All Art, All The Time - An Unstable Token Preview
After ten years of waiting, we, the Magic: the Gathering populace, finally get to play with a new set of silver bordered cards in Unstable.
Brewing in the mind of Mark Rosewater since time immemorial, I'm willing to bet that this set is going to be like nothing we've seen before. The amount of love, thought, and consideration that will have gone into design is certain to result in a unique experience.
Speaking of unique experiences, I had one a few weeks ago, when Wizards of the Coast reached out with some Unstable spoilers for me to share here on OMA.
Needless to say, I agreed without hesitation and I'm so very privileged and excited to share these new cards with you today.
Secrets of the Unstable Tokens
Every pack of Unstable will include:
- 2 Contraptions
- 1 Foil Token
- 1 John Avon Land
- 12 Unstable Cards
While all of that is exciting, I'm here to talk about one thing, and one thing only - TOKENS!
Specifically, two new sets of Foil Tokens that will only be available in Unstable Boosters.
The first set of Tokens follow the standard format - token on the front, ad on the back, and in varieties relevant to cards printed in the set.
New foil tokens are always exciting and the Mothership will be sharing more details about those tokens in a separate article.
What I am so thrilled to be able to share is the second set, the fronts of which some of you might recognize...
That's right, Full Art Tokens! More art than you ever thought possible. 100% Art Tokens. No filler, just art.
Upon opening the email from WotC, my first thought was, "These are gorgeous".
My next thought was, "I really want to draft a ton of Unstable!"
Foil Just Art TokensTM in half of the Booster packs, combined with Contraptions, new Fuller Art Lands by John Avon, and what appears to be an amazing selection of Cube staples, all wrapped up in a hopefully enjoyable draft format - can we really ask for more?
We're Magic players, so of course we will, but these Ultra Art Tokens (the naming quest continues) are seriously awesome.
One of the things that I love about these Tokens is that they show that Wizards is willing to keep on experimenting with the card frame, even getting rid of it entirely.
Given the amount of art you're getting on the card, these new Tokens are more like Mini-Prints than anything we've seen before. They are truly a testament to how much Wizards of the Coast values and appreciates the art that brings the game to life.
This wouldn't really work all that well with regular cards (textless cards have caused enough problems, let's not venture into the realm of namless, textless cards) but for Tokens it makes perfect sense.
Not only do you achieve MAXIMUM ART, but you also have the versatility of using the text side with new players, and the textless side with a more established playgroup. In many ways, it's the best of both worlds.
The variety of Tokens WotC chose is quite smart as well. With the exception of the */* Elemental, they all see significant amounts of competitive and casual play, usually in large amounts.
With over 400 different types of Tokens in the game, it's inevitable that some fan favorites won't make the cut, but I think WotC did a commendable job choosing the cast and the artwork for these unique Tokens.
With 24 days left until Unstable Draft Weekend, I'm left counting the days until I can get my hands on these Tokens and the rest of the exciting cards from Unstable.
While we all wait, there is only one last thing to do...