Introduction
A new cycle of mono-colored cards has been printed that grant Planeswalkers iconic abilities from the past. These cards are not available in March of the Machine Draft Boosters or the Commander decks and can only be found in Set and Collector’s Boosters. They are only legal in Vintage, Legacy, and Commander.
Known as “the talent cycle” each of these five cards is an aura that grants the ability of a Planeswalker from the past to the card it is attached to. They provide the enchanted card with a new loyalty ability, as well as a beneficial static effect.
Are these cards spectacular Superfriends support or shockingly stale wastes of cardboard?
Let’s give them a look and find out…
Elspeth’s Talent
For four mana,
Elspeth’s Talent
Elspeth’s Talent
Enchant planeswalker
Enchanted planeswalker has "[+1]: Create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens."
Whenever you activate a loyalty ability of enchanted planeswalker, creatures you control get +2/+2 and gain vigilance until end of turn.
grants the +1 ability of
Elspeth Sun’s Champion
Elspeth Sun’s Champion
+1: Create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
−3: Destroy all creatures with power 4 or greater.
−7: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +2/+2 and have flying."
to the enchanted Planeswalker. The card also grants all of your creature’s +2/+2 and Vigilance until the end of turn whenever the enchanted Planeswalker activates one of their loyalty abilities.
The +1 loyalty ability of
Elspeth Sun’s Champion
Elspeth Sun’s Champion
+1: Create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
−3: Destroy all creatures with power 4 or greater.
−7: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +2/+2 and have flying."
is, famously, one of the strongest (non-ultimate) loyalty abilities in the game. The Soldiers it provides do a great job of protecting the Planeswalker that generates them, and they can also go on the offensive on future turns. The +2/+2 buff and Vigilance granted by the second effect of this card means that the soldier it generates can be used both offensively and defensively.
All of this should help you maintain a strong board presence, whilst continuing to tick your Planeswalker’s loyalty up into ultimate range. It’s very difficult to damage a Planeswalker enchanted with this card in combat, though they can still be removed by effects like
Hero’s Downfall
Hero’s Downfall
Destroy target creature or planeswalker.
.
Teferi’s Talent
Teferi’s Talent
Teferi’s Talent
Enchant planeswalker
Enchanted planeswalker has "[−12]: You get an emblem with 'You may activate loyalty abilities of planeswalkers you control on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant.'"
Whenever you draw a card, put a loyalty counter on enchanted planeswalker.
grants the enchanted Planeswalker the ultimate ability of
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
+1: Look at the top two cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the other on the bottom of your library.
−1: Untap up to four target permanents.
−10: You get an emblem with "You may activate loyalty abilities of planeswalkers you control on any player's turn any time you could cast an instant."
Teferi, Temporal Archmage can be your commander.
alongside the static ability of
Teferi Temporal Pilgrim
Teferi Temporal Pilgrim
Whenever you draw a card, put a loyalty counter on Teferi.
0: Draw a card.
−2: Create a 2/2 blue Spirit creature token with vigilance and "Whenever you draw a card, put a +1/+1 counter on this token."
−12: Target opponent chooses a permanent they control and returns it to its owner's hand. Then they shuffle each nonland permanent they control into its owner's library.
. At five mana, this is the most expensive card in the cycle. In a deck with plenty of card draw, however, it gives Planeswalkers loyalty counters at an incredibly fast rate. The ability to gain huge numbers of loyalty counters here is significantly more useful than the -12 ability which, although undoubtedly strong, is costed at an impractically high rate (two points of loyalty higher than on the original card).
It is best to put Teferi’s Talent on a Planeswalker with a very powerful ultimate that struggles to generate loyalty counters, like
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
+1: Draw a card. At the beginning of the next end step, untap up to two lands.
−3: Put target nonland permanent into its owner's library third from the top.
−8: You get an emblem with "Whenever you draw a card, exile target permanent an opponent controls."
, rather than hoping to use the -12 loyalty ability which it provides.
Liliana’s Talent
At two mana,
Liliana’s Talent
Liliana’s Talent
Enchant planeswalker
Enchanted planeswalker has "[−8]: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control."
Whenever a creature deals damage to enchanted planeswalker, destroy that creature.
is the cheapest card in the cycle. This card provides the ultimate ability of the original
Liliana Vess
Liliana Vess
+1: Target player discards a card.
−2: Search your library for a card, then shuffle and put that card on top.
−8: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control.
Planeswalker from Lorwyn to the card it is attached to (possibly better known as the effect of
Rise of the Dark Realms
Rise of the Dark Realms
Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control.
).
Liliana’s Talent
Liliana’s Talent
Enchant planeswalker
Enchanted planeswalker has "[−8]: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control."
Whenever a creature deals damage to enchanted planeswalker, destroy that creature.
also destroys any creature which damages the enchanted Planeswalker.
Liliana’s Talent goes best on a Planeswalker that starts with a high amount of loyalty so that it is possible to activate the ultimate ability which it provides.
