Paper Magic Aetherdrift's global release falls on February 14, 2025, while for MTG Arena and Magic Online, the set will be available on February 11.
The previews started on January 21 and will end just 10 days later on January 31, when the full set will be completely displayed.
Aetherdrift will be a standard legal set, and for the first time, Play Boosters Boxes will contain only 30 Play Boosters instead of the usual 36. The official reason for that is that since the release of Karlov Manor, Wizards of the Coast received feedback from both retailers and storeowners asking for smaller boxes to sell faster and easily.
With the first cards already revealed, it is time to speculate on the possibility that some of them will see competitive play.
In today’s article, we will see specifically 5 of the cards that have caught my attention and I think can find their spot in the standard metagame or maybe even in older formats.
The Mythics
Brightglass Gearhulk has been among the first cards to be revealed and the first Gearhulk we had the chance to see. To say that its mana cost is not a problem would certainly be a lie, but this is definitely a price to pay in order to have access to such a strong card. Thanks to its effect, we can tutor 2 cards (creatures, artifacts, and enchantments) with mana cost 1 or less from our deck. This effect is definitely very strong as it gives us the possibility to get 2 additional resources using only one card.
In recent years, we have seen how cards capable of cycle themselves have emerged and become relevant also due to the strong presence of removal spells. In this case, the Gearhulk generates two resources and not just one, hence there should be no way this card is bad. Even if we stick to the most recent formats such as Standard and Pioneer, the uses of this creature are many. T
he colors might not be the best for this kind of effect, but the value this card is able to generate is astonishing. On top of that, this card is not just a vanilla 4/4, but it also has First Strike and Trample, making it really hard to face for aggro decks. This card seems to fit every matchup as it generates a lot of value to win against Midrange and Control decks and it has a good body to face Aggro and Midrange decks as well.
Pros: the card can be a 3 for 1, good body.
Cons: the mana cost is too specific.
Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied is a completely different card from the aforementioned Gearhulk but is possibly even stronger than it. A 6/6 body for a 5 mana creature is not amazing anymore, but it can still be considered a good one. Its indestructible ability makes it immune to the most used removals in Standard and only an exile effect will be really effective against this creature. At the moment in Standard, however, these effects are not so common and especially not cheap at all.
Due to its effect, this is a card that must be removed immediately, otherwise it will be able to generate so much value that it will make it possible for its controller to snowball the game.
In fact, if you want to translate its effect into simple words, this card will be able to block and attack only one turn out of two, while the in the remaining turns it will draw two cards.
On top of that, the fact that it has reach and indestructible makes the card perfect to block anything. On the other hand, the creature also has trample that can allow its controller to end games quickly whenever possible. In fact, it should not be forgotten that this card becomes bigger and bigger as the game progresses thanks to the counters that it gets every turn.
Pros: can generate infinite value as the game progresses, decent body, amazing effects.
Cons: high cost, weak to exile spells (in case any cheap one gets printed in this set).
The Rares
Among the rares, I have chosen two legendary creatures that have, although in different ways, very relevant synergies with artifacts.
When I saw Winter, Cursed Rider for the first time, I had to reread it a couple of times to make sure I was not crazy. The card makes no sense to me for how strong it is, and I honestly believe that we are talking about a too high power level for a 2 mana creature.
The card is very strong, but in order to release its true potential, it needs a proper setup and a deck with many artifact creatures so that it becomes easier to exploit its exhaust ability in the most effective way. The body is good, and its ward ability is really good. On top of that, if we want to deal with other artifacts, we'll have to either remove it first or pay 2 life for each one of them. This card looks like the perfect fit for an Aggro/Midrange artifact deck.
Speaking of Standard, I think we will see this card played but only in specific archetypes, and therefore there is a chance that it will remain unused for a while before the right cards will be printed. In my vision, this card is strongly dependent on the presence of valid artifacts in the format.
Mendicant Core, Guidelight, on the other hand, might not need as much as Winter, Cursed Rider to be played in Standard. Azorius Glyph was already a deck a few months ago, and this card looks like the missing piece for that deck. The archetype could be already available in Standard, and we might see this card being played immediately after it gets released. Its body is highly dependent on the number of artifacts we control, but it starts at 1/3. What I really like about this card is not the body itself but its Max Speed effect that can generate such a huge value.
Conclusions
So far, the spoilers have shown us really interesting cards and especially a common line focused on artifacts. Almost half the set has been revealed, and there are several cards that show excellent chances of being played in Standard. With the hope of finding some other goodies among the spoilers, all I can say is thank you for reading my articles and see you in the next one!