When Magic: The Gathering first ventured into the world of Theros, inspired by the timeless monsters and legends of Ancient Greek myth, it was one of the biggest, most ambitious expansions the card game had ever seen. It opened Magic: The Gathering into a fascinating new plane, defined by top-down design and enchantment-led play.
Now, the story of Theros continues with Theros Beyond Death. This sequel card set will venture into the celestial realm of Nyx, the underworld last explored by the planeswalker Elspeth Tirel in the second Theros expansion. The story will once again follow Elspeth as she tries to escape this strange and frightening netherrealm.
For players, this means a full new 254-card set to get immersed in, with a focus on dual-coloured decks. The key new mechanic introduced in the set is Escape, which lets you cast certain spells from the graveyard for a cost (such as exiling several other cards from your graveyard), allowing you to bring your favourite tricks back from the beyond.
Even though Theros Beyond Death is an all-new set, it’s not completely leaving behind its predecessor’s lineage. Popular mechanics such as Constellation and Devotion make a return, as do enchantment creatures—the core mechanic that gave the Theros block its unique flow. These cards combine the rules of enchantment and creature cards, representing the mysterious creatures known as ‘Nyxborn’ that originate from this ghostly realm.
Theros Beyond Death will also draw on the recently-minted Sagas mechanic, first introduced in 2018’s Dominaria set. Inspired by historic events throughout Theros and Nyx, these enchantment cards let you stack up abilities and damage boosts in ‘chapters’, culminating in a third and final chapter that will offer invaluable aid in battle. With Theros Beyond Death being a typically top-down set based around cool concepts and weird ideas, Sagas seem like a perfect thematic fit.
Within the set players will find five beautifully drawn full-art basic lands cards depicting the biomes of Nyx: Forest, Mountain, Plains, Island and Swamp, all rendered in a dreamy surreal aesthetic perfectly tailored for this nebulous setting.
The best bit is that you don’t have to wait to begin exploring and fighting over the realm of Nyx. Theros Beyond Death is out now, both as a physical set for tabletop fans, and digitally in the free-to-download online game Magic: The Gathering: Arena.
So sharpen your blades and hone your spells as you prepare to venture into one of Magic: The Gathering’s most otherworldly realms.