Theros Beyond Death

Theros Beyond Death

 

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Theros Beyond Death
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Theros Beyond Death logo.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Mask of the Returned
Design	Ethan Fleischer (lead) Ken Nagle Paul Cheon Donald Smith, Jr Sam Stoddard Mark Rosewater
Development	Sam Stoddard (co-lead) Mark Gottlieb (co-lead) Corey Bowen Ian Duke Erik Lauer Peter Lee Lukas Litzsinger Yoni Skolnik Andrew Veen
Art direction	Dawn Murin
Release date	January 24, 2020
Plane	Theros
Themes and mechanics	Gods, Graveyard matters, Enters the battlefield matters, Sagas, Enchantment creatures, Enchantment matters
Keywords/​ability words	Constellation, Devotion, Escape
Set size	254 cards (101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares, 5 basic lands) + 3 borderless planeswalkers +11 showcase cards +1 Buy-a-Box promo +8 Planeswalker deck exclusives +10 theme booster exclusives +55 extended-art cards + 1 bundle promo +5 dark-frame promos
Expansion code	THB
Development codename	Baseball
Core Set 2021 Standard
Throne of Eldraine Theros Beyond Death Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair Drop Series Theros Beyond Death Secret Lair Drop Series: Year of the Rat

Theros Beyond Death is the 83rd Magic expansion. It was released on January 24, 2020.

Set details

Expansion symbol

“

Escape Your Fate

”

Like its predecessors Theros Beyond Death has an ancient Greek themed top-down design, making use of many mythological tropes (Heroes, Monsters, and Gods).

The main set contains 254 cards (5 basic lands, 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares), and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. Additional cards are found in the set's Theme Boosters and planeswalker decks. A unique Buy-a-Box promotional card is also considered to be part of the set. Cards with an alternate card frames have another card number than the original version. Borderless planeswalkers are numbered #255-257, Showcase cards are numbered #258-268, the Buy-a-Box is #269, planeswalker deck cards are numbered #270-277, non-constellation basic lands are numbered #278-287, Theme Booster rares are #288-297 and extended artwork cards are numbered #298-351. The Bundle promo is numbered #352. Finally, there are FNM-treatment cards from the Universal promo pack numbered #353-357. Both regular and foil versions of these cards may be found in the collector boosters.

The set features five special Nyx-inspired full-art constellation basic lands (one per pack). The non-constellation basic lands are only found in supplemental products. These regular-border lands depict the "Above and Below" of Theros and its underworld. Besides the five basic lands, there are 11 constellation showcase cards. These are all the gods and demigods.

The set's expansion symbol is a Mask of the Returned.

Storyline

Key art with Elspeth

There is no ebook for Theros Beyond Death, nor were there weekly updates for Magic Story. It was revealed that the blowback from War of the Spark: Forsaken caused the Theros Beyond Death fiction to be delayed. The Franchise Team is trying to find the correct time and channel to release it at a later point in time.

The set focuses on the Underworld of Theros over the normal world of the plane, with a major plot point being the return of Klothys, the Therosian god of destiny. It features the planeswalker Elspeth Tirel and her torturer Ashiok.

The Gods are at war, and they bring their champions to fight. Elspeth breaks free and defeats Heliod with a weapon created from her past traumas. Klothys finds out about Elspeth escaping the Underworld so she is sending someone to bring her back to the Underworld or capture her.

The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Theros Beyond Death are:

• Agonizing Remorse
• Triumphant Surge
• Relentless Pursuit
• Heliod's Punishment

Marketing

The Nyx-inspired basic lands

Theros Beyond Death is sold in regular 16-card Draft Boosters (one card being a marketing card), mono-colored Theme Boosters, two planeswalker decks, the Theros Beyond Death bundle and a Deck Builder's Toolkit. The set also features Collector Boosters. For the first time, the Theme Boosters contained two out of a possible 10 rare cards that were not part of the regular set and thus were not available in regular Draft Boosters. The Promo Pack also features some non-Standard rares that are focused on Commander.

