The number for Thragtusk would be everywhere! Thats why cockatrice is good because you dont have to screw around with a code to get a card, its already there in a database ready to be searched but having a code for them would make it an interesting collecting experience.
They could make a magic online like game and call it satire. Just kidding, seriously though, I can see why wizards took it down. Maybe they could make magic online free to play, but have packs you could buy, or something like that. And you could earn points to buy packs in the game. Not just by grinding, but a number of different ways. Chance, winning, logging on...oh! I know. They could earn this currency by redeeming a code printed on the back of magic packs. Then it would be free to play, and wizards would make more money
Check the App Store. Card game that is almost identical to magic. And 100% free to play but has the real cards too if you want to buy and even online purchases if you so desire. It's called Shadow Era and it's quite a bit of fun. I know it's not magic but i find it just as entertaining.
Copyright and patent law are hard. This coming from someone who studied them a bit. There are a lot of factors and balancing tests and unclear language.
It seems to me that downloading the art is the same as downloading a song from napster. But the card names probably are not copyright able (short titles, like song or book titles, are not copyright able, and their trademark claims hinge on profit and on clarity in the marketplace of a products origin).
It seems that rules text is public, from gatherer, so collecting rules text is not violative, but there is a much higher bar if you do it for profit vs not for profit.
Bottom line, its fuzzy, and I feel more comfortable when art is excluded. Anyone who says its clear cut either knows of some recent case I haven't read or is oversimplifying.
Copyright and patent law are hard. This coming from someone who studied them a bit. There are a lot of factors and balancing tests and unclear language.
... and no logic, these laws are full of internal inconsistencies and contradictions.