Get going with Magic’s wild new racing set

Magic: The Gathering has played with dozens and dozens of genres and moods throughout its long history, but “racing” and “sci-fi card games” aren’t exactly the first things that come to mind when you think of possible combinations. . That is changing in Magicis the next big expansion, and we’ve taken a look at some of the new cards lining up the starting block.

Focused on a multiversal racing tournament, derived from ether It is built around the plane in MagicThe vast cosmology of India formerly known as Kaladesh (recently renamed Avishkar before derived from etherrelease due to controversial interpretations (from its Hindi inspiration), as 10 racing teams compete for success across the planes as they compete in the Ghirapur Grand Prix, a dazzling celebration of Avishkar’s underground racing history that offers a fascinating top prize: the Aetherspark, a mysterious device that theoretically holds the power to allow its wielder to use the powers of a Planeswalker, even if it lacks the latent power to be one. But to even have a chance at getting the Aetherspark, you’ll need a ride, and derived from ether has a lot to offer in its new cards, such as Possession Engine, which you can check out below in all its variants.

Magic: The Gathering – Aetherdrift Preview: Possession Engine

As you can see in the preview above of Possession Engine (with borderless alternate art, as well as gold-trimmed “booster fun” variants), the Vehicle subtype for artifact cards will play an important role in derived from ether. Although vehicles have appeared in Magic before, now many of them in derived from ether It comes with a new mechanic, Crew, abilities that activate by touching a certain number of untapped creatures you control with a total power greater than the required number. In Possession EngineIn this case, having the right amount of crew will allow you to target one of your opponent’s creatures, preventing it from being able to attack or block while it is in play.

Magic: The Gathering – Aetherdrift Preview: Marshal’s Pathcruiser

Crew is not the only new mechanic arriving derived from ether That ties into the theme of racing: sometimes a racer has to go out of his way in a desperate measure to try and get an advantage, and that comes in the form of an Escape. Escape skills can only be used once and their high cost usually comes with a potentially high reward. As you can see in our preview of Marshal’s Way Cruise above, his Escape ability allows him to swap Artifact subtypes from Vehicle to creature (which would allow him to be used as crew for other Vehicles) and bolster his stats with two additional +1/+1 counters.

You’ll be able to see these cards and many more in action when Magic: The Gathering – Aetherdrift It arrives in stores starting February 14.

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