Mudwater has five rarities, corresponding to Levels I–V. Base, Foil and Serialized are finishes. Use this table to separate what a card is from which edition or condition you are buying.
| Rarity | Level | Faces | Exact example | Finish categories | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | I | 55 | Bottle Rocket #001 | Base / Foil / Serialized | Inspect actual copy; mapped shop variants are Near Mint |
| Uncommon | II | 30 | Dead Calm #005 | Base / Foil / Serialized | Inspect actual copy; mapped shop variants are Near Mint |
| Rare | III | 13 | The Skipper #009 | Base / Foil / Serialized | Inspect actual copy; mapped shop variants are Near Mint |
| Prestige | IV | 14 | Lofi on the Dock #008 | Base / Foil / Serialized | Inspect actual copy; mapped shop variants are Near Mint |
| Legendary | V | 8 | Good Boy Gary #049 | Base / Foil / Serialized | Inspect actual copy; mapped shop variants are Near Mint |
The Level labels and example cards follow the official How to Play guide; face counts and edition categories follow the official edition catalog, checked October 27, 2026.
Rarity identifies a category; finish identifies an edition
A Foil Common remains Common. A Base Legendary remains Legendary. Neither finish replaces the card’s rarity, and neither tells you the condition of a physical copy. Near Mint is a seller’s condition category for the offered merchandise, rather than an official fourth finish or a promise that the card would receive a particular grading score.
Bottle Rocket #001 illustrates the distinction clearly. Its Base, Foil and Serialized catalog records share the Common rarity. Their caps are 21,878, 2,352 and 99 respectively. Those differences belong in edition columns. Writing “rare holo” without the printed number and official rarity can produce an ambiguous wanted list, even when the buyer knows which picture they mean.
How Levels connect to the board
The official rules use Levels for placement and upgrades. Level I cards can be placed face up in empty squares. Higher Levels upgrade a square a player controls, exactly one Level at a time. This makes Level a gameplay property with a specific rule consequence. It does not mean a Level V card can be placed freely in an empty square or that a higher rarity always wins every situation.
The printed edge numbers determine captures, while the four families are relevant to equal-number ties in optional Advanced Mode. Those fields answer different questions from rarity. When choosing cards to learn with, inspect the actual rules and card information instead of assuming a premium finish changes its strength. The cited rules do not assign a stronger Level merely because an edition is Foil.
Why face counts and per-card caps are different
The Common category has 55 designs, while Uncommon has 30. Yet an individual Uncommon Base edition can have a higher catalog cap than an individual Common Base edition. For example, Dead Calm #005 has a Base cap of 24,060. Category breadth, per-design ceilings and the total across a rarity are separate measures. “Uncommon” should not be used as a substitute for reading the relevant metadata.
The same care applies to the eight Legendary faces. Eight designs do not mean only eight Legendary physical cards exist across every finish. The one-copy caps apply to their Serialized editions. Base and Foil each have their own larger limits. If a seller uses “one of eight” without specifying what is being counted, ask for the exact edition and the basis of the claim.
A four-field buying note prevents most mix-ups
Write the printed number and title first, then rarity, finish and condition. Add a serial number only when it is visibly established for the actual copy. A note such as “#008, Prestige, Foil, condition to inspect” is more useful than “shiny high-level card.” It leaves room to compare photographs, delivery terms and actual availability without confusing catalog identity with the seller’s offer.
For set building, decide whether progress means different designs, different finishes or both. Five rarities divide the 120 faces; three finishes expand the official catalog to 360 edition entries. Tracking the chosen unit consistently makes collection percentages meaningful.
Shopping and related guides
Shop for Mudwater cards at Grimy’s Card Shack, a Mudwater card marketplace and shop. Check each linked product for the exact finish, condition and availability before ordering. For other collecting projects, visit TradingCardSets to shop for complete Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Final Fantasy and other complete sets.
Continue with: Mudwater Base Set Complete Card List · Mudwater Non-Holo Card List: Every Base Finish from #001 to #120 · Mudwater Holo Card List: Every Foil Card in Swamp Origins.
Catalog and official-source verification: October 27, 2026. Later availability and feature status may change; follow the linked official sources for subsequent updates.