Future Sight

Template:Expansion Nonblock Future Sight, codenamed "Pop", is the third expansion in the Time Spiral block and forty-second Magic: The Gathering expansion. It is scheduled for release on May 4, 2007, and will contain 180 cards, as is customary for small sets, of which 81 cards are "futureshifted". The pre-release events for this set were held on April 21-22, 2007.

Set details

The distribution in 15-card boosters, as intimated by Mark Rosewater, will contain regular numbers for rarities — that is, one rare, three uncommons, and eleven commons — but varying numbers of futureshifted cards, "somewhere between five to ten, literally".

Mechanics

Scry is reintroduced, as are convoke, cycling, hellbent, and transmute. Deathtouch, poisonous, and reach, abilities that were formerly spelled-out on cards, are keyworded.

• Absorb n (If a source would deal damage to this creature, prevent n of that damage.)
  • This ability has a number parameter and appears only on creatures; a creature with absorb prevents the listed number of damage if it would be dealt damage. In Future Sight, absorb appears on only one card; this card is Lymph Sliver.
• Deathtouch (Whenever this creature deals damage to a creature, destroy that creature.)
  • This ability means whenever a creature with deathtouch deals damage to a creature, the latter is destroyed. The ability is long present, but only now a keyword. In Future Sight, deathtouch appears on only one card; this card is Thornweald Archer.
• Delve (You may remove any number of cards in your graveyard from the game as you play this spell. It costs 1 less to play for each card removed this way.)
  • This ability reduces the playing cost of a card with this ability by one generic mana for each card removed from the game as one plays it. In Future Sight, delve appears on only three cards; these card are Logic Knot, Death Rattle, and Tombstalker.
• Fateseal n (Look at the top n cards of an opponent's library, then put any number of them on the bottom of that player’s library and the rest on top in any order.)
  • This is an extrapolation of scry. It used to be called "evil scry."
• Frenzy n (Whenever this creature attacks and isn't blocked, it gets +n/+0 until end of turn.)
  • In Future Sight, frenzy appears on only one card; this card is Frenzy Sliver.
• Grandeur — Discard another card named [Cardname]: [Effect].
  • Thus far, this keyword ability only appears on legendary creatures. When a legendary creature with grandeur is in play, it allows its controller to discard a card that has the same name for special effects. Tactically, this allows for a player to discard of extraneous copies of a card that would otherwise be useless, due to the "legend rule". In Future Sight, grandeur appears on five cards, a cycle of rare, legendary creatures, who are the descendants of famed legends of Magic: The Gathering history; these card are Oriss, Samite Guardian (Orim, Samite Healer), Linessa, Zephyr Mage (Alexi, Zephyr Mage), Korlash, Heir to Blackblade (Dakkon Blackblade), Tarox Bladewing (Rorix Bladewing), and Baru, Fist of Krosa (Kamahl, Fist of Krosa).
• Gravestorm (When you play this spell, copy it for each permanent put into a graveyard from play this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)
  • This ability, similar to the storm ability, copies a spell with the ability for each permanent put into a graveyard from play, rather than for each spell played. In Future Sight, gravestorm appears on only one card; this card is Bitter Ordeal.
• Lifelink (Whenever this creature deals damage, its controller gains that much life.)
  • This ability means whenever a creature with lifelink deals damage, its controller gains one life for each point of damage. Like deathtouch, the ability is long present, albeit more frequently used, but only now a keyword. In Future Sight, lifelink appears on only two cards; these card are Daybreak Coronet and Mistmeadow Skulk.
• Poisonous n (Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player gets n poison counter(s). A player with ten or more poison counters loses the game.)
  • This ability means whenever a creature with poison deals combat damage (via attacking) to a player, the defending player gets X poison counters, where X is the poisonous number. Like deathtouch and lifelink, the ability is long present, albeit used in the earlier Magic sets and expansions, but only now a keyword. In Future Sight, poisonous appears on only two cards; these card are Snake Cult Initiation and Virulent Sliver.
• Reach (This creature can block creatures with flying.)
  • This ability means that a creature with reach can block a creature with flying. The keyword reach clears up many of the confusions posed by "This creature may as though it had flying." and "This creature can block as though it had flying.", ability that frequently appear on Spiders, and interactions with cards like Silhana Ledgewalker and Treetop Scout, a creature without flying that can only be blocked by creatures with flying. The ability is long present, but only now a keyword. In Future Sight, reach appears on only one card; this card is Thornweald Archer.
• Shroud (This permanent can't be the target of spells and abilities.)
  • This ability means that a permanent with shroud cannot be the target of spells and abilities. The ability is long present, but only now a keyword. In Future Sight, shroud appears on only one card; this card is Quagnoth.
• [Card type] swap [cost] ([cost]: Exchange this [card type] with a/an [card type] card in your hand.)
  • This ability allows for a player to switch a card in play with swap for a card of the same type that is in his or her hand. In Future Sight, swap (more specifically, Aura swap) appears on only one card; this card is Arcanum Wings.
• Transfigure [cost] ([cost], Sacrifice this creature: Search your library for a creature card with the same converted mana cost as this creature and put that into play. Then shuffle your library. Play only as a sorcery.)
  • This ability is "a mechanic evolution of Ravnica's transmute, except this mechanic turns a creature in play into another creature from your library rather than turning a card in hand into another card from your library." In Future Sight, transfigure appears on only one card; this card is Fleshwrither.
• [Type]cycling [cost] ([cost], Discard this card: Search your library for a [Type] card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.)
  • This ability is not new, as such, as it is effectively the same ability seen in the Scourge expansion; it is, however, new in the sense that the ability can now search out cards other than lands card with a basic land type. In Future Sight, [type]cycling, in the form of Wizardcycling and Slivercycling, appears on only two cards; these cards are Vedalken AEthermage and Homing Sliver, which not only has Slivercycling, but also grants Sliver cards Slivercycling.

