There're a lot of different things that you can do in Magic. There's no true "one size fits all" in terms of strategies and ways to play the game. Not everything is going to be for everyone, but everything is always going to be there for someone. Jumpstart has proven to be such a big home run because you can really spotlight several different preferred and beloved play styles in one small pack of cards. This is what made the first release such a smash hit, why I ended up jumping onto the concept of custom Jumpstart packs myself, and it's why I'm super excited for the new Jumpstart 2022 release right around the corner.

Today, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast, I get to present to you a whole slew of sweet new cards for this Jumpstart 2022 release! Best of all, it features one of my favorite little themes: Blink!

While it's a strategy I've implemented far less in recent years, I've always loved the kinds of engines Blink decks bring to the table. There's something satisfying about squeezing repeated value out of the same cards over and over again. I got my first real taste with this in Commander thanks to Roon of the Hidden Realm. Around that same time, blink effects were ramping up in the original Innistrad block thanks to Avacyn Restored featuring it as a major theme. I started running it in my Cube at the time and it was always something I was excited to draft and play with.

Now comes Jumpstart 2022 and we get an entire dedicated pack themed after Blink strategies! These packs are Mono-White, so while there's definitely a few usual suspects not seen here, there's a lot of great stuff to work with. There's sure to be tons of great value in other packs you can work off of as well, which will certainly make for a lot of fun casual gameplay during downtime at your LGS. We even have some sweet new cards joining the fray as well!

First is actually a reprint, but it's unique in that it features the new anime art treatment seen throughout the Jumpstart 2022 release. We've seen some great choices like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Coldsteel Heart thus far, and while it may not be quite as iconic as those two, Flicker of Fate still makes for an outstanding reprint choice in this style. This is a great flicker spell from Theros: Beyond Death that gives you a little more flexibility in whatever you need to flicker at a moment's notice.

Next is a really awesome all-new card: Distinguished Conjurer. This is great, as it's both a juiced up Soul Warden and is a way to repeatedly flicker your creatures over and over again. Most of the cards in these packs don't repeatedly flicker over and over, so it's good to have something that does. Not only do you get the additional value from performing the flicker on cards like Inspiring Overseer or Seller of Songbirds, but you get some extra life out of the deal as well. Definitely a great addition to Blink decks everywhere!

Finally, we have an all-new Blink commander in Preston, the Vanisher. Preston - whose name is an outstanding play on the term "presto" given his magician-like appearance here - is a great way to generate even more value from your blink and flicker effects. This fun rabbit friend makes tons of little illusions that are great for being small blockers and can even blow things up in a pinch! It's hard to get too much value most of the time in just Jumpstart 2022 packs without continuously holding onto your Distinguished Conjurer, but beyond that in places like Commander, Preston can really excel.

Like with previous Jumpstart releases, some pack themes have multiple configurations. The Blink theme has four of these variations, and each has plenty to work with! You'll be able to find copies of Distinguished Conjurer and the new anime art reprint of Flicker of Fate in each iteration. You'll only see Preston half of the time, but in the packs where they don't appear, you'll still get some sweet cards in their place. Let's take a look at each pack and check out what cards you may find!

Blink Pack #1 | Jumpstart 2022

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Brightmare
• 1 Distinguished Conjurer
• 1 Gallant Cavalry
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Preston, the Vanisher
• 1 Rambunctious Mutt
• 1 Thraben Inspector
• 1 Wispweaver Angel

• Instants (2)
• 1 Acrobatic Maneuver
• 1 Flicker of Fate

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Settle Beyond Reality

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Faith's Fetters

• Lands (8)
• 7 Plains
• 1 Thriving Heath

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The first iteration is pretty standard. It features all the new cards listed above and a couple sweet cards. Thraben Inspector and Inspiring Overseer will both draw you plenty of cards, while Gallant Cavalry will make you lots of creatures. Rambunctious Mutt blows up artifacts and enchantments when needed, and Brightmare taps down creatures to let you push attacks through. Everything else is primarily a card that enables you to flicker each of these cards, with the exception of Faith's Fetters - a card that will handily shut down any seriously problematic cards your opponent may have.

