Magic: The Gathering (known to most as just "Magic" or "MTG") is a collectable card game from Wizards of the Coast that can be played physically as a tabletop game, or digitally online.
If you've played any collectable card game before (like Hearthstone, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Gwent), then you know the drill - use your wits and strategy to build a deck, and then battle against others for the win against their deck.
It tends to release in "sets" that tell a story and the upcoming set, March of the Machine, will conclude the ongoing arc revolving around Phyrexia, a plane of mechanical and biomechanical life.
It's the 96th Magic expansion, and will contain 281 regular cards, plus special prints including Full Art basic lands, borderless praetors, and extended artwork cards.
Exclusive Reveal: Invasion of Belenon
The card we have the pleasure of revealing, Invasion of Belenon, is a 3 mana card, requiring one white mana and 2 mana of any other colour.
The set adds a new card type, "battle", which will have thirty-six cards - Invasion of Belenon being just one of them.
Battle cards are double-faced cards that can transform. A star in the bottom corner represents the starting defence of the battle, and a "battle" card enters the field with a number of defence counters on it equal to its defence. You will the battle when the defence counters become zero, at which point you get a reward.
The front side of the card is placed horizontally on the field as opposed to vertically - the first cards to do this. They're susceptible to more than just battle damage.
Some spells or abilities may specifically say they cause damage to be dealt to battles, but they can also be damaged by any spell of ability that says "any target".
They can be tapped, but it doesn't have any mechanical relevance, and they can't attack or defend (if a card forces them to do so, they just drop out of combat). When it's played, you choose an enemy creature to protect it - meaning they can't attack it, and only they can block creatures from attacking it.
Invasion of Belenon is a card with 5 defence, and when it enters the battlefield it creates a 2/2 white and blue Knight creature token with vigilance.
Once the battle is defeated, its exiled and then transformed, allowing it to be placed back on the battlefield with the rear side face up.
It becomes a Belenon War Anthem, an enchantment that gives creatures you control +1/+1. Mechanically this is pretty good, however the mana cost and defense required to get to it might be cumbersome to any faster paced decks.
That being said, it gives you a 2/2 creature right off the bat, which combined with the permanent +1/+1 enchantment on defeating the even it actually surprisingly mana efficient. In addition, white decks tend to be slower-paced, focusing on enchantments and building a strong mana curve over aggro.
The new battle type is certainly interesting, and we'll be curious to see how it affects the meta. The set officially releases on 21 April 2023, and is available anywhere you get your Magic cards.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments if you can see any potential synergies or counters!
