The Rivals Quick Start set was released in July, 1996. Rivals was WotC's first attempt to teach new players Magic. The set depicted a battle between wizards, Kazz and Zakk. Each wizard had two decks prearranged so that the beginning player could follow along in their guide book and learn how to play. Afterwards, the decks could be combined and randomized, and played as normal.

There were two versions of the Quickstart set: a US version, and an International version. The International version included eight extra cards including Phantom Monster, which is not in the US version. The International version was printed in English, German, Italian, French and Japanese.

Most Rivals sets contain cards exactly identical to Fourth Edition cards, and therefore do not qualify as Rarities. However, there are some sets that are slightly different: instead of the usual 4E "1995" copyright date, these cards are dated "1996". Furthermore, many of these "1996" cards have differing card texts from the Fourth Edition versions: some have Fifth Edition text, and some have unique text all of their own. If you find one of these, save it: it's not worth any more than regular 4E cards, but fans of esoterica will be amused by them.