The new Magic: The Gathering Theros Beyond Death trailer aired tonight during The Game Awards 2019, and it establishes a conflict between two of the most popular and under-utilized characters in the game in Ashiok, the nightmare weaver, and Elspeth. Elspeth is a planeswalker who hasn’t been seen since the last Theros set, having been slain by the god Helios after serving his wishes as he feared her power and ability to kill deities on the plane. Ashiok most recently appeared during War of the Spark, the set that released dozens of planeswalkers into Standard at the same time, but didn’t have a starring role in the narrative.
Magic: The Gathering Theros Beyond Death will tackle the same elements that Theros’ original block did, exploring themes of myths, monsters, gods, and heroes. The new set will contain over 350 new cards for play, and will see the return of some popular mechanics like Devotion, a gameplay device that encourages decks to remain set in one specific color and rewards players who adhere to those constraints with powerful payoffs. Magic: The Gathering Standard has recently been the subject of a severe number of bannings and problematic cards, so fans will also be looking to Theros Beyond Death as proof that the design problems present within sets like War of the Spark and Throne of Eldraine won’t be as frequent or glaring all the time.
As if to answer those concerns, Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gatheirng Theros Beyond Death trailer focuses heavily on two characters fans have wanted more of for years. Ashiok the nightmare weaver is a mysterious planeswalker, and they have a lot of backstory to explore should Wizards choose to do so - but ignoring their past works too, since it just makes them more terrifying. Elspeth has been a fan favorite for years and her return could even pull lapsed players back into the fold, especially since her new card appears to have an extremely powerful mechanic embedded in it. The trailer teases a conflict between the two planeswalkers as Elspeth attempts to escape the underworld of Theros now that she has been slain by Heliod, and it appears as though things will get hectic quickly, with Elspeth getting dragged underneath water before her spark seems to ignite - or re-ignite - and the trailer closes.
More than anything, Magic: The Gathering needs a good villain right now, and Ashiok can certainly fulfill that role while their motives remain a mystery. Since the fall of Nicol Bolas, fans have been eagerly awaiting the next powerful adversary in Magic’s story, and while Oko, Thief of Crowns was certainly Standard’s most hated planeswalker, storyline-wise the character felt more like a secondary antagonist that helped re-establish Garruk as a future option. With Ashiok, fans will immediately be leaving the fairy tale fancy of Eldraine and diving deep into gritty, unsettling territory throughout Theros’ underworld, a location that hasn’t been explored much yet. Ashiok’s design is unique, they’re extremely well-suited to being Elspeth’s foil, and it makes Magic: The Gathering Theros Beyond Death feel very important as a result, even if the story is insular and doesn’t affect the planes more broadly.
With Magic: The Gathering Theros Beyond Death on the horizon already, it appears the return to Theros will be a profitable one for both Wizards of the Coast and its fans. It’s also got an edge to its advertising and design that might help extend Magic: The Gathering’s esports endeavors to wider audiences who may have only discovered the game during its Eldraine set, which was enjoyable but leaned heavily into fairy tales. If nothing else, the new Magic: The Gathering Theros Beyond Death trailer cements the fact that the property is one of the most malleable and versatile in gaming, something that will surely give Wizards of the Coast a plethora of options in 2020.
Next: Why Magic: The Gathering’s London Mulligan Could Be Behind More Bans
Source: The Game Awards 2019
