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In the vacuum of space there is no wind, but there’s still a draft, thanks toMagic: The Gathering’s space-opera-themed Edge of Eternities set. With new abilities, new mechanics, and a whole new type of artifact, Edge of Eternities could be the best set of the year.
But all these new mechanics can be intimidating, so we’ve put together a guide to help you come out on top at your prerelease or draft event. We can’t help you to open killer packs, but this guide will help you build the best deck out of what you have.
Second Spell (White/Blue)
The Azorius (white/blue) archetypeencourages you to cast multiple spells each turn, andrewards you for casting the second spell. Those payoffs come in the form of creature tokens, +1/+1 counters, and other useful effects that add value to your board.
Station Monitor demonstrates this concept by providing a 1/1 flying token each time you cast your second spell in a turn, allowing you to stack up a whole aerial armada if you may consistently cast cheap spells. It also rewards you for casting spells on your opponent’s turn, since the second spell on any turn counts.
Casting multiple spells can leave your hand empty, but there’s a solution: spells like Haliya, Guided by Light havewarp, allowing you tocast them on two different turns, usually at a lower cost the first time. Use warp spells to cast the same spell twice to get extra value from your permanents on the battlefield.
If you’re short on cheap spells,green is a good color to splash to take advantage of the ramp effects in the Simic (green/blue) archetype. The extra ramp you can pick up in green (and to a lesser extent, in red) can help you go get multiple more expensive spells out in a turn.
Artifact Control (Blue/Black)
Blue is the color most known for control, but black vies for second, with plenty of creature removal. Put them together in a set with an artifact focus, and you’ve got a recipe fora great Dimir artifact control deck with a focus on destroying or disabling your opponent’s creatures.
Alpharael, Dreaming Acolyteis the signpost uncommon, but may not immediately demonstrate the archetype’s intent. Itallows you to draw two cards when it comes into play, but then forces you to discard two cards or an artifact, suggesting an artifact-heavy deck. It also has deathtouch, to help eliminate your opponent’s biggest threats.
Black has several ways to destroy creatures, including Zero Point Ballad, which also puts a creature into play under your control, while blue backs it up by countering spells and returning them to your opponent’s hand.Just make sure you have a win condition, because otherwise you’ll just stall the game to a draw.
Red is an excellent color to splash in, with great synergy to both the red and black colors.Red and blue are intended for artifact aggro, which is a great way to close out the game after eliminating your opponent’s creatures. Meanwhile,red and black care about void, which checks for permanents leaving the battlefield, which black is trying to do anyway.
Void (Black/Red)
Red and black are both excellent colors for removing permanents from the battlefield, both your own and your opponent’s. In Edge of Eternities, the pair leverage the new void mechanic to give your permanents and spells bonuses as long as a permanent left the battlefield or was warped earlier in the turn.
Often the easiest way to get permanents off the battlefield it to sacrifice them yourself, and the signpost uncommon,Interceptor Mechan, allows you to return those cards from your graveyard to your handto reuse later. It also grows every turn a permanent leaves the battlefield, so watch for ways to destroy your opponent’s permanents on their own turn.
If you’re going the sacrifice route, you’ll want tolook for repeatable ways to make more permanents, like Elegy Acolyte. Being able to create a creature or other token to replace one you sacrificed earlier allows you to focus on triggering void abilities without losing board advantage.
Whiteis an excellent third color, since itcontributes a handful of ways to make new creature tokensand buff your existing ones.Redis also a solid choice, since itgives you more options to destroy your opponent’s creaturesand artifacts.
Landers And Landfall (Red/Green)
Rampant Growth has been a staple land tutor since it was introduced in 1996’s Mirage, and the new predefined artifact token, Landers, are like banking a Rampant Growth on your battlefield. That’s what the Gruul (red/green) archetype is all about:making Landers to fetch lands, and landfall payoffs.
Tannuk, Memorial Ensign is the signpost uncommon, and it deals one point of damage to your opponent each time you put a land into play. It also provides you with some much-needed draw, giving you a card when your second land comes into play on any turn.
Look for multiple ways to put Landers into play, especially on low-mana spells like Sami’s Curiosity, so that you can get them in frequently without holding back your game’s progression.Also look for related payoffs, like Biotech Specialist, which will deal damage to your opponent when you sacrifice an artifact, including a Lander.
Sending Landers to the graveyard frequently makes thisa good archetype to splash in black’s void mechanic, allowing you to milk additional payoffs out of sacrificing your Landers.
+1/+1 Counters (Green/White)
White’s focus is on community, and green is all about growth. Put them together, and you’ve gotan archetype all about growing your creatures by piling on +1/+1 countersuntil they’re an unstoppable force.
The signpost uncommon,Haliya, Ascendant Cadet, puts a +1/+1 counter on one of your creatures when it comes into play and each time it attacks. It also allows you to draw a card when at least one of your creatures with a +1/+1 counter deals combat damage to an opponent, so look for ones with flying or trample first.
