Kaladesh

Kaladesh is the 72nd Magic expansion, and the first in the Kaladesh block. It was released on September 30, 2016, and is a large expansion. At the time of its release, it was set on the plane of the same name (later changed to Avishkar with the release of Aetherdrift).

Set details

Kaladesh contains 264 cards (15 basic lands, 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, 15 mythic rares) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. The expansion symbol is a Far Eastern-inspired floral motif, representing the aether of the plane. Kaladesh premieres Planeswalker decks, which replace Intro packs. These contain 10 additional cards considered part of the set (2 mythic planeswalkers, 2 rares, 2 uncommons, 2 commons, and 2 common dual lands). These are numbered #265/264 to #274/264). The Fat pack for this set was reimagined as the Kaladesh Bundle.

Although Wizards of the Coast used the ligature Æ — the A and E combined into one letter — for aether since the beginning of the game, this was changed for Kaladesh, which features the stuff heavily. According to Blake Rasmussen, it caused way more issues than it was worth (particularly in translation). The set introduces create as a new vocabulary word. Create is used when a card or effect puts a token onto the battlefield.

Storyline

Kaladesh (first glimpsed in Magic Origins as the birthplane of Chandra Nalaar) is a plane where natural mages are rare. Work that would be done with magic on other planes is instead accomplished through devices. The automatons, thopters, and other artifact creatures of the plane are fueled by aether, which is heavily trafficked. Artifacts are built as much for beauty as for function. Fire magic is strictly banned, and pyromancy is punishable by death. Chandra returns to Kaladesh and saves her mother from her nemesis Baral. The Gatewatch unexpectedly is confronted by the scheming Tezzeret.

Kaladesh is ruled by the Consulate. Their forces and works are nearly omnipresent.

Pivotal story moments are now marked with Story Spotlight at the bottom of the card accompanied by an iterator and the total number of spotlight cards. They all have a planeswalker watermark to help signify that they are Story Spotlight cards. The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Kaladesh are: Inventors' Fair, Captured by the Consulate, Deadlock Trap, Fateful Showdown and Confiscation Coup. They also refer to the new storyline url mtgstory.com.

Magic Story

Marketing

Kaladesh is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card), two planeswalker decks, the Kaladesh bundle, a Deck Builder's Toolkit, Booster Battle Packs and a Gift Box. The boosters feature artwork from Saheeli Rai, Dovin Baan, Demon of Dark Schemes, Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Angel of Invention. Prerelease Events took place on September 24, 2016. In addition to the normal spindown life counter and stamped premium foil promo card, Prerelease Packs contain a little make-your-own-thopter insert.

Kaladesh Inventions

Building on the success of the Zendikar Expeditions, Wizards of the Coast expanded the product in the Masterpiece Series. For the Kaladesh Block they are called Kaladesh Inventions. These are all premium foil cards with a special Kaladeshi card frame and a separate expansion symbol. Thus, they are not part of the set. Kaladesh Inventions are all artifacts, include all new art and flavor text set on Kaladesh, and appear slightly more often than premium mythic rares. These cards are playable in limited and formats where they're already legal. 30 Invention cards are appearing with Kaladesh and 24 more cards appearing in Aether Revolt.

Promotional Cards

• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare from the set.
• Launch promo: Saheeli's Artistry
• Game Day: full-art Essence Extraction
• Game Day (Top 8): full-art Cultivator of Blades
• Buy-a-Box: Skyship Stalker

Holiday Buy-a-Box Promotion

As a holiday promotion, starting November 26, purchasers of a booster display box of Kaladesh received two bonus holiday packs. These boosters contain:

• A premium card from a currently legal Standard set (excluding Oath of the Gatewatch and double-faced cards, but including Zendikar Expeditions and Kaladesh Inventions).
• Two non-premium cards that are either rare or a mythic rare from a Battle for Zendikar through Kaladesh.

This content is the same as that of the previously announced Standard Showdown packs.

Tokens and emblems

Kaladesh features 9 tokens and 3 emblems.

1. 6/6 Beast for Architect of the Untamed
2. */* Construct for Metallurgic Summonings and Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
3. */* Construct
4. 1/1 Servo for any card with fabricate as well as Animation Module, Cogworker's Puzzleknot, Master Trinketeer and Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
5. 1/1 Servo
6. 1/1 Servo
7. 1/1 Thopter with flying for Experimental Aviator, Pia Nalaar, Whirlermaker, Whirler Virtuoso
8. 1/1 Thopter with flying
9. 1/1 Thopter with flying
10. Emblem for Chandra, Torch of Defiance
11. Emblem for Nissa, Vital Force
12. Emblem for Dovin Baan

Energy Reserve markers were inadvertently omitted from the initial print run of Kaladesh. They do appear in subsequent print runs, such as Kaladesh boosters included in Aether Revolt prerelease packs.

