Tempest
- For other uses, see Tempest (disambiguation).
| Tempest | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Set Information | |||||
| Set symbol | |||||
| Symbol description | Cloud with Lightning Bolt | ||||
| Design |
Mark Rosewater Richard Garfield Mike Elliott [1] Charlie Catino [2][3] | ||||
| Development |
Henry Stern (lead) Mike Elliott William Jockusch Bill Rose Mark Rosewater | ||||
| Art direction | Matt Wilson | ||||
| Release date | October 14, 1997[4] | ||||
| Plane | Rath[5] | ||||
| Themes and mechanics | Flowstone, Licids, Slivers, Spikes | ||||
| Keywords/ability words | Buyback, Shadow | ||||
| Set size |
350 cards (110 commons, 110 uncommons, 110 rares, 20 basic lands) | ||||
| Expansion code | TMP[6] | ||||
| Development codename | Bogavhati | ||||
| Tempest block | |||||
| |||||
| Magic: The Gathering Chronology | |||||
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Tempest is the twelfth Magic: The Gathering expansion. It was released in October 1997 as a standalone set, the first in the Tempest block. It is the second set in the Weatherlight Saga, continuing the story on the stormy plane of Rath. Tempest introduced Slivers to the game, as well as the buyback and shadow mechanics. Notable cards include Wasteland and Lotus Petal.
Set details
The 350-card black-bordered set is comprised of 110 commons, 110 uncommons, 110 rares, and 20 basic lands. Tempest's expansion symbol is a cloud with a lightning bolt, to symbolize Rath’s turbulent sky and Tempest’s tumultuous plot.[7] This set was the first after Antiquities that featured Richard Garfield in an active role as designer.
Marketing
Tempest was the last set that was marketed as a standalone set, and the first that was advertised as an expert-level set in the new rating system for sets. Tempest cards were sold not only in traditional 60-card starter decks and 15-card boosters but also in a new form: pre-constructed theme decks. Using only Tempest cards, the design team built four theme decks, marketed as a ready-to-play introduction to the set. The accompanying booklet explained the play strategy for each deck and suggested ways to strengthen them by swapping in cards from other sets. Another difference from the previous large expansions came in the rulebook. Anyone buying Tempest cards could safely be assumed to have either a Fifth Edition rulebook or a friend who could teach them the game. So instead of reprinting all the rules in the Tempest booklet, WotC only printed a brief overview and a few pages describing the features that were new in the set. The rest of the booklet, some fifty pages, profiled the main characters and summarized the Tempest story. Each Tempest booster contained 15 cards: 11 commons, 3 uncommons, and 1 rare. The packs featured artwork from Auratog, Volrath's Curse, and Commander Greven il-Vec. Tempest was the first set to feature a special prerelease card: Dirtcowl Wurm. The card is non-foil, with the word "Prerelease" and the Magic "M" stamped in gold leaf on the type line.
The Official Guide to Tempest is a complete companion card set, written by Beth Moursund. This guide gives tips for playing in a Tempest-only environment and how to best use Tempest cards with Fifth Edition. There are full-color reproductions of all of the Tempest cards, along with information on the rarity of the cards and current errata.
Flavor and storyline
The set takes place on the stormy plane of Rath, where Gerrard and the heroes of the Skyship Weatherlight set out to find Volrath's stronghold.[8][9]
Short stories
| Title | Author | Publishing date | Setting (plane) | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Greven's Tale" from Rath and Storm | Philip Athans & Peter Archer, ed. | July 1998 | Rath | Greven il-Vec, Vhati il-Dal, Gerrard Capashen, Karn, Ertai |
| "Hanna's Tale" from Rath and Storm | Miranda Horner & Peter Archer, ed. | July 1998 | Rath | Hanna, Orim, Mirri, Crovax, Ertai, Terrance, Squee, Starke il-Vec, Dreanilis, Eladamri, Oracle en-Vec, Gerrard Capashen, Selenia |
| "Starke's Tale" from Rath and Storm | Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes & Peter Archer, ed. | July 1998 | Rath | Starke il-Vec, Gerrard Capashen, Eladamri, Aniyeh, Jumok, Sidar Kondo, Vuel, Oracle en-Vec, Ertai, Orim, Hanna, Mirri, Takara en-Dal, Volrath |
Comic
| Title | Author | Publishing date | Setting (plane) | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerrard's Quest, issue #2 | Mike Grell | March - June 1998 | Dominaria, Rath | Gerrard Capashen, Mirri, Squee, Crovax, Hanna, Karn, Tahngarth, Starke, Orim, Ertai, Sisay, Rofellos, Morinfen and Gallowbraid, Jolav, Selenia, Kondo, Multani, Vhati il-Dal, Greven il-Vec, Eladamri, Volrath, Takara |
