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Valentine's Day this year might be the best for some people because it's also the release date for Magic's next big Standard set: Aetherdrift. Aetherdrift is taking the TCG into the world of racing, much to everyone's surprise, and along with featuring plenty of familiar faces, it will also see us return to some familiar mechanics, too (pun intended).
Well, this week's WeeklyMTG gave us a proper look at the upcoming set. The whole set is within the Ghirapur Grand Prix, which basically invites any and everyone in to fight and race their way to victory. Aetherdrift itself shows off the second such race because the first one was more than a little chaotic.
Aetherdrift Characters and Planes
Market Price: n/a
Market Price: n/a
Market Price: $11.43
Avishkar, which used to be called Kaladesh, is back and a key part of the whole Grand Prix. The main group here is comprised of people brought together by their hatred of the Consulate and helped massively during the Phyrexian invasion, and this helped them rise to actively take over the Consulate and rename the plane itself.
That's not the only returning plane though, as Amonkhet returns to the fold in Aetherdrift. Amonket is trying to prove themselves in this new era and bring prosperity to the plane now they're trying to finally recover from Nicol Bolas and New Phyrexia. They're also using living and dead together to prove their worth, presenting an interesting mix of people, all united for the first time.
Muraganda, which is our first proper look into the prehistoric plane. It's mostly just a stage for the race itself and seems to be filled with younger species like oozes and dinosaurs, along with lots of hazards like volcanos and even falling chunks of moon. This could be a fun chance to explore the plane, so we're hoping we'll see a lot of it, although we have a feeling we'll get a set dedicated to it at some point, too.
In terms of the teams taking part in the race, there are ten teams, one for each color pairing:
- Guidelight Voyagers - Blue/White
- Speed Demons - Blue/Black
- The Endriders - Black/Red
- Goblin Rocketeers - Green/Red
- Alacrain Quickbeasts - Green/White
- The Champions of Amonkhet - White/Black
- The Speedbrood - Black/Green
- Aether Rangers - Green/Blue
- Chordatan Keelhaulers - Blue/Red
- Cloudspire Racing Team - Red/White
Aetherdrift Mechanics
Muraganda Raceway
Aetherdrift, rare
Product Details
Card Type: Land
Start your engines! (If you have no speed, it starts at 1. It increases once on each of your turns when an opponent loses life. Max speed is 4.)
: Add 
.
Max speed — : Add .
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | $14.64 | $18.91 |
| Listed Median Price | $11.00 | $16.91 |
Speed is now a thing, so if you've got a need for it, that's good. Basically, some cards will let you start your engines, and then every turn of yours where an opponent loses a life will cause the speed to go up. Max Speed is four, and at max speed, some cards gain new abilities or buffed ones. This is a fun way to do things but also could end up feeling slow without other ways to manipulate it.
Loot, the Pathfinder
Aetherdrift, mythic
Product Details
Mana Cost: 
Card Type: Legendary Creature — Beast Noble
Double strike, vigilance, haste
Exhaust — , : Add three mana of any one color. (Activate each exhaust ability only once.)
Exhaust — , : Draw three cards.
Exhaust — , : Loot deals 3 damage to any target.
Exhaust is a new keyword that allows you to activate an ability, but only once. It's basically a boost that lets you do something really powerful for a cost, and then that can't be activated again until the card leaves the field or a new one enters. It's a really cool concept and allows a card like Loot, the Pathfinder to gain three mana, draw three cards, or deal three damage to something.
In terms of returning keywords, it looks like we're getting Cycling, Vehicles, Mounts, Surveil, and Exert. Without a doubt, there will be other ones too, but that's just what we were all shown.
New Aetherdrift Cards
The Aetherspark
Aetherdrift, mythic
Product Details
Mana Cost: 
Card Type: Legendary Artifact Planeswalker — Equipment
As long as The Aetherspark is attached to a creature, The Aetherspark can't be attacked and has "Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage during your turn, put that many loyalty counters on The Aetherspark." +1: Attach The Aetherspark to up to one target creature you control. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature. −5: Draw two cards. −10: Add ten mana of any one color.
