I’m having a bit of deva vu with Magic: The Gathering this summer, as its newest set has won me over with an unconventional theme that I almost let slide by me. Last summer it was Bloomburrow‘s unique, animals-only setting; this year, it’s the science fiction set Edge of Eternities, taking players to literal outer space.
MTG has always taken place on different, original planes throughout its Multiverse, like Kamigawa, Ravnica, or Dominaria; occasionally the game takes us back in time, or has a set’s story unfold across multiple planes, like March of the Machines or Aetherdrift. We’ve even dipped into different universes/intellectual properties through the Universes Beyond program, most recently in Magic: The Gathering—Final Fantasy.
But Edge of Eternities bucks this trend. Its events take place in a new piece of the mythos called the Edge, located on the very border of the Blind Eternities. Here we discover spacecraft, different planets, and even space whales. In a way, it’s a little strange that we can have spaceships travelling between planets alongside the traditional convention of planeswalkers literally striding between realms of existence. And yet, like Bloomburrow, and even Aetherdrift, the MTG design team has found a way to make it work through the mechanics.
Now that Edge of Eternities has officially arrived this weekend, here are the 5 cards (or archetypes) we’re hoping to pull in Bundles, boosters, or drafts—whether in physical packs, or on Magic Arena:
5) Bioengineered Future (Landers/Landfall)
One powerful theme coursing through Edge of Eternities‘ (in green and red, particularly) is the concept of lander tokens. These handy artifacts represent expeditionary spacecraft designed to make landfall on new worlds. Like Treasure or Food tokens, they’re a predefined type—tap one, spend 2 mana, and sacrifice the token to search your library for a basic land and put it on the battlefield.
Having a land fix in your back pocket is always a good thing, especially when there are some lander-generating options in all five colours. If you have one in play and some spare mana, they’re a handy way to get a second land into play. Plus, they’re often created as a side effect of a spell, like how Seedship Impact summons one into play while destroying a target artifact or enchantment, or how Glacier Godmaw buffs all its allies upon Landfall.
“If Edge of Eternities is drawing inspiration from classic space operas and sci-fi, it could do a lot worse than taking notes from Dune.”
The real upside, though, is how they can play into other effects, including other effects on this list. If the number of artifacts you control is relevant, or if you get a boon from having a nonland permanent leave the battlefield, landers are good to have around.
They also help empower some potent themes running through green in Standard right now, involving Landfall triggers. Bioengineered Future plays right into one of my favourite decks right now, by giving creatures additional +1/+1 counters based on the number of cards that entered play this turn, and by spawning a Lander token to bump that number up.
4) Alpharael, Stonechosen (Void)
Speaking of nonland permanents leaving the battlefield, meet Void, a new mechanic in Edge of Eternities. The effects vary, but Void abilities empower their cards so long as some manner of nonland permanent left the battlefield in some way—it could be from killing a creature in combat, or an opponent sacrificing a token, or even using the Warp ability found in this set. This can mean equipping the Hylderblade for free, or upgrading Tragic Trajectory from -2/-2 to -10/-10, or paying a tithe to keep Chorale of the Void in play.
The Void reaches its most powerful level with Alpharael, Stonechosen. This Mythic, Legendary creature is shielded by a rare Ward condition for survivability, but if Void successfully triggers when he attacks, the defending player loses half their health, just from him attacking! This is a serious threat to decks that like to gain, and then hide behind, crazy amounts of health, and if Alpharael is buffed, the actual attack can be a game-winner in the right conditions.
It’s not foolproof, but it’s a powerful ability that can really turn the tides. Plus, the character himself has some serious Dune vibes between this card and his other, blue-black iteration, if only by echoing Paul Atreides’ aesthetics. And if Edge of Eternities is drawing inspiration from classic space operas and sci-fi, it could do a lot worse than taking notes from Dune.
3) Haliya, Ascended Cadet / Guided By Light (+1/+1 Counters)
Another intriguing character with a two-card story arc is Haliya, a Soldier in green/white and white varieties. Her cadet version will be crucial to anyone looking to run these two colours in a draft, or to players with green/white Soldier decks. When she enters play or each time she attacks, you get to buff a creature (possibly even her) with a +1/+1 counter; should a creature with such a counter deal damage to an opponent, you get to draw a card.
The upgraded, rare version of Haliya features another of Edge of Eternities‘ signature mechanics, Warp, which basically gives her a preview round. Her mentor, Syr Vondam, has two cards in the set as well; though she’s classified as a Soldier and he’s a knight, they can nonetheless play well together as their abilities are not class-exclusive. In fact, Syr Vondam, the Lucent’s lifelink and 4 power can easily trigger Haliya, Guided by Light’s end step draw ability.
Anyone playing green and/or white in drafts can stand to benefit from Haliya’s powers, and she’s a strong contender to appear in other Soldier decks for some time to come.
2) Thrumming Hivepool (Slivers)
There are two things keeping Thrumming Hivepool from the #1 spot on this list. First, it’s a proven fact that playing Slivers is one of the fastest ways to have every player in a multiplayer game of MTG instantly turn on you.
Second, Thrumming Hivepool is unfortunately the only Sliver-based card in Edge of Eternities (barring that amazing Sliver Overlord showcase variant). News of the notorious tribe’s return was met with a thrum of excitement, but it didn’t actually get much representation within the new set. At least there are other tools that can help you make use of it, should you pull the right cards in a draft.
Beyond Edge of Eternities, the real value of these cards (for the time being anyway) is their utility in broader formats than Standard, particularly Commander. As soon as I saw Thrumming Hivepool in the Edge of Eternities previews, I felt compelled to unearth my old Sliver Overlord EDH deck from the M14/M15 era. This artifact is a perfect fit for any dedicated Sliver deck, doing both things you want a Sliver utility to do: make more Slivers and buff them.
(Just don’t be surprised when the entire table makes it their mission to eject your deck to the void of space immediately after these cards hit the table.)
1) Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
Artifacts are often feature prominently in MTG‘s formats, and they’re certainly sitting pretty in the current meta. The Final Fantasy collaboration brought them some fun new tools, and so too does Edge of Eternities, with its robots and spaceships.
And where there are artifacts, Tezzeret will thrive.
MTG‘s resident artifact afficianado and all-around evil dude returns in colourless form,for a cheap 3 mana. He’s survived the fall of Bolas, he’s survived his dealings with the Phyrexian Praetors, and now he finds himself adrift at the Edge, where his metallurgy powers (and Darksteel body) allow him to carve out a lucrative niche for himself.
Card-wise, Edge of Eternities‘ sole Planeswalker doesn’t have an ability to gain loyalty, but instead gains it whenever an artifact enters under your control. His first ability is a nice utility and buff move, while his second tutors a nice cheap artifact. But it’s the ultimate that really help him spice up the battlefield.
The emblem it generates puts +1/+1 counters on a target artifact and, if it’s not already also a creature, makes it into a Robot creature. Suddenly your Sol Ring isn’t just a handy mana generator in your Commander deck—it can also sprout legs and kick some ass on its own.
At the precipice of its arrival, Edge of Eternities may not be the set I would have imagined or directly requested—that honour would go to a proper take on Kamigawa and Samurai at long last—but it has certainly piqued my interest more than I expected a “space opera” set could. Magic is in an unusually uninhibited place right now, and I’m enjoying seeing how mouse knights, spaceships, and potentially spider-themed superheroes work in this game’s versatile engine.
(Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a way to use Tezzeret to deal lethal damage with an animated, robotified Instant Ramen.)
