Innistrad
Encyclopedia
Innistrad is a Magic: The Gathering
expansion set released September 30, 2011. It is the first set of the Innistrad block. Innistrad is a "top-down" designed set based around Gothic horror. The sets mechanics and effects are mainly based around graveyard themes, with a minor focus on tribal themes. The tagline for the set is "Horror Lurks Within". It has 264 cards.
:
Monsters were one of the first trope
s explored which lead to the tribal component of the set.
Innistrad is the first set to feature double-faced cards, meaning some of the cards do not feature the Magic card back design that has been used on every previous Magic card. Every double-faced card features the new transform mechanic. This is the first set since Ravnica: City of Guilds
to have Magic creator Richard Garfield
on the design team.
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
expansion set released September 30, 2011. It is the first set of the Innistrad block. Innistrad is a "top-down" designed set based around Gothic horror. The sets mechanics and effects are mainly based around graveyard themes, with a minor focus on tribal themes. The tagline for the set is "Horror Lurks Within". It has 264 cards.
Design and Development
According to Mark RosewaterMark Rosewater
Mark Rosewater is a Magic: The Gathering card designer. He is currently Magics head designer.-Biography:Rosewater grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio, where he attended the Orange High School. Rosewater has a Jewish background. Rosewater has described himself in his youth as a "social outcast", who did...
:
Monsters were one of the first trope
Fantasy tropes and conventions
There are many elements that occur throughout the fantasy genre in different guises. Worldbuilding, in particular, has many common conventions as do, to a lesser extent, plot, and characterization....
s explored which lead to the tribal component of the set.
Innistrad is the first set to feature double-faced cards, meaning some of the cards do not feature the Magic card back design that has been used on every previous Magic card. Every double-faced card features the new transform mechanic. This is the first set since Ravnica: City of Guilds
Ravnica: City of Guilds
This article is about the Magic: The Gathering set known as Ravnica: City of Guilds. For an article about the plane and the guilds mentioned below, see Ravnica ....
to have Magic creator Richard Garfield
Richard Garfield
Richard Channing Garfield is a mathematics professor and game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech CCG, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle , The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally...
on the design team.
Mechanics
Innistrad introduces four new mechanics and reintroduces one old mechanic.- Curse - Curse is a new Aura subtype that enchants a player.
- Fight - "Fight" is a new term to refer to two creatures dealing damage to each other equal to their power at the same time.
- Flashback - Cards with Flashback can be played from the graveyard for their Flashback cost. When they leave the stack, they are exiled (formerly "removed from the game") instead of being put anywhere else. Flashback was last seen in the OdysseyOdyssey (Magic: The Gathering)Odyssey is the 24th Magic: The Gathering expert-level expansion set. Released in September, 2001, Odyssey is the first set in the Odyssey Block. Its expansion symbol is a small image of the Mirari .-Storyline:...
and Time Spiral blocks. - Morbid - Morbid abilities are triggered if a creature has "died" (formerly "was put in a graveyard from the battlefield") earlier in the turn that the spell is cast or the ability is used.
- Transform - The Transform mechanic allows certain creatures to turn into different creatures once certain conditions specified on the card are met. Each card that can Transform is a double-faced card.
Tribes
In Innistrad there are five tribes, major creature types that also play a role mechanically. Each tribe is linked to an allied color combination.- Humans - Humans occur in all colors but dominantly in white and green. White humans are depicted as religious officials and warriorWarriorA warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s while green humans are monster hunters. This is the first set in which humans are treated as a tribe. - Spirits - Spirits occur in white and blue, and sporadically in the other colors. White spirits represent guardian spirits and blue spirits represent ghosts.
- Zombies - Zombies occur in black and blue. Blue zombies are Frankenstein's MonsterFrankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
-like beings, while black zombies are ones that have risen from their graves and attack in hordes. - Vampires - Vampires occur in black and red. Black vampires appear to be sophisticated individuals while red vampires appear more savage.
- Werewolves - Werewolves occur in red and green. Every werewolf is a double-faced card with the transform mechanic. One side of each of the werewolf cards is a human werewolf.