First Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2019 Planeswalker Revealed

Image: Wizards of the Coast/ Illus. Adam Steinbauer

A batch of new Magic: The Gathering cards for Core 2019 set has been revealed today, and they include the newest Planeswalker, Vivien Reid. She's a green Planeswalker who's apparently skilled with archery.

Check out her full artwork illustrated by Adam Steinbauer:

Image: Wizards of the Coast

Vivien was born on Skalla, and she's part of a tribe of druids and rangers known as Smaragdi who protects the wilds of that plane from the chaotic civilization. She has a special bond with the animals of the forest, which manifests in her Arkbow.

Wizards of the Coast Principal Game Designer Jenna Helland told The Mary Sue, "The essence of every creature from Skalla is contained in that bow, and those creatures live on through Vivien. Now that she's a Planeswalker, she can also capture the essences of creatures on other worlds (but only under specific circumstances). Vivien is a fierce protector of all creatures, of wild places, and of anyone who is threatened by a force greater than them."

Every Magic player already knows Nissa but it was time for Wizards to introduce a new green Planeswalker, which they haven't done since 2009. "In 2017, there was a small team of art directors, concept artists, and writers who were tasked with creating a new green Planeswalker who mechanically cared about creatures," Helland explains. "Beyond green-aligned and creature-centric, our goal was to hit an archetype that we were missing in green. So Vivien became our bow-carrying, animal-loving ranger. Because she first debuted in M19, we wanted a character who could have a connection to Nicol Bolas, and that's why we created the backstory about the destruction of Skalla."

Check out the official card:

For a Planeswalker who has a special bond with animals, it's surprising that one of her abilities don't produce a creature token. This will probably see some play in competitive Standard but it's nowhere close to the power levels of Dominaria Planeswalkers.

Here's Viven Reid's Invocation:

This looks like a fun card to use in Commander format but I don't see this being played in competitive Standard or Modern formats.

Core Set 2019 is set to release on July 13, 2018. The set's story will focus on Nicol Bolas, the Elder Dragons, and the five Planeswalkers in the set, Tezzeret, Liliana, Sarkhan, Ajani, and Viven.

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