Review:
Return to Mirrodin

Its that time of year again, time to rotate out the old Magic: the Gathering block and make room for a new set, and this October we are here to welcome the arrival of Scars of Mirrodin, the latest addition to the Magic: the Gathering trading card game. Scars is a set which returns to the world of Mirrodin, a place where machines rule along with the beings powerful enough to control them. That being said, its already obvious that the artifact card type plays a huge role in this set, much like it did last time. Now that we know a bit what Mirrodin is, let us now look at what’s new with Scars of Mirrodin and how it will effect your games.

The Artifact Factor -

Artifacts have always been a card type that can quite literally do anything, as seen in the early days with Black Lotus, Millstone, and even Ornithropter the artifact type has always been a mystery in terms of design with its “limitless” capabilities. Now thanks to Scars of Mirrodin, Artifacts will be taking up as much of the set as any color would this time around. What does this mean for you then? First of all, you’ll want to look into these artifact to find out what you’ll want for your personal deck since effects range from drawing, power-up, mana production, or a powerful creature. After you’ve found what artifacts are right for you, then its time to add in some artifact-hate, its not just sideboard this time, you’ll need some artifact killing cards this time around with so many great cards floating around to be used against you. Once you’ve figured all that out though, the rest is up to you, happy deck-building!

A Brand New Infection -

Ever since Marsh Viper and Pit Scorpion, players have been trying to make poison a viable deck archetype in Magic, but sadly most of these decks have turned up to only fail. Luckily for those of us for love alternate win conditions such as this, Wizards has created a new keyword effect known as “infect” which gives the creature with it the “whither” effect of dealing damage in -1/-1 counters and then in poison counters; and as any Magic: the gathering player knows “a player with ten poison counters loses the game”. With a great range of creatures with this effect, its quickly becoming a viable deck archetype in this new meta-game. Plus, factoring in the cards that grant “Double Strike” in this set, you’ll find your creatures reaching ten poison counters in no time.