The next upcoming expansion is Zendikar Rising, set to release to MTG Arena on September 17, 2020. A teaser video was revealed earlier on with September 1 given to us as the official start date of the preview season. However, the hype begins already as two of the Planeswalkers from the set have been revealed, presumably part of the usual preorder bundles. We are not sure if the dates have been mixed up as a patch was meant to go live today but has now been delayed until September 1 to align with the debut stream. In any case, you can see all the spoilers on our card gallery page as they happen.
Jace, Mirror Mage
Jace returns to Zendikar, along with the Kicker mechanic that we also saw in Dominaria. For those not familiar with it, you may pay the additional cost as you cast the spell to achieve the additional effect specified on the card. The new Jace lacks the ability to impact the board and even an ultimate ability to help end the game, and would primarily be used to help you draw the right cards. The loyalty count is still relatively high for a three mana Planeswalker, so it may still be a pain for your opponent to leave on the board but at least it looks more balanced than Oko or Teferi!
The new showcase art is drawn by David Rapoza.
Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients
Nahiri has the usual focus on Equipment but this time also on the Warrior creature type. The first card that comes into mind with her first ability is Colossus Hammer which unfortunately rotates out of Standard! Warrior is also a pretty generic creature type, and some examples of decent ones staying in Standard are Seasoned Hallowblade, Alpine Houndmaster and of course, Winota, Joiner of Forces. Hopefully we see some more decent and competitive Equipments and Warriors in Zendikar Rising but it looks like Boros aggro decks with Embercleave and Winota could be a common combination in the new Standard along with Nahiri.
Here is the full showcase art for Nahiri:
More Zendikar Rising News
Over the past few weeks, we’ve had Zendikar Rising information trickling in. Be sure to check out the articles below:
Official preview season begins September 1!
One card has been leaked by an unknown source.
The first sneak peek by Mark Rosewater gave us some titbits of information, as well as some product images, artwork and the reveal of the new Set Booster.
Nissa could be returning to Zendikar in Golgari colors.
