Spoiler season for Magic: The Gathering's "Reality Fracture," the upcoming multiversal set concluding the TCG's three-year story arc, has officially commenced. The set, which takes place in an alternate universe dubbed the Echoverse, features a version of Planeswalker Jace Beleren who has taken it upon himself to "fix" the world. This leads to a perfectly curated, albeit hostile, reality that other Planeswalkers must dismantle. Wizards of the Coast provided an exclusive preview of three cards from the set: Surveillance Phantasm, Silence the Echo, and Chandra's Emberling, each representing a moment from the 10-part story arc that recently concluded.
Surveillance Phantasm
In the Echoverse, Jace, now known as The Theorist, is depicted as being nearly omnipresent. The Surveillance Phantasm card reflects this, with its flavor text echoing a warning to "stay away from the statues and birds" for those opposing Jace. This two-mana Bird Illusion Creature possesses Flying and Vigilance but is hindered by being a Defender. However, its ability allows it to attack as if it did not have the Defender keyword if its controller has scried or surveilled during the turn. The card also includes an activated ability that costs four mana to Surveil 1, offering a somewhat costly but useful method to enable attacks and speed up card cycling.
Silence the Echo
The card Silence the Echo illustrates the events leading up to "Reality Fracture's" conclusion, where the true Vraska finds a way to destroy her Echoverse counterpart. The narrative describes Vraska confronting her other self, noting the "dull and mundane" eyes devoid of gorgon magic, signifying her victory. The card allows a player to destroy a target creature or Planeswalker, but it requires either sacrificing another creature or Planeswalker, or paying an additional three colorless mana.
Chandra's Emberling
Chandra's Emberling is a three-mana Gremlin Elemental with Haste. It gains +1/+1 counters each time its controller casts a noncreature spell, making it a strong addition to "spellslinger" decks. This card references Chandra, Gremlin Wrangler, a unique Heroes of the Realm card previously distributed exclusively to Wizards of the Coast employees and known for its rarity. The card's base power and toughness are two.
"Reality Fracture" prerelease events are scheduled to begin on September 25, with the official release following on October 2.