With over a month left until the release of Magic’s next set Brothers’ War, Wizards of the Coast showed off some early previews during the Weekly MTG September monthly announcement stream.
Releasing on Nov. 18, Brothers’ War will continue the ongoing storyline and be a set heavily revolved around Artifacts. Wizards outlined key dates leading up to the release of Brothers’ War.
- 30th Anniversary stream: Oct. 4
- The Brothers’ War story: Oct. 20 to 26
- Building Worlds panel: Oct. 20
- Debut video and previews begin: Oct. 27
- The Brothers’ War Magic 30 previews: Oct. 28 to 30
- The Brothers’ War previews continue: Oct. 31 to Nov. 4
- Prerelease: Nov. 11 to 17
- MTG Arena and Magic Online release: Nov. 15
- The Brothers’ War global release: Nov.18
- Commander Party events: Dec. 16 to 18
There were nine new cards revealed from Brothers’ War including the two Commander preconstructed deck face cards. Alongside the new cards, several promo cards and the reveal of retro-frame Artifact reprints were highlighted.
Here are all the new cards from the Weekly MTG stream.
Urza, Planeswalker
Urza, Planeswalker is a powerful Planeswalker that enters the battlefield as a result of the returning meld mechanic. Melding Urza, Lord Protector, and The Mightstone and The Weakstone will give you Urza, Planeswalker; boasting five loyalty abilities and a game-winning impact on the battlefield.
Urza, Lord Protector is a solid three-mana UW Creature that reduces the cost of spells you cast. The cost reduction makes Urza a great combo piece and could find a home in Standard decks as the format matures in the months after rotation.
Queen Kayla bin-Kroog
Boros has grown in the past few years. One of the weakest color combinations in Commander has benefited from an effort by Wizards of the Coast to diversify its possible gameplans. Strixhaven: School of Mages provides RW strong Artifact synergies. Queen Kayla bin-Kroog is a strong aggro commander that also supports a reanimator strategy with her activated ability.
Urza, Chief Artificer
This is the first of two Commander reconstructed deck face cards. Urza is the leader of one of the decks, an WUB Artifact Creature deck. Urza, Chief Artificer is a strong value engine that can get around Commander tax and consistently generate tokens.
Karnstructs, the nickname for the kind of tokens Urza generates, have always been good in Commander. They scale with the game and eventually become so big that they present a serious threat. Getting one of these tokens during each of your end steps is great. Affinity will help mitigate the impact of Commander Tax. Giving all of your Artifact Creature cards menace is a great way to guarantee favorable trades or damage directly to a player.
Mishra, Eminent One
Mishra, Eminent One leads the second preconstructed deck releasing with Brothers’ War. This UBR Creature creates token copies of noncreature Artifacts and turns them into 4/4s. At the end of turn, that token is sacrificed. Mishra has the potential to be an incredible value engine that synergizes with Artifacts that have abilities when they leave the battlefield. Cards like Experimental Synthesizer and Ichor Wellspring generate value when they are sacrificed.
Creative deck builders will likely enjoy building around Mishra and forming powerful loops to take over the game.
Mishra’s Foundry
Brothers’ War will be filled with callbacks to classic Magic cards. Mishra’s Foundry is a fixed version of the original Creature Land called Mishra’s Factory from Antiquities. Mishra’s Foundry’s activated ability costs two mana and the pump ability is potent but requires a one-mana investment.
Even though Mishra’s Foundry is powered down it will make an impact on Standard. Getting value out of your mana base was a staple of the past year of Standard with modal double-faced cards and the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms lands. In a post-rotation environment, lands are back to largely only producing mana.
Mishra’s Foundry will be a great way for decks to gain a little reach and close out games or force tricky combat situations. It’s a card that is good in multiples and should slot into most one and two-color lists going forward.
Surge Engine
Defenders is a supported archetype in Dominaria United and appears to be getting further support in Brothers’ War. Surge Engine lines up awkwardly against the removal as a 3/2 in Standard, but it is a card that can take over the game if the opponent can’t find their answers. Similar to Evolved Sleeper, Surge Engine gets better with the more mana you invest into it. At its best, Surge Engine can become a 5/4 unblockable Creature that can draw three cards.
Recruitment Officer
Recruitment Officer is a roleplayer for go-wide White decks in Standard. This Uncommon is able to help press your advantage in the late game with its activated ability. Being able to consistently draw action can close out the game or help recover after the opponent inevitably casts The Meathook Massacre.
