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6, Aug, 24

Mystery Booster 2 Playtest Cards Are The Wildest MTG Designs In Years

Somehow, even though one wasn’t scheduled for another few weeks, we’ve found ourselves in the middle of yet another spoiler season. This time Mystery Booster 2, the regrettably convention-exclusive mass reprint set of many Magic players’ dreams, is the star of the show. We’ve seen plenty to get excited about so far, including new white border cards and digital exclusives coming to paper. For the die-hard MTG fans, however, there’s something even more exciting: Mystery Booster 2 Playtest cards. Making a triumphant return from the first Mystery Booster, these wacky cards are pushing the boat out once again.

A Bit Of Comic Relief

Mystery Booster 2 Playtest Cards Jokes

These Playtest cards serve a variety of functions. Undoubtedly some of them are the genuine article, actual designs WotC has played around with in the past. Other cards, meanwhile, are more like what you’d find in an Un-set. The latter are there primarily to entertain players, and make fun of Magic’s history and mechanics.

Take Glimpse, the Unthinkable, for example. This card’s name is a play on Mill classic Glimpse the Unthinkable, with the comma introducing a range of humorous elements. Not only does Glimpse have Shroud, preventing him from being targeted, but neither him nor his name can be chosen, either. This gets around cards like Pithing Needle, and possibly even sacrifice effects (Judge?). This makes the card very difficult to interact with on any axis, thus: unthinkable.

Other joke cards tap into the rich well of memes the MTG community has cultivated over the years. Indicate is a reference to the Sharpie Cube trend that’s been buzzing away in the background for years, before exploding on Twitter over the last few weeks. Removing some text on the classic removal spell Vindicate can leave you with a card called Indicate, which targets a permanent and nothing more. WotC has recreated this gem perfectly in Mystery Booster 2.

Other references are less specific, poking fun at aspects of MTG in general. TL;DR is one such card: a removal spell that specifically counters the extra-wordy creatures that have become common in recent years. The anger on the character’s face in the art sums up a lot of the community feelings around this issue. We all know how much the Professor loves Strixhaven cards, after all.

Bizarre New Mechanics

Some of the Mystery Booster 2 Playtest cards go in a totally different direction. Rather than just referencing existing cards or culture, they create their own through bold new mechanics. By ‘bold’ I mean ‘probably broken beyond comprehension.’ These cards are where a lot of the real juice is among the Playtest pack.

Take Luxior, Ignited, for example. This is an artifact, equipment, and a planeswalker all in one. Something we’ve never seen in Magic before, and likely never will see. Then again, Urza’s Saga exists, so I guess anything is possible. Luxior starts with one loyalty for a four mana investment and can equip via a plus ability, rather than a traditional equip cost. The equipped creature scales in power based on Luxior’s loyalty, and you can -2 the sword to grant the creature +2/+2 and Double Strike for the turn. Very interesting indeed.

Fludge, Gunk Guardian is even better. This one takes a leaf out of Hearthstone’s book, shuffling clunky do-nothing tokens into your opponent’s deck. This is like a more aggressive version of Conjure, a mechanic we’ve seen in Alchemy on MTG Arena. Tracking issues aside, the idea of sabotaging your opponent’s deck like this is an appealing one flavor-wise.

Plant a Sapling, interestingly, also feels a lot like a Hearthstone card. Specifically, one of the ones you need to shuffle back into your deck in order to upgrade it for later use. It starts off as a simple basic land tutor, before becoming a one mana beatstick when you draw it again later on. Again, a very innovative design, and one that draws heavily from existing digital card games.

Hints Of Things To Come?

Mystery Booster 2 Playtest Cards Foreshadowing

Near the beginning of this article, I mentioned that some of the Mystery Booster 2 Playtest cards feel like the real deal. Like actual designs that were proposed, unironically, for one set or another. Out of all the many, many Playtest cards we’ve seen for this set, these are the most exciting of all.

One of these cards, Immersturm Battlefield, introduces a whole new enchantment subtype in Realm. Realms are areas where you can ‘Host’ creatures, granting them different buffs and abilities. In this case, +2/+0 and Haste. This is a simple implementation of the idea, but it has huge scope. This feels like an MTG take on Lorcana’s Location cards, and I am 100% here for it.

Omenpath to Naya is even more interesting. It’s an untapped tri-land, with the caveat that it only sticks around for four turns. The use of the word ‘Omenpath’ here is interesting, since we’re now entering a period in Magic’s story where Omenpaths are very significant. Seeing these as lands would not be surprising, and maybe they’ll look a little like this.

Mox Poison is actually very similar to the Omenpath we’ve just discussed. It’s an all-color Mox, with the downside of giving you two poison counters every time you use it. That gives you four hits of free mana before you have to cut yourself off. Perhaps this was a card pitched for Phyrexia: All Will Be One?

These are some of our favorites from among the Playtest cards revealed so far, but they’re really just the tip of the iceberg. If you’re the kind of player who likes seeing just how far WotC can push Magic design, then make sure you’re paying close attention to these as they’re revealed.

Read More: MTG Designer Reveals Mystery Booster 2 Retail Release Isn’t Happening

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