Eldritch Moon

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Eldritch Moon
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics Double-faced cards, Graveyard Matters
Keywords/​ability words Delirium, Emerge, Escalate, Madness, Meld, Protection, Transform
Set size 205
Expansion code EMN[3]
Development codename Fears

Eldritch Moon is the 71st Magic expansion, and the second in the Shadows over Innistrad block. It was released on July 22, 2016,[4] and is a small expansion.

Set details

“  Take On the Darkness  ”

Eldritch Moon continues where Shadows over Innistrad left off. It expands its horror theme into Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror. The expansion symbol of the set is a stylized silhouette of Emrakul, but also resembles Liliana's headdress. The set contains 205 cards (74 commons, 70 uncommons, 47 rares, 14 mythic rares), including 15 double-faced cards, 6 meld cards (3 pairs), and randomly inserted premium versions of all cards.[5] A checklist card replaces the basic land in some boosters.

The set is peculiar in its distribution of colors. Counting cards by their casting cost gives a wildly varying number of cards per color, with white having the most cards (36) followed by Red (35), Black (34), Blue (32) and Green (31). When adding in multicolor cards, Eldrazi using the Emerge mechanic with a colored cost as well as the land Hanweir Battlements which has multiple abilities requiring red mana, the totals even out more: White, Blue and Black have 39 cards each that can be cast using those colors, while Red and Green have 38 each (note that these totals count multicolor cards for each of their colors).

Storyline

With the death of Avacyn, the last protections over Innistrad have faded. Nahiri has summoned Emrakul to the plane, to take revenge on Sorin Markov. The Titan of Corruption and Warper of Biology twists all things living, be it plants, animals, or sentient beings, into Eldrazi Horrors. Mutations frequently gain Emrakul's fibrous lattice motif, often including tentacles, extra eyes and limbs and her bizarre colorations. The mutations include five increasing levels of corruption: distorted, disfigured, deformed, misshapen and monstrous. Some of the affected creatures meld together into new organisms. The few unaffected survivors, humans and native monsters alike, fight a losing battle against their mentally and physically twisted former peers. Now Innistrad's fate rests in the hands of unlikely allies: Jace Beleren brings the Gatewatch, and Liliana Vess brings hordes of undead immune to Emrakul's influence.

The cards that represent the pivotal moments in the storyline are: Coax from the Blind Eternities, Campaign of Vengeance, Nahiri's Wrath, Emrakul's Influence, Dark Salvation and Imprisoned in the Moon.

Marketing

Checklist card

Eldritch Moon is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card), five intro packs, and a fat pack. It is the last to feature intro packs, which will be replaced by Planeswalker decks in the next expansion.[6] The fat pack is the last to be marketed as such (to be replaced by bundle). The boosters feature artwork from the cards Lunar Force and Smoldering Werewolf, and non-card artwork of Liliana.

Prerelease

Prerelease Events took place on July 16-17, 2016.[7]

Promotional cards

Tokens and emblems

Eldritch Moon features 8 tokens and 2 emblems.[9]

  1. {C} 3/2 Eldrazi Horror for Desperate Sentry, Extricator of Flesh, Extricator of Sin, Enlightened Maniac, Emrakul's Evangel, Foul Emissary, Hanweir, the Writhing Township, Howling Chorus, Otherworldly Outburst and Wharf Infiltrator
  2. {U} 1/1 Human Wizard for Docent of Perfection and Final Iteration
  3. {B} 2/2 Zombie for Cryptbreaker, Dark Salvation, Graf Harvest, Liliana, the Last Hope, Noosegraf Mob, and Oath of Liliana
  4. {B} 2/2 Zombie
  5. {B} 2/2 Zombie
  6. {B} */* Zombie for Soul Separator
  7. {R} 1/1 Human for Hanweir Garrison
  8. {G} 1/2 Spider with reach for Ishkanah, Grafwidow
  9. Emblem for Liliana, the Last Hope
  10. Emblem for Tamiyo, Field Researcher

Tokens from Shadows over Innistrad, named on Eldritch Moon cards:

  1. {W} 1/1 Human Soldier for Thraben Standard Bearer
  2. {W} 1/1 Spirit with flying for Sanctifier of Souls and Spectral Reserves
  3. {R} 1/1 Devil with “When this creature dies, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player.” for Make Mischief
  4. {G} 1/1 Insect for It of the Horrid Swarm
  5. {G} 2/2 Wolf for Wolfkin Bond

Themes and mechanics

Two cards melded into Hanweir, the Writhing Township

Madness, Transform, Skulk, and Delirium are carried over from the previous set. Creatures that transform into colorless Eldrazi have an Template:Transformation indicator for the front side and an Template:Transformation indicator for the back side, showing this creature has joined Emrakul's brood.[10] This symbolizes one transformation step further from that shown in Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Shadows over Innistrad, where cards transformed from Template:Transformation on their front sides to Template:Transformation on their back sides.

There are three new named mechanics:[11][12]

  • Meld, a keyword action that changes the card with meld and a specific other card into one oversized card. That single card only exists on the backs of the two other cards. Whenever the melded card leaves the battlefield, both cards go, and they each turn front face up again.[13]
  • Emerge [cost] (You may cast this spell by sacrificing a creature and paying the emerge cost reduced by that creature's converted mana cost).[14]
  • Escalate, a keyword ability appearing on modal instants and sorceries. By paying the escalate cost, additional modes may be chosen.[15]

Card types

Cycles

Eldritch Moon has two cycles:

Mirrored pair

Eldritch Moon has one mirrored pair:

Escalation cycles

The Escalate keyword exists on Mardu colored modal spells, resulting in three partial cycles, two triplets and a pair:

Mega cycles

Eldritch Moon completes three mega-mega cycles:

Meld pairs

There are three meld pairs in Eldritch Moon. Each pair depicts their transformation into an Eldrazi with an additional subtype:

Reprinted cards

Common to Uncommon

Functional reprints

Colorshifted

Card comparisons

Main article: Eldritch Moon/Card comparisons

Notable cards

Preconstructed decks

Main article: Eldritch Moon/Intro packs

Eldritch Moon has five intro packs:

Intro pack name Colors Included Foil rare
{W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Unlikely Alliances W B Sanctifier of Souls
Dangerous Knowledge U R Niblis of Frost
Shallow Graves U B Noosegraf Mob
Untamed Wild R G Assembled Alphas
Weapons and Wards W G Ulvenwald Observer

References

  1. ↑ Product Information
  2. ↑ Printed on the card frame.
  3. ↑ [1][2]
  4. ↑ Template:NewRef
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  6. ↑ Template:NewRef
  7. ↑ Template:NewRef
  8. ↑ Template:NewRef
  9. ↑ a b Template:NewRef
  10. ↑ Template:NewRef
  11. ↑ Template:NewRef
  12. ↑ Template:NewRef
  13. ↑ Template:NewRef
  14. ↑ Template:NewRef
  15. ↑ Template:NewRef
  16. ↑ Error on call to {{WebRef}}: Parameters url and title must be specifiedMark Rosewater (August 10, 2016). "". Tumblr.

External links

Innistrad block
Shadows over Innistrad block
Innistrad 2021
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Innistrad storyline
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