Kaya, Intangible Slayer
Kaya, Intangible Slayer
Hexproof
+2: Each opponent loses 3 life and you gain 3 life.
0: You draw two cards. Then each opponent may scry 1.
−3: Exile target creature or enchantment. If it wasn't an Aura, create a token that's a copy of it, except it's a 1/1 white Spirit creature with flying in addition to its other types.
seems like a particularly good target for this card since she can reach the required threshold of eight loyalty after a single turn. Kaya having Hexproof, alongside destroying any creatures which attack her thanks to this effect, will make her a nightmare for opponents to deal with.
Overall,
Liliana’s Talent
Liliana’s Talent
Enchant planeswalker
Enchanted planeswalker has "[−8]: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control."
Whenever a creature deals damage to enchanted planeswalker, destroy that creature.
seems like possibly the most niche card in the cycle. Its static ability serves as more of a deterrent than an actual protection effect and the ultimate which it provides, though powerful, is also very costly.
Rowan’s Talent
Rowan’s Talent provides the enchanted Planeswalker with the +1 ability of
Rowan, Fearless Sparkmage
Rowan, Fearless Sparkmage
+1: Up to one target creature gets +3/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.
−2: Rowan deals 1 damage to each of up to two target creatures. Those creatures can't block this turn.
−9: Gain control of all creatures until end of turn. Untap them. They gain haste until end of turn.
. This is a decent ability, but what makes Rowan’s Talent particularly exciting is that it allows the enchanted Planeswalker to duplicate any loyalty abilities they use. Your
Elspeth Sun’s Champion
Elspeth Sun’s Champion
+1: Create three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens.
−3: Destroy all creatures with power 4 or greater.
−7: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +2/+2 and have flying."
will create six 1/1 soldier tokens at once, and your
Sorin Markov
Sorin Markov
+2: Sorin Markov deals 2 damage to any target and you gain 2 life.
−3: Target opponent's life total becomes 10.
−7: You control target player during that player's next turn.
will be able to drop two players down to 10 life.
Since only the effect is copied, any changes to loyalty are not duplicated by the effect of Rowan’s Talent. This is both a blessing and a curse, as it prevents both huge loyalty gains from happening but also prevents loyalty costs from doubling.
Vivien’s Talent
Vivien’s Talent
Vivien’s Talent
Enchant planeswalker
Enchanted planeswalker has "[+1]: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal a creature or land card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order."
Whenever a nontoken creature you control enters, put a loyalty counter on enchanted planeswalker.
grants the enchanted Planeswalker the +1 loyalty ability of the original Vivien Reid, while also granting the enchanted Planeswalker a loyalty counter whenever a creature enters play. This is one of the best cards in the cycle, what makes it so good is that the two abilities synergize beautifully. The +1 effect helps you search the top of your deck for creatures and then the static ability grants loyalty counters once those creatures enter play. It’s all the better, as this spell will ensure you always have creatures in play to protect the enchanted Planeswalker. Put this on a Planeswalker with subpar regular skills, but a powerful ultimate which you want to build towards.
Conclusion
So just how strong is this cycle overall? It’s complicated…
The primary problem with the cards in this cycle is that they require you to already have a Planeswalker in play to use them. This keeps them out of decks that aren’t dedicated Superfriends decks stuffed full of Planeswalker to enchant. These cards also have the same issues that all Auras have, in that once the attached card is killed you’re losing two cards worth of value at once. The bonuses these cards provide are incredibly powerful though. They are also often quite undercosted compared to the strength of the effect that they provide (although the cost of playing a Planeswalker for them to enchant should also be considered).
These cards help defend the Planeswalker they are attached to, whether that’s by providing a large number of blockers or by giving them lots and lots of Loyalty counters. Given that many Planeswalkers functionally win the game, or at least take out one opponent, when their ultimate is activated cards these cards fulfill a fun role. The cards from the talent cycle help turn the ultimate abilities of cards like
Liliana, Dreadhorde General
Liliana, Dreadhorde General
Whenever a creature you control dies, draw a card.
+1: Create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
−4: Each player sacrifices two creatures of their choice.
−9: Each opponent chooses a permanent they control of each permanent type and sacrifices the rest.
and
Kiora, Master of the Depths
Kiora, Master of the Depths
+1: Untap up to one target creature and up to one target land.
−2: Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a creature card and/or a land card from among them into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard.
−8: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature you control enters, you may have it fight target creature." Then create three 8/8 blue Octopus creature tokens.
from impractical effects dangling just out of reach, to genuinely attainable win conditions.
In terms of Strength, these card can probably be ranked from worst to best like this…
- 5. Liliana’s Talent
- 4. Teferi’s Talent
- 3. Elspeth’s Talent
- 2. Rowan’s Talent
- 1. Vivien’s Talent
Whether these cards end up being powerful in practice, or not, they are certainly very fun to brew around.
Read more: MTG March of the Machine Commander Decks Buyer’s Guide