Worldwake Mechanics
The world of Zendikar is about to get a lot more interesting. The plane's already tumultuous landscape has been whipped into a frenzy by its wild and unpredictable mana, and that makes it an even more exciting—and dangerous—place to visit.
What deadly perils await you as Zendikar gives way to Worldwake? Let's take a look.
Multikicker
Zendikar brought back the power of kicker, which lets a spell—say,
Multikicker is exactly what it sounds like: kicker without limits. You can kick a spell with kicker once, or not at all—it's a yes-or-no proposition. If your spell has multikicker, you can kick it as many times as you can afford. If you draw Skitter of Lizards early, it's just fine as a reasonably efficient 1/1 or 2/2 with haste. But if you draw it later, you're not stuck with a tiny creature. How big will Skitter of Lizards be? That depends on you.
The Waking World
As the set's name hints, the land itself is waking up and entering the fray. When mountains are sailing overhead and plains are standing on end, you'll want to call on some land of your own to join the fight.
How about Vastwood Zendikon? This green Aura can enchant any land—not just a
Landfall
Landfall returns in Worldwake, so you can look forward to seeing more cards that give you a bonus when a land enters the battlefield under your control, in the vein of
But not all of Worldwake's landfall cards follow that familiar pattern. Some of them look more like this:
Mysteries of the Deep is an instant, so you can cast it pretty much whenever you want for a quick two-card boost. But if it resolves when you've had a land enter the battlefield in the same turn, you get to draw three cards instead. That might mean that you've given up the flexibility of an instant and cast it during your turn ... or it might mean you've put an extra land onto the battlefield during your opponent's turn with something like
Kor, Vampires, and Allies
Amidst all those new twists, you'll still find some familiar faces.
Vampires are still on the prowl in Worldwake. Ruthless Cullblade, as you can see, adds another set of teeth to Zendikar's 10-or-less-life "bloodied" mechanic.
Kor are back as well. Some of them, like Kitesail Apprentice, share their Zendikar brethren's love of a good piece of Equipment.
Worldwake also brings plenty of new Allies to bolster the ranks of your adventuring party. Some of them are straightforward muscle, but Halimar Excavator gives Ally strategies a whole new way to win.
Getting Underway
So there you have it—a crash course in the mechanics of Worldwake. There's a lot more to find in the set, but consider this your expedition map as you head back out into the wilds of Zendikar.