Kaladesh

Kaladesh
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics	Energy counters, Vehicle, Colored artifacts
Keywords/​ability words	Crew, Fabricate
Set size	264 (+ 10)
Expansion code	KLD
Development codename	Lock

Kaladesh is the 72^nd Magic expansion, and the first in the Kaladesh block. It will be released on September 30, 2016, and is a large expansion. It is set on the plane of the same name.

Set details

Kaladesh contains 264 cards (15 basic lands, 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. The expansion symbol is a Far Eastern inspired floral motif. Kaladesh premieres Planeswalker decks, which replace Intro packs. These contain 10 additional cards that are considered to be part of the set (2 mythic planeswalkers, 2 rares, 2 uncommons, 2 commons and 2 common dual lands). These are numbered #265/264 to #274/264). The Fat pack for this set was reimagined as the Kaladesh Bundle.

Although Wizards of the Coast used the ligature Æ — the A and E combined into one letter — for aether since the beginning of the game, this was changed for Kaladesh, which features the stuff heavily. According to Blake Rasmussen, it caused way more issues than it was worth (particularly in translation). The set introduces create as a new vocabulary word. Create is used when a card or effect puts a token onto the battlefield.

Storyline

“

Invent your Tomorrow

”

Kaladesh (first glimpsed in Magic Origins as the birthplane of Chandra Nalaar) is a plane where natural mages are rare. Work that would be done with magic on other planes is instead accomplished through devices. The automatons, thopters, and other artifact creatures of the plane are fueled by aether, which is heavily trafficked. Artifacts are built as much for beauty as for function. Fire magic is strictly banned, and pyromancy punishable with a death sentence.

Kaladesh is ruled by the Consulate. Their forces and works are nearly omnipresent.

Pivotal story moments are now marked with Story Spotlight at the bottom of the card accompanied by an iterator and the total number of spotlight cards. They all have a planeswalker watermark to help signify that they are Story Spotlight cards. The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Kaladesh are: Inventors' Fair, Captured by the Consulate, Story Spotlight 3/5, Story Spotlight 4/5 and Story Spotlight 5/5. They also refer to the new storyline url mtgstory.com.

Marketing

Kaladesh is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card), two planeswalker decks, the Kaladesh bundle, a Deck Builder's Toolkit, Booster Battle Packs and a Gift Box. The boosters feature artwork from Saheeli Rai, Dovin Baan, Demon of Dark Schemes, Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Angel of Invention. Prerelease Events take place on September 24, 2016. In addition to the normal spindown life counter and stamped premium foil promo card, Prerelease Packs contain a little make-your-own-thopter insert.

Kaladesh Inventions

Building on the succes of the Zendikar Expeditions, Wizards of the Coast expanded the product in the Masterpiece Series. For the Kaladesh Block they are called Kaladesh Inventions. These are all premium foil cards with a special Kaladeshi card frame and a separate expansion symbol. Thus, they are not part of the set. Kaladesh Inventions are all artifacts, include all new art and flavor text set on Kaladesh and appear slightly more often than premium mythic rares. These cards are playable in limited and formats where they're already legal. There are 30 Invention cards appearing with Kaladesh and 24 more cards appear in Aether Revolt.

Promotional Cards

• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare from the set.
• Launch promo: Saheeli's Artistry
• Game Day: full-art Essence Extraction
• Game Day (Top 8): full-art Cultivator of Blades
• Buy-a-Box: Skyship Stalker

Tokens and emblems

Kaladesh features 12 tokens.

1. Energy reserve to place energy counters on.

1. 6/6 Beast for Architect of the Untamed
2. X/X Construct for Metallurgic Summonings and Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
3. to be announced
4. 1/1 Thopter with flying for Experimental Aviator, Pia Nalaar, Whirlermaker, Whirler Virtuoso
5. 1/1 Servo for any card with fabricate as well as Animation Module, Cogworker's Puzzleknot, Master Trinketeer and Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
6. to be announced
7. to be announced
8. to be announced
9. to be announced
10. Emblem for Chandra, Torch of Defiance
11. Emblem for Dovin Baan
12. Emblem for Nissa, Vital Force

Themes and mechanics

Kaladesh is a set with with less complexity than some of its recent predecessors. Because of this there are only two new named mechanics:

• Crew — a keyword ability that enables vehicles to become artifact creatures until end of turn. To activate the crew ability, tap any number of creatures you control with total power equal to or greater than the crew number. Because the crew ability doesn't use the tap symbol, you can tap any untapped creature you control, even one that just entered the battlefield. You can even tap an animated Vehicle to crew another Vehicle.
• Fabricate — when a creature with Fabricate enters the battlefield you may put a number of +1/+1 counters on the creature, or create a number of 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature tokens. The number after fabricate tells you how many +1/+1 counters or Servos you get.

