Stronghold

For the Magic storyline location, see Stronghold (location).

Template:Infobox expansion Stronghold is the thirteenth Magic expansion and was released in 1998 as the second set and first small expansion in the Tempest block.

File:STH advertisment.jpg

Stronghold announced

Set details

Stronghold contains 143 black-bordered cards (44 rare, 44 uncommon, and 55 commons). It was released in March 1998. Its expansion symbol is the closed portcullis of Volrath's stronghold. Stronghold was the last set in which multicolored cards appeared until the 2000 expansion Invasion. The biggest impact of Stronghold was its Walls. Wall had traditionally been shunned by tournament players, but the Stronghold Walls were strong enough for tournament decks. Wall of Blossoms in particular became a core part of many decks.

Marketing

The cards were sold in 15-card boosters which had artwork from Warrior Angel. The Tempest preconstructed theme decks had turned out to be very popular, so WotC made more for Stronghold. Because Stronghold wasn't a "standalone" set, these decks contained both Tempest and Stronghold cards. Such decks continued to be very popular, and demand exceeded supply: Wizards had again underestimated their popularity. The prerelease card for Stronghold was a non-foil Revenant.

Storyline

Gerrard and the crew of the Weatherlight journey through the bowels of Volrath's Stronghold, battling the twisted creations of Volrath's evil mind in an attempt to rescue their imprisoned comrades. The stronghold yields many dark secrets about the crew's friends, enemies, and themselves.

Magic online

On 13 April 2009 Stronghold was released on Magic Online. It went off sale on 27 April 2009, but was available again for the release of Exodus on 7 December 2009.

Mechanics and abilities

The block mechanics buyback and shadow are expanded upon in this set.

The ability associated with the en-Kor, based on the defunct ability banding, are introduced in this set. The abilities associated with Slivers, Licids, Flowstone, and especially Spikes are expanded upon in this set.

Creature types

No new creature types are introduced in this expansion.

The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Assassin, Basilisk, Beast, Bird, Cleric, Drake, Druid, Elephant, Elf, Fish, Giant, Goblin, Hydra, Illusion, Imp, Insect, Licid, Minion, Phoenix, Rat, Shapeshifter, Skeleton, Sliver, Soldier, Spike, Spirit, Thrull, Vampire, Wizard, Wall.

Cycles

Stronghold has three cycles:

• Allied-color Slivers: Each of these uncommon 2/2 Sliver creatures has a converted mana cost of that requires two allied colors of mana to pay — Crystalline Sliver, Hibernation Sliver, Acidic Sliver, Spined Sliver, and Victual Sliver.
• Licids: Each of these uncommon 2/2 Licid creatures has a mana cost of C and the ability to turn itself into an aura enchantment attaching itself to a creature or back to its normal state — Calming Licid, Gliding Licid, Corrupting Licid, Convulsing Licid, and Tempting Licid.
• Walls: Each of these uncommon Wall creatures has a mana cost of C, defender, and one other ability — Wall of Essence, Wall of Tears, Wall of Souls, Wall of Razors, and Wall of Blossoms. The designers tried to create walls good enough to be used by tournament players. Wall of Blossoms is the most popular of these 5 as it increases green's already considerable tempo.

Theme decks

The pre-constructed theme decks are:

Notable cards

• Mox Diamond - This rare artifact requires a land card to be discarded as an additional cost, thereafter it produces a mana of any color.
• Sliver Queen - The Queen is a 7/7 Sliver which produces sliver tokens. It's casting cost of 1 of each colored mana is often referred to as "WUBRG" {pronounced woo-berg}. Stronghold was the first set to feature a five-colored card.

Reprinted cards

The following cards have been reprinted from previous sets and included in Stronghold.

• Cloud Spirit — was last seen in Portal.
• Craven Giant — was last seen in Portal.
• Serpent Warrior — was last seen in Portal.
• Spined Wurm — was last seen in Portal.
• Tidal Surge — was last seen in Portal.
• Venerable Monk — was last seen in Portal.

External links

• Official Stronghold Information Product Page — Magic: The Gathering (old)
• Stronghold product information page — Wizards of the Coast (new)