Potential Narset Planeswalker Leak from Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths

The next Magic: The Gathering expansion Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, is set to be released to MTG Arena on April 16, 2020. The only thing we really know about the set so far is that the main theme revolves around “building your own monsters”, and “there is a new Planeswalker along with a couple you already know” according to Mark Rosewater, head designer. Vivien Reid has already been revealed to be one of them as shown on the set’s key art from the marketing materials.

A reddit post made its way to the /r/mtgfinance subreddit a few days ago claiming that there is a potential card leak from the set, the other Planeswalker we are familiar with! The author of the post, u/DankestMage99 stated the source was from a Facebook group they are a part of and also apparently had correct information for Theros Beyond Death. The post was eventually locked.

There is no associated image for the card, and only just typed up text – which means that this absolutely cannot be verified at this time. As we await eagerly for the official preview season to begin in just a few weeks, we thought it would be interesting to discuss the card in question, as it was revealed. We mocked up the card on MTG Cardsmith, using the illustration for Narset, Enlightened Master by Magali Villeneuve.

Narset on Ikoria

Narset on Ikoria 1RUW
Legendary Planeswalker – Narset
+1: Add R, U, or W. Spend this mana only to cast noncreature spells.
-2: Draw a card, then discard a card. Narset deals damage to target creature or planeswalker equal to the converted mana cost of the discarded card.
-6: You get an emblem that says “Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this emblem deals 2 damage to any target.”
Loyalty: 4

The card itself is nothing too groundbreaking (not that it makes it more plausible), especially being a three color Planeswalker. It can fit right into something like a Jeskai Walkers deck, giving mana cost reduction to other Planeswalkers and the -2 ability is also interesting with recursion cards such as Elspeth Conquers Death, which you can get at least two uses out of.

What Could the Card Mean?

If real, the card goes somewhat against the known theme of the set that is supposedly about monsters (i.e. creatures), to be a spell focused Jeskai card. We do note that back when Throne of Eldraine was starting to be revealed, we presumed there would be a Faerie theme which did not turn out to be of any significance other than just being a creature type.

What we could potentially look forward to is moving away from the mono color theme from the last two sets and giving more attention to three color decks, with hopefully a nice set of dual lands that can come into play untapped. The names of the five Ikoria Commander decks that are released with the set could hint at the three colored Commanders as well for example:

• Ruthless Regiment: White, Black and Red (Mardu)?
• Arcane Maelstrom: White, Blue and Red (Jeskai)?
• Symbiotic Swarm: White, Black and Green (Abzan)?
• Timeless Wisdom: Blue, Black and Green (Sultai)?
• Enhanced Evolution: Blue, Red and Green (Temur)?

Narset is definitely no stranger to monsters, coming from a world of dragons herself, which will make her return not very surprising. What do you think? Do you think it would be cool to have her back? Will you play her along side Narset, Parter of Veils if it turns out to be real? Let us know what you think!

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