There are no returning named mechanics (save evergreen ones). However Inventors' Fair notably utilizes Metalcraft.

Energy counters (marked with an ) are a new resource, placed on players in form of a counter. They are used to pay the cost to activate abilities. Energy counters represent aether, a magical energy that is found throughout the Multiverse, and is an integral part of the ecosystem on Kaladesh. Most cards that give you energy counters also give you a way to spend them. Energy counters that you get from one card can be saved up and spent on abilities of other cards. Energy counters don't go away as phases or steps end, or as the turn ends. The only way for you to lose them is to spend them.

Card types

Kaladesh introduces the Vehicle artifact subtype, the Aetherborn, Pilot, and Servo creature types, as well as the Saheeli and Dovin planeswalker subtypes.

Card frame

Vehicle cards have a special bronze and grey blocked card frame.

Cycles

Kaladesh has at least four cycles:

• Enemy-colored Scar lands: A new set of enemy colored taplands was introduced, finishing the cycle started in Scars of Mirrodin. — Concealed Courtyard (), Spirebluff Canal (), Blooming Marsh (), Inspiring Vantage (), Botanical Sanctum ().
• Gearhulks: Five mythic colored artifact with CC in their mana cost, each of which has a keyword ability and an Enter the battlefield effect — Cataclysmic Gearhulk (), Torrential Gearhulk (), Noxious Gearhulk (), Combustible Gearhulk (), Verdurous Gearhulk ().
• Puzzleknots: Five common colorless artifact with a cost of , each of which has an enters the battlefield effect that can be repeated by spending 2M or 1M (depending on the knot) and sacrificing it — Cogworker's Puzzleknot (), Glassblower's Puzzleknot (), Metalspinner's Puzzleknot (), Fireforger's Puzzleknot (), Woodweaver's Puzzleknot ().
• Thriving creatures: Five common creatures that enter the battlefield with two energy counters and may pay two energy counters to get a +1/+1 counter — Thriving Ibex (), Thriving Turtle (), Thriving Rats (), Thriving Grubs (), Thriving Rhino ().

Triplet

• Modules: Three artifacts having an activated ability which taps it and a triggered ability which helps the next module trigger. The art is continous and the flavor texts refer to each other. — Animation Module, Fabrication Module, Decoction Module

Mirrored pairs

• Live Fast and Die Young: Two cards which names form a famous unofficial slogan of rock&roll and punk subcultures. These cards also represent a short life of aetherborn and have a synergy between them

Reprinted cards

• Aether Tradewinds, first printed in Worldwake, last seen in Conspiracy.
• Inspired Charge, first printed in Magic 2011, last seen in Battle for Zendikar.

Uncommon to common

• Stone Quarry (Planeswalker decks), first printed in Shadows over Innistrad
• Woodland Stream (Planeswalker decks), first printed in Shadows over Innistrad

Functional Reprints

• Chandra's Pyrohelix is a functional reprint of Twin Bolt.
• Curio Vendor is a functional reprint of Coral Eel, Coral Merfolk, Jhessian Lookout, Wetland Sambar, and Wu Infantry .
• Flame Lash is a functional reprint of Lightning Blast.
• Tasseled Dromedary is a functional reprint of Yoked Ox.
• Terror of the Fairgrounds is a functional reprint of Cobblebrute and Hulking Devil.

Colorshifted

• Fortuitous Find is a colorshifted version of Remember the Fallen (white to black).
• Nimbe Inventor is a colorshifted version of Shaman of Spring (green to blue).
• Prakhata Club Security is a colorshifted version of Southern Elephant and Rowan treefolk (green to black).

Preconstructed decks

Kaladesh will have two planeswalker decks:

Planeswalker deck name	Colors Included					Planeswalker
Chandra	W			R		Chandra, Pyrogenius
Nissa		U			G	Nissa, Nature's Artisan