[AFR] Reprint speculation

[Mookie]

We're getting a bunch of new cards in the upcoming set, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Many of those cards are going to be based on various characters and items from D&D. However, there are also a fair number of spells that have already been printed which share a name with things in D&D. It seems plausible that some number of the reprints in the set would be those spells.

D&D spells that could show up:

• Animate Dead
• Chain Lightning
• Clone
• Contagion
• Divination
• Disintegrate
• Darkness
• Earthquake
• Fabricate
• Firebolt
• Fireball
• Foresight
• Gaseous Form
• Invisibility
• Jump
• Lightning Bolt
• Mirror Image
• Polymorph
• Raise Dead
• Regenerate
• Resurrection
• Shatter
• Simulacrum
• Sleep
• Time Stop
• Teleport
• Vampiric Touch
• Web

Also Bag of Holding and Ring of Three Wishes. Obviously, many of these cards are unlikely to show up for power level reasons, but Fireball and Divination both seem like pretty easy inclusions.

[Krishnath]

I'd rather see Disintegrate than Fireball, but it is unlikely to happen due to the regeneration clause.

I could see Polymorph or Earthquake making it in. And I would not be surprised by Lightning Bolt either.

[Mookie]

So, we did get new versions of Fireball and Polymorph, plus likely a few others.... however, they're named versions of those spells instead of reprints - Farideh's Fireball and Mordenkainen's Polymorph. Makes sense, given that many of these cards don't conform to modern design philosophy, but still worth noting. Other spells - Fly, Meteor Swarm, Wish, etc - are also showing up and getting unnamed versions, since their names haven't been previously used in Magic.

I'll wait for the full set before confirming / denying this speculation, but at this point direct reprints look unlikely. I'll claim half an internet cookie for partial reprints though. :D

[Krishnath]

I'd just like to point out that Farideh's Fireball is a uniquely terrible card that should not be played.

[Mookie]

I'd just like to point out that Farideh's Fireball is a uniquely terrible card that should not be played.

Eh, I'd say it's comparable to Sarkhan's Rage. Not a good card and obvious draft chaff, but five damage for five mana at instant speed is playable in Limited. You're never going to be excited to play it, but red doesn't get that many ways to deal with high-toughness creatures, and it does look to kill most things in the set. If my opponent had Adult Gold Dragon or another spooky dragon in draft / sealed, I'd be willing to side in pretty much any removal I had access to.

[Arkmer]

I just want to point out that a good chunk of the higher rarity legendary cards all die to 3 damage, notably not the walkers which I think increases the likely hood of some relevant 3 damage spell. Even Icingdeath dies to 3 damage. Either it's the critical toughness to have to stay alive or everything dies to Lightning Bolt/Chain Lightning.

And yet... If they printed Lightning Bolt into Standard again, I think they'd really screw things up. Chain Lightning probably the same to a slightly lesser extent.

[Krishnath]

I have an inkling we might get a card depiction of Aganazza's Scorcher, the other iconic fire spell in the Forgotten Realms.

[Mookie]

Not AFR, but Commander Legends 2: Battle for Baldur's Gate is bringing Lightning Bolt and Fireball as reprints. I will now claim my other half an internet cookie. :D