Magic Origins

Magic Origins
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Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Planeswalker symbol breaking through the horizon.
Design	Shawn Main (lead) Mark Gottlieb Ari Levitch Nik Davidson Ian Duke
Development	Sam Stoddard (lead) Dave Humpherys Ian Duke Dan Emmons Ethan Fleischer Ari Levitch With contributions from Matt Tabak and advice from Mark Rosewater
Art direction	Jeremy Jarvis
Release date	July 17, 2015
Plane	Alara Dominaria Innistrad Kaladesh Lorwyn Ravnica Regatha Theros Vryn Zendikar
Themes and mechanics	Double-faced cards
Keywords/​ability words	Menace, Prowess, Renown, Scry, Spell Mastery
Set size	272 cards (101 Commons, 80 Uncommons, 55 Rares, 16 Mythic Rares, 20 Basic Land) + 16 cards in the sample decks (7 Commons, 4 Uncommons, 5 Rares)
Expansion code	ORI
Development codename	Magic 2016
Core sets
[[Magic 2015]] '''Magic Origins''' [[Core Set 2019]]
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
[[Modern Masters 2015]] Magic Origins [[From the Vault: Angels]]

Magic Origins is the 17th Magic core set. At the time of its release, it was thought to be, and marketed as, the last core set. It was grouped as a two-set block with Dragons of Tarkir for the purposes of Standard rotation under the Two-Block Paradigm. It was released on July 17, 2015. The set was strongly integrated with its digital counterpart Magic Duels: Origins.

Set details

Magic Origins was announced February 8, 2015 during Pro Tour Fate Reforged. The set contains 272 cards, which is 3 more than the current default for large sets (101 Commons, 80 Uncommons, 55 Rares, 16 Mythic Rares, 20 Basic Land). An additional 16 cards appear in the sample decks (7 Common, 4 Uncommon, 5 Rare). As a first since Alpha, this Core Set features two new mechanics. R&D considers Magic Origins not to be the "last core set", but a "new beginning" relating to the start of the Two-Block Paradigm and a new treatment of the storyline. The latter involves telling coherent, in-depth stories about the characters and carrying those out over story arcs across multiple sets. To enable this storytelling, there are more new cards in this set than in previous Core Sets. More than ever, Magic Origins is strongly integrated with its digital counterpart, Magic Duels. We see the main characters depicted before and after their planeswalker's spark ignites. The design of the cards and mechanics mirrors this for the players, as a kind of "leveling up" to their full potential. This is achieved by double-faced cards with one side featuring a legendary creature, and the other side featuring its planeswalker incarnation. The basic lands feature basic land art from all the planes which are included in the set. Some are recreations of original artworks from those sets, showing the passage of time.

With Magic Origins, Wizards of the Coast experimented with a new mulligan rule: any player whose opening hand has fewer cards than his or her starting hand size may scry 1. After Pro Tour Vancouver, it was positively evaluated and implemented everywhere else.

Storyline

“

Ignite your Spark

”

The set tells the origin stories of several planeswalkers - Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Liliana Vess and Nissa Revane - who are going to be playing a big role in up-coming story arcs. We see these characters' home worlds, learn about the joys and crises of their early lives, and discover how they became the multiverse-traveling planeswalkers we know today. These are nicknamed the "Origins Five" in contrast to the original "Lorwyn Five".

Planeswalker	Plane of birth	First walk
Gideon Jura	Theros	Bant
Jace Beleren	Vryn	Ravnica
Liliana Vess	Dominaria	Innistrad
Chandra Nalaar	Kaladesh	Regatha
Nissa Revane	Zendikar	Lorwyn

Magic Story

Title	Author	Release Date	Setting (plane)	Featuring
Chandra's Origin: Fire Logic	Doug Beyer	2015-06-10	Kaladesh, Regatha	Chandra Nalaar, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Captain Baral
Liliana's Origin: The Fourth Pact	James Wyatt	2015-06-17	Dominaria, Innistrad	Liliana Vess, the Raven Man, Nicol Bolas, Kothophed
Jace’s Origin: Absent Minds	Kelly Digges	2015-06-24	Vryn, Ravnica	Jace Beleren, Alhammarret, Emmara Tandris
Gideon’s Origin: Kytheon Iora of Akros	Ari Levitch	2015-07-01	Theros, Bant	Gideon Jura, Hixus
Nissa’s Origin: Home	Kimberly J. Kreines & Adam Lee	2015-07-08	Zendikar, Lorwyn	Nissa Revane, Mazik, Dwynen

Marketing

Magic Origins was sold in booster packs, Intro packs, a fat pack, a clash pack, the Magic Origins Deck Builder's Toolkit and a Land Station. The boosters feature art work corresponding to the five planeswalker characters. Prerelease events were held on July 11–12, 2015, Launch Weekend on July 17–19, 2015 and Game Day on August 8–9, 2015. Starting the Monday of each week after the Prerelease, there were five consecutive Planeswalker theme weeks in WUBRG order on DailyMTG.com. Local stores around the world received some unique posters and items to put up to represent these theme weeks.

