Enlarge (credit: 2016 Wizards of the Coast / Tyler Jacobson)

Magic: The Gathering finally jumps away from grim alien-infested worlds in the last set of 2016: Kaladesh, a new world full of inspired, steampunky inventors with a vivid colour scheme. We got our hands on the new set a couple of weeks ahead of the official release; here’s our take on what it adds to the ever-growing Magic universe.

The setting

The last year has been a dark one for Magic’s story. Even without looking at any of the cards from this new set, the packaging and promotional material makes a tone shift very clear; colour, celebration, and creation jump out at you immediately. This is a drastic change to the mise en scène of the past year, but Magic happily accommodates this without it ever being jarring; embracing different worlds is part of the appeal of the evolving game.

There’s plenty of depth to the world of Kaladesh, rather than just being a simple inventor’s world. The designers have blended classic steampunk elements (protruding, brutal machinery) with fantasy tropes (elves, gremlins, and the first Magic dwarves in just under a decade). The result is something much brighter than many steampunk settings, but there are elements hinting at struggle below the bright surface, stopping things from lapsing into the saccharine or cliché.