Streets of New Capenna

Mob rule takes over in the latest Magic the Gathering set launching imminently, Streets of New Capenna!

Wizards of the Coast has been a touch more adventurous recently in exploring new settings for the game - Neon Dynasty took us into a cyberpunk aesthetic for the first time while the 92nd Magic expansion takes influence from the mob movies so many grew up with in the 70s and 80s - The Godfather, Goodfellas and Scarface to name but a few.

Originally founded by angels, New Capenna is now ruled by five crime families, each seeking complete control of the art-deco inspired metropolis. These crime dynasties are looking to master the supply and demand of the magic-enhancing substance, halo, throughout the city and the tenuous symbiotic agreement that exists between the five families has been strained to breaking-point. 

Each of the families are represented by three colours of mana, a return to shards for the first time since Alara block almost 15 years ago and each has its own keyword mechanic.

The Brokers are led by the mysterious Falco Spara and their colours are green, white and blue. The Brokers introduce a new counter type to the game - Shield. If a permanent would take damage or be destroyed and it has a Shield Counter on it, that is removed instead. This temporary invincibility will prove to be incredibly powerful when combined with the likes of board sweepers or other global effects. 

Raffine attempts to control the future to the advantage of the Obscura family and utilises the colours white, blue and black to manipulate its way to power. Obscura introduces a new mechanic to the game - Connive. Whenever a creature instructs a player to Connive they must draw then discard the appropriate number of cards. The player may then add a +1/+1 counter to that creature for each non-land card discarded this way. This is an incredibly powerful limited mechanic, smoothing draws but also allowing players to discard cards that may otherwise be useless given the current board state replacing them, hopefully, with something more useful.

The Maestros are commanded by Lord Xander and they seek control over New Capenna by mastering blue, black and red mana. Their new mechanic is called Casualty and it allows the player to copy a spell they are casting if they sacrifice a creature with at least the specified power. Copying a removal spell by sacrificing a creature that has already been outsized on the battlefield is the kind of value we all seek each and every game!

Ziatora leads the industrious Riveteers of New Capenna in their attempts to wrest control of the city from the other families and does so using the colours black, red and green. The Riveteers most closely represent what players would consider to be the aggro shard with big creatures capable of dealing damage quickly. The Riveteers new mechanic is Blitz. Blitz is an alternate casting cost for a creature and gives it haste but it must be sacrificed at the beginning of the next end step. However, it also gains the text, ‘when this creature dies, draw a card’ which should ensure it replaces itself the following turn.

The final family in New Capenna is the Cabaretti clan led by the cat demon Jetmir and formed from the colours red, green and white. The Cabaretti’s introduce the keyword Alliance which highlights abilities permanents which trigger whenever another creature enters the battlefield.

Cycling makes a return as a mechanic included on a new cycle of tri-lands while Hideaway also returns for the first time in Standard since Lorwyn. In Streets of New Capenna, Hideaway allows a player to look at a number of cards from the top of their library and exile one of them. On fulfilling a certain condition, that card can then be cast without paying its mana cost. 

On top of all this, a couple of fan-favourite planeswalkers will be making an appearance in the bustling metropolis and even the Phyrexians want in on the action… Streets of New Capenna is shaping up to be an exciting new addition to Magic in every format imaginable and you can pre-order your boosters and decks from Chaos Cards right now!