Magic: The Gathering - The mechanics of the new expansion "Midnight Hunt"

Magic

With the arrival of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, the new expansion of Magic: The Gathering, some new proprietary mechanics of the expansion itself have been introduced and which will surely bring some news regarding the competitive side of the game. So here's a quick rundown on the new ways to play introduced with Midnight Hunt.

Day / Night cycle

Given the setting and the setting of Innistrad, in which monsters and terrifying creatures are the masters, they could not help double-sided cards return, especially those capable of becoming Werewolves. And as every good horror story teaches, it is at night that the transfiguration into a beast takes place.

But how to determine, within a game, what time of day we are? The instant the first permanent of the game enters the field, it will automatically become day (being that, at the beginning, it is neither day nor night) and the cycle will alternate for the duration of the game. It can become the first night, only if a permanent with Nocturne enters the field, but only in very few and rare cases.



To make sure that you go from day to night , the active player from the previous turn must not have cast any spells during it. Similarly, if it is night at the start of the turn and the active player in the previous turn has cast two or more spells in the last turn, it becomes day.

Fortunately, a very useful card comes to our rescue. allows you to keep track of the phase of the day we are in (as well as having a brief reminder of what we have just said), which can be easily found in the booster packs.

Transform

Closely linked to the Day / Night cycle, the concept of Transform is very simple: depending on the time of day, the double-sided cards will be deployed on one side or on the other (Day side by day and Night side by night). Noteworthy is the fact that permanents with Night and Day cannot transform in any other way, except with the phases of the day.



Basically, every double-faced card that transforms has an ability that allows you to transform it into the other side, make it enter the battlefield or cast it transformed; the back side has no mana cost, since it's the same as the front side.

Disturb

Not all cards that transform do so on the battlefield. In fact, some of them have the Disturb ability, which allows them to undergo metamorphosis by paying the cost once they end up in the graveyard. Again, cards with this type of ability don't have a mana cost on the back side, as they'll just have to pay the Disrupt cost to cast them, and unless special circumstances occur, this is the only way to transform them.

Coven

Coven is an ability that comes into effect if you control three or more creatures with different strengths, where the word "strength" stands for indicate the damage they inflict. Coven abilities can be triggered under certain conditions, activated by paying a mana cost, or they can occur as additional effects of instants and sorceries. The important thing is to fulfill the primary condition of having three or more creatures with different strengths.



If you want to delve into the dark atmospheres of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, we recommend that you order the handy Bundle Box, containing 8 Boosters Set, 20 FOIL Base Earths, 20 Regular Base Earths, 1 20-sided OVERSIZED Spindown ™ Die (D20), 1 FOIL promo Rare Card and 1 Collection Box. You can buy it simply by clicking on this link.

We also remind you that the bundle of the previous expansion Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, is still available, which you can purchase simply by clicking on this link.

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2021-22 Orlando Magic season preview: Roster changes, depth chart, key storylines and games to watch

The 2021-22 NBA season is set to tip off on Oct. 19 (ET). In preparation for the upcoming season, we're dedicating one day between now and the start of the season to each team in the league.

Up next is the Orlando Magic.

2020-21 season record

21-51, 14th in the Eastern Conference

Notable additions

Jalen Suggs, No. 5 pick in 2021 NBA Draft

Franz Wagner, No. 8 pick in 2021 NBA Draft

Robin Lopez, free agency

Notable departures

Otto Porter Jr., free agency

Depth chartOrlando Magic depth chart (2021-22)StartersSecondThirdFourthPGJalen SuggsCole AnthonyMichael Carter-WilliamsSGGary HarrisRJ HamptonE'Twaun MooreMarkelle Fultz*SFTerrence RossFranz WagnerIgnas BrazdeikisAdmiral SchofieldPFChuma OkekeMoritz WagnerJonathan Isaac*CWendell Carter Jr.Mo BambaRobin Lopez

* Isaac is still recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus suffered in the 2020 NBA bubble. He is making good progress but still has no timetable for return.

* Fultz is rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered on Jan. 6 and it is unclear when he'll return to action

3 key storylines

Will Jalen Suggs win Rookie of the Year?

