A Warm Welcome to New Friends

So War of the Spark has dropped and we're finalising our prices and listings... seeing the whole set in all its glory helps us to realise that this set really is amazing!

What an awesome story, some absolutely stunning art direction (props to Seb McKinnon here for some amazing work on [Deliver Unto Evil] which you can see above, and of course the fantastic theme of a Superfriends set that has kindled a spark in everyone!

Looking at what we have on offer here is a real treat for the eyes and mind for brewers of all formats... Commander players see the exquisite gamecraft put into [Feather, the Redeemed] and the cycle of 'Finale' cards; Modern players get some gems to mix into their brews with cards such as [Vivien's Arkbow], [Teferi, Time Raveler] and [Liliana, Deadhorde General]; whilst the standard players among us get to finally play out our dreams of Grixis Control with [Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God]. (Ahh the 2009 Grixis memories of Gabriel Nassif's Topdeck-of-the-ages with [Cruel Ultimatum]. YES!)

Aside from all the spangly new offerings on the brewing and artwork front, I'd like to show off the four Planeswalkers that have had their first ever printings here in War of the Spark. Most of these guys have been mentioned in the story at one point or another but now we can see them rendered in full MTG glory with their colour identities and mechanics now revealed.

Firstly we have the inky blackness of [Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage], followed by the transmuter [Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor], propping up the white side, due to the suitably heroic death of Gideon Jura, we have both the master of defence [Teyo, the Shieldmage] and finally, the vague and ambiguous character [The Wanderer]. Alongside these powerful characterisations we get to take a look at some of their abilities. 

As you probably know, each Planeswalker in War of the Spark has a spell to go with them; with the example of Kasmina in mind, we have [Kasmina's Transmutation], showcasing her abilities and prowess in battle as she renders a powerful Immortal to a harmless lazotep frog. The artwork on [Wanderer's Strike] has been beautifully created by Sara Winters, seeing the ambiguity and deadly ability of this Planeswalker come together in subtle brush strokes speaks of the delicate balance at play in this character's story. Looking at the entity-possessed Davriel Cane in [Davriel's Shadowfugue] brings to mind a much less clean ending to his victims as he shatters their minds and strips away the spells of those who stand in his way; the lovely work here by Daarken brings out the horror of Davriel's abilities exquisitely. Teyo Verada's [Teyo's Lightshield] sits on the defensive side of things, allowing his walls and illusions to guard his allies and keep the enemy at bay.

How popular these will be remains to be seen, each offering gives us some utility and powerful on-curve cards for some of our archetypal builds, but here at RGHQ we feel that they'd fit nicely into an all-out Esper Superfriends build (my personal favourite suite of colours!)... yes it's still a fringe archetype, and yes it's still bordering on janky, but hey! Lots of our favourite modern and even legacy archetypes would have been on the periphery of popularity at one point so let's lean into it, and see what we can come up with.

Embrace the flavour, submerse yourselves in the war against Nicol Bolas and get a little dirty along the way; eke out some wins with your band of trusty 'walkers and see the War of the Spark through to its conclusion for whatever side you fight for!

Don't forget to send us some of your favorite Planewsalker builds and Superfriends combinations for standard or modern to our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. We'd love to hear from you.

Until next time, Happy Gaming!

- Rogue