling is no longer valid. The Oracle text has changed. See username_2's answer.  

---

