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Theros Beyond Death is the 83rd Magic: The Gathering expansion and the 10th set to be included on MTG Arena, featuring 254 new cards from the main set. It will be released worldwide on January 16, 2020 along with the 1.04.00 game update. Follow our set guide for everything you need to know to keep up to date with all the changes, freebies and more!
Set Details
Theros Beyond Death is set on the underworld of the plane of Theros – the legendary world of gods, heroes and monsters. It is a top-down design inspired by Greek mythology, and the story continues on from the Theros block from tabletop Magic in 2013.
- Set Code: THB
- Development Codename: Baseball
- Release Date: January 16, 2020
- Set Size: 254 + 103 cards
Cards
- Click here for the complete visual card spoiler list!
- 254 cards from the main set: These are found in booster packs, sealed and draft packs, and and as part of the in-game rewards such as Individual Card Rewards (ICRs).
- 101 Commons
- 80 Uncommons
- 53 Rares
- 15 Mythic Rares
- 5 Basic Lands: These full art Basic Lands are not given to players by default in MTG Arena and will likely be rewards from special events.
- 103 cards out side of the main set: These cards are from supplemental products via codes, promotions and event rewards.
- 1 Buy-a-Box Promo – Athreos, Shroud-Veiled: One copy is given when purchasing the 45 booster pack bundle, or two copies for the 90 pack bundle.
- 10 Basic Lands: These are the default Theros Beyond Death Basic Lands for MTG Arena.
- 10 Theme Booster cards: Wildcards can be used to redeem these cards.
- 8 Planeswalker Deck cards: The physical product contains a code that redeems for the cards in the deck, or you can use Wildcards.
- 74 Other variant cards (e.g. showcase cards, alternate art, card styles)
- 14 Tokens
Set Theme and Mechanics
Enchantments, Constellation and Sagas
Theros Beyond Death’s main focus is on Enchantments:
- Many creatures in the set also have the Enchantment type. These creatures are from Nyx, the night sky of Theros and the home of the Gods (and the Gods themselves).
- The Constellation ability is featured on 13 creatures, and their abilities trigger when an enchantment enters the battlefield under your control.
- The Sagas make their return since their appearance in Dominaria, two for each color. Each card depicts a story from Greek mythology!
Devotion, Gods and Demigods
The Devotion mechanic represents your devotion to the Gods of Theros, shown by the mana costs of permanents you control. This is a perfect continuation from the mono colored Kingdom theme from Throne of Eldraine.
- There are 7 Gods in this set, one for each color and two multicolored. They become creatures when your Devotion reaches five for single colored gods, and seven for dual colored gods.
- Each God has their corresponding “Intervention” (e.g. Heliod’s Intervention) and “Omen” (e.g. Omen of the Sun) card.
- The Demigods are uncommon Legendary Creatures which have altering power or toughness depending on your Devotion to its corresponding color and has a minor effect.
Escape
Theros Beyond Death also has a secondary graveyard theme, based on the new mechanic Escape. These cards can be played from your graveyard usually for an increased cost and by exiling other cards from your graveyard. The key point is that you can do this over and over, so they decided to also include some more cards that exile cards from graveyards.
- The main character of the set, Elspeth is making her return from the Underworld.
- There are two powerful Titans from the set, which have the Elder Giant creature type. They are sacrificed as soon as they enter the battlefield unless the Escape cost was paid.
1.04.00 January Game Update
- The new set and game update is set to be fully released to MTG Arena after a scheduled maintenance beginning at 6:45 AM. Game downtime will begin at approximately 7:45 a.m. PT and is expected to last 90 minutes. Click here for more information.
- 1.04.00 Patch Notes: The new patch features quality of life improvements to the collection manager and deck builder, and more.
- Use the PlayTheros code to receive free three Theros Beyond Death booster packs. We recommend you wait until the patch drops before trying to redeem to code to avoid unexpected errors. You can check out the full list of free codes you can redeem here.
- Theros Mastery and its associated Mastery Pass is expected to have the same cost and similar reward track to Eldraine Mastery. We will be posting the full information once it is released.
- All Weekly Wins, Daily Quests and Daily Wins are expected to be reset when the patch drops, and we recommend players complete as much as they can before this time. There is also a small window after the daily reset as well if you want maximum mileage!
Limited – Sealed and Draft
Many players will be starting off by playing sealed or draft and grow their collection from the new set. We have reviewed every Theros Beyond Death card to guide you through the format. Get a head start with our “Theros Beyond Death Limited Set Review – Introduction and White“, check out the best cards to play in your sealed and draft deck and accompany that with our latest Theros Beyond Death Limited Tier List!
