SigmasonicX
Member
JUMP TO ETERNAL MASTERS
Trailer
Official page
Shadows over Innistrad information
Previous topic: Oath of the Gatewatch OT
Next set: Eldritch Moon
Welcome to the Multiverse! Multiple worlds exist side by side in different dimensions, known as planes, and each plane is as different as night is from the day. All of them, however, have a form of magical energy known as mana, generated from bonds to the land, that can be channeled into powerful spells. Residents of these planes are usually unaware of other worlds, but there are some special beings with the ability to safely travel between them, known as Planeswalkers.
Magic: the Gathering is a Trading Card Game, the first of its kind, developed by Richard Garfield and his playtesters for the gaming company Wizards of the Coast in 1993. The game quickly became a hit, and it is currently bigger than it has ever been. In the standard game, you and your opponent play the role of dueling Planeswalkers, using customized 60-card decks made up of your spells, the creatures you can summon, your mana bonds with lands, and even other Planeswalkers you can call in to help out. Whoever can get his or her opponent down to 0 life, from a start of 20, wins.
Shadows over Innistrad returns to the world of Innistrad, where the graveyard reigns and gothic horror is the name of the game. This set is also a milestone in Magic as a whole: the first block to start in spring as part of the two-block paradigm, where two different worlds are visited each year. The block's story, themes, and mechanics will be continued by Eldritch Moon in the summer.
This topic will cover the two weeks before all cards in the Shadows over Innistrad set are fully revealed, known as the spoiler weeks, where cards are slowly unveiled every weekday, up through the set release itself. Some cards have already been revealed during events like Pro Tours (or leaks), but this is when they are rolled out at a consistent pace. The main website updates at 8 AM PST / 11 AM EST, but Wizards also provides card previews to other sites that will unveil them throughout the day, including non-English sites.
GETTING STARTED
If you're a beginner, feel free to come in--that's why this is in OT, after all. Spoiler season is one of the most exciting times for a Magic player, and it would be great for more to join in. Us regulars can get a bit technical with card evaluations and use a lot of jargon, and many of us will loudly proclaim that a cool-looking card is junk, or say that a lame-looking card is really powerful, but feel free to ask us if you want an explanation.
To see what a game is like, check out Geek and Sundry's Spellslinger series, where Day[9] battles various geek celebrities, often losing, using simple and easy to follow decks.
To get started, check out the official page. Basically:
* It's recommended that new players play Magic Duels (thread). It's a great way to learn the game on your own, and it's free!
* For your first deck, you can buy an Intro Pack, a simple prebuilt deck that comes with a few booster packs. For each new set, five Intro Packs are released. There are also Duel Decks that provide two decks for a game right out of the box, but are a bit more complicated.
* To get your physical collection started, buy a Deck Builder's Toolkit, which includes not just a starting collection of cards (including a lot of lands), but also has some booster packs and is a good place to store cards. You could also buy a Holiday Gift Box to get an even larger starting collection and better storage.
* To learn about the theories behind deckbuilding and gameplay, check out Level One.
* Once your skill advances, another popular way to play Magic casually is Commander. Each player chooses a legendary creature to act as commander and then chooses 99 additional cards, one of each card that isn't a basic land (of which you can have any number) and only of the colors of the commander, to make up the deck. In games, each player starts at 40 life and there are typically four or more players. Wizards provides prebuilt decks for this format too.
* While game stores will often hold Magic events at other times, every store that has Magic events will have Friday Night Magic. There, you will be able to find other players in your area to both have matches with and trade with. Find game stores here. And to get started participating in your local game store (LGS) scene, attend a prerelease!
PRERELEASE
While the set won't officially be sold until the release date, that isn't the first time you can get your hands on the new cards. Game stores hold prerelease events for every set, and in this set's event, every player is given a box with six booster packs and a random additional rare card. From this pool of cards, all of which you keep, each player builds a deck of 40 cards and participates in a Swiss-system tournament. This is a fun and casual event, where everyone is still trying to figure out the set, so don't worry about messing up. In addition to normal duels, there are also Two-Headed Giant events, where you pair up with another player and face off against another team.
Prerelease events will be held on April 2-3, 2016. Call your local game store a few days ahead of time to register, or they might just run out of room. Find local game stores here.
