Conspiracy: Take the Crown

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Conspiracy: Take the Crown
 
 
Conspiracy: Take the Crown
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Conspiracy- Take the Crown.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description Marchesa's Seal, The Black Rose
Design Shawn Main (lead)
Nik Davidson
Bryan Hawley
Ken Nagle
Matt Tabak
Development Ben Hayes (lead)
Bryan Hawley
Jonathan Skolnik
James Sooy
Gavin Verhey
Art direction Jeremy Jarvis
Release date August 26, 2016
Plane Fiora
Multiversal
Themes and mechanics Conspiracies, Draft ability cards, Monarch
Keywords/​ability words Hidden agenda, Double agenda, Melee, Goad, Council's dilemma, Monstrous, Cycling
Set size 221 cards (80 new)
Expansion code CN2[1]
Conspiracy sets
Conspiracy Conspiracy: Take the Crown N/A
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
From the Vault: Lore Conspiracy: Take the Crown Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis

Conspiracy: Take the Crown is a booster-based set designed for Conspiracy Draft.[2] It was released in August 2016 as the second of three supplemental sets that were released in the summer of 2016.[3]

Set details

“  You Stab My Back And I'll Stab Yours  ”

Conspiracy: Take the Crown followed up on the original Conspiracy set from 2014 and introduced new cards that affect the draft itself as well as new Conspiracies. It is designed for eight-player drafts followed by free-for-all games of three to five players each. The set contains 221 cards (90 common, 67 uncommon, 50 rare, and 14 mythic rare). Eighty cards (including 12 Conspiracies) are new cards with mechanics that enhance multiplayer play, and the other part features reprints. The planeswalker card Kaya, Ghost Assassin has alternate art in foil, with the foil having the collector number 222/221. The new cards are not legal for play in the Standard or Modern formats.[4]

The set is printed in English, Japanese, and Chinese Simplified. It was not released on Magic Online. North American mass-market stores sold new Draft Packs for this set. The Draft Pack features three Booster Packs.[5]

Flavor

Brago, the King Eternal ruled the High City of Paliano on the plane of Fiora. When he died, the priesthood — the Custodi — kept his spirit as a figurehead and were able to retain their command for a while. However, The Black Rose confiscated the throne after Brago's spirit was eliminated by the planeswalker Kaya. Nobody knows how long she will last.

Magic Story

Main article: Magic Story
Title Author Release Date Setting (plane) Featuring
Laid to Rest Kelly Digges 2016-08-03 Fiora Kaya Cassir, Emilio Revari
Tyrants Alison Luhrs 2016-08-10' Fiora Brago, Adriana Vallore, Kaya Cassir, Selvala, Marchesa d'Amati
Proclamation by Queen Marchesa Kelly Digges 2016-08-15 Fiora Marchesa d'Amati
Proclamation by Adriana, Captain of the Guard Kelly Digges 2016-08-16 Fiora Adriana Vallore
Bloody Instructions Shawn Main and Mel Li 2016-08-17 Fiora Daretti, Grenzo, Zadrous Fimarell, Alendis
Leovold's Dossiers Nik Davidson 2016-08-24 Fiora Leovold, Selvala, Adriana Vallore, Marchesa d'Amati, Grenzo

Marketing

The logo of the February 22 announcement
The logo of the February 24 announcement
A booster pack featuring Queen Marchesa
Conspiracy: Take the Crown draft pack

The set was initially announced as Conspiracy: The Reign of Brago.[6][7] However, the day immediately after the initial set announcement, official Twitter announced The Reign of Brago would not be the set name, along with a picture showing the apparent assassination of Brago's spirit.[8] The set was renamed on February 24 to The Empty Throne to reflect this plot twist.[9][10] Also the number of cards was reduced from 221 to 220 (Brago's spirit was eliminated, so clearly there would be one less card) and the quote was changed from “Long May He Reign” to “The King Is Dead, Long Live the King”.

Two days later the title was changed one final time, along with the reveal of the set symbol. The card count for Conspiracy: Take the Crown was now up to 221 again with the new queen added. The slogan was also changed, this time to “You Stab My Back And I'll Stab Yours”.[2][11][12]

Like its predecessor, CN2 features horizontal art on the booster packs. They have artwork from Queen Marchesa, Kaya, Ghost Assassin (foil art version), and Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast.

