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Magic: The Gathering Unveils Details on New Set Kaldheim

January 7, 2021 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering’s latest set drops soon in Kaldheim, and Wizards of the Coast has revealed some new details on the expansion. During a Twitch stream preview on Thursday, the Magic team revealed that the Kaldheim expansion will release in Magic: The Gathering Arena on January 28th. It will then release everywhere else on February 5th.

The new set will include snow-covered dual lands, new Snow spells and two new mechanics in Foretell and Boast. The two are described as follows:

Foretell

Any time during your turn, you can pay {2} and exile a card with foretell face down. Then, on a future turn, you can cast that card from exile by paying the foretell cost (the mana cost listed as part of the foretell keyword) rather than paying its mana cost. Pretty simple—set up the future, then watch it come to pass. There are some important things to remember about casting the spell from exile. First, you can’t cast it on the same turn you exile it. However, foretelling is optional, so you can always just cast the spell as normal if you’re looking for a more immediate impact. Second, casting the spell from exile uses all the same timing rules the spell normally has. If you foretell an instant like Behold the Multiverse, you can cast it as soon as the next turn. If you foretell a creature like Augury Raven, you’ll usually have to wait until your next turn to cast it.

Foretelling a card has several benefits in Magic: The Gathering, the most obvious being that you get to spread out the overall cost over a couple turns. The foretell cost is usually cheaper than the mana cost. Some cards have additional benefits if the spell was foretold before being cast. Plus, it can really keep your opponent off-guard. If you’ve played with morph and face-down permanents, you’ll be familiar with these additional rules that apply to foretell. In exile, you must keep your foretold cards clear. Your opponents won’t know what the cards are, but they’ll know which card you foretold first, second, and so forth. At the end of the game, if you still have any foretold cards in exile, reveal them to all players so they know the future you foretold was an honest one.

Boast

Great, heroic deeds are one thing, but getting to brag to your friends, enemies, worshippers, and what have you? That’s where it’s at. Introducing boast abilities in Magic: The Gathering. A boast ability is an activated ability that can be activated once a turn, but only if the creature that has the ability has attacked that turn. This is no time for defense! Boast abilities can be activated during combat or even after combat—any time in the turn after the creature was declared as an attacker. Unfortunately, this means a creature entering the battlefield attacking won’t allow it to boast . . . but if it is worthy enough, it will survive to attack in a future combat, and then you can sing of its deeds!