CHANGES
Shadows over Innistrad starting in spring demonstrates a major change to how Magic sets are handled, with an in-depth explanation for why here. In short, the two-set block model means:
* No more core sets.
* Blocks will have two sets instead of three. Yes, that means Shadows over Innistrad block will only have two sets.
* Without any core sets, there will now be two blocks a year. The next set of SOI block, Eldritch Moon, releases in the previous core set slot.
* Standard (a rotating format that only includes the latest sets) rotates with each block, so it will now rotate twice a year. Three blocks will be in Standard at a time. Sets will be in Standard for a max of 18 months. Note that Standard rotation is kind of odd this time. For the final three-set block, Khans of Tarkir, only the first two sets are rotating out. Dragons of Tarkir and the final core set, Magic Origins, will remain in Standard until fall.
STORY
Trailer
Lore introduction
Guide to Innistrad
Innistrad is a world where humanity beset on all sides by monsters: restless spirits, necromancers and skaab stitchers raising the dead, demons and their worshipers, aristocratic vampire families, and ferocious werewolves, among many more. Long ago, the vampire Planeswalker Sorin Markov realized that if things stayed the course, the humans would go extinct and the vampires would be left without food. Playing the long game, he created the archangel Avacyn to protect the humans, and thus ensure the survival of the vampires into the distant future, even if it meant many of his own would die in the process. Avacyn became the most holy figure on Innistrad, leading the angels in support of humanity, while the rest of the world remained ignorant of her true purpose.
In the present, the heroes of the Gatewatch faced ancient horrors known as the Eldrazi, and have defeated two of the three Eldrazi Titans on the plane of Zendikar. The last and most powerful, Emrakul, is unaccounted for. The telepathic Planeswalker Jace Beleran has come to Innistrad to track down Sorin, since he helped seal away the Eldrazi in the first place, but when he arrives, he discovers that things have gotten weird. Some sort of madness is spreading through the land, and not even the angels are spared. Their wings have become soaked in blood and they are slaughtering humans, forcing the humans to fight both monsters and their former protectors. Meanwhile, the stone-shaping lithomancer Planeswalker who also helped seal away the Eldrazi, Nahiri, has resurfaced with a mysterious vendetta against the Markov family of vampires. Jace must turn detective to understand just what happened, and what this could be a portent of.
Shadows over Innistrad story
Story archive - Scroll to the bottom for chronological order; the layout of this archive is trash.
SET THEMES
Cards (alternate, includes leaks)
Mechanics
Double-faced cards
Double-faced cards
The most popular mechanic of the original Innistrad is back! These cards don't have the usual card backs, and instead have a face on both sides. You can switch between sides using the transform mechanic. To put these cards in your deck, most players use opaque card sleeves to hide the back, but you can also use checklist cards that have the normal Magic card back and are included in some booster packs. You check off which double-faced card it represents and put the checklist card in your deck, leaving the actual double-faced card hidden somewhere until you cast that spell. A special subset of double-faced cards are the werewolves, which all transform in the same way, keeping track of how many spells were cast to reflect the activity of the day and inactivity of the night. On Innistrad, double-faced cards represent a dark transformation, and this time, not even the greatest of angels are immune.
The game is afoot
Investigate
Skulk
Players join in on figuring out what's happening to Innistrad with the investigate mechanic. Whenever you investigate, you get a Clue artifact, which you can pay (2) and sacrifice to draw a card, or keep around for cards that care about having Clues or artifacts in general. And who else to investigate but those sneaky creatures with the skulk mechanic, who can handily slip past creatures larger than them. Though it is unconfirmed, skulk is expected to become an evergreen mechanic for blue and black, meaning you'll potentially see it in every set from now on.
You know, Jace, we really are Odyssey Block 2: Jace in the Hood
Madness
Delirium
The world is going crazy, and so are the mechanics. Madness returns to make discarding a card not such a bad idea. Instead of going directly to the graveyard, you discard the card to exile, where you have the opportunity to cast it for its madness cost or just send it to the graveyard. Delirium cares about having a lot of cards in your graveyard, similar to the threshold mechanic of yesteryear, but this mechanic only cares about having at least four card types. Once you reach that point, your opponent starts going loopy, letting him or herself get distracted by toppling candles and getting more frightened than appropriate. Suffice it to say, you should more highly value getting cards into your graveyard... and be wary that you may be helping your opponent when you make him or her discard or kill a creature.
