Time Spiral
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| Time Spiral | ||
|---|---|---|
| Expansion symbol |  |
|
| Release date | October 6, 2006 | |
| Mechanics | Timeshifted cards, Slivers, Thallids, Spellshapers, Rebels | |
| Keywords | Buyback, Echo, Flanking, Flash, Flashback, Kicker, Madness, Morph, Shadow, Split Second, Storm, Suspend, Threshold | |
| Size | 301 regular 121 timeshifted 422 total cards |
|
| Expansion code | TSP | |
| Development codename | Snap | |
| Sets in Time Spiral Block | ||
| Time Spiral | Planar Chaos | Future Sight |
| Magic: The Gathering Chronology |
||
| Coldsnap | Time Spiral | Planar Chaos |
Time Spiral is a Magic: The Gathering block and set, codenamed "Snap". Time Spiral was released on October 6, 2006. The set is the first to take place in Dominaria since the Onslaught Block, and focuses on time as a general theme. The Time Spiral expansion symbol is an hourglass.
Contents |
[edit] Storyline
Teferi returns to Dominaria three hundred years after the Phyrexian invasion, to prepare the way for the return of Shiv and Zhalfir, the lands he phased out during the Phyrexian Invasion. The stresses of constant warfare and apocalypse (the Brothers' War, the Phyrexian invasion, Karona's War), combined with mana-draining rifts created by the overlaying of Rath and Skyshroud (among other events across the multiverse, such as the near-destruction of Ulgrotha) have set off a chain reaction that created ripples in the temporal fabric of the planes. The unphasing of Shiv threatens to destroy the plane of Dominaria, and in turn the entire multiverse. [1]
After the defeat of Karona, the various rifts in the planar fabric began to act as mana sinks, draining the lands of mana. Life on the plane becomes harsh, with everyone competing for resources and only the strongest able to survive.
In addition to all this, the temporal rifts cause people and objects from Dominaria's past to be 'dropped' into the present, leaving people stranded thousands of years from their time, in lands unrecognizable as the home they know.
The events surrounding Teferi's attempt to phase in Shiv are followed in the novel Time Spiral, written by Scott McGough and published to accompany the card set.
[edit] Design
In his previews articles, Mark Rosewater described Time Spiral as an expansion focused on the past, with its successors Planar Chaos and Future Sight to be centered around the present and future, respectively. This design was achieved through keywords and mechanics that interact with time, as well as cards based on those in previous sets, to promote a sense of nostalgia.
The size of the set had been in dispute prior to release, as Wizards issued two different sizes for the set, 301 and 422. Retailers were initially told that the set would include 422 cards, Wizards of the Coast sent a retraction email explaining that the set would in fact be 301 cards in size. The set size was then confirmed to be 301 cards, with 121 commons, 80 uncommons, 80 rares and 20 basic land.[2]. The confusion came about because Time Spiral was released with a 'sub-set', 121 timeshifted cards in addition to the 301-card basic set. After the set officially went public, Rosewater said that Wizards of the Coast had released the apparently conflicting figures by accident, but ended up just as happy to have done so after seeing the speculation they fueled.[3]
Time Spiral booster packs marked Wizards of the Coast’s new premium card distribution method, where premium cards replace commons, as opposed to replacing a card of the premium's standard rarity.
[edit] Nostalgia
Creature types from previous block sets, such as Kavu, Merfolk, Thallids and Slivers, have returned, in addition to new incarnations of old cards. Eight keyword abilities from past sets also returned in Time Spiral, with some keywords not having appeared since 1997: Buyback, Echo, Flanking, Flashback, Madness, Morph, Shadow and Storm. Old non-keyword mechanics like rebels, spellshapers, and nightmares also appear on new cards. There are also several cards which directly allude to older, well-known cards, such as the Magus cycle, creatures that are functional reprints of the cards Cursed Scroll, Nevinyrral's Disk, Memory Jar, Mirror Universe, and Candelabra of Tawnos and a cycle of slivers that turn slivers into older creatures.
[edit] Timeshifted cards
To further represent the temporal chaos afflicting Dominaria, Time Spiral was released with an additional sub-set of 121 Timeshifted cards; reprints of popular cards taken from every set prior to Mirrodin. These cards have all been updated to meet the current rules and keywording. To differentiate them from normal cards, Timeshifted cards are printed in the pre-Mirrodin card frame, with a purple Time Spiral expansion symbol. The Timeshifted cards are distributed one per booster pack and three per tournament pack (replacing a common card), and appear in the preconstructed decks. According to DCI-distributed tournament primers, Timeshifted cards are tournament legal wherever the main set is. [4]
Timeshifted cards also appear in Planar Chaos and Future Sight, but are not direct reprints of older cards.