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | $56.66 | $100.00 |
| Listed Median Price | $87.75 | $107.96 |
We're getting our first equipment Planeswalker in the form of The Aetherspark, a four-mana artifact that grants normal creatures the ability to earn loyalty counters, and those can then be spent on buffing your creatures, drawing cards, or gaining a massive ten mana. This is a really fun bit of design, but how effective it'll be remains to be seen. The Aetherspark also appears as the Headliner card in Aetherdrift, which is a selection of cards in each set featuring a highly unique treatment. For Aetherdrift, the Headliner printing of The Aetherspark will feature a Borderless treatment and will be numbered out of 500, limited to Collector Boosters only.
Redshift, Rocketeer Chief
Aetherdrift, rare
Product Details
Mana Cost:
Card Type: Legendary Creature — Goblin Pilot
Vigilance
: Add X mana of any one color, where X is Redshift's power. Spend this mana only to activate abilities.
Exhaust — 
: Put any number of permanent cards from your hand onto the battlefield. (Activate each exhaust ability only once.)
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | - | $19.98 |
| Listed Median Price | $11.00 | $15.78 |
One card really showing off the potency of the new exhaust ability is Redshift, Rocketeer Chief, a two-mana red and green goblin 2/3 with vigilance. You can tap Redshift to gain mana equal to its power to spend on abilities, and it just so happens that if you pay twelve mana, you can put any number of permanent cards from your hand onto the battlefield. It's incredibly easy to buff green and red creatures, and even using this ability once will allow you to put most of your hand into play with no counterspells being able to touch you.
Winter, Cursed Rider
Aetherdrift, rare
Product Details
Mana Cost: 
Card Type: Legendary Creature — Human Warlock
Ward—Pay 2 life.
Artifacts you control have "Ward—Pay 2 life."
Exhaust — , , Exile X artifact cards from your graveyard: Each other nonartifact creature gets -X/-X until end of turn. (Activate each exhaust ability only once.)
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | $18.99 | $18.95 |
| Listed Median Price | $13.06 | $15.91 |
Interestingly, we're getting characters related to Valgavoth and Duskmourn: House of Horror in this set. Winter, Cursed Rider heads this group up, and is a two-mana blue and black 3/2 with Ward - pay 2 life. It grants that same Ward ability to all artifacts you control, and has an Exhaust ability costing four mana, and allows you to exile X artifacts from your graveyard to give each other nonartifact creature -X/-X until the end of the turn. It's cool, but also incredibly odd to see house demons in a car.
Cryptcaller Chariot
Aetherdrift, rare
Product Details
Mana Cost: 
Card Type: Artifact — Vehicle
Menace Whenever you discard one or more cards, create that many tapped 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens. Crew 2
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | $11.98 | $18.00 |
| Listed Median Price | $12.84 | $15.91 |
Cryptcaller Chariot is a four-mana vehicle with crew 2 and menace, but more importantly, it can create a Zombie token for each card you discard. This could be absurdly strong in a lot of decks and gives another reason to play One With Nothing. Not that anyone needed another excuse to discard their hand.
Basri, Tomorrow's Champion
Aetherdrift, rare
Product Details
Mana Cost: 
Card Type: Legendary Creature — Human Knight
, , Exert Basri: Create a 1/1 white Cat creature token with lifelink. (An exerted creature won't untap during your next untap step.)
Cycling (, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
When you cycle this card, Cats you control gain hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | $6.94 | - |
| Listed Median Price | $11.25 | $15.78 |
If you were hoping for a return of Basri, then you'll be happy because Basri, Tomorrow's Champion is here. This one-mana white 2/1 can be exerted to create a 1/1 cat with lifelink, and can also be cycled to not only draw a card but to grant your cat creatures hexproof and indestructible until the end of the turn.
