Recently, after seeing almost the entire spoiler list of Explorer Anthology 2, MTG players had a good ol’ complain. While there was plenty for players to enjoy and experiment with, many players lamented a lack of useful Pioneer staples. Sure,
Satyr Wayfinder
Satyr Wayfinder
When this creature enters, reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a land card from among them into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard.
and
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Eidolon of the Great Revel
Whenever a player casts a spell with mana value 3 or less, this creature deals 2 damage to that player.
had been long-requested additions, but where were
Spell Queller
Spell Queller
Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, exile target spell with mana value 4 or less.
When this creature leaves the battlefield, the exiled card's owner may cast that card without paying its mana cost.
and
Treasure Cruise
Treasure Cruise
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Draw three cards.
! Thankfully, Spell Queller should be on the way, but many players still weren’t happy about the perceived lack of playable. Mercifully, a glimmer of hope on the horizon that could save Explorer Anthology 2 for MTG Arena players. As we noted 99 words ago, Explorer Anthology 2 hadn’t been completely spoiled when the complaining started.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx (And Friends)
Explicitly answering the calls for more reprints, the following day, the MTG Arena Subreddit would reveal a bombshell spoiler. Announcing
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
{T}: Add {C}.
{2}, {T}: Choose a color. Add an amount of mana of that color equal to your devotion to that color. (Your devotion to a color is the number of mana symbols of that color in the mana costs of permanents you control.)
as their spoiler card, it appeared that many players’ prayers had been answered. Appearing throughout Devotion-focused decks, primarily Green Devotion, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, has been one of the most requested additions to MTG Arena that we can think of. Generating mana equal to your Devotion in a color, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx effectively creates an obscene amount of mana. This allows decks to play game-winning cards such as
Storm the Festival
Storm the Festival
Look at the top five cards of your library. You may put up to two permanent cards with mana value 5 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Flashback {7}{G}{G}{G} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)
or
Cavalier of Thorns
Cavalier of Thorns
Reach
When this creature enters, reveal the top five cards of your library. Put a land card from among them onto the battlefield and the rest into your graveyard.
When this creature dies, you may exile it. If you do, put another target card from your graveyard on top of your library.
.
Upon hearing the news, MTG Arena players were absolutely delighted. In the comments of the Reddit post, players like u/G-Love80 were quick to commend this latest spoiler. “Wow, HUGE add to Arena! Mono Green is an obvious home, but this will be great for Mono Black, White Devotion, and others. I now wonder if Mono Green will be the new menace of Explorer.” Similarly, Reddit user u/Unit_00 lauded this as a “double win,” for Arena players. “Great addition, AND we don’t have to slog through the same comment in every thread about it not being added to Arena yet.”
As if Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx wasn’t enough added goodness already, u/NumberHunter1 pointed out that there are even more cards to come. Initially, u/NumberHunter1 expected these cards to just be boring ol’ commons, thankfully, they’ve just been proven wrong. To complete Explorer Anthology 2’s card list,
Brave the Elements
Brave the Elements
Choose a color. White creatures you control gain protection from the chosen color until end of turn.
and
Mana Confluence
Mana Confluence
{T}, Pay 1 life: Add one mana of any color.
were both just announced. While these cards aren’t
Treasure Cruise
Treasure Cruise
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Draw three cards.
, they do see play in White Weenie decks and five-color decks, respectively. Subsequently, MTG Arena players should be pleased with their arrival.
Cards in, Flags Out
Understandably, the addition of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx has satisfied many players. However, recent MTG Arena announcements aren’t all good news. Disappointingly, Wizards of the Coast announced yesterday that a number of card sleeves are being removed from MTG Arena. The sleeves in question are the seemingly inoffensive “country-specific flags” sleeves that were introduced a few years ago. Despite only depicting a nation’s flag, Wizards stated on Monday that they feel the sleeves have “impacted some players’ ability to enjoy the game.” As a result of this, Wizards announced they “will soon be restricting how the country-specific cards sleeves appear in game.”
Rather than removing the sleeves outright and depriving players of vexillology entirely, Wizards is instead hiding them from other players. While those who own the flag sleeves will still be able to view and apply them to their decks, opponents will not be able to see them in-game. Instead, Wizards states that “it will appear as the default card back to opponents.” Thankfully, Wizards will compensate players who own the sleeves and are no longer able to flaunt their favorite flag around. “Players will receive 300 gems per flag card sleeve in their collection when this change goes live, regardless of how they originally obtained the sleeve(s).” Additionally, Wizards states that they have no plans to make these sleeves available again at any point.
A Cosmetic Conundrum
While many MTG players weren’t too happy about this decision, others were more understanding about this touchy topic. Reddit user u/EYEFoundMe, for instance, commended Wizards for this action. “While there are disagreements about whether this change was necessary, I think Wizards is handling this well. No one country’s sleeve is being singled out, and it’s only affecting opponents’ view. One can still outfit their Jeskai deck with American sleeves, and have the flavor element on their screen.”
Pushing things one step further, several players stated that Wizards should have implemented a different, more overarching, solution. Reddit user u/silver_054, for instance, asked, “If they have the ability to remove cosmetics from an opponent’s view… can they just give us the ability to hide ALL of our opponent’s cosmetics?” While this would have certainly solved the issue for players, ultimately, as u/StuckieLromigon pointed out, “that’s not how you sell cosmetics.” At the end of the day, while Wizards’ approach to fixing this issue may not be to every player’s tastes, it’s certainly better than doing nothing. After all, due to ongoing global conflicts, some players were understandably aggrieved when playing against specific flags.
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