Template:Featured article/August 2016

August 2016

Featured article

Conspiracy: Take the Crown is a booster-based Magic set designed for Conspiracy Draft that was released on August 26, 2016. It follows up on the original Conspiracy set from 2014 and introduces 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 (11 more than Conspiracy). Some are new cards with mechanics that enhance multiplayer play, and the other part features reprints.

The original storyline told about Brago, the King Eternal, who 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. Now, Brago's spirit is also destroyed, and The Black Rose has taken the throne for herself. Nobody knows how long she will last.

The set was initially announced as Conspiracy: The Reign of Brago. 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. The set was renamed on February 24 to The Empty Throne to reflect this plot twist. The the number of cards in the set 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”.