Let me tell you about the prerelease for Fate Reforged, the excitement and storm of magic players battling with dragons, all determined to prove their clan is destined for greatness. The most popular choices for the latest Khans of Tarkir expansion this weekend, were Jeskai and Abzan – however, I would not completely dismiss the likes of Temur, Mardu and Sultai.
Fate Reforged brings a variety of new and old elements into the playing field, with the return of hybrid mana for casting card effects and the addition of manifest, (which replaces morph) for summoning a face down 2/2 colourless creature. The most exciting features are the modal cards, which present players with a choice when their spell is cast, as well as the new mechanics; bolster for Abzan and dash for Mardu.
Bolster enables players to empower their creatures overtime, by adding X 1+1 counters to target creature with the least toughness. Whereas, dash speeds up the attack phase, with creatures entering the battle with haste and returning to their owners hand at the beginning of the next end step. Of course, the original mechanics are just as powerful and strategic for the other clans: Jeskai with prowess, Temur with ferocious and Sultai with delve.
For the prerelease event, all participating magic players received a prerelease pack with five boosters (four Fate Reforged and one Khans of Tarkir), a ‘seeded’ booster pack, D20 life counter, clan pin, info and activity card of their clan choice. Players are tasked to assemble a 40 card deck from their booster packs (with 40 being the minimum) and compete in four rounds that are based on the best of three games. Each local gaming store offers players two flights, competitive or casual, which determines what prizes players receive at the end of the tournament.
A special promo ‘Time Shifted Cards’ was included at the Fate Reforged prerelease, to illustrate how the plane of Tarkir has changed over time. All players received an ‘Ugin’s Fate’ booster pack, containing a Token, Land card and a few ‘Time Shifted Cards’ from a pool of 40 holo foil stamped cards with different artwork.
Fate Reforged hits shelves this coming week on January 23 – you can check out the epic 180 card gallery on the Wizards of the Coast official site here. Be sure to get your pre-orders in early for the Fate Reforged fat pack and booster box! Let us know your suggestions for the best deck build for each of the clans and what cards stand out for you the most in this expansion.
