Reality Fracture was always promised as a game-changing set for Magic’s story, and now that previews are here, it appears to have similar chops mechanically. Sitting at the center of the set is the new Empower Jace mechanic, perhaps the wildest new mechanic MTG has seen in years. While it’s undeniably new and exciting, opinion is split on this concept, and many players are still unsure what to make of it.
Empower Jace Gets a Mixed Reception
For those who have somehow not seen Magic’s latest mechanic yet, Empower Jace is essentially a new take on Amass, but for Jace tokens. When the mechanic triggers, you’ll make a Jace token if you don’t have one, then put a number of loyalty counters on it equal to the Empower value. The token in question has two loyalty abilities: a minus one that Surveils 1, and a minus three that draws a card.
Planeswalker tokens aren’t a new concept, with cards like
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
Casualty X. The copy isn't legendary and has starting loyalty X. (As you cast this spell, you may sacrifice a creature with power X. When you do, copy this spell. The copy becomes a token.)
+1: Each opponent loses 2 life unless they discard a card. If you control a Demon or Devil, you gain 2 life.
−2: Create a 1/1 red Devil creature token with "When this token dies, it deals 1 damage to any target."
−7: Target player draws seven cards and loses 7 life.
making them in the past. Empower Jace is the first time we’ve seen the idea on such a wide scale, however, with 21 total cards spoiled so far using the mechanic. In fact, this is one of the main criticisms players have of Empower Jace so far: that it’s too widespread. With so many cards using the mechanic revealed so quickly, fatigue is already setting in.
This isn’t helped by the fact that Empower Jace is spread across all rarities, which has Pauper players in particular worried. The format has long been a place where Magic’s most complex card type doesn’t exist, but post-Reality Fracture that will no longer be the case. Granted, the Jace token here isn’t a particularly powerful ‘walker, as many have acknowledged, but it still represents a line being crossed.
On the other hand, we’ve seen plenty of positive reception to Empower Jace as well, particularly on Mark Rosewater’s Blogatog. Many players love the novelty of the mechanic, and how well it ties into the overall flavor of Reality Fracture. Some are also praising Empower Jace for its potential as a generic deck-smoothing mechanic, since extra draw and Surveil for all colors should help a ton there, in Limited in particular.
Pros and Cons
While consensus on Empower Jace will likely continue to shift as Reality Fracture previews continue, it’s well worth considering its virtues as a mechanic overall. From a flavor perspective, it’s a mixed bag in this regard. On one hand, having Jace be everywhere in Reality Fracture matches perfectly with the lore. It’s also refreshing to see such a focus on planeswalkers, given that they’re entirely absent from Universes Beyond sets.
On the other hand, Jace was already one of the most over-represented characters in Magic, and one that many players are sick of seeing even now. This mechanic pushes this problem far, far further, potentially to the point of oversaturation. There’s also something to be said about how adding easy ways to create underwhelming tokens undermines a lot of what has made planeswalker cards special up until now.
Mechanically, Empower Jace has plenty of ups and downs as well. It certainly looks to have potential so far, with players already uncovering a two-card combo with it and
Kasmina, Enigma Sage
Kasmina, Enigma Sage
Each other planeswalker you control has the loyalty abilities of Kasmina.
+2: Scry 1.
−X: Create a 0/0 green and blue Fractal creature token. Put X +1/+1 counters on it.
−8: Search your library for an instant or sorcery card that shares a color with this planeswalker, exile that card, then shuffle. You may cast that card without paying its mana cost.
for Modern and Pioneer. There’s also a lot of room for players to build around the mechanic, whether by running Proliferate cards or cards that grant planeswalkers extra utility like
Ichormoon Gauntlet
Ichormoon Gauntlet
Planeswalkers you control have "[0]: Proliferate" and "[−12]: Take an extra turn after this one."
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, choose a counter on target permanent. Put an additional counter of that kind on that permanent.
.
Unfortunately, Empower Jace suffers from some major problems that we see fairly often with new Magic mechanics. Like Max Speed, it’s incredibly parasitic, meaning these cards will likely see play en masse or not at all. With many of the Empower Jace cards revealed so far looking weak, its chances of seeing play feel low. While you can technically put counters on
Jace, Cunning Castaway
Jace, Cunning Castaway
+1: Whenever one or more creatures you control deal combat damage to a player this turn, draw a card, then discard a card.
−2: Create a 2/2 blue Illusion creature token with "When this token becomes the target of a spell, sacrifice it."
−5: Create two tokens that are copies of Jace, except they're not legendary.
tokens with this, broader utility would’ve helped a lot here.
More Power To You?
Whatever you think of Empower Jace, it’s clear that this is a major mechanical milestone for MTG, and one that could have lasting consequences. As Mark Rosewater has noted on Blogatog, the Empower mechanic was templated so it could potentially be applied to other planeswalker types in the future. The token version of these planeswalkers could have their own abilities, too, greatly expanding the scope of the mechanic.
Whether this happens or not, however, comes down to how well Empower Jace is received. Rosewater has stated that they want to wait and “see if players enjoy Empower Jace first” before committing to future iterations.
Overall, love it or hate it, Empower Jace is one of the most significant innovations Magic has seen in some time. If Reality Fracture nails the execution, we could see a major shift in how planeswalkers are used and designed across the game.
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