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).
- Land Auras — Each of these uncommon auras targets a land which provides a benefit when that land is tapped. They are Barbed Field, Flowering Field, Noxious Field, Sunken Field, and Verdant Field.
- Creature Auras — Each of these common auras costs
C, has flash, targets a creature and is named after a legendary spellshaper. They are Alexi's Cloak, <c>Grel's Caress, Jolrael's Favor, Latulla's Orders, and Mageta's Boon. - Spellshapers — Each of these legendary rare creatures cost
CC and require a discard of two cards (instead of the one card requirment of other spellshapers) for their powerful abilities. They are Alexi, Zephy 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 cost 9 mana, but have powerful effects. They are 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).
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.
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:
| Theme Deck Name | |||||
| Red | Green | White | Blue | Black | |
| Distress | |||||
| Pummel | |||||
| Slither | |||||
| Turnaround | |||||