Chandra, Spark Hunter
Aetherdrift, mythic
Product Details
Mana Cost:
Card Type: Legendary Planeswalker — Chandra
At the beginning of combat on your turn, choose up to one target Vehicle you control. Until end of turn, it becomes an artifact creature and gains haste. +2: You may sacrifice an artifact or discard a card. If you do, draw a card. +0: Create a 3/2 colorless Vehicle artifact token with crew 1. −7: You get an emblem with "Whenever an artifact you control enters, this emblem deals 3 damage to any target."
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | $19.96 | - |
| Listed Median Price | $17.18 | $21.96 |
Finally, we've got Chandra, Spark Hunter, a four mana 4 loyalty red Planeswalker. This lets you effectively crew a vehicle for free on each of your turns, but can also be used to sacrifice an artifact or discard a card to draw a card, create a 3/2 vehicle token, or get an emblem that lets you deal three damage to something whenever an artifact enters under your control. This could be a lot of fun in a lot of decks, and also she's doing the Akira bike slide thing in the art.
Aetherdrift Commander Decks
Temmet, Naktamun's Will
Commander: Aetherdrift, mythic
Product Details
Mana Cost:
Card Type: Legendary Creature — Zombie Wizard
Vigilance, menace Whenever you attack, draw a card, then discard a card. Whenever you draw a card, Zombies you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | - | - |
| Listed Median Price | $34.99 | $28.37 |
We're getting two new Commander Precons alongside the launch of Aetherdrift too. The first is Eternal Might, an Esper Zombies deck, which is built around Temmet, Naktamun's Will, a five-mana white, blue, and black 4/4 with vigilance and menace that draws you a card and discard a card when you attack. Zombies also get +1/+1 until the end of the turn whenever you draw a card. The secondary option here is Hashaton, Scarab's Fist which lets you create copies of creatures as 4/4 zombies when you discard them. This could well be one of the strongest new Zombie decks we've had in a long time in a color combination that is really powerful.
Saheeli, Radiant Creator
Commander: Aetherdrift, mythic
Product Details
Mana Cost: 
Card Type: Legendary Creature — Human Artificer
Whenever you cast an Artificer or artifact spell, you get {E} (an energy counter). At the beginning of combat on your turn, you may pay {E}{E}{E}. When you do, create a token that's a copy of target permanent you control, except it's a 5/5 artifact creature in addition to its other types and has haste. Sacrifice it at the beginning of the next end step.
Current Price Points
| Price Point | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Market Price | - | - |
| Listed Median Price | $33.99 | $28.37 |
The other option is Living Energy, a Temur Energy and artifact deck. This sees the return of Saheeli as Saheeli, Radiant Creator a four-mana 4/4 that nets you one Energy whenever you cast an artificer or artifact. This could well be broken, but you can also pay three Energy to create a token copy of a target permanent that's a 5/5 artifact instead. The other option in this deck is Pia Nalaar, Chief Mechanic, a three-mana creature that nets you two Energy whenever one or more artifact creatures deal damage to a player. You can then spend one or more Energy in your end step to create a flying vehicle with X/X stats equal to the Energy you spent. This seems like a fun new option too, although maybe we now need to slow down on new Energy decks?
Other Aetherdrift Treatments
First-Place Foils are the new foiling treatment for this set. This one actually looks golden, which marks it out as substantially different from any other foiling we've had so far. This'll likely be hit-or-miss, depending on how much you actually like gold or whether you like to read your cards. We can think of a Bond and Powers villain that would love it though.
We also got MSRP price lists announced for Aetherdrift too. Play Boosters will set you back $5.49, Collector Boosters are $24.99, the Commander Decks will be $44.99, and then you've got various bundles on sale too from $53.99 for the standard bundle, to $79.99 for the Finish Line Bundle. Aetherdrift releases on February 14 and if you want to read more about the hottest race in all of Magic: The Gathering, you can do so here!
