Kaldheim is the latest Magic: The Gathering set, with cards inspired by Viking culture and the stories of Norse mythology. Wizards of the Coast has revealed cards that range from crazed berserkers with axes to mysterious creatures and powerful gods. There are even some new snow dual lands, and let’s face it, snow dual lands are better than most other similar dual lands.
This set has two new keyword mechanics: foretell and boast. Foretell allows players to put aside a card in exile on their turn for two colourless mana, then cast it on a future turn for the special foretell cost. This cost is generally cheaper than the regular cost, though there have been some notable exceptions like Starnheim Unleashed, which unleashes an angelic horde for a larger mana investment. Boast, on the other hand, is an activated ability that can be used if the boastful creature is tapped to attack that turn, and can unleash a variety of beneficial effects.
Speaking of which, today’s exclusive card reveal is Valor of the Worthy. It’s a common white enchantment that costs only one white mana to play, and gives the enchanted creature +1/+1. So far, so standard, but it also has a secondary effect: “when enchanted creature leaves the battlefield, create a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying”.
You can take a look at Valor of the Worthy below:
This second effect is notable for a couple of reasons. First, if you’ve been paying attention to the rest of the card reveals, you may know about Kaya the Inexorable: a planeswalker that costs one black, one white, and three colourless mana to play. Her first ability is similar to Valor of the Worthy, in that the ghostform counter gives a non-token creature the same ability, but there is one important factor to consider. You can stack the ghostform counter effect with Valor of the Worthy, generating two flying white spirit tokens!
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Even without Kaya, Valor of the Worthy is a powerful, and more importantly cheap, common card for those playing in drafts, as it dampens the effect of any creature removal. Sure, the bigger threat will be gone and you won’t get the enchantment effect again, but your opponent still has to deal with a spirit token wailing at them from the skies. It’s arguably better than the ghostform effect anyway, as you can also trigger the enchantment effect by using bounce spells to keep them from being removed by an opponent, so that you can recast the creature you bounced back on a future turn.
The Kaldheim set will be released in Magic: The Gathering Arena on January 29, and in a physical form on February 5. While you wait, if you’re just starting out in MTG, check out our guide on how to play MTG: Arena, as well as all the current MTG keyword abilities, such as indestructible.