As everyone has probably already read by now, Mirrodin Besieged (MBS) will be bringing a change in pack order for drafts upon its release. All sets from now own will be drafted newest set first, which has plenty of implications for how two and three set limited will be played, but also says quite a bit about how this block is going to be designed.

The news that Pre-Releases for MBS would be supplying players with 'faction packs' for their sealed pools also is quite telling about the design of the set. The set is split (almost down the middle) between Mirran and Phyrexian-aligned cards. This is important to note, because it shores up something that would likely have been an issue if the original draft order had continued on.

Sets following the large expansion like to push the mechanics forward and make certain themes stronger. One of the themes that is clearly being pushed forward is that the Phyrexians are now more prevalent on Mirrodin. This may also mean that benefits may come to players who draft more phyrexian-style cards (not JUST infect) or Mirran cards. Proliferate will be on more cards, and be more useful, and there will be plenty more sacrifice cards for Furnace Celebration, for example. If we can assume that 'sticking with' an alignment is beneficial, than starting the draft with a pack that has ~20% of one alignment is going to be rather skewed and messy.

In Scars, there were specific criteria explained by Mark Rosewater for a card to be Phyrexian aligned. If it wasn't (and wasn't a planeswalker) it was Mirran by default. Rosewater has said that this criteria would be looser in sets following Scars, so a card that could be Mirran in Scars might be considered Phyrexian in Besieged.

[caption id="attachment_12674" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Mirran Meter"][/caption]

Another interesting bit of information to digest is that Mirrodin Besieged is a 155 card set. This makes it ten cards larger than the usual second set. Since the set size/rarity change of Shards of Alara block, there hasn't been a small set with an unusual size. The change in the order of packs drafted and the unusual set size are not likely a coincidence. The extra ten cards are almost assuredly for limited purposes, giving the high probability they are all commons.

And this brings about the second point that people should keep in mind when thinking about the pack order change. This block was designed to be drafted this way. Besieged was designed to be drafted before Scars, and the third set was designed to be drafted before both of them. This is not a change that came about externally, it was something that was decided by the people who make the cards in R&D, while they were making this block. This means that the set will really do its best to show how this new draft protocol can be useful and exciting.

Older blocks are not expected to be drafted this way, because they were not designed to be drafted 'backwards.' It is a fun variant, but the change is so attached to the design of a block, that it might be a messy endeavor.

Though we have had a few MBS news items, the MBS rumor season isn't likely to pick up steam anytime soon, as the set will have its prerelease in January, over three months away. Hopefully there are some card previews at or around the time of Worlds, possibly something as exciting as the 'Jace Chase' from last year, which ran through the week of December 14th.

Until then, as MaRo has previously teased, keep an open mind to what a block can be, and how its design can be approached. This block is not going to be humdrum or usual. And the pack order changes is only one of the reasons why.