The Brother's War Primer: Everything You Need to Know

Everyone is excited about the upcoming release of The Brother’s War, the second set in the story arc that began with Dominaria United. Between the lore, the history, and the impact these stories have had on Magic the Gathering, there is a lot to unpack before this set releases. In this blog, we will walk you through everything you need to know about The Brother’s War before it releases.

The Brothers' War Release Dates and Event Schedule

You can find important dates below:

Worldwide Release: November 18, 2022

MTG Arena and Magic Online Release: November 15, 2022

Prerelease Events: November 11-17, 2022

Launch Weekend: November 18-20, 2022

Game Day: December 3-11, 2022

Commander Party Events: December 16-18, 2022

The Brother’s War Lore

The Brother’s War takes us all the way back to arguably the most foundational stories in MTG history, the conflict between Urza and Mishra, two brothers whose battle set the stage for everything that followed. 

Urza and Mishra both were prodigy artificers from a young age. In their pursuit of knowledge, they discovered two very powerful artifacts, the Mightstone and the Weakstone. Each brother took one for themselves, then eventually coveted the stone the other had. This set the war between the two brothers in motion. In search of more power, Mishra reached out to Phyrexia and became a half man, half machine. Urza, seeking to end the conflict once and for all, used the Golgothian Sylex and it released a ruinous blast that killed everyone on the battlefield. Everyone that is, except for Urza. Urza’s planeswalker spark ignited at that moment, and he was transported to another plane. 

The Brother’s War Mechanics

The Brother’s War includes a great mix of new and returning mechanics. 

Meld

Meld makes its return in The Brother’s War, and it is just as fun as you remember it. Meld is a mechanic that takes two cards and melds them into one bigger, badder card. The mechanic takes a flavorful twist this time, with cards like Urza. Lord Protector melding with the Mightstone and Weakstone, forming Urza, Planeswalker. This is jam-packed with lore and forms quite the powerful melded card. Meld is a welcome addition to the Standard format, and we are glad to see it back! 

Unearth

Back from the grave is the ability Unearth! Unearth allows you to cast your spells from your graveyard for an alternate casting cost, at the expense of having them exiled if they would leave the battlefield or at the beginning of the next end step. This ability is great for getting the maximum value out of your spells, oftentimes being able to either play them twice or discard to spells like Lilliana of the Veil. The mechanic works great in any discard-heavy or sacrifice-heavy format, which definitely applies to a lot of the best archetypes currently in Standard. 

Prototype

Prototype is a brand new mechanic that allows you to have 2 creatures in 1, but not in the way that Meld does. Prototype gives you an alternate casting cost for your creatures, and using the Prototype cost gives your creature new stats, and a new color identity, but retains the abilities printed on the card. This allows for your cards to be versatile whether your draw them early or late, which is really useful in a grindy, midrange format like Standard currently is. Cards like Phyrexian Fleshgorger even has a ward ability dependent on its power, which changes whether it is a prototype or not. This ability will certainly find a home in standard, and is an exciting new addition to the format! 

Powerstone Tokens

Powerstone tokens make a return in The Brother’s War, however, they are primed to make much more of an impact. This set will have artifacts galore, meaning ramping into your artifacts will be majorly impactful in your games. Additionally, cards like Karn, Living Legacy certainly become more interesting when artifacts become more prevalent, and this set will certainly make this a reality! 

The Brothers' War Unique Card Frames and Styles

There are numerous interesting card styles in this new set which are set to honor the history and rich lore of this important event in the MTG Timeline. 

Borderless

As has become the norm, there will be borderless cards in The Brother's War. This is a welcome and awesome way to appreciate the incredible art involved in MTG cards and provides great chase cards and foils for the collectors out there. 

Retro Frame and Schematic Art

Additionally, this set will include a fantastic retro frame treatment of classic cards. While the retro frames are not limited to artifacts, the new Schematic Art treatment is! This reimagines the original art of these cards as a schematic, which just looks incredible with the retro frames. 

Conclusion

There is a lot to look forward to with the release of The Brother’s War, whether you are looking for sweet card styles, reinventions of classic lore elements, or just a fun, unique set getting added to Standard. This set has all of the bases covered. Amazing Discoveries has everything you need when it comes to The Brother’s war! Get your preorders now on our online store, and check out our events page for more info on the upcoming events!