Blink Pack #2 | Jumpstart 2022

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Brightmare
• 1 Daybreak Charger
• 1 Distinguished Conjurer
• 1 Emiel the Blessed
• 1 Imperial Aerosaur
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Rambunctious Mutt
• 1 Valorous Steed

• Instants (2)
• 1 Flicker of Fate
• 1 Justiciar's Portal

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Settle Beyond Reality

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Faith's Fetters

• Lands (8)
• 7 Plains
• 1 Thriving Heath

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As you might expect, the second version is quite similar. Cards like Inspiring Overseer, Brightmare, and Settle Beyond Reality make a showing once more. With them, though, are a handful of other new cards. Valorous Steed is basically a beefier - and slightly more expensive - Gallant Cavalry and Imperial Aerosaur makes creatures fly over your opponents' heads time and time again. This is one of two packs where Preston doesn't make an appearance, but in their place is classic Jumpstart alumni Emiel the Blessed. Instead of making tokens and occasionally blowing something up, Emiel lets you repeatedly flicker and power up your creatures in the process. Not a bad deal!

Blink Pack #3 | Jumpstart 2022

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Brightmare
• 1 Cavalry Drillmaster
• 1 Distinguished Conjurer
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Preston, the Vanisher
• 1 Rambunctious Mutt
• 1 Restoration Angel
• 1 Valorous Steed

• Instants (1)
• 1 Flicker of Fate

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Settle Beyond Reality

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 Faith's Fetters
• 1 Valor in Akros

• Lands (8)
• 7 Plains
• 1 Thriving Heath

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Version three feels a little closer to the first, as it once again features Preston and utilizes a lot of the same types of cards. Here, though, there's an additional rare in the form of Restoration Angel, which provides some extra support in flickering and raw power. Not only that, but you get Valor in Akros to allow your board regular pumps as you flicker away your board. You can also get a more focused power buff using Cavalry Drillmaster if you want as well.

Blink Pack #4 | Jumpstart 2022

• Creatures (8)
• 1 Brightmare
• 1 Cavalry Drillmaster
• 1 Distinguished Conjurer
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Pierce Strider
• 1 Rambunctious Mutt
• 1 Seller of Songbirds
• 1 Wispweaver Angel

• Instants (1)
• 1 Flicker of Fate

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Settle Beyond Reality

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Faith's Fetters

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 Panharmonicon

• Lands (8)
• 7 Plains
• 1 Thriving Heath

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The final pack might as well be the SaffronOlive special, as while it lacks a copy of Preston, it instead has Panharmonicon. This means that while you won't get a bunch of tokens or utilize repeat flickers with the likes of Emiel, you'll get a slew of potent abilities triggering over and over again. This works well if you can repeatedly flicker cards like Pierce Strider to drain your opponents' life totals or Seller of Songbirds to make a bunch of evasive tokens. Don't let the lack of a fancy legend here turn you off, because this may just be one of the strongest versions of this pack - especially if you get other potent ETB effects among the cards in your second pack.

Speaking of legends, though, I figured that once we got these packs out of the way and showed off the new cards in these packs it'd be fitting to make a whole Commander deck around the brand new legend here. Preston makes for a great Mono-White Blink Commander - something rarely seen before - and it seemed like a cool challenge. Check out the list!

Preston Blink | Commander | Paige Smith

• Commander (1)
• 1 Preston, the Vanisher

• Creatures (30)
• 1 Blade Splicer
• 1 Captain of the Watch
• 1 Charming Prince
• 1 Distinguished Conjurer
• 1 Felidar Guardian
• 1 Fiend Hunter
• 1 Gallant Cavalry
• 1 Inspiring Overseer
• 1 Knight of the White Orchid
• 1 Kor Cartographer
• 1 Mage's Attendant
• 1 Meteor Golem
• 1 Palace Jailer
• 1 Pegasus Guardian
• 1 Priest of Ancient Lore
• 1 Rambunctious Mutt
• 1 Resolute Reinforcements
• 1 Restoration Angel
• 1 Roving Harper
• 1 Rumor Gatherer
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Soul Warden
• 1 Soul's Attendant
• 1 Spirited Companion
• 1 Stonehorn Dignitary
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Thraben Inspector
• 1 Wall of Omens
• 1 Welcoming Vampire
• 1 White Plume Adventurer

