A cycle of five new cards in the next Magic: The Gathering card set, Judgment, will enable players' wishes to come true.

The five cards, known as "The Wish Cycle," will allow casual players and pros alike to cast counterspells at cards from players' sideboards, cards that have been removed from the game, or even cards from a player's personal collection.

The cards, with such names as Burning Wish or Cunning Wish, let players fetch particular types of cards for the opponent's countering. Burning Wish, for example, will let a player snag a sorcery card from his or her sideboard, or a sorcery that had been removed from the current game. In casual play, the player will be able to grab and have countered any sorcery card imaginable, from his or her entire collection of cards.

"We here on the design end of Magic: The Gathering are constantly looking for new ways to enhance counterspells," said Randy Buehler of Wizards of the Coast. "We remembered an older card, Ring of Ma'ruf. And we started thinking -- what if we could counter spells that weren't even in the current game?"

"The Wish cards will add an incredible new dimension to Magic play at both the competitive and casual level," Buehler said. "Imagine starting a casual game with your opponent playing inefficient, modern-day, terrible white creatures. Before the end of the game, you might find yourself, as we did with our creatureless control decks, countering a Mother of Runes."

The Judgment set debuts at prerelease tournaments on May 18.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

A cycle of five new cards in the next Magic: The Gathering card set, Judgment, will enable players' wishes to come true.

The five cards, known as "The Wish Cycle," will allow casual players and pros alike to cast counterspells at cards from players' sideboards, cards that have been removed from the game, or even cards from a player's personal collection.

The cards, with such names as Burning Wish or Cunning Wish, let players fetch particular types of cards for the opponent's countering. Burning Wish, for example, will let a player snag a sorcery card from his or her sideboard, or a sorcery that had been removed from the current game. In casual play, the player will be able to grab and have countered any sorcery card imaginable, from his or her entire collection of cards.

"We here on the design end of Magic: The Gathering are constantly looking for new ways to enhance counterspells," said Randy Buehler of Wizards of the Coast. "We remembered an older card, Ring of Ma'ruf. And we started thinking -- what if we could counter spells that weren't even in the current game?"

"The Wish cards will add an incredible new dimension to Magic play at both the competitive and casual level," Buehler said. "Imagine starting a casual game with your opponent playing inefficient, modern-day, terrible white creatures. Before the end of the game, you might find yourself, as we did with our creatureless control decks, countering a Mother of Runes."

The Judgment set debuts at prerelease tournaments on May 18.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!