We’re just about a week away from Magic: The Gathering’s next set, Edge of Eternities. The intergalactic space-opera theme doesn’t just bring a unique look to the popular trading card game. It also features several new mechanics that can really change the flow of a game. Its release in physical stores also means its release in Magic: The Gathering Arena, the free-to-play game that allows MTG players to play digitally. I had an opportunity to check out the new set, and although I wasn’t super stoked about it going in, I started enjoying the new mechanics the more I played.
The first new mechanics I was able to use were Warp and Lander Tokens. Warp allows a player to bring out a card at a lower mana cost, then exile it at the beginning of their end step; it can then be cast for its normal cost any time after that. Lander Tokens are essentially token versions of Rampant Growth; a player can tap two land, sacrifice the token, and grab a basic land from their library and put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
Out of all the new mechanics, these are the ones that intrigued me the most, primarily due to their versatility. Cards that generate Lander Tokens, like the cost-efficient creature Edge Rover and sorcery Sami’s Curiosity, might find their way into ramp decks.
Warp might be especially useful depending on the deck a player is going for. For decks relying on certain tokens, Exalted Sunborn allows players to generate twice as many tokens at a Warp cost of one white and 1 other land. Or maybe players are looking to create a deck centered around Warp and other older cards that benefit from being exiled, in which case, Tannuk, Steadfast Second, might be a solid pick, especially in Commander.
Not as exciting, but new mechanics I am still very intrigued by, especially for Commander, are Spacecrafts. With Edge of Eternities, legendary Vehicles and Spacecraft with printed power and toughness can now be played as a commander. The new card type definitely has drawbacks; some of these ships have high mana cost, on top of having Station costs (tapping a creature and putting charge counters on the spacecraft equal to that creature’s power), which typically opens the player up for getting walloped. But once they are up and running, they have some really fun abilities.
In one match, I built a white/red deck and pulled out Debris Field Crusher later in the game. By that time, somehow, both of us had tons of land and creatures out, so I was able to station the Spacecraft, at the expense of some heavy damage. However, when this card is stationed, it has flying, and I could spend one red and one other land, and get +2/+0 until the end of the turn. I used that ability five times, making it an 11/5 with flying, swung at the opponent, and one. Of course, that is probably something that could have happened in the draft format I was playing, but it was fun to somehow pull off.
Personally, I don’t think I’d use Spacecrafts in Standard format. It just seems like it would take a bit too long to get things going if I were centering my offense on a Spacecraft. But in a game of Commander, I think there are some fun options that would be fun to pull off. Like Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought can deal 100 damage to one target creature or planeswalker after paying the 10+ Station cost. At the very least, the card art for all Spacecrafts looks really cool.
The new mechanic I was the coldest on was Void. Cards with Void abilities improve the initial ability if a nonland permanent left the battlefield or a spell was warped that turn. While some of these effects are incredibly strong, attempting to trigger a Void ability annoyed me more than annoying my opponent.
I did feel like the Void abilities attached to creatures were useful, like Insatiable Skittermaw, which gives a +1/+1 counter when Void is triggered, because they remain in play as long as that creature is on the battlefield. However, Sorcery or Instant cards with Void required a bit more strategy to activate. Some Void cards might be great in specific circumstances, or if a player is running a lot of Warp cards, but I tended to avoid the Void if I could in draft.
After playing with the new cards from Edge of Eternities in Magic: The Gathering Arena, I am more excited than I was before. There are some interesting new mechanics here that could shake things up. At the very least, I’m looking forward to seeing how these cards do with my playgroup when they release on August 1st.
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