MTG Aetherdrift Spoilers: Back on Track and Pacesetter Paragon

The upcoming Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift set takes players back to the plane now known as Avishkar, previously known as Kaladesh. There’s a high-speed race taking place across multiple planes, including Amonkhet and Muraganda, with racers competing for the Aetherspark, a device that allows the use of a planeswalker spark. 

CNET can exclusively reveal two new cards from the set.

Back on Track

This card takes a classic black-mana mechanic — reanimating things from your graveyard — and gives it an Aetherdrift-friendly twist by also bringing back vehicles and creating a pilot that can crew or saddle above its weight. 

Note that cards returning to the battlefield from somewhere else (like the graveyard) are treated as new cards, which allows them to use their Exhaust abilities again. That means you could use Back on Track to reanimate a card with a strong Exhaust ability, bring back an Oildeep Gearhulk to force another discard from your opponent or simply give yourself a two-mana discount on something big, like Valor’s Flagship.

Pacesetter Paragon

Double strike is a powerful ability, and while 2R is a steep cost to grant it to a single creature for one turn, the threat alone will keep your opponents on their toes. The Exhaust ability on Paceseter Paragon turns it from a relatively mundane 2/3 creature into a threat that can take out low-toughness obstacles for free or trade with many of the larger vehicles in the set.

Aetherdrift releases on Feb. 14, but you can preorder booster boxes, the Living Energy and Eternal Might commander decks, the Finish Line Bundle and more now.