Within the infinite vastness of the Multiverse from Magic: The Gathering, it was only a matter of time before players got a proper set that shows off the cosmic wonders of deep space. The intergalactic has always been a vague concept in Magic, where traveling to different worlds involved traversing the Blind Eternities, a sort of in-between dimension that only planeswalkers could control.
With so much potential for new mechanics, cards, and creative space to flex their talents, the team behind Edge of Eternities is bringing a whole new vibe to the game.
The World of Edge of Eternities
Something to keep in mind before we dive too deep into the lore behind Edge of Eternities, we need to establish something up front. This is a set designed with ‘science fantasy’ as the main focus, which is not quite science fiction. The gorgeous black hole that has been revealed already, Sothera, the Supervoid, is a magical black hole that defies traditional physics and is a collapsed star born from a cult’s mystical ritual.
We even got a space whale in the set, so we’re somewhere between Arthur C. Clarke and a less funny Douglas Adams in Edge of Eternities.
The set takes place at the very edge of the Multiverse, tucked away at the farthest regions of the Blind Eternities. Players will travel to five different planets, almost like a reverse Mirrodin in that sense, where each planet is dedicated primarily to one of the five colors of Magic including Susur Secundi, Void Altar and Uthros, Titanic Godspore which is a throwback to Tolarian Academy.
[Editor’s note: No word yet on whether or not Uthros is home to any Community Colleges.]
On these worlds there are some uniquely alien critters running around, including a population of Insect creatures called the Eumidians. These bug-like explorers terraform worlds to evolve themselves and the planet at the same time for the betterment of all.
There is also the Drix, a mysterious and advanced race that seemingly have similar abilities as planeswalkers. Humans, Angels, and a surprising return of the Kavu (now known as the Kav), this time as a sentient species, all come together to try and carve out an existence in the mysterious regions of the Multiverse, such as the Cosmogoyf, a nebula that is channeling the classic Lhurgoyf spirit from Magic’s history (such as Tarmogoyf).
Cosmogoyf, artwork by Chris Rahn
A Classic Baddie Returns
We’ve known that Tezzeret is making a comeback in Edge of Eternities, who hasn’t been seen since his departure at the end of the War of the Spark. He is one of the few colorless planeswalkers to be released, leaving behind his typical blue and black coloring, while also coming down as early as turn three.
You can’t tick Tezzeret, Cruel Captain up like a traditional planeswalker, instead you’ll have to rely on having artifacts enter the battlefield to put loyalty counters on him. Take a look at cards like Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon and Urabrask’s Forge for some consistent engines to use with him.
Since we’re in the Blind Eternities, there’s no ignoring the swarms of Eldrazi that plague the space between worlds. While seemingly lacking the influence of the Eldrazi Titans that we saw on Zendikar and Innistrad, these are no less powerful.
While we’re at it, there’s a hint of a returning favorite creature type coming back too, the Thrumming Hivepool. This Sliver-based artifact can quickly spiral out of control, and will without a doubt be a chase rare in the set.
Mechanics
Lander
This new artifact token card type is a fascinating addition to the game, while also being pretty darn slow. A Lander token has just one ability, to pay two mana, tap, and then sacrifice it to go digging through your deck for a basic land and putting it into play tapped.
Is it good? Probably. Would it be too good if it entered untapped or was any land? Probably too.
Shock Lands
While not a huge surprise at this point, we do know that at least five of the Ravnican Shock Lands are coming to Edge of Eternities, giving you borderline perfect mana in Standard.
Station
Spacecraft are a new artifact type that is joining Edge of Eternities, a fascinating new mechanic that somewhat bypasses the need to crew vehicles after enough time has passed. The Seriema is a great example of this mechanic, which lets you tap another creature you control to put a number of charge counters on the Spacecraft equal to that creature’s power. Once you reach a certain threshold your Spacecraft becomes an artifact creature.
The Seriema reaches this point at just seven charge counters, gaining flying and making it so your other tapped legendary creatures gain indestructible.
Stations are playing a major role in the set, with others like Extinguisher Battleship dealing a devastating amount of power in a single card. Planets can also get the station ability, gaining new abilities once they get enough counters.
Warp
There are still Dragons in space, with Nova Hellkite being an interesting one with the new Warp ability. Similar to blitz and adventure rolled into one, you get to cast a card with warp from your hand at a discounted rate. Then, at the beginning of the next end step, you exile it, letting you cast it again from exile on a later turn.
Void
A new ability word, void checks to see if a nonland permanent left the battlefield or if a spell was warped this turn. If the check passes, you get an upgraded effect. Think revolt but different. Temporal Intervention is a three mana Thoughtseize, but if the void condition is met it is reduced down to just one black mana instead.
The Cool Stuff
Borderless Basics
There are a ton of neat lands in this set with some absolutely stunning landscapes to show off. There are full art Borderless Celestial lands to collect, which can be found in Play & Collector Boosters, where they can come in Galaxy foil treatments as well in those Collector Boosters.
Viewport Lands
These neat lands are designed to look like you’re looking through a window on a spaceship, giving it a unique border and making the artwork feel like you’re about to step out onto an alien world.
Stellar Sights
These cards mess with the traditional card frames that have remained relatively consistent over the years in order to give the artwork of each card a better chance to shine. With the name of the card shifted down to right below the type line, these borderless cards will stand out on the battlefield. Only rares and mythic rare lands get this treatment, and can be found in both Play & Collector Boosters.
There is also a poster variant of these lands that are only found in Collector Booster packs.
Surreal Space
Giving artists a chance to do whatever they like, the Surreal Space takes some of the best cards from Edge of Eternities and give it a flashy, pulp-fiction book cover style.
Special Guests
Taking that effect one step further are the Special Guests in this set. These 100% look like they jumped off of an old science fiction novel or magazine. Special Guests are all coming to Arena as well, so that’ll be a nice little bonus for players. While the full list of Special Guests is still unknown, we are for sure getting:
Japan Showcase
The last special type of artwork you can find in Edge of Eternities are the Japan Showcase cards. These cards appear to be from the set itself and give select Japanese artists a chance to illustrate some of the best cards in the set however they want.
Singularity Foil
Edge of Eternities is getting a new foiling process as well, one based around the all consuming nature of the black hole. With an effect called the ‘fractal lens’, these foil cards will appear to be circling or swirling around a central point. These will only be found in Collector Boosters, and will be the rarest type of card to collect.
When Can I Start Playing With Edge of Eternities?
Now that you’ve seen a bunch of what the set has to offer, you’re going to want to know when you can explore the set. The good news is that you won’t have to wait long. The full schedule looks like:
- July 18 – Full Image Gallery
- Prerelease Events – July 25-31
- Arena Release – July 29
- Tabletop Release – August 1