Eventide

Eventide

 

Theme decks

 

Eventide
Set Information
Set symbol
Design	Mark Rosewater (lead) Alexis Janson Ken Nagle Jake Theis Brian Tinsman
Development	Matt Place (lead) Nate Heiss Erik Lauer Ken Nagle Mike Turian
Art direction	Jeremy Jarvis
Release date	July 25, 2008
Plane	Shadowmoor
Themes and mechanics	Hybrid mana (enemy colors), Untapping, -1/-1 counters
Keywords/​ability words	Chroma, Persist, Retrace, Wither
Set size	180 cards (60 commons, 40 uncommons, 50 rares)
Expansion code	EVE
Development codename	Doughnut
Shadowmoor block
Shadowmoor Eventide N/A
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Shadowmoor Eventide From the Vault: Dragons

For other uses, see Eventide (disambiguation).

Eventide is the forty-sixth Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released July 25, 2008, as the second set, of two, in the Shadowmoor block. Prerelease Events were held July 12–13, 2008. Release events were held July 26–27, 2008.

Set details

Eventide contains 180 cards (60 rare, 60 uncommon, and 60 commons). Its expansion symbol is a reflection of the expansion symbol from Morningtide. It suggests a mostly eclipsed sun. Eventide continues with setting and themes already established in Shadowmoor except that the hybrid spells used in this set are enemy-colored as opposed to Shadowmoor's ally-colored. A large quantity of Mega Cycles are embedded in the two sets, with ten cards total, five allied-colored in Shadowmoor and five enemy-colored in Eventide. Eventide added the new creature type "Noggle" to the list. The set was accompanied by the novel of the same name, written by Cory J. Herndon and Scott McGough.

Flavor and storyline

As the gloom deepens over the world of Shadowmoor, the plane's eerie transformation is complete. Selkies, duergar, hobgoblins, and other creatures from the macabre fringes of folklore thrive in the permanent night. Their mix of mischief and malice drives the wholesome elves and the xenophobic kithkin back into their strongholds, opening the door for sinister forces to reign.

Marketing

Eventide was sold in 16-card boosters, four preconstructed theme decks and a fat pack. It was the last set that supplied a Pro Tour Player Card with the decks and the fat pack. The booster packs featured artwork from Archon of Justice, Cold-Eyed Selkie and Overbeing of Myth. The promotional prerelease card for Eventide was a foil Overbeing of Myth with alternate art, a card that emphasizes hybrid mana. The release card was Figure of Destiny.

Like Shadowmoor boosters before them, boosters of Eventide come with a bonus sixteenth card that is either a "rules card" or a creature token from Eventide. One face of the Eventide bonus card has one of eight different rules tips or is one of 9 different creature tokens. The other face has one of 12 advertisements for organized play programs, the Eventide novel, From the Vault: Dragons, Gleemax, fat packs and Shards of Alara.

Tips & Tricks

The tips & tricks cards are

• Rules Tip: Retrace
• Rules Tip: Hybrid mana Symbols
• Rules Tip: Chroma
• Rules Tip: is the Untap Symbol
• Rules Tip: Persist
• Rules Tip: Wither
• Rules Tip: +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters
• Fun Format: Two-Headed Giant

Tokens

The Eventide tokens are:

1. 0/1 Goat produced by Springjack Pasture and Springjack Shepherd
2. 1/1 Bird with flying produced by Fable of Wolf and Owl
3. 3/3 Beast produced by Savage Conception
4. 1/1 Spirit with flying produced by Beckon Apparition
5. 5/5 Elemental with flying produced by Call the Skybreaker
6. 1/1 Worm produced by Creakwood Liege and Worm Harvest
7. 1/1 Goblin Soldier produced by Rise of the Hobgoblins

"Kithkin Soldier" produced by Cenn's Enlistment, Gwyllion Hedge-Mage, Patrol Signaler and "Wolf" produced by Fable of Wolf and Owl have been reprinted from Shadowmoor with their original art and expansion symbol.

Mechanics

Mechanically, Eventide continues what Shadowmoor began with the reuse of the heavy use of -1/-1 counters, Wither, Persist and the untap symbol .

Further, Eventide introduce the following keywords:

• Chroma — an ability word associated with abilities that count mana symbols of a certain color.
• Retrace — a keyword meaning "You may play this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs."

“

Different colors would count mana symbols in different areas of the game; in play, in hand, and in the graveyard. The zones were divvied up between the five colors. Green was given the hand because of Phosphorescent Feast and because it has had a few high-profile cards that count things in the hand (mainly cards in hand—cough, Maro, cough). The second color chosen for the hand was blue because it felt the most natural to be hand focused. Black was assigned the graveyard as no other color made sense. This left white and red to care about mana symbols in play.

”

Cycles

Eventide has 15 cycles. Seven of them are part of Shadowmoor block mega cycles. The remaining eight are:

