From the look of things, Mystery Booster 2 looks like an absolutely wild set with tons to look forward to. A multitude of reprints will be receiving the Future Shifted frame or white-bordered treatments for the first time. Meanwhile, there are plenty of intriguing playtest cards for players to collect. If the original Mystery Booster set was any indication, this set should be a blast.
One of the most interesting aspects of the set is undoubtedly the printing of some cards that were previously only on MTG Arena. We now have confirmation that multiple Arena-specific cards, including Mardu Outrider, will be featured in Mystery Booster 2.
Obviously, some unique Alchemy MTG cards simply won’t work on paper. However, there are some other cards like Mardu Outrider that should function just fine. This sets a really neat precedent moving forward, so let’s take a closer look at this “reprint” and discuss other potential options to follow suit.
The Start of Something Special
- Mana Value: 1BB
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 5/5
- Text: As an additional cost to cast this spell, discard a card.
Mardu Outrider originally appeared in the MTG Arena Beginner set back in 2020. The goal was to help new players learn how to utilize the client. Players would receive these cards as part of mono-colored decks that were rewarded after their tutorial matches. Notably, the decks contained a mix of old cards and new cards that were exclusive to Arena.
Mardu Outrider is an example of the latter. Despite the fact that it has never been printed in paper up to this point, there’s no reason that it couldn’t have been. It doesn’t have any wacky mechanics, like Seek, that a digital platform makes significantly easier to execute.
Notably, the Mystery Booster 2 white-bordered version of the card is not a playtest card. It also doesn’t have an Acron stamp, which seems to indicate this card is now legal in Eternal formats. That being said, even if Mardu Outrider is legal in Eternal formats, it’s still not a very powerful card.
Despite the lack of power, this opens the door for some other sweet Arena exclusive cards to make their way to paper. This begs the question: what cards do players most want to see get a paper printing in the future?
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Alternative Options
- Mana Value: 4WW
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 1/4
- Text: Whenever another creature with power 2 or less enters the battlefield under your control, you gain1 life and draw a card.
One card that seems to be getting a lot of requests to show up in paper is Inspiring Commander. Inspiring Commander is an expensive card mana-wise, but it can have a potent effect on the game. It works well in decks with lots of small creatures and token production. As a tiny creature itself, Inspiring Commander pairs nicely with Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. Not only will Inspiring Commander generate a lot of card advantage in this shell, but Alesha can help resurrect it when it dies.
Moving beyond just cards from the Arena Beginner set, one of the more plausible Alchemy cards to see in paper would be Wickerwing Effigy. Wickerwing Effigy is a decent card that rewards you for playing creature spells from the top of your library. The only thing that makes Wickerwing Effigy a bit difficult for paper play is having to keep track of which creatures were cast from the top of your library since they enter as 1/1 Fliers.
Nonetheless, this still seems feasible. This is especially true after Bloomburrow’s release, which showcased the Offspring mechanic that forces players to remember that the token copies have base power and toughness 1/1 as well. Wickerwing Effigy could, at minimum, be a solid inclusion in Reaper King Commander decks, given the general lack of good Scarecrows in MTG.
At the end of the day, it’s cool to see cards that originated on Arena get some love. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for any other new-to-paper printings that get spoiled in Mystery Booster 2.
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