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Davriel, Soul Broker strikes a deal in MTG’s Jumpstart: Historic Horizons

No such thing as a free lunch.

Davriel Cane, the shadowmage from Innistrad, is returning to Magic: The Gathering in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons with a Planeswalker card filled with choices.

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With the release of Historic Horizons on Aug. 12, Magic will receive 31 new cards with digital-first mechanics. These cards will only be legal in Historic, Magic Arena’s digital format.

IGN revealed Davriel, Soul Broker this morning in an article showing off several new cards, including Modern Horizons’ Ranger-Captain of Eos entering Historic.

Davriel, Soul Broker

Screengrab via IGN
  • Mana value: 2BB
  • Type: Legendary Planeswalker Davriel
  • Rarity: Mythic Rare
  • Starting Loyalty: Four
  • First ability: +1: Until your next turn, whenever an opponent attacks you and/or Planeswalkers you control, they discard a card. If they can’t, they sacrifice an attacking Creature.
  • Second ability: -2: Accept one of Davriel’s offers, then accept one of Davriel’s conditions.
  • Third ability: -3: Target Creature Perpetually gets -3/-3.

Davriel is a strong Planeswalker. The card does everything you want from a Planeswalker. The third ability is removal and the first ability furthers the discard gameplan Davriel cards are known for.

What sets Davriel apart from any other Planeswalker in Magic is the second ability. When the ability resolves, you are given three offers and three conditions and you select one of each.

Here are all of Davriel’s offers.

  • Draw three cards.
  • Conjure a Manor Guardian card into your hand.
  • Return two random creature cards from your graveyard to your hand. They perpetually gain +1/+1.
  • Return a random creature card with the highest mana value from among cards in your graveyard to the battlefield.
  • You get an emblem with “Creatures you control get +2/+0.”
  • You get an emblem with “Spells you cast cost oB less to cast.”
  • You get an emblem with “Davriel planeswalkers you control have “+2: Draw a card.”
  • You get an emblem with “Whenever you draw a card, you gain two life.”

These are powerful abilities. There is some solid value in this with reanimating a Creature or drawing three cards. The four emblems are interesting. The two most powerful appear to be the cost reduction effect and gaining two life with each card draw. These are valuable effects for control decks.

Here are Davriel’s conditions.

  • You lose six life.
  • Exile two cards from your hand. If fewer than two cards were exiled this way, each opponent draws cards equal to the difference.
  • Sacrifice two permanents.
  • Each creature you don’t control perpetually gains +1/+1.
  • You get an emblem with “Creatures you control get -1/-0.”
  • You get an emblem with “Spells you cast cost oB more to cast.”
  • You get an emblem with “Whenever you draw a card, exile the top two cards of your library.”
  • You get an emblem with “At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each creature you control.”

The risk that Davriel presents comes from having to accept one of these conditions. Some of them aren’t that bad. Losing six life or losing one life for each creature you control is fine in a control build. Buffing your opponent’s creatures or increasing the cost of your spells are some of the toughest pills to swallow.

Historic Horizons preview season starts on July 26 and ends on Aug. 3. Stay tuned for the exclusive Dot Esports Historic Horizons packet reveal on July 29 at 9am CT.


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Author
Xavier Johnson
My name is Xavier Johnson and I'm a freelance writer who covers Magic: The Gathering. I love control decks and my favorite card is Teferi, Hero of Dominaria.