• Instants (12)
• 1 Acrobatic Maneuver
• 1 Cloudshift
• 1 Cosmic Intervention
• 1 Ephemerate
• 1 Flicker of Fate
• 1 Justiciar's Portal
• 1 Kabira Takedown // Kabira Plateau
• 1 Lae'zel's Acrobatics
• 1 Otherworldly Journey
• 1 Return to Dust
• 1 Sejiri Shelter // Sejiri Glacier
• 1 Swords to Plowshares

• Sorceries (4)
• 1 Austere Command
• 1 Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave
• 1 Hour of Reckoning
• 1 Makindi Stampede // Makindi Mesas

• Enchantments (8)
• 1 Anointed Procession
• 1 Felidar Retreat
• 1 Flickerform
• 1 Intangible Virtue
• 1 Journey to Nowhere
• 1 Oblivion Ring
• 1 Teleportation Circle
• 1 Valor in Akros

• Artifacts (9)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Conjurer's Closet
• 1 Heraldic Banner
• 1 Marble Diamond
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Oketra's Monument
• 1 Panharmonicon
• 1 Skullclamp
• 1 Sol Ring

• Lands (36)
• 22 Plains
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 1 Castle Ardenvale
• 1 Command Beacon
• 1 Demolition Field
• 1 Drifting Meadow
• 1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
• 1 Hall of Heliod's Generosity
• 1 High Market
• 1 Myriad Landscape
• 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Secluded Steppe
• 1 War Room
• 1 Windbrisk Heights

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Truthfully, I'm generally used to seeing my Blink Commander decks being either Bant or Azorius colors more than anything. As such, seeing a Mono-White Blink deck is a little weird. In spite of that, I think there's a lot of great ways to make such a deck work and it really shows in a list like this. With the help of cards like Cosmic Intervention, Teleportation Circle, and Ephemerate, it's clear this sort of deck has been getting a lot of love over the last few years. It simply lacked a real solid Mono-White option outside of maybe Abdel Adrian, and now it gets its time to shine here.

Best of all, it utilizes a ton of the cards you can open from your various Blink boosters in Jumpstart 2022 packs. Cards like Thraben Inspector, Inspiring Overseer, Panharmonicon, and Valor in Akros all make for great additons. There's a lot of really notable cards that didn't make the cut, however, such as the likes of Teleportation Circle and Conjurer's Closet for repeated flickers or Cosmic Intervention for a more sweeping solution. It's even a bit shocking that Ephemerate didn't show up in these packs, though I suppose this was left out to not bring about complexity overload thanks to rebound being a bit of a unique mechanic.

The great thing about a list like this, though, is the fact that it's by and large quite accessible. I'd hazard a guess that the majority of players who have been around for a couple years now have most of these cards already. Outside of a few notables like Anointed Procession and Emeria, the Sky Ruin, the majority of this deck is quite easy to get. Given the sheer density of commons and uncommons, you've likely gotten several through natural accumulation over time, and that's to say nothing of how many come in the packs themselves.

All in all, it's great to see Blink get some serious representation in a casual release like this. It's a great way to play Magic and it's awesome to see it show up in a product such as Jumpstart 2022. Between the likes of this, Snow, and even Urza Tron showing up so far, the set is looking incredibly promising with tons of great new cards. If you want to see more, you can check out the Jumpstart 2022 page right here on CoolStuffInc.com to see more cards as they are previewed! All of the cards shown in the packs of this article will be there, as well as Wizards of the Coast's official image gallery once it's updated tomorrow.

Last but not least, I'd like to once again thank Wizards of the Coast and CoolStuffInc for the opportunity to preview all these excellent cards. It's always a delight to be able to bring you awesome cards like these. It was especially wonderful this time getting to talk about one of my favorite play styles in the process. For the time being, though, that's all folks!

Paige Smith

Twitter: @TheMaverickGal

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