Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift Preview

How can a turn-based card game reflect the high-speed action of a motor vehicle race? This is the task attempted by Magic: The Gathering’s upcoming Aetherdrift set, which involves a rally across the multiverse. DualShockers had the chance to get behind the wheel in the Early Access Aetherdrift preview, to see just how well mana and motors get along.

So, why is a huge race part of a Magic: The Gathering set? The in-universe explanation is that Chandra Nalaar competes in a race to win an Aetherspark. This artifact can grant someone the powers of a Planeswalker, which is handy, considering several characters lost their spark following the Phyrexian invasion.

In order to emulate the feel of a fast-paced competition, Aetherdrift has added new mechanics to the game, as well as bringing back familiar ones from old sets to match that high-octane feeling.

The New & Returning Mechanics In Aetherspark

The big new mechanic in Aetherdrift is Speed. This is initiated when a card with the “Start Your Engines!” keyword is played to the field, creating a Speed value of 1. If the player damages the enemy on their turn, then the Speed increases, maxing out at 4. Once Speed hits 4, the player has max speed, which activates certain card abilities.

It’s notable that Speed doesn’t naturally go down and is usually only reduced by card effects. This means decks that use the mechanic are often quick to max it out, which is added by weak fliers or creatures with Haste.

Naturally, Vehicle cards are a huge part of the set. Not only that, but there are plenty of cards that make it easier to get Vehicles on the field, such as by artificially boosting their Power value for the purposes of Crew.

It’s not just Vehicles in Aetherdrift, as Mounts and the Saddle mechanic are back in full force. These act in a similar manner to Vehicles, with cards tapping to “Saddle” onto others and give them extra abilities.

The Exhaust mechanic is simple – it’s a one-shot ability with a cost that can only be used once per creature. These tend to be powerful but resource-intensive, especially early in the game.

Cycling lets players discard & draw a card, usually one with a high mana cost. This exists to give players more options in the early game, when they get cards they won’t be able to play for a while.

The Aetherdrift Mechanics In Play

In order to make the most out of the Speed mechanic, the player needs to dedicate a few rounds to dealing damage, especially early on. This is much easier for swift Red creatures (and damage-dealing spells), White and Blue fliers, and the life drain of Black.

The color that utilizes Speed the least is Green, considering how few of its cards have the “Start Your Engines” keyword. This is a shame, as Trample (a common Green staple) is a safe way to rack up Speed. This means Green works better when used alongside other colors.

All colors benefit from the new Vehicles, especially as there are a few colorless Artifact versions of the card type. The dangerous thing about Vehicles is how they can be hard to counter when not on the field, effectively letting them jump off the battlefield after striking. Fortunately, most Vehicles are Artifacts, so any anti-Artifact cards or strats are ideal in this environment.

Mount & Saddle aren’t quite as strong as Vehicles, as it involves tapping creatures on the field, so they’re much more susceptible to being destroyed or countered. If anything, Exhaust is more fearsome, as it can pull off some awesome effects.

Best Aetherdrift Cards So Far

A clear frontrunner for the best card in the set is the Aetherspark. This Planeswalker/Equipment combo attaches itself to monsters and gains Loyalty counters when they deal damage. Burning ten Loyalty counters will result in ten mana of any color, which can be used for a ridiculous number of things, and will likely give you a win.

Racer’s Scoreboard is another fantastic card for those willing to go all in on the Speed mechanic. When max speed is reached, this card reduces the cost of ALL spells by one, so getting it out quickly will pay off huge over the course of the game.

In the shadow of the magic and monsters, another Lotus blooms. In this case, it’s the Radiant Lotus, which costs six mana, but it lets the player sacrifice multiple Artifacts (including this card) to turn them all into three mana of any color.

But Is Aetherdrift Fun To Play?

Magic: The Gathering was never going to quite capture the feeling of recreating an exciting race in card game form. This would have been better accomplished if the Speed mechanic involved simply being ahead of the player, with more ways to reduce the opponent’s Speed.

That being said, the Aetherdrift preview proved that the set adds a ton to the game and feels distinct from previous expansions. The heavy reliance on Vehicle cards rushing to get max speed led to an environment that rewarded more aggressive and fast-paced play, while forcing the player to keep track of two enemy lines: their creatures and the things they’re driving.

Hopefully, future Magic: The Gathering sets will be as willing to experiment with the format and the theme as much as Aetherdrift has.

Aetherdrift launches on February 14, 2025, with the pre-release available now, and will be available in MTG Arena on February 11.