The Magic the Gathering multi-verse is returning to Zendikar and the Planeswalkers will battle the land itself! On September 17 the latest set Zendikar Rising will be live on MTG Arena. We have an overview of the returning and new mechanics in Zendikar Rising.
Nahiri is the star planeswalker for this new set and after all, we are on her homeworld of Zendikar. Wizards of the Coast even released a movie quality trailer for the set:
Some Familiar Returning Mechanics
MTGA players and older MTG veterans will know how these mechanics work but none the less we have them here.
Kicker
For an additional cost on top of the normal cost, you get an additional effect to the spell and the original effect as. Or...pay more get more!
Landfall
Whenever a land enters the battlefield, trigger any card with landfall giving you some kind of bonus.
- READ MORE: MTGA Tier List: Competitive Historic Decks
The New Mechanics in Zendikar Rising
The two new mechanics are Party and Double-Faced Cards (DFC). The first mechanic Party is something Dungeons and Dragons fans will immediately recognize it. It works likes this: if a card has the Party keyword it gets some kind of bonus or reduced cost for each Party member on the battlefield. Four party members then get four times the effect. A Party member can be any card with the Cleric, Rogue, Wizard, and Warrior sub-type or class. However, you can only have one of each type, so four is the maximum of this effect. If you play a creature with Party it will always count itself, so the creature card is never truly alone. Four party members then get four times the effect.
Each Class Favors a Certain Color
Cleric:
- Primary – White
- Secondary – Black
- Tertiary – Blue
- Absent – Red
Rogue:
- Primary – Black
- Secondary – Blue
- Tertiary – Red
- Absent – White
Warrior:
- Primary – Red
- Secondary – White
- Tertiary – Black
- Absent – Blue
Wizard:
- Primary – Blue
- Secondary – Red
- Tertiary – White
- Absent – Black
Each color has a main class and one that is not present, meaning you will need to play at least two colors to form a full four-member Party. Here is a fully assembled Party of four creatures and even one spell that has the Party mechanic:
The DFC Mechanic
The next new mechanic is fairly simple, when you cast a double-faced card you just choose which side of the card you will cast. The side you pick is the side that enters the battlefield face up. So far, two kinds of cards with this DFC mechanic have been spoiled. A Spell//Land card and a Land card with a different color on each side. If you look in the top left corner of a DFC card you will see a new symbol given to a card with this new mechanic.
The artwork on the new DFC land cards are stunning and one of the major charming parts of MTG. We can’t wait and see how this works on MTGA and what cool visual effects they have planned for the Party and DFC mechanics.
We have all your MTGA and esports news on EarlyGame! Looking for a deck to play? Check out these: MTGA: Standard's 'New Best' Deck? and Mono Red: the Fastest Way to Win in MTGA Standard.