I’ve loved Norse myths ever since I was a little kid; I remember staying up late at night to read tales of one-eyed Odin, vengeful Thor, and viciously mischievous Loki. Kaldheim looks to capture the spirit of those myths, inviting Magic players to dive into a world of gods and sagas and unending conflict. The plane is big, it’s epic... and the set also has a fascinating Limited design, one that I’m eager to explore once the set releases on Arena and in paper. Let’s take a look!

Mechanics and Major Themes

We’ll begin by looking at Kaldheim’s major mechanics and themes.

Foretell

Foretell cards allow you to “prophecize” a spell’s coming by foretelling it for two mana, only to cast it later for its Foretell cost. The Foretell cost is often cheaper than the card’s CMC, allowing for explosive turns where a player can fire off massive effects for very little mana. This mechanic also allows players to play fascinating mind games: is the Foretold card a creature or a removal spell, or a pump spell that will result in lethal damage?

Every color has multiple Foretell cards, signaling the mechanic’s importance in the set.

Boast

Many creatures feature the Boast mechanic: an ability that allows you to use mana to trigger a variety of effects - but only if the creature has attacked that turn. That makes Boast an offensive mechanic, and it’s no surprise that the majority of Boast creatures are in Red and White, with effects that one might expect for an aggressive strategy.

Black and Green also have a few Boast creatures with color-pie appropriate effects.

Snow

The Snow mechanic returns, with considerable support: every Kaldheim pack has either a basic Snow land or a come-into-play-tapped Snow dual land. Cards that interact with Snow come in two flavors: those that have an activated ability that requires you to tap a Snow land, and those that care about the number of Snow permanents you control.

If you decide to draft a deck that focuses on Snow, be aware that there is enough incidental synergy for non-Snow decks to still draft Snow lands - either because they have a couple of cards that become slightly stronger with Snow, or because they’re picking up a dual land. In other words: don’t expect to see Snow lands super late in a pack.

Snow is primary in Blue, Black, and Green, with a sprinkling of Snow cards in Red.

Changelings

Changelings are a simple... and strange... concept: creatures that are every creature type possible. These creatures are only present in Blue and Green, and seem to provide a simple... and strange... direction for that color pair.

In actuality, Changelings act as glue for Kaldheim’s tribal themes: Black/Green Elves and Blue/Red Giants. Their presence adds additional tribal support for those two color pairs, while also allowing for incidental synergy in almost any other color pair: for example, Elf synergy in Blue/Black or Giant synergy in Red/Green. In a close game, that sort of added value will sometimes prove to be the difference.

Graveyard Resource

A secondary theme in Kaldheim has to do with “graveyard matters” cards. Every color has cards that use the graveyard as a resource, whether through classic reanimation or retrieval, or through cards that have an added effect if you exile a creature from your graveyard.

Various minor mechanics such as self-sacrifice and self-mill support this graveyard theme.

Sagas

Sagas are back! Each two-color pair has one uncommon and one rare Saga, meaning there’ll be many of these popular enchantments sprinkled throughout a draft.

The way Sagas play out creates interesting play patterns: all players can see the future effects, and the owner of the Saga will try and maximize its value through each successive turn while their opponents work to undermine what they know is coming. Navigating this subgame effectively can be the determining factor between victory and defeat.

Double-Faced Cards

DFCs return, but there are far fewer than in the previous set, and they’re only present at rare and mythic rare. There are no land/spell DFCs, so don’t expect the warped deckbuilding of Zendikar Rising. Instead, these four lands and twelve gods are simply cards with casting choices - albeit very powerful ones.

Archetypes

Recent Magic sets have ten signpost uncommons - one for each color pair - that serve as a guide for how a player should draft those colors. Kaldheim changes things up by having two signpost uncommons for each color pair: one legendary creature and one Saga. These uncommons point towards a style of play, but not as clearly as Zendikar Rising where - for example - taking the White/Black Cleric uncommon meant that you’d simply want to draft as many Clerics as you could. Kaldheim synergies are more subtle, and success in Limited requires a player to have a discerning eye and a keen understanding of what their deck is trying to do.

White/Blue: Foretell

Both White/Blue uncommons encourage the use of the Foretell mechanic. A White/Blue deck relies on a mix of evasion and control, eliminating an opponent’s key threats while flying your way to victory.

