Zendikar Rising

Zendikar Rising

 

Expeditions

 

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Art Series

 

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Welcome booster

 

Zendikar Rising
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	a skyclave
Design	Mark Rosewater (lead) Andrew Veen Erik Lauer Tom Ross George Fan Mark Heggen
Development	Erik Lauer (co-lead) Andrew Brown (co-lead) Melissa DeTora Ian Duke Michael Majors Jules Robins Jiachen Tao Reggie Valk
Art direction	Keven Smith
Release date	September 25, 2020
Themes and mechanics	Lands, class tribal, modal double-faced cards, two-brid mana, ETB-attach Equipment
Keywords/​ability words	Kicker, Landfall, Party
Set size	280 cards (101 commons, 80 uncommons, 64 rares, 20 mythic rares, 15 basic lands) +9 borderless cards +24 showcase cards +66 extended art cards +5 regular frame lands +1 Buy-a-Box promo +1 Bundle promo +5 dark-frame promos
Expansion code	ZNR
Development codename	Diving
Forgotten Realms Standard
Zendikar Rising Kaldheim Strixhaven: School of Mages
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Secret Lair Drop Series: April Fools Zendikar Rising Zendikar Rising Expeditions

Expansion symbol

Zendikar Rising is the 85th Magic expansion. It will be released on September 25, 2020.

Set details

“

Adventure Awaits

”

As Mark Rosewater announced "we return to a Zendikar without Eldrazi and revisit the adventure world players fell in love with." It is a "land set" in the sense of the sets of the first Zendikar block, and all about adventure, exploration and reward.

Zendikar Rising contains 280 regular cards (101 commons, 80 uncommons, 64 rares, 20 mythic rares, 15 basic lands) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. Cards with alternate card frames have another card number than the original version. Like all previous Zendikar sets, Zendikar Rising features full-art basic lands (#266-280). Borderless planeswalkers are numbered #281-283, borderless pathways are #284-289, showcase cards are numbered #290-313, extended artwork cards are numbered #314-379, and regular frame lands are numbered #380-384. The (non-exclusive) Buy-a-Box is #385, and the Bundle promo is numbered #386. Finally there are the FNM-treatment cards from the Universal promo pack numbered #387-391. Both regular and foil versions of the cards above #280 may be found in the Collector Boosters.

The Showcase cards are connected to Landfall mechanic. The card frame is themed around Zendikar’s hedrons, and the art style is intended to imitate bright-colored Travel Posters. The set features no new planeswalkers. The returning planeswalkers are Jace, Nissa, and Nahiri. Starting with Zendikar Rising, the mythic rares are changing their rate of drop. In the past, 1 in every 8 rares was a mythic rare. That is changed so that 1 in every 7.4 rares will be a mythic rare. Equivalently, this is an increased chance, from 37 in 296 packs previously, to 40 in 296 packs now. Draft boosters have a dedicated MDFC slot.

Storyline

Zendikar is a dangerous world of lethal risks where brave adventurers delve into ancient ruins in search of priceless rewards. The storyline features no Eldrazi but we see the ruin they have caused. From the perspective of its inhabitants, it is a hostile place that seems to be actively trying to kill the creatures that have the audacity to live there. The danger is unrelenting: precarious terrain, cunning predators, natural disasters on a massive scale, and the still continuing Roil — the unpredictable ripples of change that wash through the land — all present a constant challenge to survival. Nahiri has returned to Zendikar, and is willing to do anything to get rid of the Roil. Nissa has also returned home, but for reasons of her own.

The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Zendikar Rising are:

• Lithoform Engine
• Lithoform Blight
• Maddening Cacophony
• Nahiri's Binding
• Nahiri's Lithoforming
• Nissa's Zendikon

Marketing

Set Booster

Adventure gear given out to content creators

Zendikar Rising is sold in regular 16-card Draft Boosters (one card being a marketing card), Theme Boosters, Collector Boosters, Set Boosters, the Zendikar Rising bundle, and two Commander decks. A special Gift Edition of the Bundle will release in November 2020. The set is accompanied by a new Welcome Booster. The Draft Boosters feature artwork from Jace, Nahiri and Nissa. The Theme Boosters feature art from Adventure Awaits (Party), Archpriest of Iona (), Field Research (), Blackbloom Rogue (), Teeterpeak Ambusher (), and Murasa Brute (). The Collector Boosters feature art of Omnath, Locus of Creation. The Set Boosters feature art from Needleverge Pathway.

