Today fully kicks off the previews for Magic's next major release! No I'm not talking about Outlaws of Thunder Junction, that's a little later on. No, it's time for Universes Beyond: Fallout, a release centered around many players' favorite post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting! There's a grand total of four preconstructed decks coming out for the set, along with collector boosters to provide special treatments for all of these cards. All of these come out on March 8th - just a few weeks away!

Today, I'm here to talk about two brand new cards included in these preconstructed decks!

Before we get started, I'd like to note that for as much as I'm a diehard retro video game fanatic, I seem to have missed out on the Fallout series as a whole. This might surprise some people who have read my articles for some time now given how much I love to talk about classic gaming. In truth, I've never been much of a PC gamer, so I missed the first couple entries, and while I did have a copy of Fallout 3 on my Playstation 3 for a bit, I never played it before it disappeared from my collection. As such, don't expect much of a lore dump or discussion when it comes to these cards like you might with other franchises. Instead, I'd like to focus on discussing the implications and uses of these new cards in the context of Magic itself.

First up is Silver Shroud Costume.

Now this one will probably look very familiar to many Magic players out there! This feels like a new riff on the classic Whispersilk Cloak card from Darksteel. While that card hasn't been reprinted much in the last few years, it's been a mainstay of casual circles for many years thanks to both its protective qualities as well as the way it allows you to push attacks through. That's particularly excellent in Commander where commander damage is a thing, since it gives you a clear path to victory on the back of a single piece of equipment.

Silver Shroud Costume is a bit like a reverse Whispersilk Cloak in terms of its core functionality. It makes a creature unblockable and on the first turn it comes into play, gives one of your creatures Shroud (the old version of hexproof that doesn't let you target the creature either). There's two major differences in terms of playability, though. The first being Flash, which allows you to quickly protect an important creature from opponents' removal in a pinch. The other is that while Whispersilk Cloak provides Shroud perpetually, Silver Shroud Costume only does it once when it comes into play. Even if you re-equip it - which costs more to do than Whispersilk Cloak - the newly equipped creature doesn't get Shroud for a turn, so the only way to get that first ability again is to bounce the Silver Shroud Costume back to your hand and replay it.

Given this, it's probably not a straight replacement for Whispersilk Cloak in most circumstances. Players will still largely want to use that longtime classic, though it hasn't been reprinted in a long time so if this is more available, I'd bet you'll likely see this a bit more frequently in the near future. While it might not be better in a more casual setting, I'd bet Competitive Commander players are going to love it, as it provides a quick solution in Colorless to be able to protect a critical creature. Not only that, but for as long as the game continues, that creature likely can't be blocked any longer, providing an additional avenue to dish out some damage. So, while it might not simply replace Whispersilk Cloak, it's still an outstanding addition to a Commander player's arsenal.

The second card I'd like to discuss is an all new Mono-Red legendary creature. Allow me to introduce you to Ian the Reckless!

Knowing next to nothing about Fallout lore, I think it's safe to say that this Ian is a particularly dangerous and even potentially self-destructive fellow. On his own, he's just a two-mana dork, but his real ferocity is when you start suiting him up with just about anything. Put some counters on him or else suit him up with an aura or a piece of equipment and he starts going to town quickly dishing out the beats. The catch, however, is that this ability ends up being a double-edged sword.

Any time you allow Ian to trigger his ability and ping an opponent or one of their creatures, Ian also needs to ping you too. That means there's limits to how much you can utilize him, or at least that would be the case in normal circumstances. In reality, there're plenty of ways to mitigate this effect, primarily utilizing lifelink effects. These don't normally exist in Red but there are still a few ways to get there all the same.

The best way to get there in this case is to use equipment. After all, since life gain isn't usually a Red thing, you won't likely find it on Red auras. Colorless equipment, though? Oh, now we've got life gain for days! The one that comes to mind most quickly here is Basilisk Collar. Not only is this an extremely cheap way to get lifelink online, but it also provides you with deathtouch to auto-kill any creature Ian deals damage to. You also have options like Butcher's Cleaver (thanks to Ian being a human), Loxodon Warhammer, and Shadowspear. Best of all is that if you hit something with Ian while he has lifelink, you'll actually gain that life twice, thereby not just nullifying the damage dealt to you but gaining a little extra in the process as well.

The options here open up even further when you add in additional colors, which brings me to my final note: exactly where you can find these two cards. They're actually in the Scrappy Survivors deck, where you can play both alongside copies of your favorite characters Dogmeat, Ever Loyal and Preston Garvey, Minuteman!

You'll be able to find this deck as well as all other products for Universes Beyond: Fallout in just a few short weeks at your local game store, or you can check out the set page right here on CoolStuffInc.com to buy some yourself!

Thanks as always to Wizards of the Coast for the opportunity to preview these cards and share them with you all. Make sure you check out all the other previews as they're released throughout the week (you can read about where to find them here). I'll be putting out an article early next week talking about all the cool new cards once the set is completely previewed after MagicCon Chicago this weekend, so make sure you check back for that soon!

Paige Smith

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