As spring turns into summer, many Magic the Gathering fans were wondering what releases they’d have to look forward to in the fall.
Today, Wizards of the Coast has announced their upcoming set releases from September through January 2017:
- Kaladesh Block, featuring Kaladesh and Aether Revolt
- Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis Duel Deck
- Commander 2016 featuring 4-Color Commanders
- Planechase Anthology
The Kaladesh block is the fall/winter set release for their main Magic: the Gathering product. It will replace Dragons of Tarkir and Magic: Origins in the Standard format.
Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis will feature two decks that will (presumably) include the cards Ob Nixilis, Reignited and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar. The two decks will be themed after each planeswalker. These characters were also heavily featured during the Battle for Zendikar block’s story, so it makes sense that the two would face against each other in a duel deck.
Commander 2016 is the official yearly release for the Commander/EDH format. This year’s theme will be 4-Color Commanders, five in total (one for each released deck). This is notable because we haven’t seen four color cards since the “Nephalim” in the original Ravnica block in Guildpact, which released back in February of 2006.
Planechase is a multiplayer format that has only seen two official releases: 2009 and 2012. Players are battling against each other with an oversized Plane card altering the board in various ways, usually fitting a theme of the Plane represented on the card. Both sets came with pre-constructed decks; perhaps this Anthologies version will include everything released in the past plus some new goodies?
For what it’s worth, Wizards of the Coast has the following lined up before September in terms of releases:
- Eternal Masters in June
- Eldritch Moon expansion (part of Shadows over Innistrad block) in July
- Conspiracy 2 in August
It’s going to be a busy, busy year for Magic: the Gathering fans.
