PUBLISHER: WIZARDS OF THE COAST | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Magic The Gathering is the biggest collectable card game in the world, played at an international championship level, though most of us just play it for fun. In order to keep the game fresh, new cards are released regularly. Core 2021 is essentially the new ‘edition’ of Magic, and the set features reprints of established cards as well as new exciting additions. Core sets are designed to be both familiar and new, as well as easy to grasp and play.

There’s no plot-line in this deck; this is a release designed for ease of play. We do get Teferi as the central Planeswalker for the release, but as there’s no plot this doesn’t mean much.  Nice card and lovely art though. In terms of re-releases, Ugin the Spirit Dragon is back. This colour-less planeswalker has always been a fantastic choice for your deck and it’s nice to see that it’s now relatively easy to pick up. Grim Tutor is in this set and as it’s a core tool for many deck designs it’s a welcome addition.

Talking of powerhouses, new to Magic is the  Chromatic Orrery. Costs seven mana of any type, generates mana and allows you to pull more cards from your deck. It’s a pretty powerful and legendary card. Expect to see it in every net deck and experimental Commander build for the next year. We’ll also see plenty of Azusa Lost But Seeking in Commander, as this land optimising card is also reprinted here. For sheer wow factor though, Terror of The Peaks is an impressive looking dragon that does quite a lot of damage. We are going to see that card everywhere.

This is a solid release and one clearly designed to satisfy old school players but also be accessible to new starters. Core 2021 is a balanced and colourful deck, and though not revolutionary it’s still a must for Magic fans.