When the Wizards of the Coast team had said that they were going to do PAX big, they were most definitely not lying. Kaladesh looks like it is going to be drastically different than anything we have seen in Magic: The Gathering with brand new mechanics like vehicles, energy, and fabricate. There was absolutely no shortage of preview cards, tournaments, and major announcements. One of the largest announcements that might take players a little getting used to is the fact that Magic: The Gathering Intro Packs and Fat Packs are being sent to the proverbial graveyard.
For many years with each new set there would be the release of 5 Intro packs and the supplemental Fat Pack, which would include 9 boosters and some other sweet gear too. Of course, Wizards would just kill off two major product lines without offering something new in its place. Replacing the Intro Packs, fans can expect the brand new Planeswalker Decks. Instead of having five decks to choose from there will be only two per set and each deck will focus on the mechanics of a powerful Planeswalker card. In Kaladesh we are looking at a Chandra deck called Pyrogenius and a Nissa Deck called Nature’s Artisan. Knowing that these decks are being marketed towards beginners and that they are designed to synergize with the planeswalkers on the cover of the packaging, we can safely assume that the Nissa deck will be a ramp deck and not necessarily a tribe elf deck, due to the lack of ‘Elf” abilities. As per ususal we can expect the Pyrogenius deck to be your run-of-the-mill burn deck.
The new MTG Bundle package appears to be the exact same thing as the Fat Pack, except there are 10 booster packs instead of 9, and it also looks like they removed the two cardboard deck boxes. The deck boxes were always the weak link in the Fat Pack anyways since they were practically useless if you sleeve your cards. I’ve also seen people cram too many cards in those little deck boxes and damage some very nice cards. I think maybe the name Bundle is just a little more ‘2016’ than the term Fat Pack.
Overall Wizards of the Coast came out swinging at PAX West last weekend! I am personally more excited for the Kaladesh set than any other set since the Scars of Mirrodin block. Especially considering that when we talked to Mark Rosewater at San Diego Comic-Con this year he said that he thinks that this is his best set to date.
from Nerd Reactor
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