As part of the advertisement campaign for the set, content creators were provided with adventure gear (a water bottle, a bandanna, and a face mask).

The release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Showcase: Zendikar Revisited was timed to coincide with the release of Zendikar Rising.

Set boosters and the List

Zendikar Rising introduced Set Boosters. These are targeted to players that are not interested in Draft or Limited, and sell for a slightly higher price than Draft Boosters. Each pack comes with fourteen objects, twelve of which are Magic cards.

One of the objects in the Set Booster is an Art card. Art cards were last seen with Modern Horizons.

In 25% of the Set Boosters, cards of "The List" can be found instead of a marketing card. The List is a changing catalogue of 300 cards from older sets. These are not Standard legal. In addition, in 5% of the Set Boosters, the marketing card is replaced by a minigame card.

Expeditions

Similar to the original Zendikar Priceless Treasures and Zendikar Expeditions of the second block, Zendikar Rising has its own version of bonus cards from outside the set. There are 30 Expeditions in total, all of which are lands. These include all 10 fetch lands. Unlike those earlier cards, these will not randomly appear in booster packs. Instead, they will only be available as Box toppers (non-foil with a high-gloss treatment) and in Collector Boosters (foil).

Events

• Magic Online and MTG Arena release: September 17.
• Tabletop Prerelease: September 18–24.
  • Each player purchasing a Prerelease Pack will be given one Zendikar Rising Set Booster.
• Launch party (Outside US & LATAM only): September 26–27.
• Friday Night Magic (Outside US & LATAM only): September 25–January 15.
• Commander Nights (Outside US & LATAM only): September 28–January 14. A weekly Commander league with rotating rules and achievement-based prizes.

Promotional cards

• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare of Zendikar Rising.
• Other events: cards from the Zendikar Rising universal promo pack.
  • Doesn't contain modal double-faced cards.
  • The seasonal dark-frame promos are: Into the Roil, Bloodchief's Thirst, Roil Eruption, Roiling Regrowth, and Kargan Warleader.
• Buy-a-Box: foil alternate art extended art Orah, Skyclave Hierophant.
• Bundle promo: foil alternate art Charix, the Raging Isle.

Tokens

The sixteenth card in the Draft Boosters is either a token with advertisements on the backside, or a helper card with a standard card back. The Collector Boosters contain a foil double-faced token. In total, Zendikar Rising comes with twelve tokens.

1. 4/4 Angel Warrior creature with flying, for Emeria's Call.
2. 1/1 Cat creature, for Attended Healer.
3. 2/2 Cat Beast creature, for Felidar Retreat.
4. 1/1 Kor Warrior creature, for Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients and Squad Commander.
5. 2/2 Drake creature with flying, for Roost of Drakes.
6. */* Illusion creature, for Inscription of Insight and Skyclave Apparition.
7. 1/1 Insect creature, for Iridescent Hornbeetle, Scute Swarm and Swarm Shambler.
8. 0/1 Plant creature, for Phylath, World Sculptor.
9. */* Hydra creature, for Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager.
10. 1/1 Construct artifact creature for Myriad Construct.
11. 0/1 Goblin Construct artifact creature with "This creature can't block" and "At the beginning of your upkeep, this creature deals 1 damage to you," for Relic Robber.
12. Copy, for Lithoform Engine, Jace, Mirror Mage, Scute Swarm, Skyclave Relic and Verazol, the Split Current.

Themes and mechanics

Helper card

A new mechanic in Zendikar Rising takes a popular theme that players like and twists it in a new way: party, a batching mechanic which resembles the ally tribal strategy of previous Zendikar visits. (Allies themselves do not appear in the set.) A party looks for one of each of Clerics, Rogues, Warriors and Wizards among creatures you control, then scales an effect on the size of the party.

The second new mechanic is modal double-faced cards (MDFCs). Like previous double-faced cards, modal double-faced cards have two faces, one on each side. However, when you play a modal double-faced card, you choose the face you're playing: they don't transform. Each draft booster contains a modal double-faced card. The set also introduces helper cards: similar to the checklist cards of past sets, they can be used to replace an unsleeved card. In lieu of the abandoned block model, R&D has found a new way to tie together the three non-core premier sets in a single Magic "year" (aka the fall, winter, and spring sets—using northern hemisphere seasons): they share a common mechanic. For Zendikar Rising, Kaldheim and Strixhaven: School of Mages that is MDFCs.

