With almost 400 cards included in Magic: The Gathering's Edge of Eternities set, the 32-year-old game has suddenly become bigger and more varied, as this is the first expansion set in space proper. With an approach to sci-fantasy that comes from a familiar place, telling stories with characters and elements that are still very much true to the nature of MTG, Edge of Eternities adds new mechanics to reflect all this. These include mechanics like warp, void, lander, and station, all of which are tied to space travel and conflict, partly rooted in physics but not without the key essence of Magic, also in terms of gameplay. To some fans' surprise, an underrated card from 2024's Duskmourn set is now reaching new heights thanks to EoE.

It's rather frequent that some older cards experience a resurgence when a new Magic: The Gathering set is released, and it's often accompanied by a surge in price too. An example is how MTG's Avatar Aang card made Fist of Suns spike in value, or how some Edge of Eternities cards started being pricier even before the set came out, due to players figuring out cool combos with them. And yet, a combo that seemingly went unnoticed is how Duskmourn's The Mindskinner can single-handedly power up most EoE station cards.

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Magic: The Gathering's Edge of Eternities Commander Decks (and Possible Upgrades) Explained

WotC is launching two new Commander decks for Magic: The Gathering with Edge of Eternities, and they already have clear upgrades.

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Magic: The Gathering's The Mindskinner is Suddenly Relevant Thanks to Station Cards

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MTG's station mechanic in Edge of Eternities allows players to put a charge counter on permanents with station by tapping creatures, with the number of counters depending on the creature's power. Because of this, The Mindskinner can put 10 charge counters on any permanent with station in one fell swoop, and this can be done as soon as the creature is played. Since The Mindskinner only costs three mana, it can be incredibly strong when used this way or straight-up OP when the combo is right.

Station is very similar to crew for vehicle cards in Magic: The Gathering.

For example, Magic: The Gathering's new spacecraft cards include one called Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnaught, which costs 5 generic mana and has station, with no other ability until it reaches its threshold of charge counters. With 10 counters, if players attack, Dawnsire will deal 100 damage to one creature or planeswalker, which is enough to one-shot mostly anything in the game. Instead, with 20 counters, Dawnsire becomes a 20/20 creature with flying. The first threshold is available immediately with The Mindskinner, since it has 10 power, and the second could be reached on the following turn.

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Another combo with Dawnsire and The Mindskinner includes Stuffy Doll, which is an indestructible artifact creature that allows players to deal all damage dealt to it to another player, meaning that Dawnsire's 100-damage ability could be used on Stuffy Doll to immediately get the opponent(s) to zero cards in their deck thanks to The Mindskinner's mill effect.

magic-mtg-stuffy-doll How Magic: The Gathering's New Station Cards Benefit From The Mindskinner

Magic: The Gathering's Standard format has a life value of 20 at the start of a game, so players could theoretically one-shot opponents with a single attack from Dawnsire. This combo doesn't even apply to Dawnsire alone, as virtually all cards with station can benefit from it.

Another example is MTG's Uthros, Titanic Godcore, which is one of the new planet-type lands in Edge of Eternities, and it requires 12+ charge counters to then have the same effect as the iconic Tolarian Academy legendary land. Even in a more budget-friendly, simple deck, players could use The Mindskinner alongside the new Specimen Freighter card, which is a spacecraft that becomes a 4/7 creature with flying with 9+ charge counters. While it's a creature and it attacks, players can make the opponent mill four cards, which would be 8 cards combined with The Mindskinner due to its ability.

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MTG's Commander format is probably where station cards and The Mindskinner can truly shine, though, as players could come up with more unique combos and deck ideas. The Mindskinner could be a good choice for a commander, too, as it's legendary, but it could equally work in the 99.

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magic the gathering
Magic: The Gathering
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Original Release Date
August 5, 1993
Designer
Richard Garfield
Player Count
2+
Age Recommendation
13+
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