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Unsanctioned Teases A New Magic: The Gathering Mechanic From an Upcoming Set


On Tuesday, Wizards of the Coast and Cracked officially revealed the upcoming silver-bordered preconstructed Magic: The Gathering product called Unsanctioned, and one keyword from a particular card are making fans wonder what it actually does in the game.

The card "Surgeon ~~General~~ Commander" has the ability that reads: "Whenever you augment, enchant, or mutate a creature you control, draw a card."

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Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Magic players already know the keywords "augment" and "enchant" but "mutate" has never been introduced in any MTG set. While it's easy not to take Unsanctioned seriously because of its silly mechanics and hilarious themes, the silver-bordered product actually teases an upcoming mechanic that we'll see in the near future, according to MTG head designer Mark Rosewater.

On his Blogatog, he confirmed that "Mutate" is an official keyword that will be introduced in an upcoming Magic set.

"Mutate is a keyword you all haven't seen yet," Rosewater said. "And fear not, we've learned from Steamflogger Boss to not make-up mechanics we have no intent of making."

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Credit: Wizards of the Coast

I guess are hopes to see more riggers and contraptions are dashed now, but at least we'll see some creatures that could mutate, and I predict that this mechanic will probably be introduced in the next MTG set, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. After all, the set is said be all about monsters.

Wizards of the Coast hasn't revealed much information about Ikoria, but Rosewater previously teased the new "monster mechanic" last September. "You get to play with monsters, and you get to make monsters," Rosewater said last September. "It's one of the craziest mechanics we've made in quite a while."

Is Mutate the "new monster mechanic" that Rosewater was talking about? After all, mutation is a way to describe how some organisms are changed, and maybe that's part of the monster creation in Ikoria. We'll have to wait and find out.

Unsanctioned will be released on February 29, 2020 in English. Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths will officially be released on April 24, 2020. Prerelease events will take place from April 17-19.

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