Core Set 2020

Core Set 2020

 

Card comparisons

 

Changes

 

Deck Builder's Toolkit

 

Planeswalker decks

 

Spellslinger Starter Kit

 

Welcome decks

 

Core Set 2020
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Core Set 2020.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	"M20"
Design	Yoni Skolnik (lead) Andrew Brown Mclane Crowell Melissa DeTora Peter Lee Max McCall
Development	Same as design
Art direction	Keven Smith
Release date	July 12, 2019
Themes and mechanics	Chandra Nalaar, Elementals, wedges, color hate
Keywords/​ability words	Evergreen (including Protection again)
Set size	280 + 1 + 20 + X
Expansion code	M20
Core sets
[[Core Set 2019]] '''Core Set 2020''' N/A
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
[[Signature Spellbook: Gideon]] Core Set 2020 [[Commander 2019]]

Core Set 2020, also known as Core 2020, is the 19th Magic core set. It will be released on July 12, 2019.

Set details

Core Set 2020 features a mix of new and reprinted cards. The set contains 280 cards (20 basic land, 111 common, 80 uncommon, 53 rare, and 16 mythic rare) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. 1:45 cards are foil, instead of the usual 1:67. A unique Buy-a-Box promotional card numbered #281/280 is also considered to be part of the set. (indefinite) additional cards are found in the set's planeswalker decks (#282/280 to #301/280) Spellslinger Starter Kit (#302/280 to #333/280). Core Set 2020 introduced full-art tokens.

Chandra Nalaar is the face of Core Set 2020 card set, and is represented by three different planeswalker cards in different rarities and depicting several facets in her life.

Rules change

Starting with tabletop Core Set 2020 Preleases on July 5, the London mulligan will be used for all play. It will become officially reflected in the comprehensive rules with the M20 rules updates on July 12. To take this mulligan, a player shuffles the cards in their hand back into their library, draws a new hand of cards equal to their starting hand size, then puts a number of those cards equal to the number of times that player has taken a mulligan on the bottom of their library in any order.

Storyline

Core Set 2020 has a small flavor theme focusing on the life of Chandra Nalaar. There are no Story Spotlights.

Marketing

Core Set 2020 is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card), mono-colored theme boosters, five welcome decks, five planeswalker decks, the Core 2020 bundle, a Deck Builder's Toolkit, a Spellslinger Starter Kit and a Land Station. The bundle for the first time contains a alternate art foil promo card and an oversized spindown life counter. It also contains 20 foil lands.

Like with its predecessor, the Welcome decks, Planeswalker decks and Deck Builder's Toolkit are strongly integrated, which allows for an easier transition between the products. The Spellslinger Starter Kit is now also part of the line up.

Events

• Magic Open House: June 29–30, 2019
• Prerelease: July 6–7, 2019
  • Magic Arena: July 2, 2019
• Draft Weekend: July 13–14, 2019
• Commander Weekend: August 24–25, 2019. This season's Magic Weekend coincides with the release of Commander 2019. Commander Weekend will feature Commander variants recommended by Magic's design studio, with achievement cards.
• There is no Standard Showdown planned for this set.

Promotional cards

Promo pack

Premium promo pack

• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare of Core Set 2020.
• Buy-a-Box: Rienne, Angel of Rebirth
• Core Set 2020 introduces the universal promo pack, the contents of which are distributed at the discretion of the stores. This contains:
  • a promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from Core Set 2020 .
  • a promo-stamped rare or mythic rare from a short, curated list. Standard-legal.
    • Roughly 1:4 of packs contains a Japanese anime-style alternate art War of the Spark planeswalker, instead.
  • an alternate art basic land.
  • One of five special, season-specific cards with FNM alternate card frame: Corpse Knight, Negate, Disfigure, Flame Sweep or Thrashing Brontodon.
  • 1:4 promo packs includes all foil contents (clearly identifiable from the packaging).
• Core Set 2020 Bundle promo: foil alternate art Chandra's Regulator

Tokens and emblems

Core 2020 comes with 10 tokens and 2 emblems. Token and emblems appear in the marketing card slot.

1. 2/2 Cat Soldier creature named Ajani's Pridemate with "Whenever you gain life, put a +1/+1 counter on Ajani's Pridemate," for Ajani, Strength of the Pride.
2. 1/1 Soldier creature, for Ancestral Blade, Ironroot Warlord, and Raise the Alarm.
3. 1/1 Spirit creature with flying, for Bishop of Wings, Hanged Executioner, and Kykar, Wind's Fury.
4. 4/4 Elemental Bird creature with flying, for Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer.
5. 5/5 Demon creature with flying, for Bloodsoaked Altar.
6. 2/2 Zombie creature, for Boneclad Necromancer and Field of the Dead.
7. 1/1 Elemental creature, for Chandra, Acolyte of Flame and Mask of Immolation.
8. 2/2 Wolf creature, for Ferocious Pup, Nightpack Ambusher, Wolfkin Bond, and Wolfrider's Saddle.
9. 3/3 Golem artifact creature, for Cavalier of Dawn and Masterful Replication.
10. Treasure, for Rapacious Dragon.
11. Emblem for Chandra, Awakened Inferno
12. Emblem for Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer

Themes and mechanics

To improve draft, Core Set 2020 is build around three-color "wedges" (a color and its two enemies).

