I’ve been a Magic: The Gathering dabbler for the better part of two decades at this stage, entering in around the Mirrodin era while I was in high school and my friend group fell deeply into the game. My interest waned in the years since, but I’ve recently come back around – mostly thanks to the access that being in this gig fortunately provides. Even now though, it’s all still very low-touch on my part. A game here and there, a few packs when a set’s aesthetic speaks to me particularly, and of course the wince-inducing spend on that recently released Final Fantasy collaboration.
All of this is to say, Edge of Eternities might just be the release that gets me fully engaging with Magic again, from the lore to the deckbuilding, the collecting and of course, play. After taking an early look at Edge of Eternities thanks to a pre-briefing with some of the team behind the set, this thing is really speaking to me.
During the presentation, which included folks responsible for gameplay, art direction, collectability and more, a common theme emerged that positions EoE as a bold and fresh new entry point for Magic: The Gathering. One that fully respects the legacy of the game and the expectations of veteran players, but that is separated enough from the planes we know – literal lightyears away – that it’ll make a strong entry or re-entry point to a long running narrative legacy that might just be impenetrable to some. That some is me.
A Tale as Old as Space and Time
And look, at first glance it’s pretty clear that this is a big departure from what’s come before. Deriving its title from the overarching setting of the Edge, a vast region in space home to a multitude of systems and civilisations, the set veers into what the worldbuilders at MtG are adamant in labelling Science Fantasy. Not a new term by any stretch, but one that hopefully signals that just because we’re in space, doesn’t mean there won’t be spells and wizards and shit. There’s going to be plenty of that.
For story heads, there’s going to be a whole lot to dive into here. Starting just with the Sothera system that makes up the debut set in this saga, we’ve already got one of the longest fictions in MtG history, with more than 80,000 words across 11 episodes and five side stories, all of which you can find right here. I’m yet to read any of these for myself (but will be doing so right after I wrap this piece up and hop into bed), but based on our small preview you can expect to find a lot of the hallmarks of classic sci-fi/science fantasy, all imbued with the kinds of storytelling and themes that’ll resonate with Magic fans.
New characters like Captain Sami, a typical space-faring scoundrel on the hunt for their missing cat, or the diametrically opposed Alpharael and Haliya, acolytes of their respective warring religious groups, should feel familiar to anyone who’s consumed media in these genres before. Even more familiar will be Tezzeret, the sole returning MtG character in the set whose passion for metal and machines has taken him across the universe.
Cameos aside, the idea of jumping into a Magic story in what is essentially an entirely new setting with none of the baggage of what’s come before, but will (hopefully) go on to be a long-running saga makes this whole thing tantalising to my tastes and history with the game. I imagine it’ll do the same for a lot of folks.
New Worlds, New Words
Supporting this brave new venture in the stars are, of course, a handful of exciting new card mechanics, and once again the MtG team has shown a strong grasp on thematics and crafting gameplay that’s both fun within the scope of the lore and, more importantly, on the table.
Station is the big one here, an ability tied into some of the new card subtypes like Spacecraft and Planets. Station works by the controlling player tapping a creature they control and adding charge counters to said Spacecraft or Planet equal to that creature’s power. Then, once they cross a threshold of charge counters, a second set of rules on the card comes into effect.
For Spacecraft, that usually involves them becoming a creature card with its own power parameters and abilities. Extinguisher Battleship, for example, becomes a 10/10 creature with Flying and Trample once it has five or more charge counters. And because charge counters are cumulative over turns and can come from either using Station or doing anything else that produces charge counters, this can come into effect quite quickly.
Warp is another one that I think will be super popular in deckbuilding. This one allows players to cast creature cards for a smaller cost than their base mana cost, with the tradeoff being that said creature only sticks around for one turn before “warping” back out and into exile (where they can always be played again on a later turn at full whack).
Not only will this make for some fun little in-and-out exchanges, but Edge of Eternities also features a new ability keyword, Void, which adds effects whenever creatures in play leave the battlefield. See where we’re going with this?
Lands have also had a bit of attention here with a new Token Artifact subtype, Lander, which can be sacced along with a small mana cost to drop a land onto the battlefield. Consequently, Landfall is also back as a keyword here, as are Shock Lands with five brand-new ones in the set that are Standard legal! Woo!
Engage Boosters
Unfortunately, more than anything else in Edge of Eternities, for me it’s going to be all about the shiny, shiny cardboard. The art team has gone absolutely all-in on this new venture in stunning fashion, taking full advantage of the genre switch to take bold strokes and inspiration from decades of sci-fi films, TV, books, graphic novels and more.
The sheer number of Borderless variant types in this set is staggering, from Borderless Celestial Basic Lands which give an incredible amount of card real estate to their stunning art, to Borderless Poster Stellar Sights which take cues from the retrofuturistic vibe of sci-fi pop art and aspirational early 20th century tourism posters. Take a look:
Borderless Surreal Space and Special Guest cards are easily the coolest among the bunch, leaning right into the cover stylings of 60s and 70s pulp novels and comics with some great artist collaborations and creative placement of standard card elements. Here are a few we’ve seen so far:
And the headliner card, Sothera, The Supervoid, is… well, it’s real fucking cool. Treated with a new technique called Fractal Lens, the space around the void is supposedly incredibly dimensional in nature, and coupled with deep and inky blacks right in the centre promises to be something to behold in the hand – unfortunately not something we can easily appreciate in a static image. But the design on its own is already very neat:
Of course, a lot of this stuff is either exclusive to Collector Boosters or in very limited supply in Play Boosters, so the quest for the prettiest of the bunch is going to be an expensive endeavour. MtG is releasing a pretty staple lineup of products here with two new Commander Decks (which features Spacecraft as their Commanders!) along with the two booster types, a Bundle and a Prerelease Box.
You can find out more about all of that stuff, including where to pre-order and buy, on the official website here.
So, yeah, safe to say that Edge of Eternities, and the sets and stories to follow, has me hooked from the get-go and will no doubt be a bit of a black hole for my time and funds. And I will boldly go.
