I told you there’s a lot to understand. Here’s an abridged version of that lot. Understand them and maybe you’ll be more curious about this place, as Richard Garfield totally intended.

1.1. Lorwyn and Shadowmoor preface

1.1.1. Designer lore

Playing to Lorwyn, Part 1

This convoluted series of sets came to be because back in the esoteric days of early 2000s Magic, there’s only a new core set every other year, so the other years’ summers would just be blank. This slot would be home to things like Unhinged and Coldsnap, both sets proved to be horrible. MaRo thinks this set could better if they knew they needed to do it from the beginning, so they can properly plan it in its year’s block (remember that) instead of just scrambling to shoehorn something in (aren’t we just returning to this mentality now?).

MaRo got his wish and decided to use the four sets to have two different blocks, each have one large set and one small set. It takes thinking to decide that a world with two different forms would be the way to fill those sets. Next is the theme. The light version of the world will use creature types. The dark version will care about colors. Next is how the set pairs come about that theme.

• The light version will have the large set uses 8 races (what the creature are), each focusing on two colors (because Onslaught, the previous try at this kindred thing, just do monocolored so the kindreds doesn’t feel at that distinct), and the large set uses 5 classes (what the creature do). This kindred system is something they have implemented for years at this point but they haven’t rolled out for every single card. So this will finally be the best chance to pull the trigger.
• The dark version will achieve a high density of specific colors by using hybrid mana. The large set will have allied pairs cards, which the 8 races can map out a twisted version of themselves to. The small sets will have enemy pairs cards, with the most novel of creature types.

Which such sound ideas on paper, surely nothing will go wrong, right?

1.1.2. Rapid set skeleton reviews

Coming off this section, I hope you feel that feeling of seeing a really complicated Magic set.

First off, Lorwyn and Morningtide. These two sets’ skeletons look pretty in line with your normal Magic sets at first, until you look deeper. That’s when a huge amount of cycles jump at you.

Lorwyn has its two most famous cycles at rare, being the first 5 Planeswalkers on cards and also the 5 Commands, both things are about choosing options out of a big list. Also a cycle of Incarnations that converts effects into a different one instead of being a cheatable creature.

This is where you also find three land cycles. At uncommon there are the vivid lands which certainly got brutally power crept by this point. At rare, there are 5 dual lands that ask you to reveal a creature of a certain race to arrive untapped, and also 5 hideaway lands, asking you a condition to cast a spell for just 1 more mana than tapping that land.

To help make drafting less miserable, there are some Changelings at each rarity. One common cycle for each set, one uncommon cycle for the large set and a rare cycle divided equally between the two. The middle one harkens to another keyword, champion, which you can find in a rare cycle.

To live up to being a kindred sets, there are many ways to enable and payoff them, which is best seen at uncommon. All represented with different cycles, whether to have you reveal a creature (like the lands) to get some pretty huge temp, Harbringers that get a creature onto the topdeck, lords that pumps the board the way you know and love, and also creatures that offers tokens of a different kindred, not just to help both sides but also as its fuel.

For your magecraft needs, there are a cycle of kindreds that can draw a card, and a Jeskai trio of Changeling combat tricks. Do you remember any of these?

Morningtide unfortunately doesn’t have any of its own rare cycle. It instead have a cycle of actually important characters that is split with the large set, and also having the green member actually be Golgari. The other commander cycle is in the large set, which there are one for each kindred and fully covers their colors.

Evoke somehow managed to not have a single cycle in the large set, but it does have an uncommon cycle here. Meanwhile, more obscene nonsense like kinship and clash are the ones that got two cycles for common and uncommon, the latter actually having the common cycle be in the large set.

Something you probably don’t expect to already be here in this much volume are +1/+1 counters support, which there are a common cycle that basically acts as 2 charges at a mana sink, and an uncommon cycle that supports the 5 classes of this set. Class support can also be less clearly seen in a cycle of discounters and a cycle of scaling magecrafts, both are at common. Would this be fine?

Also this set has a cycle of kindred Equipments that really wants to be snapped on creatures. I swear I must have forgot something else too.