This year has been full of changes in the world of Magic The Gathering, one of the main innovations is the release scheme of the 4 annual sets which now includes a block consisting of a main and a small set, a standalone set and the return of the basic set, Dominaria therefore the important task arises of serving as a first set in its own right in this new roadmap.
Dominaria marks the return in style of the main plane of existence of the multiverse, on which several expansions among the most loved by long-time players have been based, a plan that was absent even from 2007 with the end of the Time Spiral block, a block that is also the cause of the ten-year departure from the Dominaria plan, the too many references to lore and the overabundance of mechanics were a double-edged sword: on the one hand nostalgia made the block unmissable for aficionados but on the other it failed to attract new players.
The main question is therefore: will it succeed Dominaria to do justice to their name and balance novelty and nostalgia?
Let's move on to analyze the mechanics that will accompany us on our journey:
Saga
The sagas are a new type of spell whose purpose is to tell a story: each saga is composed of 3 chapters represented with the symbols I, II and III, each symbol is associated with an effect. Whenever a saga enters the field or at the beginning of the main phase
ale of the controlling player a lore counter is added to it and the effect corresponding to the number of lore counters triggers, after the third lore counter the spell is sacrificed.
Undoubtedly the sagas are very interesting: their autonomy in the field makes them look like a sort of mini-planeswalker and the various effects have a common thread for example "History of Benalia" gives us two knights and then gives + 2 / + 1 to all the knights we control for the very low cost of 3 mana!
Strengthening
Dominaria sees the return of one of the most loved and versatile mechanics, born in the Apocalypse block and revived in Time Spiral and Zendikar: the Augment.
A spell or creature with kicker gives us the flexibility to choose whether to cast it with a base cost or add a kicker cost for an additional effect.
The mechanics are very simple and well-known, giving the player the choice, between a reduced cost and a higher one, benefits the more skilled players who are able to derive the maximum benefit from the choice: let's look at the card "Blink of an Eye ”, Very useful for having a low-cost response in important moments and at the same time to play aggressively by taking time away from the opponent without fear of losing a card.
Historical
It's not really a new mechanic, but it's a new term to collectively refer to artifacts, legends, and sagas.
There will therefore be cards that will have effects if we play historical cards, which will give a moderate importance to the presence of artifacts, sagas and legendaries within our decks, especially in limited, to reap the maximum benefit or be able to use the effects at the desired time. .
The card I want to give as an example is "Jhoira, Captain of the Weatherlight" that whenever we cast a historical card allows us to draw a card, with a good balance of artifacts and legendaries we can play without being afraid of running out of our resources!
Legendary Sorcery
These are sorceries that can only be cast if you control a legendary creature or planeswalker.
Another very simple mechanic, in fact more than a mechanic it seems a restriction but this allows legendary sorceries to have effects that usually would cost more or even to trigger effects of other cards.
Take for example “Yawgmoth's Ignoble Offering” gives us an extremely powerful effect, which can turn the tide on the pitch at a low cost.
From this excursus on the game mechanics we can see how the whole set is built in order to communicate the theme of uniqueness and story importance covered by Dominaria within the multiverse of Magic The Gathering, it can be said without fear of denial that this time the Wizards has produced a set that manages to wink at veterans while remaining captivating even for new players, thanks to mechanics that are not too complex but that they highlight the importance of the various characters, and also an artistic work that is always up to par.
The fusion of nostalgia and contemporaneity is also provided by the inclusion in the set of elements of the story of the planeswalker Liliana Vess, indirectly very present, as well as old glories like Teferi.
This new Dominaria visited after ten years of design experiences and exponential growth in the world of Magic The Gathering is finally interesting for all to see, with an adequate level of cards for competitive play and a very well balanced limited environment. We just have to go on an adventure towards the challenges that Dominaria reserve for us!
