Battlebond

Battlebond
[[File:{{#setmainimage:BBD logo.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Two connected figures in front of a diamond shape.
Design	Shawn Main (lead) Sam Burley Adam Prosak Robert Schuster Melissa Li Jules Robins
Development	Gavin Verhey (lead) Ian Duke Melissa Li Jules Robins Michael Yichao
Art direction	Cynthia Sheppard
Release date	June 8, 2018
Plane	Kylem
Themes and mechanics	Two-Headed Giant, Team play, Warrior-tribal, "twos"
Keywords/​ability words	Assist, Partner with, Support
Set size	254
Expansion code	BBD
Development codename	Slingshot
Battlebond sets
[[Battlebond]] N/A N/A
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
[[Commander Anthology Volume II]] Battlebond [[Signature Spellbook: Jace]]

Battlebond is the first-ever Two-Headed Giant-focused Magic booster set. It will be released on June 8, 2018. Battlebond is the Innovation Product for 2018, and is designed to be drafted.

Set details

“

Forge an Unbreakable Bond in Battle

”

Battlebond is inspired by sports and e-sports. The set contains 254 unique cards (5 Basic Lands, 101 Commons, 80 Uncommons, 53 Rares, 15 Mythic Rares); 85 of those cards are new and will all immediately be legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. Returning favorites from throughout Magic 's history (many with new art) round out the set and cultivate an environment of two-on-two combat and sport. The Battlebond set is designed to be drafted with players who will make groups of two players for Two-Headed Giant multiplayer games. The expansion symbol depicts two connected figures in front of a diamond shape, and is a silhouette of the Spire Garden towers. Battlebond is printed worldwide on Japanese multi-ply card stock.

To facilitate the draft environment, R&D skimped on the weaker power level cards normally found at common and also increased the number of common artifacts above the normal rate. Apart from draft, Battlebond can also be played Sealed. Most of the unique mechanics — the main selling point of the play experience — are indifferent to the format, so long as it's Two-Headed Giant. Partnered pairs will always show up together in booster packs. If you open a foil partner, the other partner will also be foil.

Promos

There are twenty-two promos (the eleven partnered pairs), some with alternate art and all with foil treatment, and they come in two-card packs.

Flavor

Welcome to Battlebond, where competitors battle in pairs. Recruit a trusted partner and fight shoulder-to-shoulder, hand-in-hand, or back-to-back for glory and the roar of the crowd! Forge an unbreakable bond with your combat companion and claim your place in the pantheon of champions! All new cards in Battlebond depict the environment of Valor's Reach, an area on the plane of Kylem, where combat is fought two-on-two. And like any good spectator sport, the goal isn't just to win, but to look good doing it. Style points count.

Marketing

Battlebond is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card). Like other draft related sets, it features horizontal art on the booster packs. They have artwork from one of the following cards: TBA, TBA and TBA. The set is also sold in Booster Battle Packs containing six boosters.

Tokens / Emblem

TBA

Rules for limited play

For Battlebond, Sealed uses six packs and Draft uses four packs.

See also: Comprehensive Rules for Two-Headed Giant

Draft

• Each team of two will receive four Battlebond booster packs to start the draft.
• Teams will open one booster and pick two cards from the pack before passing the booster pack to the next team on their left. This continues with teams taking two cards from the packs being passed around until there are no cards left to pick.
• Pack rotation remains left (clockwise) for the first pack, right (counter clockwise) for the second, left for the third, and right for the fourth pack.
• The team builds two 40- card decks from the cards that they have drafted — one deck for each player.
• Teams play single game matches.

Sealed

• Each team of two receives six Battlebond booster packs.
• The team builds two 40- card decks from the six booster packs — one deck for each player.
• The remaining unused cards will create a shared sideboard.
• Teams play single game matches.

Themes and mechanics

Battlebond has "twos" all throughout the art, flavor text, and world of Kylem.

The new mechanics in Battlebond elevate the promise of Two-Headed Giant to its full potential.

