Posted in: Card Games, Games, Magic: The Gathering, Tabletop, Wizards of the Coast | Tagged: Crimson Vow, Innistrad, magic, MTG, MTGVOW, preview, WotC

Magic: The Gathering Crimson Vow Presentation Stream Recap

Hello players, collectors, and other fans of Magic: The Gathering, the premier trading card game by Wizards of the Coast! Today, there was a major preview presentation streamed over YouTube and Twitch for Innistrad: Crimson Vow, the next upcoming expansion set for the illustrious card game. There will be a lot to unpack for you in this preview recap article, so buckle up – we're attending one helluva wedding!

Mechanics

With the release of Crimson Vow, we will be getting a number of cards with new mechanics. These mechanics are as such:

• Exploit, a returning mechanic from Dragons of Tarkir from 2015. The reminder text on Exploit, as a refresher, states: "When this creature enters the battlefield, you may sacrifice a creature." Exploit tends to have a payoff for using the ability.
• Training, a new mechanic. The card below, Savior of Ollenbock, has training. Training works as an inverse Mentor ability, in that when a creature with training attacks alongside a creature with greater power, a +1/+1 counter is put upon the training creature.

• Cleave, another new mechanic. The card Dig Up has cleave. Unlike any other mechanic before it, Cleave works to remove text from cards. Logically speaking, this is the mechanic that Mark Rosewater alluded to in his blog post with teasers for Crimson Vow.

• Blood tokens, which work similarly to Clue tokens, draw players a card by having the player pay one generic mana, discard a card, and sacrifice the Blood token. Many cards in the set will have payoffs for having a glut of Blood tokens, and the set will have many ways to generate them as well.

• Double-faced cards, such as Voldaren Bloodcaster (shown above), which transform into other cards:

• Disturb, a mechanic returning from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, has a new twist upon how it functions. Instead of Human creatures becoming Spirits, Spirit creatures turn into enchantments.

Between all of these mechanics, new, old, and twisted, mechanically Crimson Vow seems lush with some great Magic: The Gathering cards for Standard and Commander alike. But this isn't all that Crimson Vow has to offer Commander players.

Crimson Vow Commander Cards

During this presentation, we were treated to a few cards from Crimson Vow's two Commander decks and at least one card we will see on The List, which, as it's soon to contain the Universes Beyond cards added to Secret Lair drops recently, seems to be gaining traction as a major way to get ahold of some of the cooler cards released lately. Let's take a look!

Millicent, Restless Revenant is the face card of the white and blue Spirit Squadron Commander deck to release alongside the new set. On the flip side, so to speak, Strefan, Maurer Progenitor is the face commander of the black and red Vampiric Bloodline Commander deck.

But wait, there's more! There will be cards on The List that have not been released before appearing in Set Boosters of Innistrad: Crimson Vow that will be Commander-legal, such as Wedding Ring, because no wedding can be complete without one:

Booster Fun

Also of note is the continued use of the Booster Fun initiative to enhance the game for collectors. Much like the Harvesttide borders in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt showcasing Warlock and Werewolf creatures, the Fang showcase border is strictly for Vampire creatures… and Sorin.

Furthermore, we will be getting the enemy-color dual lands from the cycle introduced in Innistrad: Midnight Hunt in this set. The cycle includes the following cards, which will additionally receive a borderless treatment much like Midnight Hunt's dual lands:

Even More Booster Fun – the Dracula Series

The final absolutely huge thing that Innistrad: Crimson Vow offers is a taste of the world of Bram Stoker's iconic novel Dracula. Dracula has been a huge influence on the vampire subgenre of horror, the story itself inspired by the real-life figure of Vlad the Impaler of Transylvania. Therefore, it only makes sense that Magic: The Gathering would pay homage to Dracula by showcasing his visage, and others, in the Dracula Series! Much like the Godzilla Series, this showcase series is found in Collector Boosters of Innistrad: Crimson Vow as well as in box topper packs that come with each booster box of Draft, Set, and Collector Boosters. Here are two of the cards in the series:

Are you excited about this new set for Magic: The Gathering? Is Crimson Vow already living (or unliving) up to your expectations? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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