Jumpstart: Historic Horizons

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Jumpstart: Historic Horizons
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Jumpstart HH.jpg}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description Two half decks in an ellipse
Release date August 26, 2021
Plane Multiversal
Set size 787
Expansion code J21[1]
MTG Arena series
Kaladesh Remastered Jumpstart: Historic Horizons Alchemy: Innistrad
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair Drop Series: Out of Time Superdrop Jumpstart: Historic Horizons Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
For other uses, see Jumpstart (disambiguation).

Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is an MTG Arena-exclusive card set released on August 26, 2021. Similar to the original 2020 Jumpstart release, it melds an easy way of deckbuilding with the speed of constructed. The release was two weeks delayed from the original announced release date (August 12), due to a major overhaul of the MTG Arena backend systems.[2]

Description

Jumpstart: Historic Horizons contains 787 cards (398 commons, 286 uncommons, 85 rares, 13 mythic rares, 5 basic lands) from Modern Horizons, Modern Horizons 2, and more. Of these, 372 were new to Arena (180 commons, 123 uncommons, 56 rares, 13 mythic rares), and therefore were introduced to its Historic format by this set, including 31 designed-for-digital cards brand new to Magic.[3][4] These were the first collectible Arena-exclusive cards,[a] and the first with digital-only mechanics, a feature continued by the subsequent Alchemy series of sets.

Jumpstart events

Like the original Jumpstart release on MTG Arena, players are intended to select two of 46 different themed half deck packets which combine to create a deck for play. Instead of being completely preselected, some card slots in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons packets have a chance to be filled with alternate cards that fit the packet theme. The numerous possibilities per pack create more variety each time the format is played, but require players to pick the same pack more than once if they wish to collect all its cards without crafting.

Basic lands aren't included in the packet lists. Jumpstart: Historic Horizon events automatically provide a mix of basic lands based on the packets chosen, balanced for the costs and activated abilities on their cards. Players also receive nonbasic lands for play, either cycling lands from Historic Anthology 2 for single-color packets, or multicolor life-gain taplands from Core Set 2020 for packets with multiple colors.

Themes

There are 46 themes.

Name Color Theme Rares Mythics
Cycling {W} Cycling Benalish Partisan
Humans {W} Human tribal, +1/+1 counters Elite Spellbinder, Hanweir Militia Captain, Thalia's Lieutenant
Legion {W} White weenie aggro Return to the Ranks Ranger-Captain of Eos
Serra's Realm {W} Angels Righteous Valkyrie Serra the Benevolent, Serra's Emissary
Teyo {W} Toughness matters Teyo, Aegis Adept
Above the Clouds {U} Flying creatures, looting Inniaz, the Gale Force, Wonder
Animated {U} Animating artifacts Rise and Shine, Tome of the Infinite
Kiora {U} Sea creatures Tome of the Infinite Kiora, the Tide's Fury
Merfolk {U} Merfolk tribal Master of the Pearl Trident Svyelun of Sea and Sky
Undone {U} Control, flash Archmage's Charm, Voracious Greatshark
Davriel {B} Discard Subversive Acolyte Davriel, Soul Broker
Plague {B} -1/-1 counters and effects Subversive Acolyte Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Rats {B} Rat tribal Marrow-Gnawer, Piper of the Swarm
Vampire {B} Vampire tribal Callous Bloodmage, Cordial Vampire
Zombie {B} Zombie tribal Dark Salvation, Diregraf Colossus, Endling, Murderous Rider
Goblins {R} Goblin tribal Goblin Dark-Dwellers, Managorger Phoenix
Junkyard {R} Sacrificing artifacts for value Breya's Apprentice, Goblin Engineer, Scrap Trawler
Sarkhan {R} Dragon tribal Thunderbreak Regent Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv
Scavenger {R} Discard Conspiracy Theorist, Managorger Phoenix
Spellcasting {R} Direct damage, Aggro Harmonic Prodigy Seasoned Pyromancer
Bears {G} Bear tribal Ayula, Queen Among Bears, Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
Energy {G} Energy Bristling Hydra, Pool of Vigorous Growth, Sylvan Anthem
Freyalise {G} Elf tribal Marwyn, the Nurturer Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan
Scaled Up {G} +1/+1 counters Hardened Scales, Oran-Rief Ooze
Zoologist {G} Tokens Chitterspitter, Esika's Chariot, Parallel Lives, Verdant Command
Flickering {W/U} Flickering Charming Prince, Restoration Angel
In the Machine {W/U} Affinity for artifacts, modular Esper Sentinel, Nettlecyst, Thought Monitor
Lost and Found {U/B} Discard Bazaar Trademage, Champion of Wits, Necrogoyf
Ninjas {U/B} Ninjas Mist-Syndicate Naga
Goblin Fodder {B/R} Sacrifice, aristocrats Pashalik Mons, Dark-Dweller Oracle
Madness {B/R} Madness Asylum Visitor, Chainer, Nightmare Adept
Scorched Earth {R/G} Lands Pool of Vigorous Growth, Reap the Past, Squirrel Wrangler, Territorial Kavu
Storm {R/G} Storm, Instants and Sorceries Aeve, Progenitor Ooze, Birgi, God of Storytelling, Dragonsguard Elite
Enchanted {G/W} Constellation Sanctum Weaver, Starfield Mystic, Sterling Grove, Sythis, Harvest's Hand
Pumped Up {G/W} Creature pumping Knight of Autumn, Rishkar, Peema Renegade
Many Faced {W/B} Changeling Blade Splicer, Dire Fleet Poisoner
Reanimated {W/B} Reanimator Nullpriest of Oblivion, Priest of Fell Rites
Delirium {U/R} Delirium Bloodbraid Marauder
On the Draw {U/R} Card draw Irencrag Pyromancer Seasoned Pyromancer
Relentless {B/G} Graveyard Recursion Lord of Extinction, Nether Spirit, Pool of Vigorous Growth
Squirrels {B/G} Squirrel tribal Chitterspitter, Squirrel Mob, Verdant Command Chatterfang, Squirrel General
Modular {R/W} Modular Gadrak, the Crown Scourge, Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
Sliver Assault {R/W} Sliver aggro Bonescythe Sliver, Cloudshredder Sliver, Spiteful Sliver
Evolving {G/U} Evolve, adapt Lonis, Cryptozoologist, Pool of Vigorous Growth, Simic Ascendancy
Tinkerer {G/U} Tokens Aeve, Progenitor Ooze, Lonis, Cryptozoologist, Pool of Vigorous Growth
Sliver Hive {M} Sliver tribal Sliver Hive The First Sliver