There are two returning mechanics, both of which have appeared in a Zendikar set before. The first of these is kicker, a keyword ability that allows you to pay an extra cost for a bonus effect. Kicker was first featured in the Invasion block, later appeared in the original Zendikar set, and was last seen in the Dominaria expansion. The second returning mechanic is landfall, an ability word for abilities that trigger on lands entering the battlefield under your control. All cards with landfall in the set receive an alternate showcase treatment.

The set also sees the return of "two-brid mana", first featured in Shadowmoor, on Tazri, Beacon of Unity. Similar to regular hybrid mana, two-brid mana symbols can be paid with two mana of any color or one mana of a specific color.

All Equipment in the set attach itself to target creature you control when it enters the battlefield.

Card types

Zendikar Rising has a class tribal theme, centered on Clerics, Rogues, Warriors, and Wizards. In the art, each class has its own distinctive costuming. The classes also all have an associated mechanic.

Each color in the set features specific class creature types. With any 2 colour combination you can have a full party with cards from only Zendikar Rising.

Party type	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary	None	Mechanic
Cleric					Life gain
Warrior					Snap-on equipment (one free attachment)
Wizard					Caring about instants, sorceries, and other Wizards.
Rogue					Caring about cards in opponent's graveyards.

Canyon Jerboa is the first non-token creature to feature the Mouse creature type.

Limited archetypes

Zendikar Rising features the following limited archetypes:

• : Party control (Spoils of Adventure)
• : Rogue tribal, mill (Soaring Thought-Thief)
• : Party aggro (Ravager's Mace)
• : Landfall aggro (Brushfire Elemental)
• : Landfall midrange (Murasa Rootgrazer)
• : Cleric tribal, lifegain (Cleric of Life's Bond)
• : Wizard tribal, "spells matter" (Umara Mystic)
• : +1/+1 counters (Moss-Pit Skeleton)
• : Warrior tribal, Equipment (Kargan Warleader)
• : Kicker ramp (Lullmage's Familiar)

Cycles

Zendikar Rising features at least nine cycles, including two partial cycles, a mega cycle and a vertical cycle.

Class cycles

Cycle name	Cleric	Wizard	Rogue	Warrior
Relics	Relic Vial	Relic Amulet	Relic Golem	Relic Axe
	Four uncommon artifacts, one for each of the party class types, that work better with their respective class. The Golem does not explicitly mention Rogues, but gets better with milling the opponent.
Expeditioners	Expedition Healer ()	Expedition Diviner ()	Expedition Skulker ()	Expedition Champion ()
	Four common creatures, one for each of the party class types, that get stronger if you control another creature of the same type.

Modal double-faced cycles

Cycle name	Side
Mythic sorceries		Emeria's Call	Sea Gate Restoration	Agadeem’s Awakening	Shatterskull Smashing	Turntimber Symbiosis
		Emeria, Shattered Skyclave	Sea Gate, Reborn	Agadeem, the Undercrypt	Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass	Turntimber, Serpentine Wood
	Five mythic rare modal double-faced sorceries, each with a land on the back side that enters the battlefield tapped unless you pay 3 life.
Rares		Ondu Inversion	Glasspool Mimic	Hagra Mauling	Valakut Awakening	Kazandu Mammoth
		Ondu Skyruins	Glasspool Shore	Hagra Broodpit	Valakut Stoneforge	Kazandu Valley
	Five rare modal double-faced cards, each with a tapland on the back side.
Uncommon creatures		Skyclave Cleric	Umara Wizard	Blackbloom Rogue	Akoum Warrior	Tangled Florahedron
		Skyclave Basilica	Umara Skyfalls	Blackbloom Bog	Akoum Teeth	Tangled Vale
	Five uncommon modal double-faced creatures, each with a tapland on the back side.
Uncommon spells		Kabira Takedown	Beyeen Veil	Malakir Rebirth	Kazuul's Fury	Bala Ged Recovery
		Kabira Plateau	Beyeen Coast	Malakir Mire	Kazuul's Cliffs	Bala Ged Sanctuary
		Makindi Stampede	Silundi Vision	Pelakka Predation	Song-Mad Treachery	Khalni Ambush
		Makindi Mesas	Silundi Isle	Pelakka Caverns	Song-Mad Ruins	Khalni Territory
		Sejiri Shelter	Jwari Disruption	Zof Consumption	Spikefield Hazard	Vastwood Fortification
		Sejiri Glacier	Jwari Ruins	Zof Bloodbog	Spikefield Cave	Vastwood Thicket
	Fifteen uncommon modal double-faced instants or sorceries, each with a tapland on the back side.

