Magic: The Gathering - New Eldritch Moon Information

Published: June 20, 2016 3:13 PM /

By:


Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering Eldritch Moon

While the spoiler season doesn't properly start until next week for Eldritch Moon, the next set in the Magic: The Gathering franchise, a new trailer, and Magic Story has been made available for players.

The trailer, viewable below, follows an interview between Magic: The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater and Jimmy Wong, one of the co-hosts of The Command Zone.  In this interview, Rosewater and Wong discuss the story of Shadows Over Innistrad, the previous set in the Innistrad storyline, and what Eldritch Moon will bring to the table.  After the interview is a new trailer, and the spoiling of an important card from the set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TN0b8ik0B8

In addition to the trailer, there is a new Magic Story available for reading.  In this entry, the plane suffers the after-effects of Avacyn's destruction, and Nahiri's plans for vengeance come to fruition when she summons the remaining Eldrazi titan, Emrakul, to consume the plane of Innistrad.

Which leads us to our first look at cards from Eldritch Moon, as seen below.

Emrakul, from Magic: The Gathering's Eldritch Moon

Emrakul is the third of the Eldrazi titans that were imprisoned on Zendikar thousands of years ago by Sorin, Nahiri, and Ugin, and it returns in this set with a few changes from its last appearance. Instead of granting the player an extra turn, it has an effect similar to that of Mindslaver, a card from the Mirrodin block. Emrakul has also lost the Eldrazi's trademark Annihilator mechanic and has traded in protection from colored spells for protection from instants.

Spoiler season for Eldritch Moon begins next week, so stayed tuned to TechRaptor for continuing coverage of Magic: The Gathering's newest set.


Quick Take

The "spoiling" of Emrakul in Eldritch Moon was incredibly obvious to long-time Magic: The Gathering fans who are familiar with the game's lore, and I'm not super impressed by this story decision. The plane of Innistrad is well-suited for a Cthulhu mythos-inspired monstrosity, but using another Eldrazi so soon after the ill-received Battle for Zendikar block leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm interested in the effects Emrakul has on the plane (the Bruna/Gisela abomination is really fascinating), but otherwise, I really don't care much for what happens to Emrakul.  I think Wizards of the Coast had an opportunity to create an original threat for Eldritch Moon, and they dropped the ball.

Are you excited to see that Emrakul has made another appearance?  Do you think it's too soon following the Battle for Zendikar block?  How do you think her new card compares to her original printing?  Let us know in the comment section below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


TechRaptor Default Logo
| Former Staff Writer

Brandon is a former TechRaptor Staff Writer, who primarily covered news and Tabletop - especially Magic the Gathering.