Mechanics

The exclusive cards include three new mechanics with “digital-only” designs that cannot be replicated in paper Magic.[5]

  • Seek is a digital twist on a tutor effect. Certain cards will allow you to seek a card with specific criteria, randomly pulling one from your library that meets that criteria without shuffling afterward – something that couldn’t happen at the tabletop without a player manually looking through their deck.
  • Perpetually modifies a specific card permanently, even as it enters other zones of play. For example, Davriel’s Withering perpetually gives a creature -1/-2 – if that card reduces a creature to 0 toughness or less and sends it to the graveyard, for example, the debuff will remain in effect even if a player is able to bring it back to battlefield (causing it to immediately die again). Alternatively, Lumbering Lightshield can perpetually increase the casting cost of a card in your opponent’s hand by one colorless mana – the affected card then maintains that increase whether it’s cast from hand or somewhere else, like from the graveyard with Flashback or from exile with Foretell. While this is an effect that can more reasonably be tracked with paper cards, it becomes substantially simpler in a digital space.
  • Conjure creates a card for you to use out of nowhere – not a token or a copy, but an actual card that can sit in your hand until you are ready to use it. This can include cards that aren’t otherwise in a set or format, like Ponder, Stormfront Pegasus, or the original dual lands (none of which are collectible in Historic Horizons on their own).

Historic Horizons utilizes its digital-only nature beyond these three recurring mechanics as well, making it possible to print cards with rules that wouldn’t fit in a paper frame. That includes the planeswalker Davriel, Soul Broker, who has an otherwise cryptic -2 ability: “Accept one of Davriel’s offers, then accept one of Davriel’s conditions.” In practice, this has you pick one of three randomly selected positive effects from a possible list of eight before doing the same for a negative effect.

Cards

List of exclusive digital only cards

Jumpstart: Historic Horizons includes 31 brand new digital-exclusive cards.

List of cards that can be conjured

Cards marked with * aren't otherwise available on MTG Arena.

Tome of the Infinite conjures the following cards from its spellbook:

Cycles

Jumpstart contains two cycles of new cards.

Cycle name {W} {U} {B} {R} {G}
Conjuring Planeswalkers Teyo, Aegis Adept (Lumbering Lightshield) Kiora, the Tide's Fury (Kraken Hatchling) Davriel, Soul Broker (Manor Guardian) Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv (Shivan Dragon) Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan (Regal Force)
Five mythic rare 4-loyalty Planeswalkers, each of which, among other digital-only effects, conjure a creature.
Perpetual creatures Leonin Sanctifier Mentor of Evos Isle Plaguecrafter's Familiar Reckless Ringleader Veteran Charger
Five common creatures that perpetually adds something to a creature in your hand when it enters the battlefield. Four of them add keywords, while one adds stats.

List of new-to-Arena reprints

Jumpstart contains 341 reprinted cards that weren't part of MTG Arena before. True to its name, nearly two-thirds of the set (222 cards) are drawn from the first two sets of the Modern Horizons series. They are legal in Historic.

Colorless
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolored
Lands

Notes

  1. The Arena starter decks provide players with a few game-exclusive cards, but they are not designed to be collected from sets like the ones in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons.

References