Prophecy
- For other uses, see Prophecy (disambiguation).
Prophecy is the twenty-first Magic expansion and was released in 2000 as the last set in the Masques block. It continued the block themes of Rebels and Mercenaries, alternative casting costs and Spellshapers, but not the Nemesis keyword fading.
Themes and mechanics
Like Mercadian Masques, Prophecy had no new keywords. It did, however, introduce several new themes:
- Avatars — 8 converted mana cost creatures that can be reduced to 2 converted mana cost, given certain conditions are met. (see cycles)
- Rhystic magic — Discounted spells and abilities that could be partially or entirely negated by the opponent spending 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.
Cycles
- Avatars — Each of these rare creatures have an evasion ability and are illustrated by rk post. They are Avatar of Fury, Avatar of Hope (which was reprinted in 8th Edition), Avatar of Might (which was reprinted in 10th Edition, Avatar of Will, and Avatar of Woe (which was reprinted in Time Spiral as a timeshifted card).
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. Since its release a number of cards from Prophecy have appeared in the Core Set due to their simplicity and large, splashy effects.
Theme decks
The pre-constructed theme decks are:
| Theme Deck Name | |||||
| Red | Green | White | Blue | Black | |
| Distress | |||||
| Pummel | |||||
| Slither | |||||
| Turnaround | |||||