Art book
| Title | Author | Publishing date | Set | Setting (plane) | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Art of Magic: The Gathering - The Rath Cycle | Anthony Waters & Lizz Baldwin, ed. | August 11, 1998 | Weatherlight, Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus | Dominaria, Rath | Gerrard Capashen, Karn, Vuel, Volrath, Sisay, Greven il-Vec, Oracle en-Vec, Ertai, Urza, Crovax, Tahngarth, Orim, Hanna, Kondo, Multani, Rofellos, Mirri, Meida, Squee, Barrin, Selenia, Morinfen and Gallowbraid, Starke il-Vec, Takara en-Dal, Maraxus, Sliver Queen |
The Duelist
| Title | Author | Publishing date | Setting (plane) | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue 20: Tempest Storyboard | Michael G. Ryan, Mark Rosewater & Pete Venters | December 1997 | Rath | Gerrard, Crovax, Selenia, Karn, Greven il-Vec, Vhati il-Dal, Hanna, Tahngarth, Oracle en-Vec, Mirri, Orim, Eladamri, Starke, Volrath, Ertai, Lyna |
| Issue 21: Stepping into the Darkness | Pete Venters | January 1998 | Rath | Volrath, Tahngarth, Squee |
Mechanics and themes
The block mechanics Buyback and Shadow were introduced in this set.[10][11][12] White, blue, and black have creatures with shadow (white Soltari, blue Thalakos, black Dauthi), while green and red have multiple methods of blocking creatures with shadow. The abilities associated with Slivers, Licids, Spikes, and flowstone were also introduced in this set. There are cycles of Slivers and Licids and one green Spike that served as a preview of sorts for the rest of the Spikes yet to appear in the block. Flowstone creatures are red.
Creature types
The following creature types are introduced in this expansion: Crab, Licid, Shapeshifter, Sliver, Spike.
The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Angel, Ape, Atog, Beast, Bird, Cat, Cleric, Dragon, Drake, Druid, Dryad, Elemental, Elephant, Elf, Faerie, Giant, Goblin, Hound, Illusion, Imp, Insect, Knight, Lizard, Merfolk, Minion, Ooze, Pegasus, Rat, Rhino, Salamander, Serpent, Skeleton, Soldier, Spider, Spirit, Treefolk, Thrull, Turtle, Vampire, Wall, Wizard, Wurm.
Cycles
Tempest has eleven cycles:
| Cycle name | 
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circles of protection | Circle of Protection: White | Circle of Protection: Blue | Circle of Protection: Black | Circle of Protection: Red | Circle of Protection: Green |
Each of these common white enchantments has a mana cost of  and the ability to prevent the all damage from a source of a given color for . This cycle was reprinted from the Core Set. All Circles had similar art by Harold McNeill.[13]
| |||||
| Hoser double cycle | Light of Day Warmth |
Chill Insight |
Perish Dread of Night |
Havoc Boil |
Choke Reap |
| Each color has two uncommon cards that prey on its enemy colors. | |||||
| Licids | Quickening Licid | Stinging Licid | Leeching Licid | Enraging Licid | Nurturing Licid |
| Each of these common 1/1 Licid creatures has a mana cost of M and the ability to turn itself into an aura enchantment attaching itself to a creature or back to its normal state.
| |||||
| Medallions | Pearl Medallion | Sapphire Medallion | Jet Medallion | Ruby Medallion | Emerald Medallion |
Each of these rare artifacts has a mana cost of  and reduces the cost of spells of a given color by . Some of them have residual images from a dirty press.[14]
| |||||
| Common slivers | Talon Sliver | Winged Sliver | Clot Sliver | Heart Sliver | Muscle Sliver |
| Each of these common 1/1 Sliver creatures costs M and has an ability that it grants to all Slivers, including itself.
| |||||
| Uncommon slivers | Armor Sliver | Mnemonic Sliver | Mindwhip Sliver | Barbed Sliver | Horned Sliver |
| Each of these uncommon 2/2 Sliver creatures costs M and grants an ability which activates for to all Slivers, including itself.
| |||||
| Cycle name |
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| Gold allied-color spells | Sky Spirit | Lobotomy | Spontaneous Combustion | Segmented Wurm | Ranger en-Vec |
| Each of these uncommon spells, one for each allied two-color combination, has a mana cost that includes both of its colors. | |||||
| Nap lands | Thalakos Lowlands | Rootwater Depths | Cinder Marsh | Mogg Hollows | Vec Townships |
Each of these uncommon dual lands can be tapped for  or one mana of two allied colors; if tapped for the latter, it doesn't untap during your next untap step.
