Theros Beyond Death Preview Reveals The Return of A Magic: The Gathering Creature


Wizards of the Coast has revealed its Christmas preview for the upcoming Magic: The Gathering set Theros Beyond Death, and it's a reprint of one of the most iconic creatures from the original Theros (2013) set, "Grey Merchant of Asphodel".

As you can see below, the Theros Beyond Death version of the uncommon black creature features new art by Scott Murphy. Gray Merchant was one of the most used cards with the Devotion mechanic back when Theros was in Standard format, and it will probably be viable in Standard again once it gets reprinted next month.

expand image
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Just in case you need an explanation of how the Devotion mechanic works, here's a mechanic spotlight video WotC released recently:

Here's the "Gray Merchant of Asphodel" from the original Theros set:

expand image

The new art looks darker and less cartoony than the original but I don't think it's as memorable. If I decide to play a Standard deck with four copies of this card, I'd probably run two copies each just to mix it up.

Theros Beyond Death, the 83rd Magic: The Gathering expansion, is set to release on January 24, 2020. Prerelease events will take place on January 17-19.

Related: MTG Designer Responds To Whether or Not Ikoria Commander Decks Will Get A Prerelease Weekend

This Article's Topics

Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!

Magic: the Gathering