The Draft Boosters feature artwork from Elspeth Tirel (key art), Kunoros, Hound of Athreos and Calix, Destiny's Hand. The Theme Boosters feature art from Transcendent Envoy (), Witness of Tomorrows (), Tymaret, Chosen from Death (), Dreamshaper Shaman (), and Hydra's Growth (). The Collector Boosters feature Klothys, God of Destiny.

Events

Theme Boosters

• Tabletop Prerelease: January 17–19, 2020
• Friday Night Magic begins: January 24, 2020
• Draft Weekend: January 25–26, 2020
• Magic Weekend: Pioneer: February 22–23, 2020

Promotional cards

Collector Boosters

• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare of Theros Beyond Death.
• Other events: cards from the Throne of Eldraine universal promo pack.
  • The seasonal dark-frame promos are: Alseid of Life's Bounty, Thirst for Meaning, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Thrill of Possibility and Wolfwillow Haven.
• Buy-a-Box: foil Athreos, Shroud-Veiled and a foil full-art "Nyx" Land.
• Bundle promo: foil alternate art Arasta of the Endless Web

Tokens

The sixteenth card in the boosters is a token, with advertisements on the back side.

1. 0/1 Goat creature, created by Discordant Piper and Woe Strider.
2. 1/1 Human Soldier creature, created by Commanding Presence, Elspeth, Sun's Nemesis, Hero of the Nyxborn, Omen of the Sun, Reverent Hoplite, Siona, Captain of the Pyleas, and The First Iroan Games.
3. 2/2 Pegasus creature with flying, created by Archon of Sun's Grace.
4. 8/8 Kraken creature with hexproof, created by Kiora Bests the Sea God.
5. 3/2 Reflection creature, created by Alirios, Enraptured.
6. 1/1 Tentacle creature, created by Nadir Kraken.
7. 2/2 Zombie creature, created by Aphemia, the Cacophony and Tymaret Calls the Dead.
8. */1 Elemental creature with trample and haste, created by Purphoros's Intervention.
9. 1/1 Satyr creature with "This creature can't block," created by Anax, Hardened in the Forge, Heroes of the Revel and Satyr's Cunning.
10. 1/2 Spider creature with reach, created by Arasta of the Endless Web.
11. 2/2 Wolf creature, created by Mantle of the Wolf and Wolfwillow Haven.
12. 2/3 Nightmare creature with "Whenever this creature attacks or blocks, each opponent exiles the top two cards of their library," created by Ashiok, Nightmare Muse.
13. Gold artifact, created by The First Iroan Games.
14. 0/4 Wall artifact creature with defender, created by The Birth of Meletis.

Themes and mechanics

Theros Beyond Death introduces the keyword ability Escape; spells with escape can be cast from the graveyard for their escape cost. The cost includes exiling a number of other cards from the graveyard. Certain creatures receive an additional bonus as they escape.

Returning mechanics from the Theros block are Constellation and Devotion. Constellation now also appears on non-enchantment cards, and only on non-enchantment cards.

Heroes of the Revel, Hero of the Games, Hero of the Nyxborn, Hero of the Pride and Hero of the Winds effectively have heroic, without the actual ability word.

Theros Beyond Death features the following limited archetypes:

• : Tempo (Staggering Insight)
• : Self-mill (Devourer of Memory)
• : Sacrifice (Slaughter-Priest of Mogis)
• : "Ferocious" (Warden of the Chained)
• : Auras (Siona, Captain of the Pyleas)
• : Reanimator (Rise to Glory)
• : Casting spells on opponent's turns (Mischievous Chimera)
• : Escape (Acolyte of Affliction)
• : Go wide "heroic" (Hero of the Nyxborn)
• : Constellation (Eutropia the Twice-Favored)

Card types

The set sees the return of the enchantment subtype Saga, first used in Dominaria. It also sees the return of enchantment creatures, first used in Future Sight and later in the Theros block.

