Wizards of the Coast has taken Magic: the Gathering Phyrexian Praetors to a whole new level of power in March of the Machine, turning them into double-faced cards with a Saga on the backside.
Modal double-faced cards (MDFC) return to Standard through the Phyrexian Praetors. Scheduled to globally launch on April 21, the March of the Machine (MOM) set will showcase an epic invasion on all the planes in the Magic Multiverse. The Praetor Sagas showcase the ultimate vision for each Praetor in how they view the future of the Multiverse. Revealed today at MagicCon Philadelphia by WotC was the Praetor Jin-Gitaxias, and his vision of what the future looks like.
Jin-Gitaxias//The Great Synthesis
Jin-Gitaxias is the experimental Praetor in the color Blue. The Phyrexian horror makes a second appearance in Standard through Jin-Gitaxias//The Great Synthesis.
Jin-Gitaxias
- Mana cost: 3UU
- Type: Legendary Creature—Phyrexian Praetor
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 5/5
- Ward: Two
- Passive: Whenever you cast a noncreature spell with mana value three or greater, draw a card
- Activated ability: Pay 3U—Exile Jin-Gitaxias, then return it to the battlefield transformed under its owner’s control. Activate only as a Sorcery and only if you have seven or more cards in hand
The Great Synthesis
- Chapter one: Draw cards equal to the number of cards in your hand. You have no maximum hand size for as long as you control The Great Synthesis
- Chapter two: Return all non-Phyrexian creatures to their owner’s hands
- Chapter three: You may cast any number of spells from your hand without paying their mana costs. Exile The Great Synthesis, then return it to the battlefield face up
Once Jin-Gitaxis transforms into The Great Synthesis, and the Enchantment Saga isn’t removed by the second chapter, it’s essentially game over. There is, however, plenty of Enchantment removal in Standard and other MTG formats that will likely see an increase in play with the release of the MOM set and the double-faced Praetor cards.
Players can check out Jin-Gitaxias//The Great Synthesis and the other MTG double-faced Praetors in the March of the Machine set as early as April 14 with the start of prerelease. A global launch is scheduled for April 21.
