Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift Preview

Summary

Aetherdrift introduces unique mechanics like "Start your engines!" And "Exhaust" tied to speed and one-time abilities.
The Aetherdrift set features ten teams mirroring Ravnica Guilds, with each having distinct color pairings and leaders.
Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift features special treatment for Basic Lands, with Frist-Place Box Toppers containing Gold Foil Racetrack Basic Lands.

Though arguably unexpected, the announcement of Magic: The Gathering's Aetherdrift set took the internet by storm and proved to be polarizing. Some fans love the concept, and others believe it is too out of place for the Magic Multiverse. Yet, Wizards of the Coast has been experimenting with very different themes from one set to the next, such as the juxtaposition of Bloomburrow's cute animals and Duskmourn's demons and fears personified. Aetherdrift is nothing short of a classic Magic story, just with an unusual approach as it's all about a multiplanar Grand Prix involving one of the most valuable prizes in all of Magic - a Planeswalker Spark.

A Grand Prix that is simultaneously a death race in a card game is not exactly something one sees every day, and Aetherdrift passes the test for both of these aspects with flying colors. With new mechanics tied to speed and racing, alongside the return of Outlaws of Thunder Junction's Saddle Up and a plethora of Vehicle cards, Aetherdrift has a lot to offer for all Magic: The Gathering fans. The Best War Games attended a preview of Aetherdrift via an online panel, including information regarding some exclusive cards coming with the set on February 14, 2025.

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Magic: The Gathering's Innistrad Remastered is Wise to Cut One Mechanic

Magic: The Gathering's upcoming Innistrad Remastered set is not merging all Innistrad sets together, and one mechanic is on the chopping block.

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By Andrea Trama

Magic: The Gathering's Aetherdrift New Mechanics Explained

Aetherdrift introduces two new mechanics in Magic: The Gathering. These are the following:

Start your engines!
Exhaust

Start your engines! Is all about building speed, which is a new stat that players need to keep track of. When players have no speed, any card with Start your engines! Makes the owner have 1 speed, and this can be increased once per owner's turn by 1 whenever an opponent loses life, and it caps at 4. There are cards that benefit from having max speed or hitting a specific speed threshold, so managing speed is an important part of the Aetherdrift loop, and it can be equally rewarding.

On the other hand is Exhaust, which is a one-time mechanic with high rewards but no possibility of using it again other than some tricks, like flickering permanents or bouncing them to the owner's hand and playing them again. An example of the mechanic comes from Loot, the Pathfinder, a mythic Temur MTG card that is a 2/4 Legendary Creature with double strike, vigilance, and haste. Loot has three different Exhaust uses, all tied to its color identity - the Green one adds three mana of any one color to a player's pool, the Blue one allows the owner to draw three cards, and the Red one deals three damage to any target. These are all powerful abilities, and they are perfectly themed around racing.

Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift - Meet The Ten Teams

There are ten teams total in Aetherdrift, mirroring Guilds from Ravnica in terms of color pairings. They are the following:

Guidelight Voyagers - White and Blue color identity. One of the leaders is Mendicant Core, Guidelight, and one of the team's Vehicles is Guidelight Pathmaker
Speed Demons - Blue and Black color identity. One of the leaders is Winter, Cursed Rider, and one of the team's Vehicles is The Last Ride
The Endriders - Black and Red color identity. One of the leaders is Far Fortune, End Boss, and one of the team's Vehicles is Apocalypse Runner
Goblin Rocketeers - Red and Green color identity. One of the leaders is Redshift, Rocketeer Chief, and one of the team's Vehicles is Boommobile
Alacrian Quickbeasts - Green and White color identity. One of the leaders is Caradora, Heart of Alacria, and one of the team's Vehicles is Lagorin, Soul of Alacria (which is actually a mount, meaning a creature with Saddle Up)
The Champions of Amonkhet - White and Black color identity. One of the leaders is Zahur, Glory's Past, and one of the team's Vehicles is Cryptcaller Chariot
The Speedbrood - Black and Green color identity. One of the leaders is Aatchik, Emerald Radian, and one of the team's Vehicles is Thunderous Velocipede
Aether Rangers - Green and Blue color identity. One of the leaders is Sita Varma, Masked Racer, and one of the team's Vehicles is Rangers' Aetherhive
Chordatan Keelhaulers - Blue and Red color identity. One of the leaders is Captain Howler, Sea Scourge, and one of the team's Vehicles is Boosted Sloop
Cloudspire Racing Team - Red and White color identity. One of the leaders is Kolodin, Triumph Caster, and one of the team's Vehicles is Cloudspire Skycycle

Magic: The Gathering's Aetherdrift is Wise to 'Steal' a Pokemon TCG Feature

Magic: The Gathering's Lands for the Aetherdrift set are getting two new special treatments. The Basic Lands from Aetherdrift have the "driver's seat" treatment, giving players a chance to see the race across Avishkar, Amonkhet, and Muraganda from one of the teams' drivers' point of view. This further enhances the concept of a death race in the TCG, as there will inevitably be casualties among the various teams.

That is not all, though, as Aetherdrift also introduces Frist-Place Box Toppers. These are special booster packs that come with booster boxes from the Aetherdrift set, and they can randomly contain one of the new Gold Foil Racetrack Basic Lands. These will likely be some of the most valuable and sought-after cards from Aetherdrift, as they can fit in any deck for any format, and with their gold finish and special art they are sure to become extra popular.

This is quite similar to what Pokemon TCG's Gold Cards do, as they are special rares one can get from any set, and they have a gold finish all over the card, often depicting characters, items, or Pokemon themselves from the series. The Gold Foil treatment makes sense for Aetherdrift considering its racing themes and the competitive nature of it, but it's something that Magic: The Gathering should keep on doing for future expansions because it makes even Basic Lands valuable chase cards, much like Pokemon TCG does with some otherwise less valuable cards of its sets.

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