We’re going back to Theros – world of Greek heroes, monsters and gods. Magic’s newest edition Theros Beyond Death takes us to the Underworld.
Today we’ll take a look at the trailer, best spoilers and mechanics from Theros Beyond Death. At the end we’ll wrap up with all the products coming out in January 2020 with the new set.
Theros Beyond Death Trailer
MTG trailers have been amazing lately. This one is no different.
The amazing Ramin Djawadi composed the music for the trailer. He is well known for his work on both Westworld and Game of Thrones.
Theros Beyond Death Mechanics
Theros Beyond Death has four mechanics:
- Devotion – debuted in 2013 Theros
- Constellation – debuted in 2014 Journey into Nyx
- Saga – debuted in 2018 Dominaria
- Escape – new mechanic
Devotion
There is devotion to each color. Devotion to white for example, is the total number of white mana symbols in the mana costs of permanents you control.
Daxos is therefore always at least a 2/2, since he has two white mana symbols in his mana cost.
Constellation
Constellation is a mechanic that triggers whenever an enchantment enters the battlefield on your side.
Satessan Champion works really well in an enchantment deck, drawing you plenty of cards and growing to a big threat with his constellation ability.
Saga
Sagas are enchantments that work by installments. Take a look at The Akroan War for example.
When you play it, you’ll gain control of target creature. After you next draw step you get to the second part – creatures will have to attack you next turn. When your next draw step happens you’ll get to the third part – hopefully destroying all of your opponents creatures.
You can learn more about Sagas here.
Escape
You can cast cards with Escape from your graveyard. You do so by paying its Escape cost. That’s usually some combination of mana and exiling other cards from your graveyard.
To get back this angry dog, you’ll have to exile three other cards plus pay four mana.
Theros Beyond Death Best Spoilers
Planeswalkers
Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis
Elspeth does look a bit underwhelming at first sight. She is quite bad if you look just at her first three abilities. However, her Escape ability makes it difficult to evaluate her.
Every time she dies, you can bring her back for six mana – if you have enough stuff in your graveyard. You’ll probably be able to exile four cards at least once or twice in a normal game of Magic. With that in mind, Elspeth might be a good curve-topper for mono white decks.
Ashiok, Nightmare Muse
Ashiok takes a fresh take on a five-mana planeswalker template. First ability comes with a token, which can protect Ashiok. The -3 acts as a pseudo removal. Both abilities feeds the ultimate. Last ability will either win you the game or pull you very far ahead.
Ashiok is no Oko, Thief of Crowns. Thankfully, considering what a mess Oko made. Ashiok is a fair play at five mana that will probably see some play in Standard.
Gods
Theros woudn’t be Theros without gods. So it makes perfect sense that they are returning. We’ll get some new ones and some old ones.
All of them are indestructible and aren’t creatures unless your devotion to their colors is high enough.
Athreos, Shroud-Veiled
Athreos seems like a beast in commander. You can play a deck with just him and removal spells. Who needs creatures? You’ll just take them from your opponents. As for Standard play, Athreos might be too slow. But you could probably still build a good deck around him.
You won’t find Athreos in regular boosters. It’s a Boy-a-Box promo, which you’ll get if you buy a whole booster box. The promos are meant for local games stores, but sometimes you can get them online. Make sure to check the information provided, so you’ll know if you get Athreos or not.
You can check Wizards‘ official page to take a look at all previewed cards.
Theros Beyond Death Full Art Lands
Full art lands return. Sam Burley truly created something else. Every pack will contain one of these gorgeous lands.
Important Dates
If you’re wondering when Theros Beyond Death comes to MTG Arena, we’ve got you covered.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Theros Release on Arena | January 16, 2020 |
| Theros Release on MTGO | January 16, 2020 |
| Theros Prerelease | January 17-19, 2020 |
| Theros Release | January 24, 2020 |
| Theros Magic Weekend | February 22-23, 2020 |
Theros Beyond Death Products
Theros Beyond Death brings us plenty of different MTG products – Draft Boosters, Collector Boosters, Planeswalker Decks and more. They are all listed bellow.
Regular (Draft) Boosters
Boosters are now called draft boosters. They’re regular booster packs that contain 16 cards, one of them being an ad card. Each booster will contain at least one rare or mythic rare card.
Theros Beyond Death Booster Box
Booster Box is exactly that – a box containing 36 draft boosters. If you’re buying a booster box, be sure to check if you’ll be getting a Buy-a-Box promo Athreos, Shroud-Veiled.
Theros Beyond Death Bundle
Bundle is a nice sturdy box, that contains 10 booster packs. You’ll also get some non-full art basic lands and a special promo card, which wasn’t announced yet.
Theme Boosters
There are five Theme Boosters, one for each color. Each of them contains 35 cards. These cards are either of the chosen color or colorless. Each of them contains exactly one rare or mythic rare card.
Theme Boosters are meant for newer players who just want to get cards in the color they play. Some rares can only be obtained in these boosters.
Collector Boosters
Collector Boosters are the premium Magic boosters.
Each Collector Booster contains 15 cards:
- 8 foil cards (common, uncommon or basic lands)
- 2 foil Nyx basic lands
- 1 ancillary card
- 1 rare or mythic rare with extended frame
- 1 saga or showcase frame card
- 1 foil saga or alternate frame card (god, demigod or planeswalker)
- 1 foil double-sided token
Asihok from the Collector Booster looks pretty dope. You can see the rest of the special artworks here.
Planeswalker Decks
Planeswalker Decks are a prebuilt 60-card ready to play decks. Each of them has a Planeswalker card inside. They are a bit on a weaker side, but play well against one another.
Theros Beyond Death features two Planeswalker Decks. One with Elspeth and the other with Ashiok. Each of them also comes with a special code, that gives you a copy of the deck on MTG Arena.
Deck Builder’s Toolkit
Deck Builder’s Toolkit is great to teach new players the basics of deckbuilding. Each Toolikit comes with the following:
- 4 Theros Beyond Death Booster Packs
- 125 fixed cards
- 100 basic lands
- 1 deckbuilder’s guide
- 1 reusable storage box
Beyond Article
Make sure to check all Codes for MTG Arena. You’ll probably get three packs of Theros Beyond Death once the set comes to Arena on January, 16th.
Anyways, that’s all for today. Come back again to check more Theros Beyond Death spoilers and may you open the best mythic from the new boosters.