Magic: The Gathering fans finally got a closer look at Zendikar Rising in yesterday’s reveal livestream and the return to the iconic location is going to bring some exciting gameplay implications. Obviously land and adventure will be the primary themes that define the plane once again and the return of some old mechanics and the introduction of some new ones will help keep games interested and flavorful throughout the release and competitive season.
As always, each new Magic: The Gathering set features the usual evergreen mechanics that are used from set to set throughout the game (and usually don’t include rules text on the cards), but there will also be a small handful of set-specific mechanics to help define the flavor and pace of the particular set. Usually there are one or two returning mechanics and one or two new mechanics. That trend seems to have held true for Zendikar Rising and now that a bunch of cards have been spoiled fans have likely seen all of the featured set mechanics that are on the way.
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To get a better understanding of how Zendikar Rising games will play out, let’s take a closer look at each of the mechanics that will be featured in the adventure-themed set…
Kicker is back once again. This is a pretty simple mechanic that rarely causes any confusion. Basically, a card has a basic effect if played for its regular mana cost, but there is some kind of bonus addition effect if players also pay an additional cost. In the example above, the regular cost destroys a creature or planeswalker with CMC 2 or less, but if kicked, the card instead destroys any target creature or planeswalker.
It wouldn’t be Zendikar without Landfall, right? This is another super simple mechanic to understand. Landfall causes something to happen whenever a land enters play. It’s really that simple. What happens depends on the card, so read each card carefully and plan your land drops accordingly to get the most benefit from them.
Now let’s move into some stuff that will feel a little less familiar. Some cards will refer to a player’s party, which is defined as “up to one each of Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, and a Wizard.” Cards will then grant some bonus or benefit based on the number of party members present. The few thing to remember here is that players want at least one of each for the maximum benefit. That means that having three clerics is no better than having one cleric (for the purpose of Party bonuses). Also keep in mind that the card being played will count towards the party benefit, so assuming all of these cards are one of the four required subtypes, there will also be at least one count towards the bonus.
Although double-faced cards are not new to Magic: The Gathering, this particular spin on them is. The modal double-faced cards are different from previous DFCs in that they do not feature a flip trigger. This time around, players make the decisions about which side they want to play as they play the card. From what we’ve seen so far, there does not appear to be a way to flip them to the other side once they are in play on the battlefield. We’ll need to wait for the full list of spoilers before we confirm that is impossible though.
In the coming days, we should learn a ton more about Zendikar Rising spoilers, mechanics, and more. Start studying early so that you’ll be prepared for a new standard rotation and the upcoming draft format.
Magic: The Gathering Zendikar Rising releases September 25, 2020.
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