MTG Aetherdrift’s new headline card should be absolutely busted

Magic: The Gathering’s new Aetherdrift set promises to be one of the more unique efforts in recent years, as players compete in a multiversal race across several planes. Happily, the new headline card also looks like an absolute doozy with a ton of potential in the right setup.

As sets go, Aetherdrift is one of those offerings that really feels like it’s pushing Magic: The Gathering in fresh and exciting directions. It’s adding a plethora of new mechanics and keyword abilities, all of which fit into this new set seamlessly, while at the same time having interesting implications for the wider formats.

There are also brand-new cards on offer from lands, to vehicles, to drivers, all of which should allow you to construct sets that feel very thematically cohesive, as well as mechanically potent. The central card of the set is The Aetherspark, and it has some very interesting potential applications to be aware of.

The Aetherspark has plenty of potential

Dexerto/Wizards of the Coast

Looking at The Aetherspark for the first time is a weird experience. It’s technically a Planeswalker, though in this case it’s denoted as a Legendary Artifact Planeswalker – Equipment. This unique categorization is interesting because, while it always remains a Planeswalker, its Equipment status means it can be used in ways that no other cards of that type can.

The big feature to look out for and understand about the card is its passive effect, which serves as your main guidance in exactly how to play with it.

“As long The Aetherspark is attached to a creature, The Aetherspark can’t be attacked and has ‘Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage during your turn, put that many loyalty counters on The Aetherspark,'” the card reads.

This mechanical feature then leads into the three active effects available for the Aetherspark, as follows:

+1 Loyalty

• Attach The Aetherspark to up to one target creature you control. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature.

-5 Loyalty

• Draw two cards.

-10 Loyalty

• Add ten mana of any one color.

The three effects above leads to a fairly logical play rotation that feels relatively safe to work through without too much worry, with the only major risks being decks with direct counters.

Generally, you’ll be looking to equip to a creature and build up loyalty, before spending it for genuinely impressive boons. Holding on for that ten mana boost likely won’t be the optimum play in many cases, but the draw two is a great and universally useful second option to have.

If you do end up going for the ultimate ability in its playbook, the ten mana boost has the potential to be absolutely bonkers. It has the most application in Limited games, and should feel at home in any deck, with the same largely true for Commander, particularly thanks to the search options available.

Standard is a bit of a trickier proposition and the potential for pitfalls more significant. The sheer number of direct removal cards available could negate the best of The Aetherspark’s excesses, though it does still have some potential in decks built around its functions.