Spoilers aren't until April 3, but I don't have time off planned this time, so I'll go ahead and start drafting the next OT. I'm cutting the OP down a bit, since they've been getting a bit bloated.
Official page
Amonkhet set information
Previous topic:
Aether Revolt (OT10)
INTRO
Welcome to the Multiverse! Multiple worlds exist side by side in different dimensions, known as planes, and they are as different as night and day. All of them, however, have a form of magical energy known as mana. Most residents of these planes are unaware of other worlds, but there are some special beings with the ability to safely travel between them, known as Planeswalkers.
Magic: the Gathering is a Trading Card Game, the first of its kind, developed by Richard Garfield and his playtesters for the gaming company Wizards of the Coast in 1993. The game quickly became a hit, and it is currently bigger than it has ever been. You and your opponent play the role of dueling Planeswalkers, using customized decks made up of your spells, the creatures you can summon, your mana bonds with lands, and even other Planeswalkers you can call in to help out. Whoever can get every opponent down to 0 life wins.
This time, we visit the Egyptian mythology world of Amonkhet, featuring mummies, gods, and a graveyard theme.
Banned and Restricted List Update - For the first time in years, cards have been banned in Standard:
*
Emrakul, the Promised End
*
Smuggler's Copter
*
Reflector Mage
But many still consider Standard to be a mess right now, and people expect more cards to be banned at the next update.
Felidar Guardian is very likely to be banned, and many say
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is possible too.
GETTING STARTED
If you're a beginner, feel free to come in. Us regulars can get a bit technical with card evaluations and use a lot of jargon, and many of us will loudly proclaim that a cool-looking card is junk, or say that a lame-looking card is really powerful, so ask us if you want an explanation.
To see what a game is like, check out
Geek and Sundry's Spellslinger series (now discontinued), where Day[9] battled various geek celebrities, often losing, using simple and easy to follow decks.
To get started, check out
the official page. Basically:
* It's recommended that new players play
Magic Duels (
thread). It's a great way to learn the game on your own, and it's free!
* After that point, the act of deck building can be intimidating, so it's recommended that you try out a preconstructed deck and customize it with other cards you get, before you start making your own from scratch. Planeswalker Decks are preconstructed decks that come with four unique new cards, including a new Planeswalker card. If you have a friend to play with, there are also Duel Decks that provide two decks for a game right out of the box, but are a bit more complicated.
* To get your physical collection started, buy a Deck Builder's Toolkit, which includes not just a starting collection of cards (including a lot of lands), but also some booster packs and a good box to store cards in. The Holiday Gift Box provides an even larger starting collection and better storage.
* The different play formats can be found
here. The most popular formats where you start out with no deck and have to make them from scratch (Limited) are Draft and Sealed. The most popular formats where you bring a 60-card deck ahead of time (Constructed) are Standard, Modern, and Legacy. Casual play has no restrictions other than what your friends decide. Once your skill advances, another popular way to play Magic casually is
Commander.
* While game stores will often hold Magic events at other times, every store that has Magic events will have Friday Night Magic. There, you will be able to find other players in your area to both have matches with and trade with.
Find game stores here. And to get started participating in your local game store (LGS) scene, attend a prerelease!
PRERELEASE
While the set won't officially be sold until the release date, that isn't the first time you can get your hands on the new cards. Game stores hold prerelease events for every set in the Sealed format, where every player is given a box with six booster packs and a random additional rare card. From this pool of cards, all of which you keep, each player builds a deck of 40 cards and participates in a Swiss-system tournament. This is a fun and casual event, where everyone is still trying to figure out the set, so don't worry about messing up. In addition to normal duels, there are also Two-Headed Giant events, where you pair up with another player and face off against another team.
Prerelease events will be held on April 22-23, 2017. Call your local game store a few days ahead of time to register, or they might just run out of room.
Find local game stores here.
STORY
Lore introduction
Amonkhet is a harsh desert world where people and other beings gather in oases, raising warriors to go through the Trials of the Five Gods, and thus gain the favor of the gods.
After halting the plans of the evil dragon Planeswalker Nicol Bolas on Kaladesh, the heroic Gatewatch have decided to confront him on Amonkhet, a plane he created long ago where he is worshiped. The Gatewatch hope to catch Bolas off guard, but can they stand a chance when everyone in the world is against them?
Story archive
Planeswalker biographies
CARD THEMES
RESOURCES
Official articles - Nicknamed the Mothership, these articles are the primary source of news. Recommended columns are Making Magic, written by the head designer, Mark Rosewater (aka MaRo); Magic Story, which tells the story, written by various authors; and Latest Developments, written by various Magic developers. The other articles generally discuss deck building. For older articles before the site changed,
go here.
Official card list - Best way to see all of the spoiled cards together, but only updates once a day.
Blogatog - Tumblr ran by Mark Rosewater where he answers questions, updates very frequently.
Drive to Work - Mark Rosewater's weekly podcast about Magic that he literally records as he drives to work. Two episodes are released every Friday.
MTG Salvation's Rumor Mill - The best place to get new card information. The community sucks, though.
Mythic Spoiler - A good way to see what cards have been spoiled, updates throughout the day.
Gatherer - The official method of searching through released cards. Has autocomplete.
Magidex - The better search method, with bigger cards, but it doesn't have autocomplete.
Game store locator
PREVIOUS THREADS
Aether Revolt (OT10)
Kaladesh (OT9)
Eldritch Moon (OT8)
Shadows over Innistrad (OT7)
Oath of the Gatewatch OT (OT6)
Battle for Zendikar OT (OT5)
OT4
OT3
OT2
OT1
SCHEDULE
Amonkhet
Start of spoilers - April 3, 2017
Full reveal - April 14, 2017
Prerelease - April 22-23, 2017
Release - April 28, 2017
Magic Online Launch - April 24, 2017
On Sale in Magic Online - April 28, 2017
Grand Prix Mexico City (Team Limited) - April 7-9
Grand Prix Richmond (Limited) - May 5-7
Grand Prix Bologna (Limited) - May 5-7
Grand Prix Beijing (Limited) - May 5-7
Pro Tour Amonkhet (Standard, Draft) - May 12-14
Grand Prix Montreal (Standard) - May 19-21
Grand Prix Santiago (Standard) - May 19-21
Grand Prix Copenhagen (Modern) - May 26-28
Grand Prix Kobe (Modern) - May 26-28
Grand Prix Omaha (Standard) - June 2-4
Grand Prix Amsterdam (Standard) - June 2-4
Grand Prix Manila (Standard) - June 2-4
Commander Anthology - June 9, 2017
Grand Prix Las Vegas (Legacy, Limited, Modern) - June 15-18
Archenemy: Nicol Bolas - June 16, 2017
Hour of Devastation
Estimated start of spoilers - June 18, 2017
Full reveal - June 30, 2017
Prerelease - July 8-9, 2017
