The latest set for Magic: The Gathering, The Brothers’ War, is now available. The second chapter “of Magic: The Gathering’s multi-set arc [that] reveals the true story behind a feud that shaped the Multiverse”, The Brothers’ War depicts the war between Urza and Mishra.
Wizards of the Coast says The Brothers’ War “depicts the events of one of the most nostalgic and world-defining moments in Magic’s history.” It’s also the first mainline set to incorporate “Universes Beyond” by adding characters from Transformers.
Due to the nature of the war between Urza and Mishra, the plane is “entrenched in mech warfare” and thus Artifacts are a heavy focus of the set. New and returning Artifact mechanics and features are predominant in The Brothers’ War that allows Transformers to be featured without appearing to far removed.
The Brothers’ War Hands-On
Thanks to the generosity of Wizards of the Coast, I was able to go hands-on with The Brothers’ War at a special event held at Fortress, Melbourne. As a person with limited free time I’m not as frequent a player of Magic: The Gathering as I’d like so these events, which showcase the new sets, are a way for me to quickly get up to speed with new mechanics etc. Having not played Dominaria United I was unaware of the new Jumpstart Decks which is what we played with for The Brothers’ War.
What a phenomenal idea. Basically, you open two Jumpstart packs, combine them and away you go. It’s a brilliant way to ensure all players are on a, basically, even footing and to help them quickly learn and understand the playstyle of the new set. In The Brothers’ War, it’s all about Artifacts.
Powerstones, first introduced in Dominaria United, are back along with Prototype, Meld and Unearth keywords. Powerstones are incredibly powerful but very specific Artifacts that can be tapped for one additional mana which can only be used for Artifact spells. The kicker is that Powerstones themselves are Artifacts… In one game I played at the event, my opponent managed to create a huge number of Powerstones which allowed him an almost infinite well of Mana in addition to playing a card powered by X Artifacts. an “X/X” Artifact creature when your opponent has 20 Powerstones is, frankly, terrifying.
Prototype is a brand-new keyword for The Brothers’ War and it’s a pretty exciting one. Essentially, if an Artifact creature has a Prototype form you can play it for a lowered Mana cost. It will have reduced stats, however, it will retain all of its abilities and keywords. Protoype allows you to get some of the most high-powered cards in your deck out onto the battlefield much earlier than normal. However, the trade-off is, of course, that they’re much weaker and more easily removed from play. Still, if you want to devastate an opponent, play some reduced-cost Prototypes and start getting the synergy of your deck working overtime early on. If you do it right you’ll be able to overwhelm your opponent before they have a chance to respond.
During our play session, I wasn’t able to test Meld, though fans will know it allows players to combine two cards to create one giant one. It certainly fits within the theme of mechs and Artifacts so there’s not really any surprise that it’s been included in The Brothers’ War. Like Meld, Unearth is another returning keyword. It allows players to return cards from the graveyard with the caveat that they’re exiled at the end of the turn.
There are so many Unearth cards in The Brothers’ War and so many cards which synergise by buffing minion types that you can save up some Unearth cards in your graveyard for the perfect moment and unleash hell on your opponent. Given that the Unearth cards I saw were granted Haste when being returned to the battlefield, you can potentially revive an enormous undead army to smite your opponent.
Unfortunately, none of my Jumpstart boosters included any of the Transformers, but I did find five in some of the other packs I was gifted. The Transformers are unique in that they can appear in both vehicle and mech form and have different requirements for transforming. I’ve yet to play any games with any Transformers in my decks, but they certainly seem very powerful and capable of turning the tide of any match rather quickly.
More than meets the eye indeed.
As I said initially, I don’t have a tonne of time to play as much Magic: The Gathering as I’d like so whenever I do get the chance to play I’m reminded why I love playing it so much. The Brothers’ War is yet another excellent addition to the long-running game and manages to introduce some interesting new concepts and resurrect some old ones. The focus on mechs makes for some great artwork and even the Transformers don’t look too out of place.
Despite not being a new way to play Magic: The Gathering, Jumpstart is new to me and it’s definitely the best way I’ve seen for getting newbies in and playing without much fuss. I’d highly recommend grabbing some Jumpstart boosters and handing them to your partner, boyfriend, girlfriend, friends, parents or whoever and watching them get hooked by Magic: The Gathering.
The Brothers’ War is available now.
Leo Stevenson attended an event as a guest of Wizards of the Coast. Food, drink and The Brothers’ War cards were provided.