The set introduces the Demigod and Tentacle creature types, and the Calix planeswalker type. It also introduces the Gold artifact type.

Cycles

Theros Beyond Death has twelve cycles, including one double cycle.

Cycle name
Gods	Heliod, Sun-Crowned	Thassa, Deep-Dwelling	Erebos, Bleak-Hearted	Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded	Nylea, Keen-Eyed
	Five mythic rare legendary God enchantment creatures, each with a static ability and an activated ability.
Demigods	Daxos, Blessed by the Sun	Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea	Tymaret, Chosen from Death	Anax, Hardened in the Forge	Renata, Called to the Hunt
	Five uncommon legendary enchantment creatures with the new Demigod subtype. Each has power or toughness equal to your devotion in their color.
Interventions	Heliod's Intervention	Thassa's Intervention	Erebos's Intervention	Purphoros's Intervention	Nylea's Intervention
	Five rare modal spells with in their mana costs: one mode uses X, the other uses twice X.
Omens	Omen of the Sun	Omen of the Sea	Omen of the Dead	Omen of the Forge	Omen of the Hunt
	Five common enchantments with flash and an enters the battlefield ability, with art by Piotr Dura depicting the major gods of Theros. They may be sacrificed for M to scry 2.
Rare sagas	Elspeth Conquers Death	Kiora Bests the Sea God	Tymaret Calls the Dead	The Akroan War	The First Iroan Games
	Five rare or mythic rare Saga enchantments.
Uncommon sagas	The Birth of Meletis	Medomai's Prophecy	Elspeth's Nightmare	The Triumph of Anax	The Binding of the Titans
	Five uncommon Saga enchantments.
Nymphs	Alseid of Life's Bounty	Naiad of Hidden Coves	Lampad of Death's Vigil	Oread of Mountain's Blaze	Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
	Five cross-rarity Nymph creatures with related flavor text.
Nyxborns	Nyxborn Courser	Nyxborn Seaguard	Nyxborn Marauder	Nyxborn Brute	Nyxborn Colossus
	Five common vanilla enchantment creatures with flavor text about the Callapheia.
Auras	Indomitable Will	Starlit Mantle	Mogis's Favor	Aspect of Manticore	Setessan Training
	Five common beneficial Auras with small effects but with in-built designs to prevent card disadvantage.
Removal Auras	Dreadful Apathy	Ichthyomorphosis	Mire's Grasp	Iroas's Blessing	Warbriar Blessing
	Five common Auras that represent each color's primary removal spell.
Cycle name
Temples	Temple of Enlightenment	Temple of Deceit	Temple of Malice	Temple of Abandon	Temple of Plenty
	Five rare allied colored scry lands that were previously printed in Theros and Born of the Gods.

Double cycles

Cycle name
Gold signposts	Staggering Insight	Devourer of Memory	Slaughter-Priest of Mogis	Warden of the Chained	Siona, Captain of the Pyleas	Rise to Glory	Mischievous Chimera	Acolyte of Affliction	Hero of the Nyxborn	Eutropia the Twice-Favored
	Ten uncommon dual-colored spells, each a signpost for a draft archetype.

Pairs

Theros Beyond Death has one mirrored pair.

Mirrored Pairs		Description
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger ()	Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath ()	Mythic rare Elder Giant legendary creatures, each of which is undercosted but is sacrificed when it enters the battlefield unless its escape cost is paid. Each one also has a triggered ability that triggers when it enters the battlefield or attacks.

