Arena Release Date: September 17, 2020
Prerelease Date: September 18–24 , 2020
Paper Release Date: September 25, 2020
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Last time in Magic, we learned about Teferi's past, and also what milling is. Now, we return to the world of Zendikar—incidentally, where we first started these set-specific threads—where lands roam the land. Last time we saw it, monstrous interdimensional beings call the Eldrazi were attacking, but with their threat gone, the denizens return to their previous job of exploring and treasure hunting. However, even after their death, could their corruption remain?
In addition to the usual, Zendikar Rising will feature two introductory Commander decks (instead of Planeswalker Decks) and will mark the introduction of Set Boosters. Unlike Draft Boosters, which are designed for Limited play, Set Boosters are purely designed to be fun to open, with the possibility of opening up to four rare cards. They are expected to sell for $5 each, for 12 cards.
In the Standard format, the following sets will be legal.
- Throne of Eldraine
- Theros: Beyond Death
- Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
- Core Set 2021
- Zendikar Rising
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Once Upon a Time
- Fires of Invention
- Cauldron Familiar
- In an unusual action, the rules of the companion mechanic were updated to "Once per game, any time you could cast a sorcery (during your main phase when the stack is empty), you can pay 3 generic mana to put your companion from your sideboard into your hand. This is a special action, not an activated ability."
Official guide to starting Magic
To see what a game is like, check out Geek and Sundry's Spellslinger series, where Day[9] battles various geek celebrities, often losing, using simple and easy to follow decks.
For the digital card game, you can play Magic Arena potentially for free. It has its own thread.
For the physical card game, there are many ways to get on board. If you go to a local game store (LGS), the owner will give you a simple Welcome Deck for free, after demonstrating how to play the game. The Magic Arena Starter Kit (Core Set 2020 edition) has two simple decks that you do not shuffle so you and a friend can get a guided tour through how a game of Magic can work. Planeswalker Decks are pre-constructed decks with four brand new cards, including unique planeswalker cards and one additional booster pack. While not particularly strong, they will allow you to actually play casual games. Zendikar Rising introduces 100-card Commander decks that fill the same role. Challenger Decks (2020 edition) will allow you to compete in Standard tournaments using real decks for, before release, much cheaper than buying the cards individually. However, much of these decks will have rotated out of Standard.
If you want to build your own deck, a Deck Builder's Toolkit (Theros: Beyond Death edition) will give you a decent starting collection of cards, including 125 fixed cards, 100 basic lands, four booster packs, and perhaps most importantly, a good box for your cards.
The big thing to look forward to, however, is the Prerelease event held for every set. Well, not this time, because COVID-19. Your local game store might be doing something online regardless, so check them out. Find local game stores here.
Arena Release Date: September 17, 2020
Prerelease Date: September 18–24 , 2020
Paper Release Date: September 25, 2020
Card image gallery
Variant image gallery
Mechanics
Modal cards
Double-faced cards return! However, this time they don't transform. Instead, while they're in your hand, you can choose a side to play them as. In the case of Valakut Awakening, you can either cast it as a spell (and then it goes to your graveyard), or play it as a land on the other side. Outside of your hand, it's treated as the front side.
If you don't have sleeves, you can use this card to note what the double-faced card is like. You can write the rules, or draw in a fun doodle.
Kicker
Kicker is a Magic old-timer but still alive and kicking. Possibly the most versatile Magic mechanic of them all, you can pay an additional cost as you cast a spell, and anything can happen.
Party
Replacing the old Ally tribal mechanics, party makes sure you have the right mix of adventurers for a smooth adventure. A party consists of a Cleric, a Rogue, a Warrior, and a Wizard. Spells can become cheaper and abilities become stronger as your party grows. If you have a full party, then you can even get bonus effects! Note that even if a creature has multiple party types, if only counts as one; you'd need four Tajuru Paragons to form a full party. Having multiple Wizards, etc. doesn't help with party, though there are creatures that care about their own class.
Landfall
It's Zendikar, and that means landfall. Just playing lands is enough to get something here, with various permanents triggering abilities whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control. This means finding a way to play multiple lands a turn is definitely worth looking into.
Other
Last time we saw Nahiri, she brought Emrakul, the most powerful Eldrazi, to the plane of Innistrad to destroy it (she did nothing wrong, though). Now she returns to her home plane of Zendikar. What could she be up to? And who are the Ancients?
OTHER THREADS
Core Set 2021
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Theros: Beyond Death
Throne of Eldraine
Core Set 2020
War of the Spark
Ravnica Allegiance
Guilds of Ravnica
Core Set 2019
Dominaria
Arena on Gaming side
Arena Closed Beta on Gaming side
Rivals of Ixalan
Great Designer Search 3
First Hangouts OT
http://www.**********/forum/showthread.php?t=1424890 - Last GAF thread - Ixalan
RESOURCES
Official articles - Nicknamed the Mothership, these articles are the primary source of news. Recommended columns are Making Magic, written by the head designer, Mark Rosewater (aka MaRo); Magic Story, which tells the story, written by various authors; and Play Design, written by various Magic developers. The other articles generally discuss deck building.
Blogatog - Tumblr ran by Mark Rosewater where he answers questions, updates very frequently.
Drive to Work - Mark Rosewater's weekly podcast about Magic that he literally records as he drives to work. Two episodes are released every Friday.
MTG Reddit - The best place to get new card information. The community sucks, though.
Gatherer - The official method of searching through released cards.
Scryfall - The better search method, with bigger cards.
Game store locator
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