The trick is knowing how to maximize your evasive capabilities. Will you go wide with small flyers and use White’s pump spells or rely on a single creature, buffed with Auras and +1/+1 counters? Both strategies should be effective in White/Blue, but it’ll be wise to err on one side or the other while drafting your cards.

White/Black: Graveyard

White/Black looks to maximize the power of your graveyard, and the color pair’s signpost uncommons enable this strategy in different ways: the Saga is a quick and powerful reanimation spell, while Firja serves the dual purpose of feeding you cards while filling up your graveyard along the way.

There’s a secondary theme in White/Black: cards such as Firja that trigger when you cast your second spell in a turn. Codespell Cleric is another great card with this mechanic, but beware of drafting too many low-cost cards to maximize this sort of effect; often those cards aren’t powerful enough to affect the board in the later turns of a game. Instead, rely on powerful Foretell cards such as Vengeful Reaper which you can cast for cheap while providing a big impact on the board.

Blue/Black: Snow Control

Narfi provides a clear view into Blue/Black’s game plan: win through inevitability, powered by Snow. The Trickster God’s Heist is a harder card to evaluate, but it plays into the tricky nature of the color-pair, and the ease in which it can turn a negative board position around into its favor.

Use cards like Frost Augur to build card advantage, and evasive threats such as Hailstorm Valkyrie to quickly close the game. Throw in ways to deal with early threats, and you’ll have a perfect recipe for victory.

Blue/Red: Giants

Big creatures and non-creature spells are a strange combination... but an oddly pleasing one. Both Aegar and Invasion of the Giants give you immense rewards for drafting the tribe, and the Saga even gives you a way to get your expensive creatures out ahead of the curve.

Of course, it’s very easy to fall behind on the board when you rely on creatures with high CMC. That’s why it’s fortunate that many Giants provide additional value to help you catch up, whether by letting you grab a card using Frostpyre Arcanist, or by allowing you to simply burn out an opponent’s creature with Basalt Ravager.

Black/Red: YOLO!

You need to attack in order to win, and Black/Red makes it even easier to do so. Not only does Kardur clear your opponent’s blockers out of the way; he also ensures that your attacks will always give you some sort of benefit. And if your creatures die, well, Kardur’s Vicious Return allows them to come back bigger and better.

Deathknell Berserker allows you to attack even more freely: put in a little work and it’ll give you a beneficial death trigger. And if you want to prepare for Black’s many reanimation effects, Immersturm Raider will work wonders by stocking your graveyard with game-ending threats.

Black/Green: Elves

Harald is not an unusual Elf card: digging into your library to find more Elves to throw out onto the battlefield is exactly what a traditional Elf deck wants to do. Binding the Old Gods is more surprising. It’s a good Saga that provides removal, ramp, and a creature buff - but how does it fit into the Elvish game plan?

Well, it looks like the Black/Green Elf deck may be less about quickly assembling a swarm of cheap elves, and more about battling for long-term supremacy. Elderleaf Mentor is a relatively expensive card for its effect, but if you combine it with Return Upon the Tide you’ll be generating four creatures out of nowhere. And once you have a large board presence, use your deck’s removal and combat tricks to batter your way to victory.

Red/White: Equipment

The problem with Equipment is simple: all an opponent has to do is kill the equipped creature. Koll makes doing so far more difficult, and pairs wonderfully with Forging the Tyrite Sword: not only does the Saga find your Equipment for you; it also gives you the Treasure to allow you to cast your Equipment and equip it on the same turn.

Starnheim Courser is another card that makes your Equipment cheaper, while also being an ideal evasive creature for bearing that Equipment. And if you find yourself running low on creatures, the cycle of Equipment that can also create a token will solve that problem for you.

Red/Green: Growth

There’s two ways of obtaining a big creature: cast an expensive one with powerful stats, or take time to grow a cheaper one with +1/+1 counters. Similarly, there’s two ways of getting the mana you need to cast high CMC spells or abilities: play one land a turn, or ramp your way there. Red/Green’s uncommons both illustrate this growth strategy in wildly unique ways.