Cycles

• Augurs: Augur il-Vec, Aven Augur, Augur of Skulls, Emberwilde Augur, and Llanowar Augur are common creatures with activated abilities that require the creatures to be sacrificed (during your upkeep only).
• Futureshifted dual lands: Graven Cairns, Grove of the Burnwillows, Horizon Canopy, Nimbus Maze, and River of Tears are rare lands that are able to add two colors of mana to their controller's mana pool. River of Tears was also previewed in Aaron Forsythe's When a Cycle Isn't a Cycle.
• Futureshifted Slivers: Lymph Sliver, Mesmeric Sliver, Frenzy Sliver, Homing Sliver, and Virulent Sliver are all common Slivers with abilities that have abilities previously unknown.
• Grandeur legends: Rare legendary creatures which depict the descendant of prominent legendary creatures in Magic history. Each card also has the new mechanic "grandeur", which, when such a card is in play, allows a player to discard a card with the same name to generate a powerful effect. The cards in this cycle and their ancestors are: Oriss, Samite Guardian (Orim, Samite Healer), Linessa, Zephyr Mage (Alexi, Zephyr Mage), Korlash, Heir to Blackblade (Dakkon Blackblade), Tarox Bladewing (Rorix Bladewing), and Baru, Fist of Krosa (Kamahl, Fist of Krosa).
• Magi: Wizard creatures with the abilities of an enchantment from previous sets: Magus of the Moat (Moat), Magus of the Future (Future Sight), Magus of the Abyss (The Abyss), Magus of the Moon (Blood Moon), and Magus of the Vineyard (Eladamri's Vineyard).
• Monocolored ability lands: New Benalia, Tolaria West, Dakmor Salvage, Keldon Megaliths, and Llanowar Reborn are uncommon lands that come into play tapped, and each have an ability that has yet to be printed on lands (scry, transmute, dredge, hellbent, and graft, respectively); they also tap for one mana of the respective color.
• Pacts: Rare instant spells (comprised of Intervention Pact, Pact of Negation, Slaughter Pact, Pact of the Titan, and Summoner's Pact), each with a mana cost of 0 but with a cost that is to be paid during the caster's next upkeep lest that player lose the game. This cycle, according to Mark Rosewater, is inspired by Unhinged's Rocket-Powered Turbo Slug.
• Recurring suspend spells: Uncommon sorcery spells (comprised of Chronomantic Escape, Reality Strobe, Festering March, Arc Razor, and Cyclical Evolution), each with "Suspend 3—2C" and an ability that allows them to be suspended once played (Remove CARDNAME from the game with three time counters on it.)
• Spellshapers: Goldmeadow Lookout, Cloudseeder, Skirk Ridge Exhumer, Sparkspitter, Llanowar Mentor, and Silversmith are each uncommon [[Spellshaper}Spellshapers]] with an activated ability that creates a common creature card that is, in all but one case, from Magic's past, which are also referenced by name; the respective creatures, which each have converted mana cost of 1, that each Spellshaper creates are: Goldmeadow Harrier, Cloud Sprite, Spark Elemental, Festering Goblin, Llanowar Elves, and Metallic Sliver.
• Textless, vanilla creatures: Blade of the Sixth Pride, Blind Phantasm, Mass of Ghouls, Fomori Nomad, and Nessian Courser are creature, all of which have no abilities and are the only cards (other than promotional cards) to have textless frames.

External links

• Future Sight Logo and Symbol
• Official Future Sight Information Product Page
• Official Future Sight Minisite