Misprints

Two cards exclusive to the Nissa Planeswalker Deck had their illustration credit swapped.

• Guardian of the Great Conduit — miscredited to Magali Villeneuve; it should be Christine Choi.
• Terrain Elemental — miscredited to Christine Choi; it should be Magali Villeneuve.

Themes and mechanics

Kaladesh is a set with less complexity than some of its recent predecessors., as there are only two new named mechanics:

• Crew — a keyword ability that enables vehicles to become artifact creatures until end of turn. To activate the crew ability, tap any number of creatures you control with total power equal to or greater than the crew number. Because the crew ability doesn't use the tap symbol, you can tap any untapped creature you control, even one that just entered the battlefield. You can even tap an animated Vehicle to crew another Vehicle.
• Fabricate — When a creature with Fabricate enters the battlefield you may put that many +1/+1 counters on the creature, or create that 1/1 colorless Servo artifact creature tokens. The number after fabricate tells you how many +1/+1 counters or Servos you get.

There are no returning named mechanics (save evergreen ones). However Inventors' Fair notably utilizes Metalcraft, and Gearseeker Serpent has Affinity for artifacts.

Energy counters (marked with an ) are a new resource, placed on players in form of a counter. They are used to pay the cost to activate abilities. Energy counters represent aether, magical energy that is found throughout the Multiverse, and is an integral part of the ecosystem on Kaladesh. Most cards that give you energy counters also give you a way to spend them. Energy counters that you get from one card can be saved up and spent on the abilities of other cards. Energy counters don't go away as phases or steps end, or as the turn ends. The only way for you to lose them is to spend them.

Kaladesh features the following limited archetypes:

• : Enter-the-Battlefield Triggers
• : Artifact Control
• : Artifact Aggro
• : Energy Beatdown
• : Fabricate Go-tall/Go-wide
• : Recursion
• : Energy & Artifacts
• : Fabricate Midrange
• : Vehicle Aggro
• : Energy Tempo

Card types

Kaladesh introduces the Vehicle artifact subtype, the Aetherborn, Pilot, and Servo creature types, as well as the Saheeli and Dovin planeswalker subtypes.

The set also reintroduces the Monkey creature type, which had been erased in the Ninth Edition.

Card frame

Vehicle cards have a special bronze and grey blocked card frame.

Cycles

Kaladesh has seven cycles:

Double cycles

Mega cycle

Triplet

Pairs

Kaladesh has one mirrored pair and one matched pair.

Reprinted cards

• Aether Tradewinds, first printed in Worldwake, last seen in Conspiracy.
• Chief of the Foundry, first printed in Magic Origins.
• Creeping Mold, first printed in Visions, last seen in 10th Edition.
• Demolish, first printed in Odyssey, last seen in Magic Origins.
• Diabolic Tutor, first printed in Odyssey, last seen in Conspiracy: Take the Crown.
• Hunt the Weak, first printed in Magic 2014, last seen in Dragons of Tarkir.
• Inspired Charge, first printed in Magic 2011, last seen in Battle for Zendikar.
• Mind Rot, first printed in Portal, last seen in Magic Origins.
• Pressure Point, first printed in Fate Reforged.
• Wind Drake, first printed in Portal, last seen in Dragon's Maze.
• Prophetic Prism, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, last seen in Gatecrash.

Uncommon to Common

• Stone Quarry (Planeswalker decks), first printed in Shadows over Innistrad
• Woodland Stream (Planeswalker decks), first printed in Shadows over Innistrad

Functional Reprints

• Chandra's Pyrohelix is a functional reprint of Twin Bolt.
• Commencement of Festivities is a functional reprint of Defend the Hearth.
• Curio Vendor is a functional reprint of Coral Eel, Coral Merfolk, Jhessian Lookout, Wetland Sambar, and Wu Infantry.
• Flame Lash is a functional reprint of Lightning Blast.
• Tasseled Dromedary is a functional reprint of Yoked Ox.
• Terror of the Fairgrounds is a functional reprint of Cobblebrute and Hulking Devil.

