Arena Release Date: January 28, 2021
Prerelease Date: January 29–February 4, 2021
Paper Release Date: February 5, 2021
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Last time in Magic, planeswalkers fought over the fate of Zendikar, with Nissa successfully using the power of Lithoform Core to cure the plane of its Eldrazi corruption but leaving its wild Roil intact. Now, we arrive in the Norse mythology world of Kaldheim, a plane that has its own distinct realms, accessible through the World Tree. Normally, few can traverse the realms, but it is foretold that an invasion will happen. The form it takes will be beyond anything those of Kaldheim can imagine.
Kaldheim will feature two introductory Commander decks and Set Boosters.
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
- Kaldheim
- Cauldron Familiar
- Escape to the Wilds
- Fires of Invention
- Lucky Clover
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Omnath, Locus of Creation
- Once Upon a Time
- Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
- 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."
GETTING STARTED
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 2021 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. This set has 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: January 28, 2021
Prerelease Date: January 29–February 4, 2021
Paper Release Date: February 5, 2021
Card image gallery
Variant image gallery
Mechanics
More to come as they are revealed.
Foretell
Omens of the future run rampant on Kaldheim. When you foretell a spell during your turn, you pay (2) to exile it face down. Then, on a later turn, the promised moment arrives and you can cast it for the cost listed. The total cost of the spell will be the same as or more than casting it normally, but splitting up the cost gives you more flexibility.
Boast
The warriors of Kaldheim have all kinds of stories to tell. In battle, they boast of their skills with abilities that can only activate after attacking. This can cover a variety of effects.
Snow
Kaldheim is a land of snow, which influences the types of lands and spells you find. Snow lands produce snow mana, which some spells care about.
Sagas
As expected from Norse mythology, sagas make a return. These enchantments have a different effect each turn, as the story plays out, and you sacrifice it once the story ends.
Tribes matter
Kaldheim has a tribal theme, meaning cards will care about the creature types among your cards. With the changeling mechanic, you can fit in among any of those! Changelings are every creature type, whether it be archer or wall.
Double-Faced Gods
The gods of Kaldheim are unique in that they can die. However, they make up for this with their flexibility. You can cast them either as a god, or as something else associated with them, whether it be a sword or a familiar.
Other
Last time we saw Kaya, she had tracked down Liliana after the events of War of the Spark but chose to leave her alone (unless this got retconned). With her ghost hunting skills, what could have drawn her to Kaldheim?
OTHER THREADS
Zendikar Rising
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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