RESOURCES
Official articles - Nicknamed the Mothership, these articles are the primary source of news. Recommended columns are Making Magic, written by the head designer, Mark Rosewater (aka MaRo);Uncharted Realms Magic Story, which tells the story, written by various authors; and Latest Developments, written by various Magic developers. The other articles generally discuss deck building. For older articles before the site changed, go here.
SOI official card list - Best way to see all of the spoiled cards together, but only updates once a day.
Blogatog - Tumblr ran by Mark Rosewater where he answers questions, updates very frequently.
Drive to Work - Mark Rosewater's weekly podcast about Magic that he literally records as he drives to work. Two episodes are released every Friday.
MTG Salvation's Rumor Mill - The best place to get new card information. The community sucks, though.
Mythic Spoiler - A good way to see what cards have been spoiled, updates throughout the day.
Gatherer - The official method of searching through released cards. Has an autocomplete.
magiccards.info - The better search engine for cards, with bigger pictures and more details. But it doesn't have an autocomplete.
Game store locator
PREVIOUS THREADS
Oath of the Gatewatch OT
Battle for Zendikar OT
OT4
OT3
OT2
OT1
HIGHLIGHTS
If a card reveal is within the same 50 post range as the previous, no link is given.
Monday
Anguished Unmaking
Mothership - Startled Awake, Descend upon the Sinful, Sinister Concoction, Fiery Temper, promos, intro pack rares, Angel of Deliverance
Nahiri, the Harbinger
Neglected Heirloom
Wolf of Devil's Breach
Falkenrath Gorger
Sage of Ancient Lore
Tuesday
Rattlechains
Mothership - Odric, Lunarch Marshall; To the Slaughter
Arlinn Kord
Macabre Waltz
Descend upon the Fishermen
Wednesday
Breakneck Rider, Groundskeeper (former also discussed a few posts before without picture)
Epiphany at the Drownyard
Mothership - Jace, Unraveler of Secrets; Olivia, Mobilized for War
Sigarda, Heron's Grace
Rise from the Tides
Harness the Storm
Indulgent Aristocrat
Olivia's Bloodsworn, Merciless Resolve, Twins of Maurer Estate
Stromkirk Mentor
Thursday
Westvale Abbey
Traverse the Ulvenwald
Drownyard Temple
Mothership - Sorin, Grim Nemesis; Deathcap Cultivator
Vessel of Volatility
Diregraf Colossus
Silverfur Partisan, Daring Sleuth
Investigate card dump - Ongoing Investigation, Trail of Evidence, Jace's Scrutiny
Briarbridge Patrol
Behold the Beyond
Always Watching
Village Messenger
Friday
Limited Resources - Paranoid Parish-Blade, Manic Scribe, Gibbering Fiend, Obsessive Skinner
Second Harvest
Asylum Visitor
Mothership - Thalia's Lieutenant, Welcome to the Fold
Confirm Suspicions
Weekend
Corrupted Tombstone
Burn from Within
Engulf the Shore
Monday 2
"Handland" dual land cycle
Call the Bloodline
Mothership - Tireless Tracker, Ulvenwald Mysteries
Mothership - Sin Prodder
Invocation of Saint Traft
Nahiri's Machinations, Thraben Gargoyle
Triskaidekaphobia
Tuesday 2
Fevered Visions
Hanweir Militia Captain
Mothership - Avacyn's Judgment, Goldnight Castigator, tokens
Angelic Purge
Howlpack Resurgence
Scourge Wolf
Wednesday 2
Prized Amalgam
Inexorable Mass
Mothership - Vessel of Nascency, Vessel of Malignity, Vessel of Paramnesia
Mothership - The Gitrog Monster, Vessel of Ephemera
Forgotten Creation
Altered Ego
Humble the Brute
Survive the Night
Stitchwing Skaab, Stitched Mangler, Lamplighter of Selhoff
Uninvited Geist
Seasons Past
Thursday 2
Mothership - Ulvenwald Hydra, From Under the Floorboards, Creeping Dread
Hope Against Hope
Ever After
Mad Prophet
Lambholt Pacifist
"Welcome Deck" cards - includes various SOI commons
Duskwatch Recruiter
Full spoiler
Between-set and Eternal Masters highlights
Trailer
Official page
Shadows over Innistrad information
Previous topic: Oath of the Gatewatch OT
Next set: Eldritch Moon
Welcome to the Multiverse! Multiple worlds exist side by side in different dimensions, known as planes, and each plane is as different as night is from the day. All of them, however, have a form of magical energy known as mana, generated from bonds to the land, that can be channeled into powerful spells. Residents of these planes are usually unaware of other worlds, but there are some special beings with the ability to safely travel between them, known as Planeswalkers.
