Magic: The Gathering’ssci-fi Edge of Eternities has successfully managed to stave off accusations of being a dreaded ‘hat set’. With the entire Sothera system and its many planets, species, and cultures to explore, it feels more like the traditional worldbuilding of yesteryear than the trope-heavy reference mush of Karlov Manor or Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
It isn’t entirely without its memes, though, as fans have noticed one card is a not-very-thinly veiled reference to lockdown darling Among Us. As far as references go, it’s hardly the most egregious; it also helps that the card is pretty darn good.
That’s Very Sus Of You, Wizards
Vote Out is an uncommon sorcery that costs three generic and one black mana, and for it you get to destroy any target creature. That would be a ridiculously expensive cost for a simple kill spell, if it were not for the fact the card also has convoke. You can tap creatures to pay for it instead of using mana, effectively turning it into a free spell.
The card is, of course, a reference to Among Us, the social deduction game that has teams try and identify who among their colourful collection of astronauts is the Impostor, before they’re taken out one by one. I don’t need to explainAmong Usto you, you probably played it over Zoom during the Covid-19 pandemic, after all.
The squat shape of the impostor, the similar visor, the airlock they’re being pushed out of; it’s not the most on-the-nose reference we’ve ever had in Magic, but it’s still pretty blatant what it’s supposed to be.
The Card Bangs, Though
If this was just a throwaway piece of draft chaff, the fact it’s a reference to Among Us may have felt crowbarred in just for the sake of having a meme. But, luckily for Vote Out, the card itself is likely to see play.
The ability to convoke it means you just need to tap a few creatures to cast it for free, and with enough blackWizards from Final Fantasylying around, you’re likely going to do just that. You can also convoke as a way to trigger cards like Kona, Rescue Beastie or Reluctant Role Models' survivor triggers.
Edge of Eternities also has plenty of its own tapped-matters synergies to make use of. Chrome Companion gains you one life, Starfighter Pilot has you surveil, and The Serieme gives tapped legendary creatures indestructible. With all these ways to profit off tapped creatures, using them to destroy an opponent’s creature for free makes this silly Among Us reference one to watch out for.
