Dusk ’til Dawn previews don’t officially start until June 30, but that hasn’t stopped Legend Story Studios from dropping some early teasers from the upcoming set. With Outsiders, the new heroes were spoiled pretty late, but this time around it seems LSS is giving us the good stuff up front.
Or are they…?
First, let me say this art is incredible. We see the powerful heroes of the Light faction banding together to beat down a common foe. And right there, front and center, is Bravo, rocking the same over-the-top gear as in his first card. Bravo, Star of the Show racked up an impressive 1,500+ Living Legend points. That he was a popular hero in his time is an understatement, and while Bravo, Showstopper has given true Bravo fans an outlet in the interim, fans are loving the chance to see him in his full glory again.
But Bravo isn’t the most interesting part of this Majestic. The rule text for the Unity keyword reads “When this defends together with a card from hand, if Boltyn is in your party, create a Courage token under his control.”
Party? This isn’t something we’ve seen before. And to be able to have Boltyn, Bravo, Briar, and more in whatever this party thing is?
Are we finally getting the player-versus-environment or “PvE” format that LSS has been hinting at for so long?
Players have been asking for a cooperative PvE format for a while. It’s been said before by LSS that it’s coming, but not this year (meaning 2023). Redditors speculated that it might be in ’24 or ’25. And yet… Here we have it. A card that shows off what can only be a co-op mechanic. And honestly, what better set to introduce the PvE format than Dusk ’til Dawn, which highlights the climax of the Light vs. Shadow storyline started in Monarch? This new format, depending upon how it’s structured, has the potential to bring piles of new players in. Especially with the, shall we say, discontent that’s been stewing among Magic: The Gathering players since the Magic30 and Pinkerton debacles. As exciting as the spoilers we’ve seen so far are, the crown jewel of preview season is sure to be the details of this probable new format.
A figment of our imagination?
Legend Story’s first big reveal for Dusk ’til Dawn was the return of Prism, who has been Living Legend in Classic Constructed for a loooong time. I have a deep-seated dislike for Prism, and have since I got my butt kicked by her repeatedly in my very first Blitz event at my LGS. (Spoiler alert: that tends to happen when your favorite hero is Levia.) Even I was excited when her art was revealed, though.
Look at her. Look at this absolute queen.
“Soul” is a returning mechanic from Monarch. Boltyn and Prism both have ways of putting cards in their souls for use with other abilities. With Prism, Sculptor of Arclight, the player got to create a spectral shield once per turn by putting a card into her soul. Other cards have “banish a card from your hero’s soul” as an additional cost. With Prism, Advent of Thrones we see that theme continuing with her once per turn instant. Pay 2, banish a card from her soul, and “awaken” target figment you control.
Presumably, Figment is a new card type. Awaken may function like Dromai’s transformation of ashes into Aether Ashwings, which would give Prism the ability to create a potentially terrifying boardstate. Prism’s passive ability says that when you put a card with Herald in its name into her soul during an action phase (notably, not just your own) you search your deck for a Figment and put it in the arena. Whether this is something like Fai’s Phoenixes or if it’s just a card subtype, we’ve yet to see. The thought of a Dromai/Fai fusion is more than a little terrifying.
A new shadow runeblade hero appears!
Ever since seeing Flail of Agony, Vynnset’s signature weapon, get spoiled I’ve been hyped to find out what her hero abilities are. Flail, for those who have been sleeping on early spoilers, lets you attack for life rather than resource points. Paying life to do things is very on flavor for a shadow hero, and true to her art it seems hurting yourself is the whole theme of Vynnset’s playstyle.
The spoiler circulated is a little grainy, but it says “At the start of your turn, banish a card from your hand. If you do, create a Runechant token.” The second paragraph says “Whenever you play a Shadow non-attack action card, you may pay one life. If you do, the next Runechant effect that would deal damage this turn can’t be prevented.” Runechant tokens on their own deal one arcane damage, so at the absolute worst this means getting trading a life point for a life point. Getting that guaranteed damage through can open the door for some explosive combos, however.
One of the people in our local FaB group has already called dibs on Vynnset, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be building her anyway.
Dusk ’til Dawn preview season starts June 30th, 2023!
What are you hoping to see from the rest of the previews? Do you have any conspiracy theories about Party and the new PvE format? I, for one, am hyped to see if Levia is finally getting the kind of love that archers got in Outsiders. Comment below or hit me up on Twitter to let me know what’s on your mind as we prepare for a peek at the goodies!
