Most of the cards we’ve seen from Edge of Eternities so far have been through unofficial leaks. While that’s soon to change, as spoiler season begins tomorrow, there has been an overarching theme for this set. There are tons of powerful effects, some of the most ridiculous Magic: The Gathering has ever seen.
These effects, however, are obscured by significant restrictions. MTG Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought is, perhaps, the most outlandish example of this. This leaked Spacecraft offers game-ending abilities hidden behind steep Station costs.
As a reminder, because this is an unofficial leak, there is a chance that it could be fake. That said, given the sheer volume of Edge of Eternities leaks we’ve seen, there’s a good chance this is real. As such, we’ll be talking about it as though it’s real in this article.
MTG Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought
For five mana, MTG Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought offers a Spacecraft that enters with absolutely nothing. The card can’t do much of anything until you Station 10 Charge counters onto it, which is a massive point against its viability. The effect you get once it’s Stationed, however, is rather amusing and quite powerful.
Dealing 100 damage to a creature or Planeswalker is more than enough to nuke anything out of orbit. Partner Dawnsire with a card like Repercussion, and you’ll be shooting players out of the stars every time you attack.
The 100-damage trigger means that this card synergizes incredibly well with effects that care about excess damage. Deal 100 damage to an unsuspecting creature with Fall of Cair Andros in play, and you can Amass an absolutely massive Orc Army. Alternatively, Toralf, God of Fury allows you to direct excess damage at an opponent, likely eliminating them.
MTG Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought can grow even further. Should you Station 20 power’s worth, Dawnsire can swing in for a massive 20 damage. That should be enough to end a game of two-player constructed on the spot.
While these abilities are incredibly flashy, capable of wreaking massive havoc in the right situations, the Station costs are truly heinous. This will likely prevent the card from seeing any serious play. The fact that MTG Dawnsire does absolutely nothing until 10 power is sunk into it is the worst aspect of this card. You need a ton of resources to access an, admittedly, very valuable ability, but that ability still needs additional resources to provide value. Five mana, and tapping ten power, for all of this is just not worth it.
All of that said, should you manage to build a deck that can Station this consistently, it does create a two-card death combo in Standard.
MTG Dawnsire Two-Card Standard Death Combo
If you manage to Station MTG Dawnsire without it biting the dust, you can use Screaming Nemesis to end the game. All you have to do is attack, target Nemesis with the 100 damage, and then target your opponent using Screaming Nemesis’ trigger. If that’s somehow not a one-hit kill, your opponent won’t be able to heal afterward, as a bonus. Notably, MTG Dawnsire can also do this with other Stuffy Doll effects, but this is the best Standard-legal one.
While Screaming Nemesis is already a popular card in Standard, we don’t expect this new combo to see any play. Once again, the Station cost is far too high and too slow for this combo to be executed efficiently. While Mono Red Control has existed in the past, there are simply better ways for red to win right now.
That said, this combo is definitely flashy and undoubtedly exciting. We wouldn’t put it past players trying to get it to work in Standard, even if only once. Thankfully, outside of Standard, Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought should have some potential in Commander. While it’s still not great, the casual nature of this format should make Stationing enough power a genuine possibility.