Magic: the Gathering is a Trading Card Game, the first of its kind, developed by Richard Garfield and his playtesters for the gaming company Wizards of the Coast in 1993. The game quickly became a hit, and it is currently bigger than it has ever been. In the standard game, you and your opponent play the role of dueling Planeswalkers, using customized 60-card decks made up of your spells, the creatures you can summon, your mana bonds with lands, and even other Planeswalkers you can call in to help out. Whoever can get his or her opponent down to 0 life, from a start of 20, wins.
Shadows over Innistrad returns to the world of Innistrad, where the graveyard reigns and gothic horror is the name of the game. This set is also a milestone in Magic as a whole: the first block to start in spring as part of the two-block paradigm, where two different worlds are visited each year. The block's story, themes, and mechanics will be continued by Eldritch Moon in the summer.
This topic will cover the two weeks before all cards in the Shadows over Innistrad set are fully revealed, known as the spoiler weeks, where cards are slowly unveiled every weekday, up through the set release itself. Some cards have already been revealed during events like Pro Tours (or leaks), but this is when they are rolled out at a consistent pace. The main website updates at 8 AM PST / 11 AM EST, but Wizards also provides card previews to other sites that will unveil them throughout the day, including non-English sites.
GETTING STARTED
If you're a beginner, feel free to come in--that's why this is in OT, after all. Spoiler season is one of the most exciting times for a Magic player, and it would be great for more to join in. Us regulars can get a bit technical with card evaluations and use a lot of jargon, and many of us will loudly proclaim that a cool-looking card is junk, or say that a lame-looking card is really powerful, but feel free to ask us if you want an explanation.
To see what a game is like, check out Geek and Sundry's Spellslinger series, where Day[9] battles various geek celebrities, often losing, using simple and easy to follow decks.
To get started, check out the official page. Basically:
* It's recommended that new players play Magic Duels (thread). It's a great way to learn the game on your own, and it's free!
* For your first deck, you can buy an Intro Pack, a simple prebuilt deck that comes with a few booster packs. For each new set, five Intro Packs are released. There are also Duel Decks that provide two decks for a game right out of the box, but are a bit more complicated.
* To get your physical collection started, buy a Deck Builder's Toolkit, which includes not just a starting collection of cards (including a lot of lands), but also has some booster packs and is a good place to store cards. You could also buy a Holiday Gift Box to get an even larger starting collection and better storage.
* To learn about the theories behind deckbuilding and gameplay, check out Level One.
* Once your skill advances, another popular way to play Magic casually is Commander. Each player chooses a legendary creature to act as commander and then chooses 99 additional cards, one of each card that isn't a basic land (of which you can have any number) and only of the colors of the commander, to make up the deck. In games, each player starts at 40 life and there are typically four or more players. Wizards provides prebuilt decks for this format too.
* While game stores will often hold Magic events at other times, every store that has Magic events will have Friday Night Magic. There, you will be able to find other players in your area to both have matches with and trade with. Find game stores here. And to get started participating in your local game store (LGS) scene, attend a prerelease!
PRERELEASE
While the set won't officially be sold until the release date, that isn't the first time you can get your hands on the new cards. Game stores hold prerelease events for every set, and in this set's event, every player is given a box with six booster packs and a random additional rare card. From this pool of cards, all of which you keep, each player builds a deck of 40 cards and participates in a Swiss-system tournament. This is a fun and casual event, where everyone is still trying to figure out the set, so don't worry about messing up. In addition to normal duels, there are also Two-Headed Giant events, where you pair up with another player and face off against another team.
Prerelease events will be held on April 2-3, 2016. Call your local game store a few days ahead of time to register, or they might just run out of room. Find local game stores here.
