With the battle against Nicol Bolas fading into the distance, other wrongs in Magic: The Gathering are begging to be righted. Some new cards revealed for the latest set, Theros: Beyond Death, seem to indicate that a previous storyline is about to come back to life in a big way.
Theros: Beyond Death is the upcoming set for Magic: The Gathering, which sees a return to the plane of Theros. Theros has an Ancient Greek theme, with powerful enchantments, gods, and mythical monsters. Plane-specific mechanics include devotion and enchantment creatures.
The new cards revealed include two planeswalkers, their alternate arts, and an updated version of one of the gods of Theros. The first planeswalker is Ashiok, here with the epithet Nightmare Muse. The second is Elspeth Tirel, here bearing the epithet Sun’s Nemesis. The final card revealed is Atheros, Shroud-Veiled, who is the buy-a-box promo card for Theros: Beyond Death. Players can view them now and begin thinking about where to place them in a deck.
Atheros heralds the return of gods, enchantment creatures, and the devotion mechanic. Elspeth’s effect includes the new keyword: Escape, which lets her summon herself from the grave by exiling cards. Time will tell how these mechanics make their way into competitive play.
Elspeth may well be the centerpoint of this Magic set’s storyline. Previously, Elspeth wielded a spear given to her by the sun god Heliod, and after fulfilling her mission to slay the rogue god Xenagos, Heliod killed her with that same spear. Her return from death could indicate that she now serves Theros’ death god, Erebos, who features in some cards leaked for the set.
With new mechanics and new legendary creatures, only time will tell Elspeth and Ashiok’s new place in the world. The return of Saga enchantments could see Elspeth’s tale of heroics become a card, though only one of these cards has been revealed so far. Most fascinating of all is seeing how the new cards will affect Magic’s various formats.
Magic: The Gathering’s Theros: Beyond Death will be released January 24th, 2020.
Source: GameSpot
