Magic: The Gathering is embracing science fantasy for its upcoming space opera-inspired set Edge of Eternities, which will be released on Aug. 1. The genre shift required new mechanics and factions, but has allowed the game to bring back some old enemies too.
Vehicles, artifacts that need to be crewed to unlock their full potential as artifact creatures, have been part of Magic since 2016’s Kaladesh. But while typical vehicle rules require tapping creatures each turn to serve as crew, spacecraft — a new card subtype making its debut in Edge of Eternities — use a mechanic called “station” to gain charge counters equal to the power of the creature tapped and become an artifact creature permanently once they reach the designated threshold.
For instance, the legendary spaceship The Seriema gives players the ability to search their library for a legendary creature to add to their hand when it comes into play, and then becomes a 5/5 flying creature that makes other tapped legendary creatures indestructible once it has seven charge counters. Legendary vehicles and spacecraft can now serve as Commanders, but you can also stick with a more conventional choice like The Seriema’s cat-loving captain Sami, a human artificer who makes robot tokens.
“Sami is a consummate con artist, scoundrel and ne’er do well,” Wizards of the Coast story lead Roy Graham said during a video presentation. The Traitor Baru Cormorant and Exordia author Seth Dickinson has been writing about Sami, a mysterious artifact known as the Endstone, and a holy war to introduce the complex world of the Sothera system in what Graham said is the longest story he’s worked on in his five years working on Magic.
Station is also used on planets, a new type of land introduced in the set. There is one for each of Magic’s five colors, and they’re inspired by existing iconic lands like Tolarian Academy but need 12 counters to unlock their special abilities.
“We can give you these massive, awesome effects if we send you on a little, tiny quest,” Magic play design lead Andrew Brown said during the presentation.
While most of the card previews and fiction so far have focused on new characters, there are some familiar faces like the perpetually scheming artificer and planeswalker Tezzeret. The set introduces a colorless version of him, Tezzeret, Cruel Captain, designed to be useful in more types of Commander decks.
“He’s come to a setting well suited to his talents,” Graham said. “He sees limitless opportunity to make himself anew as a power to be reckoned with in this corner of the multiverse.”
Edge of Eternities also marks the return of Slivers and a new type of Llurgoyf, which features flavor text that puts a sci-fi spin on the monster’s first appearance. Another familiar peril is the Eldrazi, an ancient species native to the Blind Eternities that have twisted the planes of Zendikar and Innistrad with their immense power. The presentation included a preview of an Eldrazi card – Anticausal Vestige – with a new ability called “warp” meant to embody their ability to move quickly across the vastness of space. Rather than playing the card for its standard cost, warp allows players to cast it from their hand for a lesser amount but then exile it at the end of their turn. They can then cast it again for the full price on a later turn.
“Void” is another new mechanic that is meant to convey the unforgiving nature of space with kicker effects that trigger if a spell was warped or a nonland permanent left the battlefield on the same turn. “Lander” is a new type of token, which is sacrificed to search your library for a basic land to put into play tapped, designed to embody the spirit of space exploration.
Collectors will have plenty of new art to enjoy leaning into the science-fiction setting. Beyond borderless basic lands there is art inspired by old tourism agency photos and cards where the text itself is integrated into the imagery to give the appearance of ‘70s pulp sci-fi novel covers.
You can check the full first batch of Edge of Eternities previews below, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
Edge of Eternities will be released on Aug. 1. Preorders are open now.