Drix Fatemaker is an excellent addition to the deck, since you may warp it in to give one creature a +1/+1 counter, then cast it to give a counter to another creature. Alsowatch out for Sunstar Chaplain, which can give out +1/+1 counters to your tapped creatures, including mana dorks.
Red is a solid third color, contributing a little more aggressive creaturesas well as a Spacecraft focus. Each +1/+1 counter you put on a creature makes it a little easier to station your Spacecraft, giving you a distinct edge.
Go Wide (White/Black)
White has long been one of the best colors for making token creatures, and for buffing them.Black adds a little more aggressive playstyle, as well as some extra ways to get creatures on the board and clear your opponent’s blockers.
Since the point of going wide is to make all of your creatures big enough to be a collective threat,Syr Vondam, the Lucent does an excellent job of buffing your entire battlefieldby giving them all +1/+0 and deathtouch when he attacks. Your opponent will need to choose between blocking and losing their creatures or taking the full attack.
Look for other ways to put creatures on the battlefield, like the way Gravpack Monoist replaces itself when it dies. If your opponent is playing low-cost permanents,Pinnacle Starcage can be an excellent boardwipethat gives you a Robot army a few turns later.
Green is a wonderful color to splash in, offering the opportunity to add +1/+1 counters and a little recursion to the deck. Both make the deck a significantly bigger threat, and green also offers additional ramp and mana-fixing options.
Artifact Aggro (Blue/Red)
In a rare breakaway from spellslinger archetypes, theIzzet (red/blue)limited archetype for Edge of Eternities is based aroundaggressive use of artifacts.
Mm’menon, Uthros Exileis a perfect signpost uncommon which simplyadds a +1/+1 counter to the creature of your choice each time you put an artifact into play. This includes artifact tokens, so including triggers that make them through normal gameplay can lead to one or two creatures getting really huge.
Several of the cards in this archetype, like Selfcraft Mechan, care about sacrificing artifacts,so ensure you include some artifacts that you’re able to afford to lose. Or, better yet, try to draft a Weapons Manufacturing enchantment so you can make Munition tokens that deal damage when you sacrifice them.
Green and black are both nice options for a third color, with green adding some additional artifact options in the form of Landers and black playing into the artifact control element. Both would make the deck a little slower in the early game, butcan lead to a dominating presence in the late game.
Graveyard (Black/Green)
Golgari (black/green) decks often have a graveyard focus, with the ability to fill it from and bring things back from it, and Edge of Eternities is no different. This archetype tries to put key cards into your graveyard so that you’re able to bring them back later.
Seedship Broodtenderis a perfect example, providing both mill as it enters to fill your graveyard, and the ability to sacrifice it to reanimate a creature or Spacecraft. Itcosts five mana, but that’s still a way to cheat in a much more expensive creatureand to get around colored mana requirements.
Icetill Explorer is a key rare for this deck, since it provides ramp by allowing you to play an extra land each turn, allows you to play lands from your graveyard, and mills you a little to get lands and other cards into the graveyard.
Red is a wonderful choice for a third color, especially leaning into the warp and void mechanics rather than the Lander ones. Sacrificing permanents is a good way to fill your graveyard, andred and black are well positioned to take advantage of movement off of the battlefield.
Space Stations (Red/White)
Boros (red/white) decks are often militant in style, combining white’s discipline with red’s aggression. In the Edge, this translates intoSpacecraft, the ships used to move armies between worldsand engage in cosmic battles in the void of space.
To station your Spacecraft, you need to tap creatures, sothis archetype requires you to play Spacecraft, then play creatures to station them, and to keep the Spacecraft in playlong enough to be effective. Sami, Ship’s Engineer can ease the burden by creating Robot tokens if you have other tapped creatures, allowing you to station Spacecraft faster.
Drill Too Deep is a vital common to draft, since it can put five charge counters on your Spacecraft at instant speed for two mana. And then it’s hard to find a better fit for the deck than Lumen-Class Frigate, which buffs your creatures and makes it easier to finish stationing it later.
Green and black are good choices to splash in, for either +1/+1 counters or extra creatures and tokens to make stationing your Spacecraft more viable. Butyour third color may be determined by the most powerful Spacecraftyou draft.
Ramp (Green/Blue)
Archetypes in Simic (green/blue) colors often do something weird, but in this set it’s just ramp. This archetype typicallystarts slowly,as you build up a land base,then switches gears to dominate the late game.
Some ofthe most common ramp in Edge of Eternities is based on Landers, which are artifacts that you can sacrifice for two mana to search your deck for any basic land. Biomechan Engineer, the signpost uncommon, creates a Lander when it comes into play, then late game can draw cards and make 2/2 Robots for a whopping eight mana.
Since Landers can find any basic land,this archetype is more flexible than others in terms of extra colors, and cards like Fungal Colossus reward you for having multiple lands with different names. If you draft several, it may be worthwhile to add in one of each basic land.
While the ramp focus makes the deck flexible,red is the best color to splash in, thanks to the variety of Lander-making cards and landfall triggers, which you’ll hit often.