Hidden message

On the back frame of every token of Eternal Masters, the previous booster set, appeared some seemingly random and mysterious lines of text. These were part of a teaser puzzle. If the tokens were lined up in the right order, the text on the top and bottom of the tokens provided a proclamation by Her Majesty Queen Marchesa, the Black Rose, first of her name. The text on the sides of tokens provided a revolutionary speech by Captain Adriana.[13] Marchesa's proclamation was later published on the Magic website, as was Adriana's response.[14][15]

Tokens

Conspiracy: Take the Crown features one marker and eleven tokens.[16]

  1. The Monarch marker
  2. {W} 1/1 Soldier for Lieutenants of the Guard and Raise the Alarm
  3. {W} 1/2 Soldier with defender for Hold the Perimeter
  4. {W} 1/1 Spirit with flying for Doomed Traveler
  5. {B} 1/1 Assassin with deathtouch and haste for Queen Marchesa
  6. {B} 2/2 Zombie for Assemble the Rank and Vile
  7. {R} 1/1 Goblin with “This creature can't block” for Hold the Perimeter
  8. {R} 5/5 Dragon with flying for Skyline Despot
  9. {R} 8/8 Lizard for Subterranean Tremors
  10. {G} 3/3 Beast for Beast Within
  11. {G} 1/1 Insect for Dragonlair Spider
  12. {C} 1/1 Construct artifact with defender for Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast

Themes and mechanics

Like in Conspiracy, some cards have draft abilities.

The monarch is a new designation that a player may have during the game. Only one player at a time can be the monarch and has the following ability: "At the beginning of the monarch's end step, that player draws a card." Secondly, several cards in the set get better if you're the monarch.[17] A mistake realized only after printing, The Monarch marker reads "At the beginning your end step, draw a card." with the "of" missing.

The Monarch marker

Hidden agenda is carried over from Conspiracy. Conspiracies with hidden agendas have you secretly name a card before the game begins. Any time you have priority during the game, you can turn the conspiracy face up and reveal the chosen name and what bonus the conspiracy provides.

Creatures with Monstrosity earlier appeared in the Theros block and Commander 2015.[18] Upon paying the activation cost, if the creature isn't "monstrous" already, a certain number of +1/+1 counters are put on the creature and it becomes "monstrous". Usually, this is accompanied by a triggered ability when the creature becomes "monstrous".

There are four new named mechanics:[19]

Card types

Card frame

Conspiracies and draft ability cards have a special circular pattern card frame.

Cycles

Conspiracy: Take the Crown has eight cycles:

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Rare monarchy creatures Protector of the Crown Keeper of Keys Custodi Lich Skyline Despot Regal Behemoth
These rare creatures make their controller the monarch upon entering the battlefield and either provide a bonus if the player is the monarch or help their controller retain their status as monarch.
Common monarchy creatures Palace Sentinels Canal Courier Thorn of the Black Rose Crown-Hunter Hireling Entourage of Trest
These common creatures make their controller the monarch upon entering the battlefield.
Colored conspiracies Adriana's Valor Hired Heist Assemble the Rank and Vile Incendiary Dissent Natural Unity
Colored common conspiracies with the hidden agenda keyword.
Landcycler spells Gleam of Resistance Traumatic Visions Absorb Vis Fiery Fall Sylvan Bounty
Five common spells, originally printed in Conflux, each of which can be cycled away for {1}{M} for a basic land.

Double cycles

Cycle name {W}{U} {U}{B} {B}{R} {R}{G} {G}{W} {W}{B} {U}{R} {B}{G} {R}{W} {G}{U}
Two-colored draft archetypes Ascended Lawmage Shipwreck Singer Carnage Gladiator Gruul War Chant Juniper Order Ranger Knights of the Black Rose Stormchaser Chimera Pharika's Mender Akroan Hoplite Coiling Oracle
Ten uncommon cards which each represent a two-colored draft archetype.

Draft ability cycles

There are three draft ability card cycles, one for each rarity besides mythic.

