This week, Magic the Gathering and Wizards of the Coast released spoilers to the public for one of the most anticipated sets for 2016, From The Vault: Lore! The set, which is normally comprised of cards from sets that span across the life of the game, will contain 15 cards (and one token) from throughout Magic’s history that are renowned for both their power and the stories behind them. The cards that will be released will be unique, showcased in special From The Vault–exclusive premium foil. We’ll highlight a few of the ones that we saw, so without further ado, let’s get into the reveal!
1. Beseech the Queen
This card, originally from Shadowmoor, starts our list off. As this fetch sorcery allows players to search their library for a card with converted mana cost less than or equal to the amount of lands you control, revealing it, and placing it into your hand. It can be a clutch fourth-quarter kind of card, as most players can attest to the fact that sometimes the card you’re hoping for just doesn’t seem to find its way to the top of the deck, and you keep drawing things you don’t need. This card, in that moment where, when you have a good amount of mana, you can fetch the creature you’ve been hoping for, allowing yourself to have that ace in the hole when the battle is at its most dire.
2. Cabal Ritual
Cabal Ritual is a great card to have, especially when you’re having to counter attacks and running low on mana on someone else’s turn. This card, from the Odyssey block, utilizes the unfortunate circumstance of having a large graveyard, allowing the player to summon five Swamp mana by it’s Threshold mechanic. It may sound like not much of a trade-off, as you’re sacrificing two mana already to just gain five, but when you’re running a mostly black deck in a game and you just need most Swamp mana, this card definitely pulls through, giving you the added support you need, especially in a pinch.
3. Conflux
I’m a huge fan of Nicol Bolas, and this card looks incredible! A multi-colored card from Conflux, this card fits well with many five-colored commander decks, spawning from the same set as legendary creature, Child of Alara. A powerful card, Conflux is a bit on the pricey side, as are most five-colored cards. But if a player can cast it, I’d hate to see what other surprises they may have in store in their deck, and I’m pretty certain that those surprises are exactly what Conflux is going to be fetching.
4. Dark Depths and Marit Lage
So, if you ask Nerd Reactor writer Cory Vincent, he can attest to this one simple fact: I LOVE this card! I was a huge fan of using this card in my legacy deck, combined with Vampire Hexmage, and just wiping the floor with players! This card, although an odd land (what kind of land doesn’t produce a land?), this does something much, much, much more productive: it gives you a game destroyer. Shifting the battle squarely into your hands, after removing all ten ice counters on it, you sacrifice the Legendary Snow Land to create the flying indestructible Marit Lage! Powerful enough to wipe out the entire life total of another player, and impervious to any attack due to its indestructibility, this creature does nothing but decimate and take names. And he’s all out of paper.
5. Glissa, the Traitor
A must in artifact decks, Glissa, the Traitor can be a serious asset to have, either as a power house or commander. Toting first strike and deathtouch, this zombie elf also harbors a very useful attribute: whenever a creature an opponent control dies, you may return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand. Having cards such as Memory Jar or even Draco can change the balance of any game, and give you the upper hand, as each artifact that is sent to the graveyard can be retrieved by simply killing an opponent’s creature. How great is that?!
Those are just a few of the highlighted ones from the upcoming set, but already I can see that people are going to fall back in love with these sets represented in this year’s From The Vault: Lore. Take a look at the rest of the set, and let us know your thoughts!
From The Vault: Lore will be released August 19.
from Nerd Reactor
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