| |||||
| Cycle name |
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| Gold enemy-colored spells | Selenia, Dark Angel | Dracoplasm | Vhati il-Dal | Soltari Guerrillas | Wood Sage |
| Each of these rare spells, one for each enemy two-color combination, has a mana cost that includes both of its colors. | |||||
| Enemy-color tap-pain lands | Salt Flats | Caldera Lake | Pine Barrens | Scabland | Skyshroud Forest |
| Each of these rare lands come into play tapped and can be tapped for or one mana of two enemy colors; if tapped for the latter, it deals 1 damage to you.
| |||||
Mega cycle
| Cycle name |
|
|
|
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retrievers | Treasure Hunter (Exodus) | Scrivener (Exodus) | Gravedigger (Tempest) | Anarchist (Exodus) | Cartographer (Exodus) |
| Each of these 2/2 creatures returns a card of a certain type from your graveyard to your hand when it comes into play. There were four from Exodus and one from Tempest. Four out of the five were reprinted in Odyssey. | |||||
Mega-mega cycle
| Cycle name |
|
|
|
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atogs | Auratog (Tempest) | Chronatog (Visions) | Necratog (Weatherlight) | Atog (Antiquities) | Foratog (Mirage) |
| Auratog is the final card of this mega-mega cycle of creatures that started in Antiquities with the eponymous Atog. | |||||
Pairs
Tempest has two mirrored pairs.
| Matched Pair | ||
|---|---|---|
| Warmth (Tempest) ()
|
Havoc (Tempest) ()
|
Each of these uncommon enchantments costs M and rewards you or punishes an opponent, respectively, when another player casts a spell of the other's color.
|
| Scalding Tongs (Tempest) ()
|
Thumbscrews (Tempest) ()
|
Each of these rare artifacts costs and deals damage to an opponent if you have a low or high number of cards in hand, respectively.
|
Theme decks
Tempest was the first set to be released with pre-constructed theme decks. The decks are:
| Theme deck name |
Colors Included | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Deep Freeze | W | U | – | – | – |
| The Slivers | – | U | B | – | – |
| The Swarm | W | – | – | – | G |
| The Flames of Rath | W | – | – | R | – |
Notable cards
- Capsize was a notoriously miserable experience as a control finisher, as at every end step they could remove anything, and at a certain point their opponent's board began diminishing.
- Cold Storage confused players as written with the ability "
: Put target creature you control on Cold Storage". With errata, it now reads ": Exile target creature you control." Duplicity has a similar effect. - Ertai's Meddling later inspired Delay and consequently Suspend.
- Goblin Bombardment remains extremely powerful as a sacrifice outlet, being free to activate and is not as vulnerable as an enchantment.
- Humility was a seemingly simple enchantment with complicated layer implications due to timestamps (what was played before it / after it), especially when paired with Opalescence.
- Oracle en-Vec functionally forces your opponent to commit to attacks a turn in advance.
- Stalking Stones was the second printed creature to land and remains unusual in that it does so permanently. Newer designs would have it be sacrificed to put a token into play.
- Tradewind Rider was a staple in block constructed and extended bounce decks.
- Wasteland - Though strictly worse than Strip Mine, it is a staple in eternal formats where it is not restricted or banned.
- Escaped Shapeshifter is the first of many cards to "borrow" keyword abilities from other cards, listing out all of the keywords that it can have one by one.
- Sadistic Glee saw Pauper play as part of a combo with Basking Broodscale until the latter was banned in March 2025.
Banned and restricted cards
- Earthcraft pairs with Squirrel Nest from Odyssey for a quick way to make an arbitrarily large number of creatures. It was banned in Standard in 1999, and in Legacy in 2003.
- Cursed Scroll is a powerful artifact when down to one card in hand. This card is worth even more in the Japanese language version as its activation cost was misprinted as instead of . It was banned for the Tempest Block format.
- Lotus Petal was a small version of Black Lotus, but it proved to be still too powerful and was eventually banned from the Legacy and Extended Formats, and restricted in the Vintage format.
- Grindstone combos with Painter's Servant from Shadowmoor to mill entire decks. While it was banned in Commander in 2008 shortly after, it was unbanned and Painter's Servant was banned instead in December 2009.
Reprinted cards
The following cards have been reprinted in Tempest from previous sets.
- Armored Pegasus — was last seen in Portal.
- Charging Rhino — was last seen in Portal.
- Circle of Protection: Black — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Circle of Protection: Blue — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Circle of Protection: Green — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Circle of Protection: Red — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Circle of Protection: White — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Coercion — was last seen in Visions.
- Counterspell — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Dark Banishing — was last seen in Mirage.