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Common Custodi Peacekeeper Illusionary Informant Regicide Garbage Fire Leovold's Operative
Uncommon Noble Banneret Spire Phantasm Smuggler Captain Pyretic Hunter Animus of Predation
Rare Paliano Vanguard Arcane Savant Archdemon of Paliano Volatile Chimera Caller of the Untamed

Pairs

Conspiracy: Take the Crown has one mirrored pair:

Mirrored Pairs Description
Garrulous Sycophant
({B})
Throne Warden
({W})
Two creatures which trigger an ability in your end step if you are the monarch.

Changes in rarity

Common to Uncommon

Uncommon to Rare

Uncommon to Mythic

Rare to Uncommon

Rare to Mythic

Mythic to Rare

Card comparisons

Misprint

The monarch marker should read “At the beginning of your end step, draw a card”. It is missing the “of”.[21][22]

Notable cards

Banned and restricted cards

  • All cards with the Conspiracy type from the set are implicitly banned in competitive constructed formats.
  • Expropriate is an incredibly powerful spell for multiplayer formats and was banned in Oathbreaker due to its ability to be cast from the command zone repeatedly. Its art is also notable as it depicts several moxen, a picture of True-Name Nemesis, and many treasures belonging to other characters in the set.[23]
  • Leovold, Emissary of Trest is a strong value engine that has seen play in Legacy and Vintage midrange decks. His strength, combined with the ability to recur from the command zone and affect multiple other players, led to him getting banned in the Commander format in 2017.

References

  1. Product info
  2. a b Wizards of the Coast (February 26, 2016). "Announcing Conspiracy: Take the Crown". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. Mark Rosewater (February 22, 2016). "We're getting three supplementals this year; Con2, Eternal Masters and Commander - is this the norm for the future?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  4. Wizards of the Coast (August 22, 2016). "Conspiracy: Take the Crown Release Notes". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. Wizards of the Coast (May 16, 2016). "Announcement Day". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. Wizards of the Coast (February 22, 2016). "Announcing Conspiracy: The Reign of Brago". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. (deleted)
  7. Wizards of the Coast. (February 22, 2016.) Announcing CONSPIRACY: REIGN OF BRAGO. Return to Paliano in this multiplayer draft set! Official Magic: the Gathering Twitter account.
  8. Wizards of the Coast. (February 23, 2016.) BREAKING NEWS: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Brago will not be making an appearance in our new Conspiracy set. Official Magic: the Gathering Twitter account.
  9. Wizards of the Coast (February 24, 2016). "Announcing Conspiracy: The Empty Throne". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. (deleted)
  10. Wizards of the Coast. (February 24, 2016.) Paliano is in chaos after Brago's death. Announcing CONSPIRACY: THE EMPTY THRONE Official Magic: the Gathering Twitter account.
  11. Wizards of the Coast. (February 25, 2016.) Powers within Paliano have set their sights on the vacant Paliano throne. More updates to follow tomorrow. Official Magic: the Gathering Twitter account.
  12. Wizards of the Coast. (February 26, 2016.) This time we’re 100% serious. Announcing CONSPIRACY: TAKE THE CROWN. Official Magic: the Gathering Twitter account.
  13. News on the Net. (July 14, 2016.) "Someone Just Solved The Eternal Masters Conspiracy 2 Token Mystery (And That’s A Lot Of Tokens)", manaleak.com
  14. Kelly Digges (August 15, 2016). "Proclamation by Queen Marchesa". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. Kelly Digges (August 16, 2016). "Proclamation by Adriana, Captain of the Guard". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. Blake Rasmussen (August 2, 2016). "The August 22, 2016 Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  17. Mark Rosewater (August 15, 2016). "It's Another Conspiracy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  18. Shawn Main (August 15, 2016). "The Heart of a Conspiracy". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  19. Matt Tabak (August 15, 2016). "Conspiracy: Take the Crown Mechanics". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  20. Ben Hayes (August 16, 2016). "Developing Conspiracy: Take the Crown". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  21. Mark Rosewater (August 15, 2016). "Does the monarch token have a typo?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  22. Mark Rosewater (August 21, 2016). "The image for the Monarch token is mis-printed.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  23. Vorthos Mike (August 22, 2016), "Easter Eggs Galore". Coolstuffinc.com