When the Magic: The Gathering card "One With the Stars" from the upcoming set Theros Beyond Death was revealed, fans were quick to point out the blue enchantment does exactly the same thing as one of the playtest cards from the Mystery Booster set.
The four-to-cast blue Enchantment-Aura can enchant a Creature or Enchantment, and turns them into an Enchantment. Targeting something that's already an enchantment probably works against Enchantment subtypes such as Auras and Sagas or cards that have a combination of card types like Enchantment Artifacts or Enchantment Lands.
Seeing a playtest card printed in an actual Standard-legal set is a surprise to fans who remember head designer Mark Rosewater saying that they were not a real deal.
Back in November, Rosewater explained why the Mystery Booster playtest cards were designed. "I think players are treating the playtest cards far more seriously than we were. They were designed to be fun to read and maybe play once in a Mystery Booster deck. They were light, fluffy pieces of entertainment," Rosewater explained. "I'm constantly getting messages from players, here and on other social media, how they want more reprints of cards for their decks, so we thought a foil slot filled with stuff we know people play in decks would be more desirable."
When a fan recently brought up the fact that a Mystery Booster playtest card is coming with the release of Theros Beyond Death, and asked Rosewater if playtest cards will be printed in future sets, the MTG head designer responded on his Blogatog:
Some hint at things we might be doing, but none of them are future-shifted if that's what you're asking about.
EDIT: Never mind. Gavin did some Future-sighting I was unaware of.
So it sounds like Gavin Verhey has designed some playtest cards that are meant to be printed in future MTG sets. Of course, we don't expect all of them to eventually become Standard-legal, but it's exciting to know that at least some of the playtest cards are future-shifted.
What Mystery Booster playtest cards would you like to see in future MTG Standard-legal sets?
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.The WPN version of the Mystery Booster will be available on March 13, 2020; the Convention version will be available at upcoming MagicFest events and conventions where it will be featured.
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