"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke
The printing press has barely cooled from the record breaking Final Fantasy release less than two months ago but it’s been kicked into overdrive to pump out Magic The Gathering’s newest set, a space odyssey of galactic proportions.
Edge of Eternities is taking us further than we’ve ever gone before, literally to the Edge. Beyond every plane we’ve ever known or will come to know, transcending even that enigmatic space between planes, the Blind Eternities.
At the Edge, stars and celestial bodies span distances so vast that only advanced spacecraft can make the journey. This set will have you casting spells and summoning warp creatures to alien planets as Magic leans harder than ever into its science-y DNA.
Edge of Eternities is also landing with new card types, new mechanics, new commander rules, format rotation and even a new way to draft! There's stacks of new stuff for every Magic table, so suit up space cowboy we'll be travelling at warp speed to cover all this.
So how does Edge of Eternities fit into the narrative cosmology of a setting as vast as Magic and is this really the first time Magic has touched on outer space?
We’ll obviously put aside the Universes Beyond sets of Warhammer 40,000 and Dr Who, as well as the silver bordered joke set that is Unfinity, those aren’t narrative canon. Let’s also exclude the fact that a Magic booster pack has actually been to the edge of space in this criminally under viewed video.
Looking just at what’s canon, are there cards that have made reference to outer space before? There’s a few.
Our first glimpse at the existence of solar systems in Magic goes way back to 1994 with Presence of the Master, no prizes for guessing who that card is depicting. Several later cards would also depict celestial bodies such as Vedalken Orrery and Time Reversal making it clear that outer space has always been lurking in the shadows of possibility.
For some players this new space theme has been upsetting or jarring, seeing spaceships in their fantasy game of wizards and elves is perhaps a bridge too far for them. I’ve always had a different take, as someone who was there when Magic began, Edge of Eternities feels neither unexpected nor out of place for me.
While it’s true that Dungeons & Dragons influence dominated many earlier sets, almost from inception Magic has been jam packed with weird sci-fi concepts. From scientific researchers to factories powering mechs with electricity, the Magic I grew up with was always grounded in knowledge and understanding of a rules based reality, key tenets in any good sci-fi.
Mark Rosewater, the head designer of Magic, points out as much on his blog where he notes that Magic has always been a science fiction story set in a fantasy setting.
"Science fiction, at is core, is about exploring what if. It’s literature investigating humanity’s potential. Fantasy, at its core, is about morality. It’s exploring the internal struggle of good and evil within humanity. Magic is a what if tale. Star Wars is a morality tale. Each though dresses itself up in the genre trappings of the other."
The kind of stories and themes being tackled with Magic have always been more analogous to science fiction than fantasy, no coat of magical goblin paint is going to change that.
Furthermore, we only have to look at the creator himself, Richard Garfield to see that Magic as a game was never built to be stifled by any one genre. The creation of the multiverse structure was designed to allow unlimited expansion of cards both narratively and mechanically.
Edge of Eternities taking us to outer space is no doubt, Magic as Richard Garfield intended.
So what about the mechanics of Edge of Eternities? Are they powered up enough for the current format? Nothing seems outright broken to me but yes, I think many of the mechanics in Edge are going to stand the test of time.
Warp is a new mechanic that allows a creature to enter the battlefield for a reduced cost, the only downside is it becomes exiled at the end of the turn. Thankfully you get to play it again on a later turn for its normal cost.
While Warp is fun and strategically interesting as a mechanic I’m not sure it hits the right narrative notes with the bounce back to exile, it's confusing what that is suppose to represent? I feel like it would be more appropriate to have the creature remain in play but at a reduced capacity, to represent the toll of warp travel.
Nevertheless, I've been on an absolute tear in standard, warping in a play set of Nova Hellkites and pinging my opponent’s 1 toughness creatures. Nova Hellkite might just be my favourite card in Edge of Eternities, it feels great to have such a beefy flyer up my sleeve in a low to the ground aggro deck.
Warp also pairs with a new mechanic called Void where cards have a boosted effect if a spell was warped or a nonland permanent left the battlefield this turn. Plasma Bolt almost becomes the infamous Lighting Bolt if you can reliably trigger void.
Edge of Eternities has some big concepts and so it's introducing a few new card types to handle them.
Spacecrafts are similar to vehicles but instead of being crewed each turn they need to be stationed. The station costs are higher as a result but some of these spacecraft are very powerful for all that stationing investment.
