Hi, I'm Volin. Back in October, Reinhart wrote his "Predictions and Conjectures" article about Mirrodin Besieged. Now sure, many of those things may end up being correct (boy, would the land armor be fun), but there is one thing I'm hoping he's wrong about. Factions. Wizards have already let us know that factions are going to be something of importance to that first sealed we all play; what if they make them important in a not-just-for-fun way?

This would be a positive move toward integrating the rich flavor of the Magic world into the card game. We have two opposing factions here; the Mirran Coalition, and the Phyrexian Invasion. Before the Phyrexians were just beginning to make their mark on the small artificial world, and now the forces are matched evenly. By focusing on faction-specific mechanics and faction-inclusive tactics Wizards could make each draft seem like another battle in that war.

There are a couple of ways they could work this in.

1.The Easy Way

There is nothing new about bonuses for cards that work together. Lords of every major creature type exist in duplicate across Magic's long history. If they want factions to be a big deal, they could simply make mechanics based on other Phyrexian or Mirran cards. The condition for the bonus could be something like, "For each creature on the battlefield under your control with the (Phyrexian symbol here) symbol watermarked in the background...".

This has problems though. It makes the Mirrodin block very self-contained. Rather than looking to the other sets for deck ideas around a few new cards, you have to stay in a small range. This does, however, allow Wizards to make cards with more powerful and game changing effects that they would normally have to consider in the context of a Baneslayer Angel or Sun Titan. Suddenly the pool of cards for them to Balance around is small enough to add some new and interesting mechanics.

2. The Fun Way

The factions already have some patterns which faction-specific cards could take advantage of. Primarily in the form of two creature types. The Mirrans have all the Artificers in the set, and the Phyrexians have all the Horrors. Even outside of Mirrodin, all of the cards that match those creature types fit very well with the faction they would be associated with, as far back as Extended at least.

Think of auras that act as mutations for Horrors to give them abilities (like fear or flying) they don't possess, or instants that have an additional effect (like making an artifact creature) when you have an artificer in play. These would have uses as essential pieces in Standard, Legacy and even some Commander decks. The fact that very few effects have ever referred to either creature type also opens up the door for Wizards to have some fun with the mechanics they associate them with, as they would not have preexisting combos to worry about.

Also, the struggle between the inventive Mirrans and the overwhelming horror of the Phyrexians embodies the war between them. By featuring these creature types they can really bring this battle to the forefront without keeping the set from being useful in other formats.

3. The Boring Way

The way they've been doing it. More faction-specific mechanics that simply do not exist in the other faction. Not necessarily the most flavorful way of handling the situation. When I proliferate to increase counters on Elspeth and Koth, I don't feel like a hand wringing Phyrexian villain.

Let me know how you feel in the comments about either my suggested mechanics or some ideas of your own. I think this is a place where Wizards can make the game seem more like it does in the fiction, and I wonder if you guys have any other ways you figure they could make that happen.

Hopefully until next time!