Since Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is delayed until August 26th, Wizards of the Coast decided to give the players a little bit of a gift. Starting on August 10th, players will be able to redeem 3 free Premier Historic Drafts on Magic Arena. The first entry of each of these events will be free, and then you will have to pay gold or gems to enter subsequent drafts. Here are the dates for the drafts and a little bit about each set so you can go into the drafts with some confidence.
Amonkhet Remastered
August 10 – August 15
At the time of writing this, the Amonkhet Remastered drafts are already underway. This draft ends on the 15th, so you have a couple more days to claim your free draft. Amonkhet Remastered is a combined set of original Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation sets. Some of the key mechanics to draft in this set is Exert, -1/-1 Counters, and Cycling. One of the unique things about this remastered set is that there are cards found in this set that were not in the original blocks that are very powerful. Here’s a list of them, and the ones pictured are ones that I’d heavily consider picking up if you find them in your draft.
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Wrath of God
Wrath of God
Destroy all creatures. They can't be regenerated.
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Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card. You lose 2 life.
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Pact of Negation
Pact of Negation
Counter target spell.
At the beginning of your next upkeep, pay {3}{U}{U}. If you don't, you lose the game. -
Shatterstorm
Shatterstorm
Destroy all artifacts. They can't be regenerated.
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Lord of Extinction
Lord of Extinction
Lord of Extinction's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards in all graveyards.
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Demonic Pact
Demonic Pact
At the beginning of your upkeep, choose one that hasn't been chosen —
• This enchantment deals 4 damage to any target and you gain 4 life.
• Target opponent discards two cards.
• Draw two cards.
• You lose the game. - Hornet Queetn
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Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
+1: Scry 1, then draw a card.
−2: Return target creature to its owner's hand.
−8: You get an emblem with "Whenever an opponent casts their first spell each turn, counter that spell." -
Chandra, Pyromaster
Chandra, Pyromaster
+1: Chandra deals 1 damage to target player or planeswalker and 1 damage to up to one target creature that player or that planeswalker's controller controls. That creature can't block this turn.
0: Exile the top card of your library. You may play it this turn.
−7: Exile the top ten cards of your library. Choose an instant or sorcery card exiled this way and copy it three times. You may cast the copies without paying their mana costs. -
Sphinx’s Revelation
Sphinx’s Revelation
You gain X life and draw X cards.
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Rest in Peace
Rest in Peace
When this enchantment enters, exile all graveyards.
If a card or token would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, exile it instead. -
Anger of the Gods
Anger of the Gods
Anger of the Gods deals 3 damage to each creature. If a creature dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.
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Collected Company
Collected Company
Look at the top six cards of your library. Put up to two creature cards with mana value 3 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
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Perilous Vault
Perilous Vault
{5}, {T}, Exile this artifact: Exile all nonland permanents.
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Kaladesh Remastered
August 15th – August 20
Immediately following Amonkhet Remastered will be Kaladesh Remastered. This set is similar to the previous, combining Kaladesh and Aether Revolt sets. This set is heavily artifact focused, and include some very strong mechanics. Themes to draft around here are Energy Counters, Vehicles, Fabricate and Improvise. This is also a great place to pick up some of the Fast Lands, which are very prevalent in the Historic constructed format. Unlike Amonkhet Remastered, this set does not include any cards that were not in the original set. That being said, here are some additional cards I’d look to pick up in my drafts for constructed
READ MORE: MTG Cards We’d Like to See in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
Ikoira, Lair of Behemoths
August 20 – August 26
To close out the series, we will get Ikoria, Lair of Behemoths. While I don’t know exactly how this is “Historic Themed”, it’s the set that was chosen. Themes to draft in this set are Mutate and Cycling, with subthemes of Ability counters. This is a set that’s currently in Standard, so I expect that most people will have some amount of these cards already.
READ MORE: Will Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Finally Give Us A Decent Werewolf Commander?
For anyone who is just getting into Historic, this is a great opportunity to pick up cards. Even if it’s just for Historic Brawl, Getting some free drafts and packs is a great opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.