• Assist lets another player pay the generic mana cost of your spell, this way helping you to cast it.
• Partner with [other card] is a variant of the Partner ability. It limits the ability to certain card pairs in the set. There are eleven of these pairs. They can be used as co-commanders (if legendary), and allow for the following: "When this creature enters the battlefield, target player may put [other card] into their hand from their library, then shuffle." Note that not all the partners in Battlebond are legendary. The ones that aren't can't be commanders.
• Support, last seen in Oath of the Gatewatch, is a returning mechanic.

The set also introduces a new term: "your team". Any card that refers to "your team" refers to you or a teammate. If you're not playing a team game, "your team" just means "you."

Card types

Battlebond introduces the Azra creature type, and the Will and Rowan planeswalker types.

The set has a significant Warrior-tribal theme. The Warrior archetype is centered in black and red with a good amount in white. Blue and green have some Warrior rewards at uncommon, as well as some common Warriors. While reprints still have their old artwork, all the new Warriors in Battlebond have glowing weapons as a visual cue.

Cycles

Battlebond has at least four cycles, one of which is a double cycle:

• Bond lands: Five rare dual lands that enter the battlefield tapped, unless you have two or more opponents. — Sea of Clouds (), Morphic Pool (), Luxury Suite (), Spire Garden () and Bountiful Promenade ().
• Partner: five uncommon enemy-colored pairs of creatures who partner with each other — Blaring Recruiter () and Blaring Captain (), Chakram Retriever () and Chakram Slinger (), Soulblade Corrupter () and Soulblade Renewer (), Impetuous Protege () and Proud Mentor (), as well as Ley Weaver () and Lore Weaver ()
• Legendary Partner: five rare enemy-colored pairs of legendary creatures who partner with each other — Regna, the Redeemer () and Krav, the Unredeemed (), Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom () and Okaun, Eye of Chaos (), Virtus the Veiled () and Gorm the Great (), Khorvath Brightflame () and Sylvia Brightspear (), as well as Pir, Imaginative Rascal () and Toothy, Imaginary Friend ()
• Friend or Foe: Five cards associated with one of the legendary partners, and on each of them you choose friend or foe per player. You do something nice to your friends, and something mean to your foes. — Regna's Sanction (), Zndrsplt’s Judgment (), Virtus's Virtue (), Khorvath's Fury (), Pir's Whim ()
• Allied multicolor commons: five common ally-colored cards. — Riptide Crab (), Urborg Drake (), Auger Spree (), Rhox Brute (),Centaur Healer ()
• Uncommon multicolor draft archetypes: ten uncommon multicolored cards, each representing a draft archetype — Jelenn Sphinx (, Go wide), Kiss of the Amesha (, Life gain), Dinrova Horror (, Control), Vampire Charmseeker (, Graveyard), Azra Oddsmaker (, Discard), Rushblade Commander (, Warriors), Relentless Hunter (, Fatties), Savage Ventmaw (, Ramp), Enduring Scalelord (, Go tall), Unflinching Courage (, Trample/Lifelink)

Mirrored pairs

Battlebond has multiple mirrored pairs.

• Doomed creatures: A pair of common creatures that create a token when they die — Doomed Traveler () and Doomed Dissenter ().
• Striders: A pair of uncommon artifact creatures that cost , and are 3/3s with an enters the battlefield ability that deals damage or gains life — Peace Strider () and Pierce Strider ().

Changes in rarity

Common to Uncommon

• Aim High
• Battle-Rattle Shaman
• Dinrova Horror
• Dragon Breath
• Fertilid
• Karametra's Favor
• Loyal Pegasus
• Peace Strider
• Peregrine Drake
• Pierce Strider
• Pulse of Murasa
• Stone Golem
• Solemn Offering
• Trumpet Blast

Rare to Mythic

• Doubling Season
• Land Tax
• Mycosynth Lattice
• True-Name Nemesis

Rare to Uncommon

• Angel of Retribution
• Feral Hydra

Uncommon to Common

• Riptide Crab
• Royal Trooper
• Urborg Drake

Notable cards

• Doubling Season — a much asked for reprint that doesn't fit well in a Standard environment with Planeswalkers.
• Brightling — a continuation of the mega-mega cycle started with Morphling (Urza's Saga), Torchling (Planar Chaos), and Thornling (Conflux).
• Will Kenrith and Rowan Kenrith are the first Planeswalkers outside of the Commander series who may be used as deck commander.