[edit] Temporal keywords
Three new keyword mechanics will introduce the set and expansion’s theme of time and make time into a valuable resource: Flash, Split Second and Suspend.
- Flash allows a card to be played as though it was an Instant, regardless of card type. Cards as far back as Mirage[5] have had this ability, and have now been updated to the new keyword.
- Split second prevents any spells or abilities from being played after a spell with that keyword is on the stack. This somewhat mimics the functionality of Interrupts, a type of card eliminated in the 6th Edition rules changes, insofar as its effect cannot be responded to. Each colour has two cards with Split Second - one uncommon and one rare (common cards were avoided, as the rules for Split Second involve the stack, while design purposefully avoids mentioning the stack on common cards as much as possible.) All Split Second cards are instants, except for the uncommon white card, Celestial Crusader, a creature which also has flash.
- Suspend echoes Tempest card Ertai's Meddling and is written on a card as “Suspend X – Cost”. The player can choose to pay the suspend cost instead of the mana cost, which results in the card not coming into play until X turns have passed[6]. Creatures played via Suspend gain Haste but only when played in this manner. In contrast with Split Second cards, cards with Suspend are all creatures and sorceries except for one artifact.
[edit] Notable cards
- Magus cycle: a five-card cycle of wizard creatures, each possessing the ability of an artifact from a previous set: Magus of the Candelabra (Candelabra of Tawnos), Magus of the Disk (Nevinyrral's Disk), Magus of the Jar (Memory Jar), Magus of the Mirror (Mirror Universe), Magus of the Scroll (Cursed Scroll).[7]
- Totem cycle: a five-card cycle of artifacts that can temporarily become artifact creature versions of powerful creatures from previous sets: Chronatog Totem (Chronatog), Phyrexian Totem (Phyrexian Negator), Thunder Totem (Thunder Spirit), Weatherseed Totem (Weatherseed Treefolk), Foriysian Totem (Two-Headed Giant of Foriys).[8]
- Legendary characters: a number of characters made famous by flavor text or card names have been created as cards. Most of these characters became far too powerful to be represented within the game, with many of them having a great impact on Dominarian history, and several discovering the power of the planeswalker. To permit them as cards, while fitting the 'broken time' theme of the set, the printed versions of the characters are taken from a point in their life before the character reached the peak of his or her power:
- Jaya Ballard, Task Mage: the first Spellshaper to have three abilities related to cards from previous sets (see: Jaya Ballard)[9]
- Lim-Dûl the Necromancer: 4/4 black creature who can bring back creatures from the graveyard (see: Lim-Dûl)[10]
- Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir: while Teferi is in play, opponents of Teferi's controller cannot play spells except when they could play a sorcery.[11]
- Serra Avenger: The first card that restricts the turn on which it can be played.[12]
- Sudden Shock: The "split second" mechanic means this card has made a significant impact in the Extended tournament format, thanks to its ability to kill creatures which have been notoriously difficult to remove in the past, in particular Psychatog.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ McGough, Scott (2006). Time Spiral, 1st Edition, U.S.A.: Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3988-5.
- ^ http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/askwizards/0806
- ^ Timeshifting into Gear, Mark Rosewater, October 2, 2006.
- ^ Purple Reign, by Mark Rosewater, MTG.com, September 25, 2006
- ^ Gatherer search for cards with the text 'any time you could play an instant', wizards.com/magic, accessed 26 September, 2006
- ^ A Special Time Spiral Preview, by 'Magic Arcana', MTG.com, August 23, 2006
- ^ Forsythe, Aaron (2006-11-03). Time Spiral's Wizards. magicthegathering.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Totem Art. magicthegathering.com (2006-12-06). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ Cavotta, Matt (2006-09-07). Jaya Ballard, Task Mage. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified.
- ^ Nakazawa, Rei (2006-09-04). Time (Spiral) Is On My Side. magicthegathering.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Flores, Mike (2006-09-07). Introducing Serra Avenger. magicthegathering.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
- ^ Flores, Mike (2007-03-15). Thank You, Sudden Shock: The Second-to-Last-Page. magicthegathering.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
[edit] External links
- Confirmation and source of name
- Official announcement
- "You Decided!"
- Official novel page
- Official booster pack designs
- Official display box and fat pack designs
- Card lists
