Prophecy
- For other uses, see Prophecy (disambiguation).
| Prophecy | |
|---|---|
| Set Information | |
| Set symbol | |
| Themes and mechanics |
Alternate casting costs, Avatars, Land sacrifice, Mercenaries versus Rebels, Rhystic spells, Spellshapers, Tapped or untapped lands |
| Set size |
143 cards (55 commons, 44 uncommons, 44 rares) |
| Expansion code | PCY |
| Development codename | Dionysius |
Prophecy is the third set in the Masques block. It is the 20th Magic expansion and was released on June 5, 2000.
Ref on design http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/245 - to be incorporated in description; MaRo states Prophecy was second-worst designed set.
Themes and mechanics
Like Mercadian Masques, Prophecy had no new keywords. It did, however, introduce several new themes:
- Anti-rebel — cards like Brutal Suppression and Rebel Informer. (see notable cards)
- Rhystic magic — Discounted spells and abilities that work properly unless a specified player pays a set amount of mana.
- A land theme, with several permanents having abilities involving sacrificing lands and several cards that gained bonuses when all of their controller's lands were tapped.
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: Angel, Avatar, Beast, Bird, Boar, Cat, Cleric, Drake, Druid, Efreet, Elemental, Elephant, Ghost (later changed to Spirit), Golem, Griffin, Illusion, Insect, Mercenary, Minotaur, Nightstalker, Rebel, Serpent, Shade, Ship (later changed to Human), Snake, Soldier, Spellshaper, Spider, Turtle, Wall, Wurm, Zombie.
Cycles
| Cycle name | Description and notes | White card(s) | Blue card(s) | Black card(s) | Red card(s) | Green card(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatars | Each of these rare Avatar creatures cost
 CC and, at least, have a static ability that reduces its cost by if certain conditions are met and a static combat or evasion ability. |
Avatar of Hope | Avatar of Will | Avatar of Woe | Avatar of Fury | Avatar of Might |
| Avatars | Each of these rare Avatar creatures cost
CC and, at least, have a static ability that reduces its cost by if certain conditions are met and a static combat or evasion ability. |
Avatar of Hope | Avatar of Will | Avatar of Woe | Avatar of Fury | Avatar of Might |
| Avatars | Each of these rare Avatar creatures cost
CC and, at least, have a static ability that reduces its cost by  if certain conditions are met and a static combat or evasion ability. |
Avatar of Hope | Avatar of Will | Avatar of Woe | Avatar of Fury | Avatar of Might |
| Avatars | Each of these rare Avatar creatures cost
CC and, at least, have a static ability that reduces its cost by if certain conditions are met and a static combat or evasion ability. |
Avatar of Hope | Avatar of Will | Avatar of Woe | Avatar of Fury | Avatar of Might |
| Avatars | Each of these rare Avatar creatures cost
CC and, at least, have a static ability that reduces its cost by if certain conditions are met and a static combat or evasion ability. |
Avatar of Hope | Avatar of Will | Avatar of Woe | Avatar of Fury | Avatar of Might |
| Avatars | Each of these rare Avatar creatures cost
CC and, at least, have a static ability that reduces its cost by if certain conditions are met and a static combat or evasion ability. |
Avatar of Hope | Avatar of Will | Avatar of Woe | Avatar of Fury | Avatar of Might |
- Field Auras: Each of these uncommon auras enchants a land giving it a new tap ability — Barbed Field, Flowering Field, Noxious Field, Sunken Field and Verdant Field.
- Flash Auras: Each of these common auras costs
C, has flash, targets a creature and is named after a legendary spellshaper — Alexi's Cloak, Greel's Caress, Jolrael's Favor, Latulla's Orders and Mageta's Boon. - Pitch spells: Each of these uncommon spells has an alternate cost that includes discarding a basic land card of the appropriate type — Abolish, Foil, Outbreak, Flameshot and Snag.
- Spellshapers: Each of these legendary rare creatures costs
CC and require a discard of two cards (instead of the one card requirement of other spellshapers) for their powerful abilities — Alexi, Zephyr Mage, Greel, Mind Raker, Jolrael, Empress of Beasts (which was reprinted in Time Spiral as a timeshifted card), Latulla, Keldon Overseer and Mageta the Lion. - Winds: Each of these rare spells has a converted mana cost of 9 and a powerful effect. — Blessed Wind (target life's total becomes 20), Denying Wind (remove 7 cards from target player's library), Plague Wind (destroy target opponent's creatures) which was reprinted in 8th, 9th and 10th Edition, Searing Wind (deal 10 damage to target creature or player) which was reprinted in 8th Edition and Vitalizing Wind (creatures you control get +7/+7 until end of turn).
- A partial vertical cycle which was not completed until Time Spiral also exists: Spiketail Hatchling (Prophecy), Spiketail Drakeling (Time Spiral), Spiketail Drake (Prophecy).
Tournament impact
Prophecy made little impression on the tournament scene. Some cards that were used to varying degrees include Avatar of Woe, Mageta the Lion, Chimeric Idol, Spiketail hatchling and Foil. Prophecy is regarded as one of the worst expansions in the history of the game, often being compared to Homelands.
Notable cards
Two of the first creature type hoser enchantments ever printed in Magic were designed specifically for this block: Brutal Suppression (anti-rebel) and Root Cage (anti-mercenary).
Theme decks
The pre-constructed theme decks are: Template:Theme decks