Magic The Gathering and a death-defying race might seem like odd bedfellows, but the long-running card game’s new set, Aetherdrift, is very odd indeed.
Magic’s 103rd expansion (yes, really) tells the story of the Ghirapur Grand Prix, a race that sees participants dart between three realms for the grand prize of the Aetherspark, allowing free travel between universes.
It’s a Mario Kart-infused set that makes little sense as a card game in concept, but I’m really intrigued by what Wizards of the Coast is doing.
The Ghirapur Grand Prix features racers from Avishkar and Amonkhet, with both racing for very different reasons.
The former have racing teams made up of scouts, pilots and smugglers that have become folk heroes since the Phyrexian invasion a few sets ago — imagine Han Solo types racing for fame, fortune, and to show everyone a good time.
The Amonkhet are looking to elevate their people. It’s a noble cause, after years of suffering. Both nations host the race in their plane, while the Muraganda plane is also included as a sort of “wildcard”.
This primordial realm doesn’t take an active part in the race, but does have dinosaurs and other obstacles to keep racers on their toes.
As ever, Wizards is committed to the core narrative conceit of the set. There are full-art land cards taken from a driver’s seat perspective, while in-universe racing teams like the White and Blue Guidelight Voyagers, or the Blue and Black Speed Demons should help even newcomers build a relatively cohesive playstyle.
There’s also a nifty new mechanic — Start Your Engines.
When a player triggers the ‘Start Your Engines’ keyword, their speed moves from zero to one.
Dealing damage to an opponent moves the speed up by one each turn, with a max speed of four. Once you hit maximum speed, cards gain additional benefits, like triggering extra card draw or adding tokens.
This even affects lands, with Muraganda Speedway tapping for double colourless mana once you hit top speed.
With such a focus on vehicles, you can expect plenty of new vehicle cards, while the Saddle mechanic also returns from last year’s Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
As for Commander decks, we’re getting two this time with Eternal Might and Living Energy.
While the latter has a a focus on creating energy and making vehicles, I’m much more excited for the former.
I’m always looking to play Zombie decks where I can (or at least Black decks), and I love the idea of slowly amassing an undead army before going for a big swing.
I’ve been wrong about the longevity of Magic sets before, but my interest for Aetherdrift went from low to full-throttle (see what I did there?) over the course of my preview session.
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