Card comparisons

Notable cards

• Saheeli Rai was seen originally as a below-par, Johnny-centric planeswalker that was the face of the set. However, with the release of a complementary card in Felidar Guardian in Aether Revolt, a two-card instant-kill combo known as Copy Cat was now present in Standard, and one that R&D had not foreseen. A perfected decklist, formed in the later stages of the Aether Revolt standard, was powerful enough that only one realistic counter-deck of Mardu Vehicles could stand against the combo. Adding to this the fact that R&D did not have the deck in playtesting, and it would take eighteen months to rotate, meant that Felidar Guardian needed to be banned.
• Inventors' Fair is a land with powerful upside in artifact decks and has become a staple in Modern, Legacy, and Vintage.
• Authority of the Consuls proved to be a valuable tool for white control decks in Standard as a bulwark against aggressive decks.
• Panharmonicon is the first card to "double" triggered abilities, lending its name to later cards with a similar effect and being a favorite of creative deck-builders.
• Aetherflux Reservoir is a popular card for casual Commander decks focused on gaining life, but eventually found success in the Pioneer combo deck built around Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Wildgrowth Walker which could gain enough life to use the ability in a single turn.
• Kambal, Consul of Allocation has seen play in a variety of competitive decks as a sideboard plan and threat against control and combo decks.
• Chandra, Torch of Defiance was a Standard defining card and among the most powerful Planeswalkers ever printed, and still sees consistent play in aggressive decks in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, and even Vintage. She is particularly strong in older formats where she can be combined with prison strategies to prevent the opponent from playing while slowly burning them out with her loyalty abilities.
• Skysovereign, Consul Flagship appeared in numerous Standard decks in every color but has performed especially well in Pioneer where it is both an aggro finisher and a combo piece with Greasefang, Okiba Boss.
• Paradoxical Outcome is the key combo piece in the eponymous Legacy and Vintage Paradoxical Storm decks, where it can be used to replay mana rocks to generate mana also while drawing dozens of cards.
• Torrential Gearhulk is a common win condition for control decks in Standard and Pioneer, where it can flashback a counterspell or removal spell while adding a massive body to the board.
• Fumigate was the boardwipe of choice for over a year in Standard because of its ability to stabilize a control deck from a low life total.
• Cultivator's Caravan combined mana fixing and aggressive stats to see play in multiple Standard aggro decks like Mardu Vehicles.
• Bomat Courier and Scrapheap Scrounger were aggro deck staples while in Standard, even seeing play in Rakdos decks together.
• Electrostatic Pummeler, Bristling Hydra, Harnessed Lightning, and Voltaic Brawler combined in various combinations to form an aggressive red-green aggro deck in Standard which also translated into success in Pioneer and Historic.
• Servant of the Conduit, Aether Hub, Woodweaver's Puzzleknot, and Whirler Virtuoso were a key part of the Standard decks built around Aetherworks Marvel that would eventually be banned out of the format, with the first two cards and Attune with Aether providing incredible fixing for the multicolor deck.
• Cathartic Reunion has proven a powerful method of filling the graveyard in decks like Dredge in Modern.
• Toolcraft Exemplar is a cheap aggro creature that is easily enabled by artifact decks in Standard and Pioneer.
• Fleetwheel Cruiser has seen unexpected play in Vintage since being printed, particularly because of its ability to be cast off of Mishra's Workshop as early as turn 1.
• Unlicensed Disintegration was a staple removal card for red-black decks in Standard, combining removal with direct damage.
• Lost Legacy sees sideboard play in every format where it is legal as a way to dismantle combo decks.
• Despite its weak appearance, Appetite for the Unnatural was a heavily played sideboard card for green decks in Standard.

Banned and restricted cards

• Smuggler's Copter is an artifact vehicle that allowed for blisteringly fast attacks on turn 3 while providing card selection at a low cost. It was banned alongside Emrakul, the Promised End (from Eldritch Moon) and Reflector Mage (from Oath of the Gatewatch) on January 9, 2017, in an attempt to fix and increase the variety of Standard decks. When the Pioneer format was created in 2019, Smuggler's Copter was preemptively banned, only to be later unbanned in late 2023.
• Aetherworks Marvel was the centerpiece of Marvel, a standard deck based on collecting large reserves of energy and using them to free-cast high-impact, expensive spells on turn 4. Thought to be the premiere combo deck in Pro Tour Kaladesh, the all-in version proved to be unreliable and easily disrupted. An aggro-hybrid version emerged in the later stages of the Kaladesh standard, but due to the bannings of Emrakul, the Promised End and the superior combo of Copy Cat, the Marvel strategy was suppressed until the banning of Felidar Guardian after the release of Amonkhet. While the deck was not overwhelming unlike Copy Cat, the experience of occasionally losing on the fourth turn through Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger proved to be damaging to Standard, leading to the ban of Marvel on June 14, 2017.
• Following rotation and the release of Ixalan, the new Tribal set did not instill any amount of creativity into the meta-game, with the disruptable synergies not coming close to base-rate cards in the Energy or mono-Red decks. Analysis from the Magic Online results showed that the Red deck had absurdly good matchups against anything in the format that was not Energy-based, resulting in a similar field to the Mardu vs Saheeli duality after Aether Revolt. These results were cited for the bannings in January 2018; Attune with Aether was chosen alongside Rogue Refiner to be banned to weaken the Energy deck, while Ramunap Ruins and Rampaging Ferocidon were banned from the Ramunap Red deck.

Preconstructed decks

Kaladesh has two planeswalker decks:

References