MTG’s release of Mystery Booster 2 at GenCon was met with excitement and delight from fans. This highly anticipated sequel to the 2019 product includes playtest cards that have been receiving rave reviews from players.
This booster product will also be released at upcoming Magic Cons. Fans who are unable to attend may be disappointed, but since the original Mystery Booster was available in stores, it is possible that Mystery Booster 2 will have a retail release as well.
The initial Mystery Booster’s playtest cards were exclusively offered in the convention version, leaving uncertainty as to whether they will be more widely accessible this time.
Despite the excitement from the wider MTG fanbase over the set’s unexpected and fantastic reprints, Mystery Booster 2 also includes playtest cards that deviate from Magic’s usual releases and may seem unusual to some players.
While these Mystery Booster 2 playtest cards may possess significant power, their ability to entertain often takes precedence. Similar to MTG’s ‘Un’ set cards, these playtest cards give Magic’s designers the freedom to unleash their creativity and bring a smile to players’ faces with daring and whimsical designs.
We have gathered our top picks for Mystery Booster 2 playtest cards, but instead of organizing them by strength or potential value, we are focusing on the pure enjoyment of their concept and design. Most Magic sets are evaluated based on practicality and worth, but this time, an MTG release should be judged by its overall vibe.
#1: Indicate
There is no practical application for Indicate, no means to progress with your strategy, and no potential mechanical benefits.
Indicate in MTG can be seen as either a bizarre joke or an impressive display of strength. When you have a particularly formidable Permanent that is ready to deliver a devastating blow to your opponent, using Indicate could be compared to a professional wrestler flaunting their skills to the audience.
Instead, you may have identified a Permanent controlled by an opponent as a serious issue, and Indicate can function as a preemptive strike to eliminate the threat or as a convincing maneuver to demonstrate the danger to other players.
Demonstrate that Mystery Booster 2 is entertaining even the most experienced MTG players with its succinct, hilarious, and almost entirely impractical nature, making it a wonderful example of its entertainment value.
Heart of a Duelist
[MB2] Heart of a Duelist – Playtest Card byu/el_rotato inmagicTCG
“In Heart of a Duelist, Magic playfully references Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Heart of the Cards, a nod to its trading card game competitor.”
With the ability to draw cards from any location in your library without viewing them, Heart of a Duelist can greatly enhance the intensity of a match. This Enchantment enables you to not only draw a winning card from the top of your deck, but also from the middle or bottom, increasing your chances of achieving victory.
An unexpectedly successful combo can also be achieved with this card and Approach of the Second Sun, for those who prefer a more conventional and practical approach.
Heart of a Duelist gives you the freedom to channel an unlimited amount of anime protagonist behavior, enabling you to draw the ideal card at the precise moment to outmaneuver your opponents in a thrilling manner (assuming luck is on your side.)
#3: Oddric, Lunar Marquis
This card, which is a clever take on the iconic character Odric from Innistrad, has earned a spot in the ‘best of Mystery Booster 2’ by combining some of the most peculiar abilities in all of Magic.
The amount of keywords featured on this card surpasses even the well-known Creatures with numerous abilities such as Atraxa, Praetor’s Voice, Kaldra Compleat, and the original Odric, Lunarch Marshal.
Oddric, the Lunar Marquis possesses abilities typically reserved for the powerful Eldrazi, making it surprisingly lore-friendly considering Emrakul’s impact on Innistrad. Additionally, it also incorporates older MTG abilities such as Horsemanship and Flanking.
Don’t overlook Tantrum, a new ability in Mystery Booster 2 that functions similarly to Trample, but for defending against attacks.
#4: Kozilek, Completed
It should not be assumed that Mystery Booster 2 is a low-stakes MTG set. Despite its playful nature, the cards in this release are still capable of making a significant impact.
In Magic: The Gathering, few effects are as frustrating as losing immediately due to Poison counters, or being forced to give up your valuable Permanents because of Annihilator.
Despite the potential backlash from the entire MTG player base, a daring Wizards of the Coast employee merged both of these nightmarish mechanics to create Kozilek, Compleated’s Annihinfect. We can only admire their audacity and imagine they may have to enter witness protection to escape retribution.
Summary
It is a well-known fact that Magic: The Gathering has been facing a significant amount of Power Creep for a while now, and a substantial portion of that can be attributed to Rules Creep. Even cards that used to be simple or had drawbacks to balance their advantages can now possess multiple positive effects and abilities.
With an abundance of rules text throughout Magic, Wizards is also considering abbreviating terms such as Enters The Battlefield to just Enters in order to create more space on cards.
TL;DR serves as a reminder that “Enough is enough.”We should eliminate the overcomplicated abilities and excessive rules text. If a Creature possesses any abilities aside from keywords, it is removed from the game, and TL;DR has effectively saved valuable moments during a game of Magic.
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