CHANGES
Shadows over Innistrad starting in spring demonstrates a major change to how Magic sets are handled, with an in-depth explanation for why here. In short, the two-set block model means:
* No more core sets.
* Blocks will have two sets instead of three. Yes, that means Shadows over Innistrad block will only have two sets.
* Without any core sets, there will now be two blocks a year. The next set of SOI block, Eldritch Moon, releases in the previous core set slot.
* Standard (a rotating format that only includes the latest sets) rotates with each block, so it will now rotate twice a year. Three blocks will be in Standard at a time. Sets will be in Standard for a max of 18 months. Note that Standard rotation is kind of odd this time. For the final three-set block, Khans of Tarkir, only the first two sets are rotating out. Dragons of Tarkir and the final core set, Magic Origins, will remain in Standard until fall.
STORY
Trailer
Lore introduction
Guide to Innistrad
Innistrad is a world where humanity beset on all sides by monsters: restless spirits, necromancers and skaab stitchers raising the dead, demons and their worshipers, aristocratic vampire families, and ferocious werewolves, among many more. Long ago, the vampire Planeswalker Sorin Markov realized that if things stayed the course, the humans would go extinct and the vampires would be left without food. Playing the long game, he created the archangel Avacyn to protect the humans, and thus ensure the survival of the vampires into the distant future, even if it meant many of his own would die in the process. Avacyn became the most holy figure on Innistrad, leading the angels in support of humanity, while the rest of the world remained ignorant of her true purpose.
In the present, the heroes of the Gatewatch faced ancient horrors known as the Eldrazi, and have defeated two of the three Eldrazi Titans on the plane of Zendikar. The last and most powerful, Emrakul, is unaccounted for. The telepathic Planeswalker Jace Beleran has come to Innistrad to track down Sorin, since he helped seal away the Eldrazi in the first place, but when he arrives, he discovers that things have gotten weird. Some sort of madness is spreading through the land, and not even the angels are spared. Their wings have become soaked in blood and they are slaughtering humans, forcing the humans to fight both monsters and their former protectors. Meanwhile, the stone-shaping lithomancer Planeswalker who also helped seal away the Eldrazi, Nahiri, has resurfaced with a mysterious vendetta against the Markov family of vampires. Jace must turn detective to understand just what happened, and what this could be a portent of.
Shadows over Innistrad story
Story archive - Scroll to the bottom for chronological order; the layout of this archive is trash.
SET THEMES
Cards (alternate, includes leaks)
Mechanics
Double-faced cards
Double-faced cards
The most popular mechanic of the original Innistrad is back! These cards don't have the usual card backs, and instead have a face on both sides. You can switch between sides using the transform mechanic. To put these cards in your deck, most players use opaque card sleeves to hide the back, but you can also use checklist cards that have the normal Magic card back and are included in some booster packs. You check off which double-faced card it represents and put the checklist card in your deck, leaving the actual double-faced card hidden somewhere until you cast that spell. A special subset of double-faced cards are the werewolves, which all transform in the same way, keeping track of how many spells were cast to reflect the activity of the day and inactivity of the night. On Innistrad, double-faced cards represent a dark transformation, and this time, not even the greatest of angels are immune.
The game is afoot
Investigate
Skulk
Players join in on figuring out what's happening to Innistrad with the investigate mechanic. Whenever you investigate, you get a Clue artifact, which you can pay (2) and sacrifice to draw a card, or keep around for cards that care about having Clues or artifacts in general. And who else to investigate but those sneaky creatures with the skulk mechanic, who can handily slip past creatures larger than them. Though it is unconfirmed, skulk is expected to become an evergreen mechanic for blue and black, meaning you'll potentially see it in every set from now on.
You know, Jace, we really are Odyssey Block 2: Jace in the Hood
Madness
Delirium
The world is going crazy, and so are the mechanics. Madness returns to make discarding a card not such a bad idea. Instead of going directly to the graveyard, you discard the card to exile, where you have the opportunity to cast it for its madness cost or just send it to the graveyard. Delirium cares about having a lot of cards in your graveyard, similar to the threshold mechanic of yesteryear, but this mechanic only cares about having at least four card types. Once you reach that point, your opponent starts going loopy, letting him or herself get distracted by toppling candles and getting more frightened than appropriate. Suffice it to say, you should more highly value getting cards into your graveyard... and be wary that you may be helping your opponent when you make him or her discard or kill a creature.