The set features the following limited archetypes, which focus on the ally-colored pairs within each wedge:

• : Go Wide
  • : Ironroot Warlord
• : Flying Creatures
  • : Empyrean Eagle
• : Control with "Enters-the-Battlefield" Effects
  • : Tomebound Lich
• : Aggro
  • : Ogre Siegebreaker
• : Elemental Creatures
  • : Creeping Trailblazer

The enemy colored signposts connecting the two archetypes which they are part of:

• : Corpse Knight (Going Wide does Aggro damage)
• : TBA (Flying Elemental)
• : Moldervine Reclamation (Going Wide enables Control)
• : TBA (Flying Aggro)
• : Risen Reef (Elemental creature with "Enters-the-Battlefield" Effect)

There are no new, or non-evergreen returning, mechanics in the set. Protection returns back to evergreen on a probationary status.

Cycles

Core Set 2020 has (at least) fourteen cycles, including one vertical cycle.

Cycle name	Description and notes
Core set planeswalkers	Five mythic monocolor planeswalkers.	Ajani, Strength of the Pride	Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer	Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord	Chandra, Awakened Inferno	Vivien, Arkbow Ranger
Cavaliers	Five mythic Elemental Knight creatures, each costing MMM. Each has a powerful enters the battlefield and leaves the battlefield trigger, as well as another ability.	Cavalier of Dawn	Cavalier of Squall	Cavalier of Night	Cavalier of Flame	Cavalier of Thorns
Iconic legends	Five rare monocolored iconic legendary creatures, each costing at least MMM.	Sephara, Sky's Blade	Atemsis, All-Seeing	Vilis, Broker of Blood	Drakuseth, Maw of Flames	Gargos, Vicious Warden
Leylines	Five rare enchantments, each of which cost MM, and can start the game on the battlefield if they are in a player's opening hand.	Leyline of Sanctity	Leyline of Anticipation	Leyline of the Void	Leyline of Combustion	Leyline of Abundance
Enemy color hosers	Five uncommon instants and sorceries, each of which punish an opponent for playing their enemy colors.	Devout Decree ()	Aether Gust ()	Noxious Grasp ()	Fry ()	Veil of Summer ()
Protection creatures	Five creatures, each of which have protection from one of their enemy colors. Four are uncommon and one is rare.	??? ()	Cerulean Drake ()	Blightbeetle ()	Unchained Berserker ()	Shifting Ceratops ()
Colored artifacts	Five uncommon monocolored artifacts.	Ancestral Blade	Portal of Sanctuary	Bloodsoaked Altar	Mask of Immolation	Wolfrider's Saddle
"Care About" Spells	Five common cards that care about having more copies of the same card.	Battalion Foot Soldier	Faerie Miscreant	Undead Servant	Pack Mastiff	Growth Cycle
"Double" Spells	Five instants and sorceries that have an effect that happens twice.	Brought Back	Drawn from Dreams	Scheming Symmetry	Repeated Reverberation	Shared Summons
Cycle name	Description and notes
Allied signposts	Five uncommon allied color spells, each of which supports one wedge draft archetype.	Empyrean Eagle	Tomebound Lich	Ogre Siegebreaker	Creeping Trailblazer	Ironroot Warlord
Cycle name	Description and notes
Crossover signposts	Five uncommon enemy colored spells, each of which supports two wedge draft archetypes.	Corpse Knight		Moldervine Reclamation		Risen Reef
Temples	Five rare enemy colored scry lands, reprinted from the Theros block.	Temple of Silence	Temple of Epiphany	Temple of Malady	Temple of Triumph	Temple of Mystery
Cycle name	Description and notes
Wedge legends	Five mythic rare wedge colored legendary creatures, each supporting a draft theme.	Kethis, the Hidden Hand	Kykar, Wind's Fury	Yarok, the Desecrated	Kaalia, Zenith Seeker	Omnath, Locus of the Roil

Dual cycle

Cycle name
Life-gain taplands	Tranquil Cove	Dismal Backwater	Bloodfell Caves	Rugged Highlands	Blossoming Sands	Scoured Barrens	Swiftwater Cliffs	Jungle Hollow	Wind-Scarred Crag	Thornwood Falls
Description and notes: Ten multicolored common lands that enter the battlefield tapped, gain the controller one life, and can tap for 2 different colors of mana. Reprinted from Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged.

Vertical cycle

Cycle name	Description and notes
Chandra	Depicting Chandra Nalaar in various stages of her life.	Chandra, Novice Pyromancer	Chandra, Acolyte of Flame	Chandra, Awakened Inferno

Precon only

Cycle name	Description and notes
Precon planeswalkers	Five planeswalker variants with simpler abilities, included in the Planeswalker decks for M20.	Ajani, Inspiring Leader	Mu Yanling, Celestial Wind	Sorin, Vampire Lord	Chandra, Flame's Fury	Vivien, Nature's Avenger

Preconstructed decks

Welcome decks

Core Set 2020 features five Welcome Decks.

Welcome deck name	Colors Included					Iconic card
White deck	W					Serra's Guardian
Blue deck		U				Riddlemaster Sphinx
Black deck			B			Gravewaker
Red deck				R		Shivan Dragon
Green deck					G	Aggressive Mammoth

Spellslinger Starter Kit

The Spellslinger Starter Kit comes with two Standard-legal 60-card decks, designed to create an interactive learning experience for two.

Planeswalker decks

Core 2020 features five planeswalker decks, that come with only one booster and are designed to integrate with the welcome decks.

Planeswalker deck name	Colors Included					Planeswalker
Ajani	W					Ajani, Inspiring Leader
Yanling		U				Mu Yanling, Celestial Wind
Sorin			B			Sorin, Vampire Lord
Chandra				R		Chandra, Flame's Fury
Vivien					G	Vivien, Nature's Avenger