The Magic ended up with a steal in the 2021 NBA Draft when the Gonzaga standout freshman fell into their lap with the No. 5 overall pick. The consensus was that Suggs would land with the Toronto Raptors at fourth, but when they passed on the 19-year-old, it made the decision easy in Orlando's war room.

Suggs is the definition of a winner and leader, and he will be handed the keys to the franchise from Day 1. Orchestrating the Magic's offence, Suggs will often have the ball in his hands as an elite playmaker. He'll have as good of an opportunity as any player in his rookie class to put up big numbers, making him a likely candidate for the 2022 Rookie of the Year award.

Going up against tough competition as part of an extremely talented draft class that includes the likes of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green, Suggs will have to stuff the stat sheet across the board in order to take home the hardware. But as a player who can score the rock, set up teammates, attack the glass and dig in on the defensive end to come up with steals, he shouldn't have any issue posting impressive stat lines.

The youth movement

With Suggs being the focal point of Orlando's rebuild, the franchise is in good hands. He headlines a list of at least 12 players who will make the final roster and have three or fewer years of experience in the NBA. The majority of their rotation will be players under 25 years old, diving headfirst into a youth movement that should benefit the team in the long term.

Isaac and Fultz have already proven to be promising talents. Bamba has displayed flashes to be excited about when given an opportunity. 2019 first-round pick Okeke came into his own last season after missing his entire first year in the league with an injury. 2020 first-round pick Anthony showed spurts of being a productive scorer and playmaker during his rookie season. Trading for two other former first-round picks in Carter Jr. and Hampton at the trade deadline last season added two more players with untapped potential.

Bring Suggs and another top-10 pick in Franz Wagner into the equation, and the Magic are starting to put together a well-rounded roster that could be a problem in the Eastern Conference in a few years time if players continue to progress at this rate, and they'll receive plenty of opportunity to improve this upcoming season.

The return of Jonathan Isaac

Isaac, one of the key pieces in this rebuild, looked like he could be one of the best defensive players in the NBA during a breakout third season back in 2019-20.

Prior to a knee injury that derailed his season, Isaac was averaging 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals per game, making a strong case to make an All-Defensive Team. When he was getting closer to a return, the NBA season was put on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. Four months later when play resumed in the NBA bubble, Isaac returned for one game before suffering a torn ACL and meniscus in his second game back.

The injury kept the 24-year-old sidelined for the entirety of the 2020-21 season and it appears it will also trickle into the 2021-22 season. The latest report suggests that Isaac has returned to some on-court action wearing a knee brace but has not been cleared for full contact. He remains without a timetable for his return, but it appears it will come at some point during this upcoming season.

It will be very interesting to see if Isaac can return to being the defensive stopper he was prior to a devastating knee injury.

5 games to watch

Oct. 29 at Toronto Raptors

Every time Suggs and Scottie Barnes take the floor against each other it's going to make headlines. The Raptors were expected to select Suggs with the No. 4 overall pick but passed on him for Barnes, leaving a chip on the shoulder of Orlando's rookie. You won't want to miss this first regular-season matchup.

Nov. 29 at Philadelphia 76ers

The Fultz-76ers storyline may have run its course now that the former No. 1 pick has spent two full seasons in Orlando, but you have to imagine this game always means something to him. Fultz has revitalized his career since being traded to the Magic, and if he's back in action by then, he'll take the Wells Fargo Center floor with something to prove.

Dec. 1 vs. Denver Nuggets

The Magic traded Aaron Gordon to the Nuggets at the trade deadline last season, ending a seven-year run in Orlando after being selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He faced off against his former team in Denver last year, but this marks his first game back in Orlando since the trade.

Jan. 8 at Detroit Pistons

As the two clear rebuilding teams in the Eastern Conference, this will serve as a good litmus test for where each franchise is at. Suggs versus Cade Cunningham is also a prime rookie matchup between the two best point guards in their class.

Jan. 23 vs. Chicago Bulls

The Magic sent franchise cornerstone Nikola Vucevic to the Bulls at last year's trade deadline, solidifying their direction to a rebuild. After nine remarkable seasons with the Magic, it will always be a special game when Vucevic returns to Orlando.

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