Prerelease

Players were asked to appear at the prerelease with clothes in the color of the favorite planeswalker. Magic Origins prerelease packs gave players the opportunity to learn the origin of their favorite Planeswalker. There were five prerelease packs, one for each planeswalker's color. Each came with a 7-card seeded booster pack that corresponded with that color. When registering for the Prerelease tournament, each player chose one. The seeded booster pack assisted players in building a deck by providing a starting point in their chosen color. Each seeded booster pack contained a stamped premium promo card, which players could include in their tournament decks. The prerelease pack further contained 6 regular booster packs, 1 story booklet and 1 Spindown life counter.

Promotional cards

• Launch promo: Mizzium Meddler
• Game Day: Conclave Naturalists
• Game Day (Top 8): Languish
• Buy-a-Box: Relic Seeker
• Prerelease, one of forty according to the chosen Planeswalker alignement. The pack's theme does not guarantee a specific Planeswalker card:

Gideon

Kytheon, Hero of Akros / Gideon, Battle-Forged Hixus, Prison Warden Tragic Arrogance Vryn Wingmare Gideon's Phalanx Knight of the White Orchid Kytheon's Irregulars Relic Seeker

Jace

Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy / Jace, Telepath Unbound Alhammarret, High Arbiter Talent of the Telepath Harbinger of the Tides Thopter Spy Network Soulblade Djinn Mizzium Meddler Willbreaker

Liliana

Liliana, Heretical Healer / Liliana, Defiant Necromancer Kothophed, Soul Hoarder Dark Petition Despoiler of Souls Languish Priest of the Blood Rite Graveblade Marauder Gilt-Leaf Winnower

Chandra

Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh / Chandra, Roaring Flame Pia and Kiran Nalaar Chandra's Ignition Abbot of Keral Keep Exquisite Firecraft Embermaw Hellion Goblin Piledriver Scab-Clan Berserker

Nissa

Nissa, Vastwood Seer / Nissa, Sage Animist Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen Nissa's Revelation Evolutionary Leap Honored Hierarch Managorger Hydra Outland Colossus Gaea's Revenge

Tokens / Emblems / Checklist

Magic Origins checklist card

Magic Origins life counters

The sixteenth card in the boosters is a token creature card, an emblem or a checklist card, with advertisements on the back side:

1. 4/4 Angel with flying for Sigil of the Empty Throne
2. 2/2 Knight with vigilance for Gideon's Phalanx and Knightly Valor
3. 1/1 Soldier for Murder Investigation
4. 5/5 Demon with flying for Priest of the Blood Rite
5. 2/2 Zombie for Undead Servant and Liliana, Heretical Healer
6. 1/1 Goblin for Dragon Fodder
7. 2/2 Elemental for Zendikar's Roil
8. 1/1 Elf Warrior for Dwynen's Elite
9. 4/4 Legendary Elemental named "Ashaya, the Awoken World" for Nissa, Sage Animist
10. 1/1 Thopter with flying for Aspiring Aeronaut, Foundry of the Consuls, Ghirapur Gearcrafter, Hangarback Walker, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Thopter Engineer, Thopter Spy Network and Whirler Rogue
11. 1/1 Thopter with flying
12. Emblem for Jace, Telepath Unbound
13. Emblem for Liliana, Defiant Necromancer
14. Emblem for Chandra, Roaring Flame

Sample decks

The Magic Origins Core Set comes with five thirty-card sample decks. Each sample deck has several cards numbered 273 and higher that do not appear in Magic Origins booster packs. They include classics like Serra Angel, Sengir Vampire and Mahamoti Djinn. These 16 cards are legal for tournament play in any format that includes the Magic Origins core set. The Magic Origins Deck Builder's Toolkit also contains these cards.

Themes and mechanics

Double-faced cards / transform return with this set, showcasing the five planeswalkers. As for Innistrad and Dark Ascension a special checklist card is provided to facilitate play with the double-face cards.

Magic Origins features the new evergreen keyword ability Menace, as a replacement for Intimidate. Menace stands for This creature can't be blocked except by two or more creatures. The mechanic has existed since Goblin War Drums from Fallen Empires and will be primary in black and secondary in red.

Prowess (primary blue and secondary red) and Scry are promoted to evergreen status, while protection loses that status, and Intimidate and landwalk are retired entirely.

