Urza and Mishra: two iconic figures of Magic’s lore. Never did I think we would see these two names again outside a Masters set. I mean, the one Mishra we have comes from Time Spiral and is dreadful in Commander. This is a stark contrast from the strong Urza we got to see in Modern Horizons. And yet here we are!
The iconic siblings finally receive their own set in The Brothers’ War. No longer do we have to look at Antiquities for slices of lore and I, for one, am insanely excited. We’ve already gotten a taste of what’s to come from the official Wizards of the Coast (WotC) preview stream, but there is still plenty left up in the air. What will we see in The Brothers’ War? I have a few ideas, and if I get them right, you, my dear reader, owe me a booster pack!
Tocasia
Let’s start off strong with Tocasia, the woman who taught the apprenticed Urza and Mishra before they got all murdery and bickery. Without this woman, we would not have the Urza and Mishra we know today. It was she who taught the brothers the craft of artifice and about the Thran. She was also present for the discovery of the Mightstone and Weakstone.
She was also murdered by the two brothers after she tried to stop a fight between the two, because apparently pretty rocks just do that.
Since this woman is at the heart of The Brothers’ War lore, I would hope to see a legendary creature pop up in the set (at the very least an uncommon legendary). Fingers crossed!
Golgothian Sylex
I know, I know. You’re going to tell me that there’s already a Golgothian Sylex card from Antiquities. While that may be true, it is also extremely old and could definitely use an update. I mean, this is what Urza used to unleash the Sylex Blast, decimate Argoth, and end the Brothers’ War.
In my mind, the Sylex would make for an incredibly destructive battlefield wipe, perhaps even a “restart the game” spell. The original printing has all cards from Antiquities “discarded from play.” That seems rather lackluster compared to what it did in the lore. The art in Urza’s Ruinous Blast is very telling of just how powerful this tiny little Sylex can be.
Argoth
I am absolutely desperate to see what Argoth was like before the brothers got their hands on it. What we know of Argoth comes from cards like Gaea’s Cradle and Titania, Protector of Argoth, as well as a few other older game pieces.
We’ve gotten such small glimpses of the island that has become an iconic scene and place in the Brothers’ War. After all, it’s where the Sylex Blast took place. Since the island was practically wiped off the map, it would be nice to experience it mid-war since we no longer have access to the location in modern Dominaria.
Urza’s Spark Ignites
So Urza might have committed a war crime or two and ended up killing his brother in the process. Obviously this is the perfect recipe for him to ignite his planeswalker spark! Well, good news, he did!
I would absolutely love to see a card depicting Urza getting his spark. I mean, sure, we can see him as a planeswalker in his melded Urza, Planeswalker card, but I would love to see the actual moment where it happens, how the combination of the stones, the disintegration of his brother, and his grief culminates in one spark-igniting moment. Maybe the spell could let you tutor for a planeswalker card or let you activate multiple loyalty abilities. The possibilities are endless, and I really hope this is something we get to see.
Atogs
I can dream, okay?! I won’t stop until Atog tribal is a viable and strong theme in Commander, and I am using my platform to manifest this into existence. Now please, put your hands on your computer monitor or phone screen and chant this three times:
Atogs will be in Standard again.
Atog tribal will be viable.
Atogatog will spike in price.
Old Phyrexians
The Phyrexians of present-day Magic are a far cry of the Phyrexians of old. Back in my day, Phyrexians were more like Cenobites from Hellraiser. I mean, to be fair, they still kind of are, but they are more machine than flesh. Back in the day, Phyrexians were absolutely gnarly, beings of flesh spread thin over bone and metal. Quite frankly, they are my sleep paralysis demons.
What I would love to see from this set are these older types of Phyrexians. This is the perfect set to do so, as we are walking into a time capsule of Magic lore.
Phyrexian Lord
Now let’s split some hairs here. Phyrexian finally got its own creature type in Kaldheim and has since been retroactively added back to cards as far as Antiquities. You love to see it; at least, I know I do. This little tidbit of information, coupled with the recent crop-ups of the Praetors in recent Magic lore has me hoping for a Phyrexian lord in The Brothers’ War. That’s right, I want to see tribal in this set, even if it’s just one piece. We got some good tribal lords in Dominaria United, so why not The Brothers’ War? I want a Leaf-Crowned Visionary but for Phyrexians! Is that too much to ask?
War Machines
People sometimes complain that mechs have no place in Magic. I say boo to that, because that’s just plain wrong. Before the vehicles of Kaladesh and Kamigawa, there was Mishra’s War Machine… I mean, granted, it looks like an observatory on wooden wheels in Antiquities, but we are in 2022! I wanna see some crazy mechs!!
And I know that we’ve already gotten some hints towards this in some of The Brothers’ War basic lands, but I want to see this monster behemoth in creature form just decimating the table. I want battlefield wipes, noncombat damage, token makers! I want it all! These things are supposed to be life-ending instruments of war, and I absolutely love that we see that reflected in their size in the basics. Now let’s hope we get some actual creature cards!
Mishra Versions of the Urza Lands
I know this is me being hopeful, but dangit, I’m gonna try to manifest it. I want to see Mishra versions of the Urzatron lands! Yeah, I know there’s such a thing as Mishra’s Factory, which is meh, and his Workshop (which is insanely expensive). Heck, there’s even a Mishra’s Foundry in the new set, but it’s a creature-land!
It’s more of a callback to his Factory, and I would love to see Mishra get his version of the iconic Tron lands! They’re just too cool, and I know that would be a major flavor win. Besides, everyone loves Tron, right?
Powerstone Payoffs
Lastly, we have Powerstone payoffs! Stick with me on this one. In Dominaria United, we saw a new Karn get printed: Karn, Living Legacy. His +1 loyalty ability has him create a tapped Powerstone token. The Mightstone and Weakstone are halves of an ancient Thran powerstone. Are you starting to see what’s going on here?
No? Well, I want to see some form of interaction with Powerstones in The Brothers’ War. Karn specifically makes Powerstone tokens, which makes me think that was done on purpose. Could this possibly lead to an interaction with the ancient Thran powerstone in the next set? I mean, The Mightstone and Weakstone does have the card type Powerstone, which lends even more credibility to this hypothesis. Maybe the more Powerstones you have, the bigger the buff your artifact creatures get? Or maybe they could reduce the power and toughness of creatures your opponents control. Either way, this is a thread I noticed amongst card designs, and I am hoping we see a payoff or interaction with it soon.
A Future Partly Written
There you have it! These are my hopes/predictions for The Brothers’ War. To be honest, it was challenging to write this because we already know what happens in the Brothers’ War. Urza causes mass destruction and his brother dies. But who knows? Maybe something might happen that will change the timeline of this war. After all, we do know that Teferi and Saheeli are in this set, based on the art we saw in the official WotC preview.
Let me know what you think of my hopes/predictions and what you hope to see in the upcoming set as well. Happy hypothesizing, deckbuilders!
