The Cards Have Arrived

Rivals of Ixalan is here. And the second expansion of the Ixalan block --the current space-time plane for Magic: the Gathering-- brings a horde of vampires, dinosaurs, merfolk, and pirates eager to dominate the scene. The thing is, Magic has a dual nature: it is a game and it is a product. To keep the business alive, it releases four expansions per year. With so many cards it gets more complicated, so "formats" were created, consisting of sets of rules that establish which cards can or cannot be used and certain conditions for deck building.

The most popular are Standard, Modern, Commander, and Limited. In Standard, cards from the newest editions are used (generally eight, covering the last two years). Modern is played with cards from Eighth Edition (July 2003) onward. Commander allows all existing cards but only one copy per deck, while in the other modes up to four copies are used. Lastly, Limited is played with the latest available expansion, and decks are built during the tournament itself, with packs opened on the spot.

Every new expansion is designed to feed each format, and below is a list of the brand-new cards that could dominate their respective environments.

Limited: Tetzimoc, Primal Death. In Limited, creatures are the core of any strategy. Tetzimoc lets you "mark" opposing creatures and destroy them when it enters the battlefield. This leaves us with all our creatures alive and a 6/6 beast against no defense from the opponent. Game over.

Standard: Rekindled Phoenix. True to its name, this red 4/3 flyer returns to the board every time it dies. With Haste. The only downside is that there are already very good red creatures at the same cost (4 mana) that it has to compete with.

Commander: Zacama, Primal Calamity. In Commander, the stars are the big creatures with expensive costs. Zacama is going to shine. Beyond its sky-high cost (9 mana), its abilities make up for everything. Vigilance, Trample, Reach, and it can also deal 3 damage, destroy artifacts/enchantments, or gain 3 life. Insane.

Modern: Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca. At the time this article was written, Kumena was worth 23 dollars and had risen 8 in a single day. Move over, Bitcoin! It is shaping up to be the most coveted merfolk on the market. While its mere presence excites fans of this tribe to try a Standard deck, it is going to shine in Modern, where a competitive merfolk deck already exists and with this addition promises to make waves.

This article was originally published in Pagina/12 on January 18, 2018.