Event Schedule
As usual, exact date and times are yet to be confirmed but we can expect a similar roll out of sealed and draft events for Theros Beyond Death. Make sure to check out our Event Calendar for a full list of current and upcoming events and don’t miss out!
- Sealed Theros Beyond Death: January 16, 2020 – February 9, 2020*
- Traditional Draft Theros Beyond Death: January 20, 2020 – until next set release*
- Ranked Draft Theros Beyond Death: January 31, 2020 – until next set release*
Archetypes
An overview of all the archetypes is coming very soon! In the mean time, here is a rundown of the usual archetypes, signposted by the multicolored cards from the set.
: Tempo (Staggering Insight)
: Self-mill (Devourer of Memory)
: Sacrifice (Slaughter-Priest of Mogis)
: Power 4 or greater (Warden of the Chained)- : Auras (Siona, Captain of the Pyleas)
- : Reanimator (Rise to Glory)
- : Casting the first spell on opponent’s turns (Mischievous Chimera)
- : Escape (Acolyte of Affliction)
- : Go wide and targeting creatures with spells (Hero of the Nyxborn)
- : Constellation (Eutropia the Twice-Favored)
Constructed
Standard
Theros Beyond Death will be the 6th set to be added in the current Standard format! Throne of Eldraine cards and strategies have dominated the Standard so far after rotation, overpowering the previous four sets and even getting two cards banned in the process. The new set will look to shakeup all of that and set up an enjoyable, refreshing metagame. At first glance, the cards look to have a decent power level, but not too format warping either (which is a good thing). Will Fires of Invention and Sacrifice strategies be overthrown?
- Standard Metagame Challenge will be running from January 24 to January 27 where we can get a snapshot of how the metagame is forming.
- Early Access Streamer Event: Streamers are currently playing each other with an unlimited account showcasing the new cards. We’ve rounded up some interesting decks and cards to watch out for to prepare you for the new set!
- Standard Deck section: In our Standard deck page you will always find new decks that are consistently being added, even if they are not part of articles.
- Standard Metagame Tier List: These will be updated fully once a metagame has formed.
- Standard Budget Decks: More cards, more budget options! These will also be updated fully in the next coming days.
As an example, check out this sweet decklist that features Thassa, Deep-Dwelling that looks to be one of the best cards in the set to build around. However, do not be swayed by the hype of the new cards and the fancy new decks – use your resources wisely!
[sd_deck deck=”BQ7g-0QL”]
Historic
The Traditional Historic Ranked queue is retiring until sometime in March, when Historic Anthology II will be released. Until then, we still have the casual Play Queue (remember these do not reward Weekly or Daily Wins) and evergreen competitive Historic Constructed Events will be introduced with the new patch.
Brawl
Theros Beyond Death has a tonne of new Legendary creatures and new Planeswalkers perfect for Brawl, and the increased card pool means decks will be more powerful! We will be updating our Brawl decks in due course as well. The policy on the Brawl queue has unfortunately not changed with the new update and we will be seeing another Brawlidays event, and this month’s card is Talrand, Sky Summoner. The 24 hour Wednesday Brawl queue also continues. In the mean time, check out the community-run initiatives below for alternate ways to play Brawl:
- Brawl Hall: This is a Discord server created by the popular MTG YouTuber and streamer Merchant. There are over 3000 people currently in the server that you can connect with to play Brawl on demand and have friendly chat with each other.
- ArenaBrawl.net: This is a website that allows you to enter your MTG Arena ID and find other players that are currently available for Direct Challenge. You can find players interested in Standard or Friendly/Historic Brawl, and the creators are working on other features.
Preorder
Theros Beyond Death offers two preorder bundles each costing $49.99 USD plus tax, and if you purchase both you also get a pet representing Kunoros, Hound of Athreos.
Elspeth Play Bundle
- Theros Beyond Death Mastery Pass preorder + 10 Mastery levels
- 2 Theros Beyond Death Sealed Tokens
- 1 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis Card
- 1 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis Card Style
- Elspeth Basic Sleeve (unlock at purchase)
Ashiok Pack Bundle
- 50 Theros Beyond Death booster packs
- 1 Ashiok, Nightmare Muse Card
- 1 Ashiok, Nightmare Muse Card Style
- Ashiok Basic Sleeve (unlock at purchase)