A new keyword ability is Renown (primary white and secondary green) - Renown N1 (Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, if it isn't renowned, put N +1/+1 counter on it and it becomes renowned.)

A new ability word is Spell mastery - if there are two or more instant or sorcery cards in your graveyard, [effect].

Magic Origins features ten limited archetypes, each linked to one of the featured planes:

• : Vryn — Control/Skies/Spell mastery (Thunderclap Wyvern)
• : Innistrad — Graveyard (Possessed Skaab)
• : Regatha — Sacrifice (Blazing Hellhound)
• : Zendikar — Midrange Beatdown/Creature ramp (Zendikar Incarnate)
• : Bant — Renown/pump spells (Citadel Castellan)
• : Dominaria — Auras (Blood-Cursed Knight)
• : Kaladesh — Tempo aggro/Artifacts (Reclusive Artificer)
• : Lorwyn — Midrange attrition/Elves (Shaman of the Pack)
• : Theros — Go wide (Iroas's Champion)
• : Ravnica — Tempo (Bounding Krasis)

Cycles

Magic Origins has nine cycles, one of which contains seven cards.

Cycle name	Description and notes
Transforming Legends	Five double-faced mythic creatures that transform into a planeswalker when a certain condition is met that represents the event that caused that character's planeswalker's spark to ignite.	Kytheon, Hero of Akros // Gideon, Battle-Forged	Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy // Jace, Telepath Unbound	Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer	Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh // Chandra, Roaring Flame	Nissa, Vastwood Seer // Nissa, Sage Animist
Mentors	Five rare legendary creatures linked to the planeswalkers in their youth.	Hixus, Prison Warden	Alhammarret, High Arbiter	Kothophed, Soul Hoarder	Pia and Kiran Nalaar	Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
Same named	Five common cards that get stronger when having cards with the same name on the field, graveyard or library.	Cleric of the Forward Order	Faerie Miscreant	Undead Servant	Infectious Bloodlust	Timberpack Wolf
Common spell mastery	Seven common spell mastery cards with small effects, showing the Planeswalkers casting magic on their home world.	Kytheon's Tactics	Calculated Dismissal / Send to Sleep	Dark Dabbling / Unholy Hunger	Fiery Impulse	Nissa's Pilgrimage
Uncommon spell mastery	Five uncommon spell mastery cards with small effects, showing the Planeswalkers casting magic on the plane they traveled to.	Swift Reckoning	Psychic Rebuttal	Necromantic Summons	Ravaging Blaze	Gather the Pack
Rare spell mastery	Five rare spell mastery cards with larger splashier effects, showing the Planeswalkers at the height of their current power.	Gideon's Phalanx	Talent of the Telepath	Dark Petition	Exquisite Firecraft	Animist's Awakening
Pivotal moments	Five uncommon, rare or mythic rare cards depicting the big story moment for the planeswalker's narrative arc.	Tragic Arrogance	Clash of Wills	Demonic Pact	Chandra's Ignition	Nissa's Revelation
Home planes	Five uncommon build-around enchantments that represent the characters' home planes.	Valor in Akros	Sphinx's Tutelage	Shadows of the Past	Ghirapur Aether Grid	Zendikar's Roil
Cycle name	Description and notes
Enemy colored painlands	Five rare dual lands with ": Add . : Add M or N. [This] deals 1 damage to you." Here, M and N are enemy colors of mana.(reprinted from Magic 2015)	Caves of Koilos	Shivan Reef	Llanowar Wastes	Battlefield Forge	Yavimaya Coast

Reprints

Functional reprints

• Anointer of Champions is a functional reprint of Infantry Veteran, save for creature type.
• Hitchclaw Recluse is a functional reprint of Rib Cage Spider.

Notable cards

• Pia and Kiran Nalaar is a versatile card used in several tournament decks. It represents Chandra's parents.
• Demonic Pact is an alternate-loss card.

Preconstructed decks

Intro packs

The intro packs are:

Intro pack name	Colors Included					Foil rare
Brave the Battle	W				G	Hixus, Prison Warden
Take to the Sky	W	U				Alhammarret, High Arbiter
Demonic Deals			B	R		Kothophed, Soul Hoarder
Assemble Victory		U		R		Pia and Kiran Nalaar
Hunting Pack			B		G	Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen

Clash pack

Magic Origins comes with a clash pack which contains two ready-to-play, 60-card decks. The cards can combine into a single 60-card Standard deck perfect for FNM. The pack contains 6 premium cards with alternative art.

Clash pack deck name	Colors Included
Armed	W				G
Dangerous	W		B		G

External links

• Mark Purvis and Ian Duke Announcing Magic Origins
• Magic Origins Facebook Announcement
• Official trailer