This color pair is not a subtle one, making it easy to counteract - unless you’re prepared. Snakeskin Veil protects your big creatures while growing them even further. And, well, sometimes subtlety isn’t required: if you use Run Amok to smash just a little bit harder, you may find yourself sending your opponent to their doom.

Green/White: Token Growth

If you buff a single creature, you run the risk of having it die, wasting all your efforts. Green/White slides around this issue by creating token creatures with spells such as Meja, and allowing you to spread your buffs with cards such as Fall of the Imposter.

Clarion Spirit is another creature that permits you to go wide while encouraging you to draft cheap creatures. And King Harald’s Revenge is an effective payoff for this strategy, allowing you to go both wide and tall in a single devastating attack.

Green/Blue: Changeling Snow

Green/Blue is often a weird color pair, and it’s even weirder in Kaldheim. Both of its uncommons encourage you to take advantage of powerful Snow cards, but the Changeling cards in Blue and Green also allow you to play with Elf or Giant strategies.

Avalanche Caller and Boreal Outrider are both excellent payoffs for Snow, with a light sprinkling of tribal support baked in. Take this incremental value, run with it, and leave your opponent behind in the dust.

Fixing

The mana fixing in Kaldheim encourages a fair amount of experimentation. Every pack has a Snow land, and Snow decks will naturally pick up off-color Snow lands allowing for ambitious splashes. The Snow land can also be a dual land, which allows for the possibility of three color decks.

There’s also unconditional mana fixing: Shimmerdrift Vale and Replicating Ring:

As usual, Green has additional mana fixing options:

Removal

All the uncommon multicolored removal comes in the form of the Sagas above. Here’s the common and uncommon mono-colored removal:

White

Bound in Gold is excellent, but may fall prey to incidental Artifact and Enchantment removal. Divine Gambit is another unconditional removal spell, but it carries considerable risk. Iron Verdict is conditional - but five damage is a lot, and will take care of most aggressive creatures.

Blue

At one mana, Bind the Monster is incredibly powerful - but play too many and you may end up doing your opponent’s job for them. Mists of Littjara is a considerable step down, but may still neuter a threat. And Ravenform is risky: giving your opponent a 1/1 flier is not something to be ignored, but Blue - and its fliers - is best suited at trivializing that side effect.

Black

Black has a host of removal options, with none more powerful than Feed the Serpent - although Poison the Cup is not far behind. Its other removal spells are more conditional, but still excellent choices for most decks.

Red

Demon Bolt is an excellent piece of removal, and is easily playable in any Red deck. Red’s other removal is far more conditional, varying in power depending on whether you’re playing tribal or snow.

Green

Green has two fight spells: Struggle for Skemfar can be used in any deck, while Blizzard Brawl is... okay if you’re not playing Snow, and extremely strong if you are.

One added note: in Kaldheim, Artifact and Enchantment removal is better than usual due to the presence of Sagas and Equipment. I’d be willing to main deck any of the following:

Summary

So how will Kaldheim draft format work? Here’s my view on the drafting portion:

• This is not an on-rails draft format. Every color pair has multiple secondary themes that you can indulge in that change the complexion of your deck, and finding the open colors and themes are the key to drafting a cohesive and synergistic deck.
• Expect Snow lands to be drafted highly, as every color other than White has at least a few incidental Snow synergies at common and uncommon; and the Snow land slot can also be a dual-land that’s desirable in non-Snow decks.
• Changelings should also be high picks, as every color other than White has at least some incidental tribal synergy.
• White has few Snow or tribal synergies, and may be the most straightforward color to draft.
• Three color decks are very viable, especially if one of the central colors is Green.

I expect Kaldheim Limited gameplay to be no less complex:

• Foretell is the theme of the set, and will create a delicious sub-game as players try to figure out how to play around a Foretold spell. Don’t take unnecessary risks against Foretold cards... but don’t let them paralyze you either.
• Conversely, Sagas result in a very predictable set of effects. When you play a Saga, make sure you have a plan for the successive turns; on the other hand if you’re defending against a Saga, try to figure out the steps needed to minimize its effect.
• Remember that Foretell and Boast are not free. Using these mechanics often means that you’re not putting a creature onto the board, putting you at risk of falling behind. Make sure you can catch back up!

Kaldheim looks to be a unique Limited set, different from recent draft sets and difficult to master. I can’t wait to begin!