Cycle name
Skulkin	Antler Skulkin	Shell Skulkin	Fang Skulkin	Jawbone Skulkin	Hoof Skulkin
	Each of these common Scarecrow artifact creatures can grant other creatures of a certain color a boon until end of turn.
Cycle name
Chroma spells	Light from Within	Sanity Grinding	Umbra Stalker	Fiery Bombardment	Primalcrux
	Each of these rare spells has chroma.
Enemy-color hybrid-ability creatures	Suture Spirit	Talonrend	Creakwood Ghoul	Duergar Cave-Guard	Swirling Spriggan
	Each of these uncommon monocolored creatures has an activated ability with a hybrid mana cost.
Retrace spells	Cenn's Enlistment	Oona's Grace	Raven's Crime	Flame Jab	Monstrify
	Each of these common spells has retrace.
Untappers	Ballynock Trapper	Merrow Levitator	Merrow Bonegnawer	Cinder Pyromancer	Nettle Sentinel
	Each of these common creatures has "Whenever you cast a spell of this creature's color, untap this creature".
Cycle name
Hatchlings	Voracious Hatchling	Shrewd Hatchling	Noxious Hatchling	Belligerent Hatchling	Sturdy Hatchling
	Each of these uncommon 6/6 Elemental creatures with a cost of H come into play with four -1/-1 counters on it; whenever you cast a spell that matches one of its colors you may remove one counter from it, and whenever you cast a spell that matches both of its colors you may remove two counters.
Hedge-mages	Gwyllion Hedge-Mage	Noggle Hedge-Mage	Hag Hedge-Mage	Duergar Hedge-Mage	Selkie Hedge-Mage
	Each of these uncommon 2/2 creatures with a cost of H, representing a new race native to Shadowmoor, has a comes-into-play ability that is triggered if you control two or more lands of a certain type; if you control two or more lands of two different types, its ability is stronger. These creatures are similar to the witches from Shadowmoor in that they can be played in a monocolor deck but reward you for playing multicolor.
Mimics	Nightsky Mimic	Riverfall Mimic	Woodlurker Mimic	Battlegate Mimic	Shorecrasher Mimic
	Each of these common 2/1 Shapeshifter creatures with a cost of M become more powerful when you cast a spell that matches both of its colors. These creatures are similar to the duos from Shadowmoor in that they can be played in a monocolor deck but reward you for playing multicolor.

Mega Cycles

Eventide has seven mega cycles as part of the Shadowmoor block mega cycles. The enemy colored set in Eventide are:

Cycle name
Lieges	Deathbringer Liege	Mindwrack Liege	Creakwood Liege	Balefire Liege	Murkfiend Liege
	Each of these creatures has a mana cost of nHHH, where H is a hybrid mana symbol and n an integer of generic mana. Each liege holds two separate abilities that provides a +1/+1 bonus to a creature that matches either color, which stacks for those that match both, and each has an ability or effect appropriate its colors. The lieges from Eventide have enemy-color costs and the Horror creature type.
Demigods	Divinity of Pride	Dominus of Fealty	Deity of Scars	Nobilis of War	Overbeing of Myth
	Each of these Spirit Avatar creatures has a converted mana cost of 5, made up entirely of hybrid mana symbols.
Demigod auras	Edge of the Divinity	Clout of the Dominus	Gift of the Deity	Scourge of the Nobilis	Favor of the Overbeing
	These auras grants +1/+1 and one of two bonuses to a creature if it matches one of its colors, or +2/+2 and both bonuses if it matches both.
Common hybrid one-drops	Nip Gwyllion	Stream Hopper	Odious Trow	Duergar Assailant	Slippery Bogle
	Each of these common creatures has a mana cost of one hybrid mana.
Hybrid filter lands	Fetid Heath	Cascade Bluffs	Twilight Mire	Rugged Prairie	Flooded Grove
	Each of these rare lands can be tapped for mana. They also have the ability "M/N, : Add MM, MN, or NN." where M and N are two different colors. Reprinted in Masters 25.
Hybrid three-drops	Restless Apparition	Crag Puca	Stalker Hag	Hearthfire Hobgoblin	Wistful Selkie
	Each of these uncommon creatures has a converted mana cost of , made up entirely of hybrid mana.
Hybrid modal spells	Batwing Brume	Unnerving Assault	Cankerous Thirst	Moonhold	Invert the Skies
	Each of these uncommon hybrid spells has different effects depending on which of two colors were used to play it.

Reprinted cards

• Phosphorescent Feast — was last seen in Future Sight as a futureshifted card. It is a chroma type card before the chroma word was introduced.

Notable Cards

• Bloom Tender — a 1/1 elf for which can potentially tap for .
• Figure of Destiny — Saw plenty of competitive play as a 2/2 that could attack on turn 2 and grow beyond that. Also become the inspiration for the Level up mechanic.
• Gilder Bairn — One of the cards that can double the counters on a permanent.
• Glen Elendra Archmage — A strong control card which is both a threat and a means to stop opposing spells.
• Helix Pinnacle — An alternate-win card.
• Nettle Sentinel — Rather than being used for it's cheap aggressive body, this creature was abused with Heritage Druid as a mana combo. Two Sentinels and Druid ensured that every elf played could become another three green mana to play more elves. Especially in conjunction with Glimpse of Nature, this could lead to a very explosive start and potentially turn two kills.
• Sanity Grinding — A very potent Chroma spell which saw constructed play with the blue Demigods which the deck played four of each. Since each of these creatures had five blue mana symbols in its casting cost, it would be possible to mill up to 50 cards with a single use of this card.
• Stigma Lasher — A single strike of this card would permanently shut down any and all lifegain effects for an opponent for the rest of the game.
• Stillmoon Cavalier — A card that references the Pump-Knights of Ice Age and the follow up Jump-Knights in Coldsnap is also notable for its unusual Protection ability which grants protection from two colors that are enemies of each other, and protection from both if its own colors.

Preconstructed decks

Eventide features five two-colored, enemy-colored theme decks.

Theme deck name	Colors included
Battle Blitz	W			R
Death March			B		G
Life Drain	W		B
Sidestep		U		R
Superabundance		U			G

External links

• Eventide product information page — Wizards of the Coast
• Wizards of the Coast (June 30, 2008). "Eventide Video #1: Hybrid". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (July 1, 2008). "Eventide Video #2: Chroma". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
• Wizards of the Coast (July 2, 2008). "Eventide Video #3: Retrace". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.