Also commander players you'll be excited to know that Wizards of the Coast have also updated the rules to allow legendary spacecraft and vehicles to be used as commanders going forward. Sadly no, they still aren’t allowing any old planeswalker, that will surely come one day though.
This new ruling will certainly have players digging through their collection looking for the best vehicle to build around. I’ll save you the trouble, it’s surely The Last Ride, suicide black!
We also have a new nonbasic land type in planet cards. There’s one planet for each colour and to unlock their powerful abilities you’ll need to station them up just like spacecraft.
I’m surprised to see they aren’t legendary however, especially since they seem to have unique names. That seems like a missed narrative beat, how many Uthros, Titanic Godcore can one solar system sustain?
All the planets seem very powerful except the red one and are sure to be sought after for inclusion in older formats where players have access to more tools to station them.
Speaking of how big this set feels, can we just take a moment to acknowledge the creature power creep of newer sets when compared to the early days? It struck me pretty hard seeing what kind of creature you get for one or two mana in Edge of Eternities.
I remember throwing down with Grizzly Bears in turn of the millennium sealed events but now green is sending the absolutely jacked Frenzied Baloth to smash face.
Savannah Lions also used to be a respectable card but now the going rate has you inflicting free tempo pain with Lightstall Inquisitor.
It’s worth mentioning the release of Edge of Eternities brings rotation to the standard format. That means cards from older sets are leaving and in their wake new possibilities emerge for existing and newer cards.
Rotation is a big shake up for the meta which makes it an exciting time to experiment and see what sticks, it’s anyone’s game right now! So get out there and brew something whacky, just remember to learn from your losses and keep refining if you really want to build something great.
The standard meta is pretty liquid right now but if I had to pick a top card I’d go with Cosmogrand Zenith. This card seems solid in token decks with sacrifice effects, a deck archetype historically referred to as Aristocrats.
One of the best removal spells I’d keep an eye on would be Archenemy’s Charm, a tough cast on triple black but maybe worth the investment for the instant speed versatility. It all depends on how the meta plays out, if aggro decks dominate the field then cheaper removal like Seam Rip will be important.
If control decks can survive long enough then The Endstone seems like a good ticket to that lone win condition card.
How many Crucible of World land recursion effects does commander need honestly? Icetill Explorer might just be the best one yet and is an easy slot-in for any degenerate Gitrog Monster deck.
If your deck does untapping shenanigans with cheap artifacts you’ll probably want to track down the main star of Edge of Eternities, Tezzeret, Cruel Captain for his -3 tutoring ability.
When it comes to new commanders to build around, Tannuk, Steadfast Second is stacked with value. Pair him with every godzilla sized red creature you can find, especially the ones with bombastic enter the battlefield triggers.
Look out for Stellar Sight cards available more commonly in Collector Boosters. Some are reprints of powerful cards and fetch huge prices on the secondary market by players looking to rizz up their decks.
Magic is also getting its first ever special foiling technique with galaxy foils. Galaxy foils have a star pattern effect in the foil layer which causes them to twinkle or glitter in the light.
Finally and what I adore the most are the Special Guests alternate art cards. These cards have a cover design reminiscent of science fantasy novels from the 1900s, it’s a nice treat for retro junkies like myself.
Timed with Edge of Eternities release, Wizards of the Coast has also dropped a new draft format for Magic that seems kind of genius to me. Only 4 players are required with everyone taking two picks from each booster pack instead of one.
You can learn more about this new format in the video here.
With much less booster packs required for 4 vs 8 players, you can easily kick-off a Pick-Two draft by buying two bundles rather than forking out for a more expensive booster box.
If commander doesn’t appeal to you and draft seems more your thing, then I highly recommend this double bundle Pick-Two draft concept with Edge of Eternities. Two bundles gets you 18 booster packs, 3 for each player means 6 are left over for prizes or extra players.
The set drafts so well and is just down right fun with interesting decision forks across even common and uncommon cards. Lander tokens, the timing on when you crack them, when to station spacecraft or not, all have factored into really close games for me.
I’m normally a standard format player but Edge of Eternities has had me drafting a ton since launch. So if you want to try drafting then definitely check out Edge of Eternities, you can pick up bundles from your local friendly game store and they usually have events you can sign up for if it’s your first time.
MAGIC THE GATHERING EDGE OF ETERNITIES cards were provided to SIFTER for the purposes of this review.