RESOURCES
Official articles - Nicknamed the Mothership, these articles are the primary source of news. Recommended columns are Making Magic, written by the head designer, Mark Rosewater (aka MaRo);
SOI official card list - Best way to see all of the spoiled cards together, but only updates once a day.
Blogatog - Tumblr ran by Mark Rosewater where he answers questions, updates very frequently.
Drive to Work - Mark Rosewater's weekly podcast about Magic that he literally records as he drives to work. Two episodes are released every Friday.
MTG Salvation's Rumor Mill - The best place to get new card information. The community sucks, though.
Mythic Spoiler - A good way to see what cards have been spoiled, updates throughout the day.
Gatherer - The official method of searching through released cards. Has an autocomplete.
magiccards.info - The better search engine for cards, with bigger pictures and more details. But it doesn't have an autocomplete.
Game store locator
PREVIOUS THREADS
Oath of the Gatewatch OT
Battle for Zendikar OT
OT4
OT3
OT2
OT1
HIGHLIGHTS
If a card reveal is within the same 50 post range as the previous, no link is given.
Monday
Anguished Unmaking
Mothership - Startled Awake, Descend upon the Sinful, Sinister Concoction, Fiery Temper, promos, intro pack rares, Angel of Deliverance
Nahiri, the Harbinger
Neglected Heirloom
Wolf of Devil's Breach
Falkenrath Gorger
Sage of Ancient Lore
Tuesday
Rattlechains
Mothership - Odric, Lunarch Marshall; To the Slaughter
Arlinn Kord
Macabre Waltz
Descend upon the Fishermen
Wednesday
Breakneck Rider, Groundskeeper (former also discussed a few posts before without picture)
Epiphany at the Drownyard
Mothership - Jace, Unraveler of Secrets; Olivia, Mobilized for War
Sigarda, Heron's Grace
Rise from the Tides
Harness the Storm
Indulgent Aristocrat
Olivia's Bloodsworn, Merciless Resolve, Twins of Maurer Estate
Stromkirk Mentor
Thursday
Westvale Abbey
Traverse the Ulvenwald
Drownyard Temple
Mothership - Sorin, Grim Nemesis; Deathcap Cultivator
Vessel of Volatility
Diregraf Colossus
Silverfur Partisan, Daring Sleuth
Investigate card dump - Ongoing Investigation, Trail of Evidence, Jace's Scrutiny
Briarbridge Patrol
Behold the Beyond
Always Watching
Village Messenger
Friday
Limited Resources - Paranoid Parish-Blade, Manic Scribe, Gibbering Fiend, Obsessive Skinner
Second Harvest
Asylum Visitor
Mothership - Thalia's Lieutenant, Welcome to the Fold
Confirm Suspicions
Weekend
Corrupted Tombstone
Burn from Within
Engulf the Shore
Monday 2
"Handland" dual land cycle
Call the Bloodline
Mothership - Tireless Tracker, Ulvenwald Mysteries
Mothership - Sin Prodder
Invocation of Saint Traft
Nahiri's Machinations, Thraben Gargoyle
Triskaidekaphobia
Tuesday 2
Fevered Visions
Hanweir Militia Captain
Mothership - Avacyn's Judgment, Goldnight Castigator, tokens
Angelic Purge
Howlpack Resurgence
Scourge Wolf
Wednesday 2
Prized Amalgam
Inexorable Mass
Mothership - Vessel of Nascency, Vessel of Malignity, Vessel of Paramnesia
Mothership - The Gitrog Monster, Vessel of Ephemera
Forgotten Creation
Altered Ego
Humble the Brute
Survive the Night
Stitchwing Skaab, Stitched Mangler, Lamplighter of Selhoff
Uninvited Geist
Seasons Past
Thursday 2
Mothership - Ulvenwald Hydra, From Under the Floorboards, Creeping Dread
Hope Against Hope
Ever After
Mad Prophet
Lambholt Pacifist
"Welcome Deck" cards - includes various SOI commons
Duskwatch Recruiter
Full spoiler
Between-set and Eternal Masters highlights
. I wanna see some more sweet stuff, but cmon, there's no way Thing in the Ice should be $20 each lol.