- Dark Ritual — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Disenchant — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Dream Cache — was last seen in Mirage.
- Enfeeblement — was last seen in Mirage.
- Gaseous Form — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Giant Strength — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Gravedigger — was last seen in Portal.
- Horned Turtle — was last seen in Portal.
- Natural Spring — was last seen in Portal.
- Needle Storm — was last seen in Portal.
- Pacifism — was last seen in Mirage.
- Power Sink — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Rain of Tears — was last seen in Portal.
- Rampant Growth — was last seen in Mirage.
- Shatter — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Spell Blast — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Stone Rain — was last seen in Portal.
- Time Ebb — was last seen in Portal.
- Tranquility — was last seen in 5th Edition.
- Wind Drake — was last seen in Portal.
- Winter's Grasp — was last seen in Portal.
Functional reprints
Tempest has five functional reprints:
- Clergy En-vec is a functional reprint of Samite Healer from Fifth Edition.
- Pit Imp is a functional reprint of Vampire Bats from Fifth Edition, save for creature type.
- Rootwater Hunter is a functional reprint of Prodigal Sorcerer from Fifth Edition and Zuran Spellcaster from Ice Age, save for creature type.
- Skyshroud Troll is a functional reprint of Gorilla Chieftain from Alliances, save for creature type.
- Staunch Defenders is a functional reprint of Spiritual Guardian from Portal, save for creature type.
Colorshifted
Tempest has one colorshifted card:
- Sudden Impact is a colorshifted version of Storm Seeker from Legends (green to red).
Trivia
- Aluren is an Old English word meaning ‘paradise’.[15]
- Apes of Rath is a pun on The Grapes of Wrath.
- Bayou Dragonfly was inspired by a video game that was to be released in conjunction with Magic, but was never published.[16]
- Eladamri, Lord of Leaves was named as a tribute to Michael G. Ryan's mother Irma, and his stepfather Dale.[15][17]
- Emmessi Tome follows the R&D tradition of naming tomes using one of the R&D member's initials. In this case, Michael Scott Elliott (MSE).
- Intuition was originally intended to fetch three cards with different names but the playtest card was written as just "three cards" and R&D enjoyed the way it played.[18]
- Mark Rosewater later designed Gifts Ungiven to fetch cards with different names to have a card that functioned the way Intuition was originally supposed to.
- Lyna, the Soltari Emissary, was named after Mark Rosewater's mother Lynn.[15]
- Mogg Squad is a play on the The Mod Squad, the '60s show about three undercover cops posing as hipppies. The flavor text reflects this spoof.
- Orim, Samite Healer was originally designed as a very minor character. Stumped for a name Michael G. Ryan took Mark Rosewater's nickname (Maro), and reversed it. The ‘a’ was later changed to an ‘i’ to make the name easier to pronounce.[15]
- Squee's Toy is pronounced as squeeze toy.
- The flavor text of Time Warp is a reference to a song from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.[19]
- Vhati il-Dal's name is derived from ‘Bogavhati’, the codename of the set.[20]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 27, 2015). "Twenty Things You Might Not Have Known About Tempest". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (November 28, 2008). "Dangerous Minds". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 16, 2002). "In a Teapot". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ OCTGN Fansite
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. "Dominian FAQ (archived)". wizards.com.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (August 02, 2004). "Ask Wizards - August, 2004". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
- ↑ Brady Dommermuth (October 31, 2006). "Ask Wizards". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ MagicTheGathering.com Staff (December 20, 2002). "Tempest Storyboard". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (April 30, 2015). "Tempest Storyboard (Remastered)". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12.
- ↑ Michael G. Ryan (November 24, 2008). "Tempest on the Horizon". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 17, 2002). "Before the Storm". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Randy Buehler (December 20, 2002). "Out of the Shadows". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 10, 2003). "Make No Mistake". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Magic Arcana (December 19, 2002). "Dirty Medallions". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11.
- ↑ a b c d Mark Rosewater, Top Ten secrets behind Tempest card names, The Duelist #21 (January 1998), p. 19
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 22, 2016). "Untold Tales". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 29, 2025). "Eladamri is the names Irma and Dale backwards.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 4, 2023). "How Trivial with Mark Rosewater (Video)". Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (April 28, 2018). "Is the flavor text of time warp from Tempest a reference to Rocky Horror Picture Show?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (January 9, 2023). "Trivial Pursuit: What's in a Name?". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
External links
- Mark Rosewater (March 14, 2023). "Lesson Learned, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- Mark Rosewater (December 2, 2024). "Design Files: Tempest, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- Mark Rosewater (December 9, 2024). "Design Files: Tempest, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- Mark Rosewater (December 16, 2024). "Design Files: Tempest, Part 3". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.