Magic: The Gathering’s next set just saw its prerelease weekend, and will release for retail this coming Friday. Once again we’re back to the summer months and that means a new Core Set. Core Sets were a thing for a long time during Magic’s history, then went on a hiatus for a couple of years, and then came back strong. We saw a bunch of goodies in Core 2019 and Core 2020, but both of those sets paled in comparison to what’s coming with Core 2021.

This set also marks the first time that a core set received the collector booster treatment, which seems to be the new standard for all sets. We have normal boosters, theme boosters and collector boosters, along with boxes of each and the ability to still open up alternate art/border cards in normal packs. So far I haven’t bothered with buying any collector packs, and theme packs are mainly for people just starting out so I avoid those as well, but I’ve still managed to pull some showcase cards regardless. So here’s what we know about the set, let’s take a look at a selection of cards that I’ve found interesting.

Buy-a-box Promo:

Normally I’m not too interested in the buy-a-box promo cards, and honestly this one is more of the same. A big change did come down with this card being spoiled though, as it is part of the first set to include the creature type “dog” and as such all “hound” creature types were since errata’d to say “dog” instead. Dog tribal might be a thing now, if you’re into that sort of thing. Cat tribal was already a thing, but now with this commander you can do some sort of combination tribe. If that’s your thing, have at it. I’ve preordered a box but have found that when I’ve done so in the past off of Amazon I don’t receive the promo card, but it is what it is.

New Planeswalkers:

It’s been a while since we’ve seen more than a couple of new planeswalkers in a set, and this time we get one for each color. Basri is the only “new” planeswalker, while the others you’ll already know from past sets. However, all of them are pretty decent additions to certain decks, and I would really like a copy of that Teferi, as would most people I’d assume. Garruk also looks pretty nice for my mono-green deck as does Liliana for my zombie deck. Either way, new planeswalkers are always nice toys to play around with.

Shrine Cycle:

I’m not really into this, but once this cycle of shrines was spoiled, people were jumping on the shrine tribal bandwagon. Much like gates-matter decks (typically helmed by Golos as he can tutor for them) this would require all six of these shrines along with the five others that existed in Kamigawa, and even then I don’t see it as much of a deck, nor do they really feel like a win-con in themselves, just value engines that take far too long to get out onto the board to really make a difference. In Battlecruiser jank decks can work, but if you want to play decks with any sort of consistency, this is probably not the route you want to take. The Green and Blue ones are probably decent enough on their own but even then they’re not amazing.

Reprints:

There are a bunch of good reprints in this set and I think that has probably brought the hype levels up a bit. I’ve only singled out a few, but right off the bat you have a reprint of OG Ugin, which is already pretty expensive and sought after. Next is Grim Tutor, which hasn’t seen a reprint in probably 20 years and was a super expensive card as a result, and though it’s not as good as Demonic or Vampiric Tutor, it’s just a step behind and better than most other options. Azuza is a card that’s gone up in price a bit, and Heroic Intervention was getting pricey for a while as well. I really like seeing the reprint of Fabled Passage, and I think they should continue with it and Prismatic Vista so that we can have strictly better Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse cards. Or just an additional two fixing lands per deck. With that said, let’s look at the new cards I found most interesting:

White:

Honestly white didn’t do so hot in the new card department, but they did get some nice reprints so it’s probably a trade off. A new dog adds to the tribe, while Nine Lives is a funky enchantment that you could theoretically give away and cause someone to lose the game with. Mangara is card draw, but its so conditional it’s likely people just don’t attack you, but you’ll probably get a few draws off of their additional spells per turn. Finally, a cleric that taps to make Angels, which could be pretty decent in the right deck.

Blue:

Blue did a little better with new cards. Teferi’s enchantment gives extra card draw and a ton of decks will run it. Barrin is good in wizard tribal for shenanigans. See the Truth is great if you can recur/cast it from the graveyard. And finally, a couple of new counterspells that could be decent fits in many decks.

Black:

Black sees a few interesting new cards, my favorite being Vito, who is Sanguine Bond on a creature, and will help with consistency in many aristocrats decks. If you have a bunch of deathtouch sources, the Blightfang will definitely help do some damage. The standard bearer is pretty good too if you know a bunch of stuff is going to die (board wipe) and you can flash it in to draw some cards. Lastly, Witch’s Cauldron is a decent sac outlet that will draw some cards, and that’s sometimes the best thing to do during a turn.

Red:

I’m really loving some of the new red cards. Double Visions simply let’s you copy spells for free. The two new goblins are instant adds to my Krenko deck, as they both have amazing abilities that I think can be exploited. Fiery Emancipation is also pretty amazing, in that it triples damage, so it’s going straight into my Torbran deck where it will find the most use. The dragon is kinda meh, but if you have a deck that uses them it might be a good fit.

Green:

Not a lot going on in green, but I did really like the Elder Gargaroth, as it’s an undercosted 6/6 with three keywords and attack/block triggers. Simply busted and it’s going into my mono-green deck post haste. Garruk’s Uprising is a better version of cards that do the same thing, if you’re playing big green beaters, it’s going to draw you cards and also give your creatures trample, which is amazing. Jolrael is an interesting new commander that will probably see some play but I’m not super interested.

Multi-Color:

I highlighted cards here that I think will see play, but honestly the only one I’m interested in is the new Radha. I already run both of her other versions in my Gruul deck, but I feel like she might actually be worth running as the commanding in place of Klothys, and that’s my plan as soon as I get a copy. Otherwise some generically decent cards on display here.

Colorless/Lands:

Only one new land was introduced and it’s only good if you’re playing any of the creature types listed on it. It’s also only good for adding +1/+1 counters, so unless you’re already doing that theme it’s probably not worth a slot in your deck. The new Chromatic Orrery however, could find itself in multiple decks. I know it wants to go into Golos immediately, as it will allow me to cast things for free with a simple tap of the artifact.

Overall I think the set looks really good and I’m glad I have a box on the way. I’ll have to discuss another set that is releasing shortly as well, called Jump Start, that I didn’t think I’d bother writing about but it turns out after spoilers there are somethings worth mentioning. I’ll be back soon.