Time Spiral Remastered Preview Cards

It’s Time Spiral Remastered preview week, and Kristen takes us back to 2006 with her free preview cards.

Time Spiral originally released in 2006, and I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t even aware Magic existed back then. But 2006 was when I really started to get into internet culture, and I’m sure that’s the same for a lot of us. MySpace and Flickr were the go-to sites for sharing videos of Numa Numa Guy and OK Go with your friends. Line Rider was the hot new browser game, and if you had a dark sense of humor, you’d probably have gotten a kick out of this. And if you were playing Magic? You’d have been enjoying Kird Ape, Remand and Dark Confidant. 

When I heard they were remastering Time Spiral for people to experience drafting it again, and that there would be new cards in old borders included? Let’s just say my hype level was over nine-thousand. 

You might be asking if I really went there. Well, how can I put this…

YA RLY

We are absolutely going full 2006 today, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. If you try? I’ll remove you from my top 8 friends. Tom’s always supportive of me, which is more than I can say for you.

TIME SPIRAL REMASTERED

Time Spiral Remastered launches March 19. The set will comprise a curated collection of cards from Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Sight all together in one set. This is a similar approach to Kaladesh Remastered and Amonkhet Remastered on MTG Arena. Not all cards from the original sets will be included, so it’ll be interesting to see what makes it and what doesn’t.

In addition, there’s a list of modern-border cards available in packs, but with a twist: they’re printed with the old-style border. We’re already seen Cranial Plating from this selection, seeded ahead of time in Kaldheim’s update to The List. The combination of classic artwork and classic border treatment…  Will it Blend? Yes, yes it will. And I’m here for it.

This is a treatment many are excited for, with some going on record to say they’d “give their kidney” for such a treat. 

We’re going to Candy Mountain

TIME SPIRAL PREVIEW CARDS

In the spirit of all things retro, I released some ASCII-fied puzzles of these previews on Twitter earlier today. If you spent any amount of time on GameFAQs in your youth, you’ll probably have cracked them by now. If you didn’t catch those, and enjoy a challenge, then see if you can figure the cards out below before we reveal them proper. 

It’s not quite a house in the hills

If you got them, then give yourself a pat on the back. It’s probably better than what was in that gift box.

Without further ado, let’s get onto the four preview cards I have for you today.

SUNLANCE

The first card is Sunlance. Sunlance is a definite color pie experiment for white, and it showed up first as a color-shifted card back in Planar Chaos. It’s a potent effect in a draft environment, and although it can’t dispatch a larger creature without backup, it’s a solid pickup in any white deck

Unlikely to be of use against a Giant Enemy Crab.

LOST AURAMANCERS

Next up, Lost Auramancers from Future Sight. Given we’re mashing up three different sets to create a draft environment, there’s the potential to set up for some interesting turns provided this card sticks around.

It’s a little clunky to be truly an all-star in Limited, but if your deck has a bomb enchantment, it can be a method of redundancy to ensure you can play it.

BOUND IN SILENCE

Bound in Silence is a tribal enchantment with type rebel, which makes it unique among Pacifism-style cards. When it comes to Time Spiral Remastered, the possible card pool has a bunch of rebel-themed cards, and it’s hard to imagine this card being included without rebel synergies showing up within the draft environment. My money’s on Amrou Scout making an appearance. 

SRAM, SENIOR EDIFICER

When it comes to cards you might expect in Time Spiral Remastered, Sram was probably not on your list. I saved the best one for last, it’s true. Sram is a highly played card in Commander — he’s at the helm of many white decks, and at home in just as many Enchantress and equipment decks, too.

Seeing him in the old border is a treat, and I feel like he’ll be a fun addition to the draft environment. The card pools feeding into Time Spiral Remastered are all rich in aura enchantments, so he’s got the potential to occasionally turn up to spice up your draft.

I’m intrigued as to what else we’ll see in the old border, and I’m hoping the treatment ends up as a chronology of some of the coolest Commander staples. An evolution, if you will. 

Walk like you’re from Amonkhet

That about wraps things up for the previews today. If you enjoyed the ASCII “riddles,” then maybe comb through this piece for a few more pieces of retro internet trivia in Magic card form. If you know it, you know it. 

Otherwise, let me know on Twitter what cards you’re most hyped about from the set.