Magic: The Gathering’snext set is taking the series to outer space, as Edge of Eternities will feature spaceships, aliens, and cosmic phenomena. This means introducing a multitude of new mechanics that match the sci-fi theme, some of which work well, while others lack the necessary oomph to make them interesting to competitive players.
Magic: The Gathering has been trying out strange genres in its recent sets, with Aetherdrift focusing on racing, and Outlaws of Thunder Junction doing a take on the wild west. These were still baked into the natural sorcery, with magic being plentiful, even when it co-exists with technology.
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It was revealed during PAX East that the Final Fantasy x Magic: The Gathering crossover is adding mechanics based on the video games story beats.
While arcane might is very much present in Edge of Eternities, it takes a backseat to the terrors beyond the stars. DualShockers had a chance to preview Edge of Eternities ahead of its August 1 launch and test out all the new cards in the set. Magic: The Gathering is going where no man has gone before, but does it stick the landing, even when it’s in a galaxy far, far away?
What’s New In Edge Of Eternities?
Edge of Eternities is a set that introduces a ton of mechanics to Magic: The Gathering, some which will likely be relevant again in future sets. These new mechanics include:
Lander Tokens –These tokens are similar to Food and Treasure. Once they’re on the field, their controller can pay two mana and tap them to sacrifice the Lander Token, search for a Basic Land from their deck, then play it tapped onto the battlefield.
Planets –These are a special type of land that have an extra functionality that is activated using the Station mechanic.
Spacecraft –These artifacts are played onto the battlefield, but don’t turn into creatures until they’re given enough charge counters. These are granted using the Station mechanic mentioned below. Once a Spacecraft has enough charge counters, it’s summoned to the field, usually with new abilities and traits.
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Station– A card with Station can tap an untapped creature in order to create charge counters equal to its Power.
Warp –A card with Warp can besummoned for a cheaper cost, and they’re exiled at the end of the turn. They can be played for their regular cost at a later turn. The creature still follows the usual rules for summoning sickness, but can attack if they have Haste.
Void –A secondary effect that kicks in it a creature used warp or if a nonland permanent left the battlefield this turn, similar in function to Kicker.
Some of these mechanics are going to have longer lasting effects than others, at least in terms of when this set is left behind. Spacecrafts are the ones that definitely feel the most “sci-fi”, as all of the others could easily have been done with fantasy trappings. It’s a shame, then, that Spacecrafts are the weakest aspect of the set.
Spacecraft Are Far Too Fragile
Spacecraft cards can be powerful, but they require huge amounts of resources to get going. Not only is the mana cost needed, but they then need to use Station to power up the ship. Depending on the board, this can take a while, and using Station on creatures means they can’t attack or block, unless the player has a way to untap them.
Then comes the big problem: artifact removal. As Spacecrafts are artifacts, they’re susceptible to any card that removes an artifact from play, of which there are tons in Edge of Eternities. When it enters the battlefield, it also becomes a creature, making it vulnerable to removal there as well.
There are tons ofcheap ways to remove Spacecraftin this set alone, such as Embrace Oblivion, Gravkill, Seedship Impact, Shattered Wings, Banishing Light, and Hardlight Containment. A player can spend multiple turns prepping their Spacecraft, only to watch it get popped by a single spell.
Now, removal is already a big part of the game, but actually using Spacecraft takes a lot more effort than most creatures, thanks to all of the messing around with Station and charge counters. If the Spacecraft were game-ending monstrosities, it would be one thing, but most of them are just standard creatures.
If Spacecraft had a mechanic that offered them some protection, then they’d be more useful, but right now they require a massive investment of resources over multiple turns, and frankly, aren’t worth the effort, especially as they’re so easy to blow up. Spacecraft should inspire terror, but they spend too long at the gas pump.
Don’t Underestimate The Warp
Luckily, the Warp mechanic is fantastic. Acting in a similar manner to Adventures, Warp lets players get powerful card effects out for cheap. The fact that thecards stay in exilemeans that they’re not wasted, sticking around for later turns when the player has more mana to summon them.
A problem Magic: The Gathering has had since day one is drawing high-cost cards early on that can’t be used for ages, taking up space in the player’s hands. Warp addresses this by giving cards utility over the course of the game, ensuring that they’re not dead weight.
Void isn’t quite as game-changing, but it’s still useful, even though its effect is more likely to be activated from creatures dying than a Warp. The secondary requirement isn’t that hard to activate, so players can reliably use Void’s stronger effect when needed, especially for black decks and their sacrifices.
Lander Tokens Give Decks A Bit Of Green
Traditionally, the ability to get lots of lands onto the field has belonged to green, with decks that can put ridiculous numbers of forests onto the battlefield as needed. Lander Tokens are giving other decks a taste of that action, as Lander Tokens now allow every color a way of pulling lands from their deck.
It’s not as simple as just grabbing lands, as Lander Tokens have a big of faffing around associated with them. They’re usually summoned as part of another card’s effect, then they require two additional mana to tutor a land, and that land is already tapped, so it can’t be used for mana.
While there is some messing around going on with Lander Tokens, they can be extremely useful early game, especially when connected toanother card that’s useful. While Warp tends to speed up the game, Lander Tokens make it less likely to be stuck in a situation where the player isn’t drawing lands. Warp and Lander Tokens change the pace of the game in a positive way, ensuring there are fewer moments where things aren’t happening, or players are stuck with no actions during a turn.
Edge of Eternities takes Magic: The Gathering on a trip to the cosmos, and it may well change the future of the game. While Spacecrafts are a bit of a letdown, the other mechanics help elevate the game, changing the flow of a match and taking some of the slower moments and frustration out of Magic that have plagued it since day one.
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