Double cycles

Cycle name
Gold legends	Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate	Zareth San, the Trickster	Zagras, Thief of Heartbeats	Phylath, World Sculptor	Yasharn, Implacable Earth	Orah, Skyclave Hierophant	Kaza, Roil Chaser	Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager	Akiri, Fearless Voyager	Verazol, the Split Current
	Ten rare dual-colored legendary creatures, each loosely supporting a draft archetype.
Gold signposts	Spoils of Adventure	Soaring Thought-Thief	Ravager's Mace	Brushfire Elemental	Murasa Rootgrazer	Cleric of Life's Bond	Umara Mystic	Moss-Pit Skeleton	Kargan Warleader	Lullmage's Familiar
	Ten uncommon dual-colored spells, each a signpost for a draft archetype.

Mega cycles

Cycle name	Side
Pathways			Clearwater Pathway		Cragcrown Pathway	Branchloft Pathway	Brightclimb Pathway	Riverglide Pathway		Needleverge Pathway
			Murkwater Pathway		Timbercrown Pathway	Boulderloft Pathway	Grimclimb Pathway	Lavaglide Pathway		Pillarverge Pathway
	Six rare modal double-faced lands, each side of which enters untapped and taps for a single color of mana. The other four are flagged for Kaldheim.

Vertical cycles

Cycle name
Multiclass creatures	Tajuru Paragon	Veteran Adventurer	Stonework Packbeast
	Each of these three creatures has a characteristic-defining ability which makes them also a Cleric, Rogue, Warrior, and Wizard. They can therefore fill any position in your party.

Pairs

Mirrored Pairs		Description
Sure-Footed Infiltrator ()	Shadow Stinger ()	Uncommon Rogue creatures, each with an activated ability which taps another Rogue you control to gain an ability and a saboteur-style triggered ability.

Reprinted cards

The following cards have been reprinted:

• Disenchant, first printed in Alpha, last seen in Core Set 2020.
• Into the Roil, first printed in Zendikar, last seen in Commander 2018.
• Lotus Cobra, first printed in Zendikar, last seen in Iconic Masters.
• Negate, first printed in Morningtide, last seen in Core Set 2020.
• Pressure Point, first printed in Fate Reforged, last seen in Mystery Booster.
• Rabid Bite, first printed in Shadows over Innistrad, last seen in Core Set 2020.
• Smite the Monstrous, first printed in Innistrad, last seen in Battle for Zendikar.
• Subtle Strike, first printed in Kaladesh.
• Tormenting Voice, first printed in Khans of Tarkir, last seen in Game Night.
• Vanquish the Weak, first printed in Ixalan.

Functional reprints

• Cliffhaven Sell-Sword is a functional reprint of Blade of the Sixth Pride, Devilthorn Fox, Dromoka Warrior, Knight of New Benalia, Oreskos Swiftclaw, Raptor Companion and Savai Sabertooth, except for creature types.
• Dauntless Survivor is a functional reprint of Ironshell Beetle and Timberland Guide, except for creature types.
• Living Tempest is a functional reprint of Faerie Invaders, Spire Monitor, Stormrider Spirit and Wind Strider, except for creature types.
• Murasa Brute is a functional reprint of Centaur Courser, Harrier Naga and Nessian Courser, except for creature types.
• Tajuru Blightblade is a functional reprint of Moss Viper and Sedge Scorpion, except for creature types.

Preconstructed decks

Zendikar Rising introduces Commander decks that are released as a regular part of a set's product line.

Theme deck name	Color Identity					Commander
Land's Wrath	W			R	G	Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor
Sneak Attack		U	B			Anowon, the Ruin Thief

External links

• Zendikar Rising Teaser (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (August 24, 2020).
• Zendikar Rising Official Trailer (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (September 1, 2020).
• The Zendikar Adventuring Party (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (September 1, 2020).
• Blake Rasmussen (September 17, 2020). "Zendikar Rising Art Descriptions". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.