Reprinted cards

The following cards have been reprinted:

• Banishing Light, first printed in Journey into Nyx, last seen in Commander Anthology Volume II.
• Field of Ruin, first printed in Ixalan.
• Gift of Strength, first printed in Hour of Devastation, last seen in Ravnica Allegiance.
• Heliod's Pilgrim, first printed in Magic 2015, last seen in Ultimate Masters.
• Idyllic Tutor, first printed in Morningtide.
• Indomitable Will, first printed in Champions of Kamigawa.
• Infuriate, first printed in Core Set 2020.
• Plummet, first printed in Archenemy, last seen in Core Set 2020.
• Portent of Betrayal, first printed in Theros.
• Return to Nature, first printed in War of the Spark, last seen in Throne of Eldraine.
• Revoke Existence, first printed in Scars of Mirrodin, last seen in Born of the Gods.
• Thrill of Possibility, first printed in Throne of Eldraine.
• Traveler's Amulet, first printed in Innistrad, last seen in Rivals of Ixalan.
• Underworld Dreams, first printed in Legends, last seen in Magic 2010.
• Unknown Shores, first printed in Theros, last seen in Ixalan.
• Wrap in Flames, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, last seen in Battlebond.
• The ally-colored temples, first printed in Theros and Born of the Gods.

Common to uncommon

• Gray Merchant of Asphodel, first printed in Theros, last seen in Mystery Booster.

Functional reprints

• Indomitable Will is a functional reprint of Mageta's Boon.
• One with the Stars is a functional reprint of the Mystery Booster test card Enchantmentize
• Final Death is a functional reprint of Final Reward.
• Grim Physician is a functional reprint of Shambling Goblin, except for creature types.
• Moss Viper is a functional reprint of Sedge Scorpion, except for creature types.
• Unknown Shores is a functional reprint of Shimmering Grotto.

Preconstructed decks

Planeswalker decks

Theros Beyond Death is the last expansion to feature Planeswalker decks.

Planeswalker deck name	Colors Included					Planeswalker
Elspeth	W					Elspeth, Undaunted Hero
Ashiok		U	B			Ashiok, Sculptor of Fears

Notable cards

• Dryad of the Ilysian Grove has seen play in the Modern Amulet Titan deck, among other things enabling Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle as an additional win condition.
• Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger is one of two flagship mythics for Escape and was pushed out due to playing extremely badly against Uro, especially in Standard. It has since experienced a resurgence in both Standard, Historic, and Modern in various Rakdos decks with Uro's ban in 2021.

Banned and restricted cards

• Underworld Breach bears many semblances to Yawgmoth's Will, but with the further advantage in allowing the same spell to be cast multiple times, which allows for more deterministic kills. Legacy's Brain Freeze nearly kills by itself, and so it was banned in March 2020, one of the fastest bans for the format. Pioneer had the Lotus Field Breach combo that used untapping spells for mana and milling spells to fuel them. While not unbeatable — the structure of the deck is not flexible enough to counter-sideboard easily — it was removed from the format with three other combo pieces in August 2020. It is still often seen in competitive commander decks in a combo with Lion's Eye Diamond.
• Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath was the other flagship mythic showcasing the Escape mechanic, alongside strong flavor and interesting design space of being a "spell" because it required Escaping to stay in play. However, the "spell" of Explore with life gain made it easy to churn through one's deck and find interactive spells for the escape cost, making Uro one of the most ubiquitous Mythics in multiple formats. Standard was the first to ban Uro in September 2020, as the life gain buffer, ramp payoff, and anti-midrange inevitability made it difficult to control, aggressively race, or go over the top of — effectively beating all the strategies in a typical metagame. Historic, Pioneer, and Modern simultaneously banned Uro in February 2021, largely on the same logic; a secondary concern was that the Simic Uro decks in all formats started to look the same.
• Thassa's Oracle is an alternate-win card in the vein of Laboratory Maniac, but generally superior. It has seen play in numerous formats, most notably in the Pioneer combo deck utilizing it and Inverter of Truth which led to Inverter's ban, as well as in optimized Commander decks alongside Demonic Consultation. It finally ran afoul of the ban list when Tainted Pact — a card not legal in Modern-forward — was released in Historic, which created a four-mana, two-card combo in a format without free countermagic. It was banned in Historic in May 2021.

External links

• Theros Beyond Death Official Trailer - Magic: The Gathering (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (December 12, 2019).