Magic: The Gathering is introducing the frosty world of Kaldheim in its next expansion set. This is a set all about legendary sagas and gods, as well as the berserkers who fight on the snowy plains for glory and honor. The Kaldheim set also has a tribal aspect, from Shapeshifters to green-black Elves, but some gameplay mechanics are more flexible than that.
Some mechanics in Magic sets are tied to certain tribes or factions, while others are open to all. In Kaldheim's case, Foretell and Boast are not restricted to just one tribe, which is good news for players who want to test these mechanics out.
Kaldheim's New Foretell Cards
A few Foretell cards were spoiled earlier in Kaldheim's preview season, primarily Battle Mammoth. Unsurprisingly, this mechanic has a strong presence in blue, which is all about trickery and controlling the flow of time. But now, it is clear that Foretell can appear in any color, even in the common slot. Doomskar Oracle is a 3/2 Human Cleric that gains the player two life when they cast their second spell per turn, and sure enough, it has Foretell for just W. Since spells are cheaper to cast with their Foretell cost, it may be easier to meet Doomskar Oracle's lifegain conditions when Foretell is often used.
Rise of the Marnhorde proves that black mana also has access to Foretell, and like Doomskar Oracle, its Foretell cost is just one mana. When this spell is cast, the caster gets 2/2 Zombie Berserker tokens according to how many nontoken creatures have died this turn. Kaldheim is a plane dedicated to nonstop battle and going to the glorious afterlife, so it should be fairly easy to soak the battlefield with blood and create a lot of zombies with this instant card. It can be foretold for {2}, and right when a big battle takes place, a modest investment of B will make all those zombies at a moment's notice.
Quakebringer is red's big representative for the Foretell mechanic, a 5/4 Giant Berserker that has a Foretell cost of {2}RR, meaning Foretell is a modest discount of {1} from the card's actual mana cost. This giant will shut down all lifegain for the opponents, and during its controller's upkeep, Quakebringer will deal two damage to all opponents. In fact, Quakebringer can do this even if it's in the graveyard and the player has another Giant on the battlefield, meaning its stompy legacy endures long after its death.
Finally, there is Vega, the Watcher. This Bird Spirit is a 2/2 flier that works well with Foretell since it cantrips each time its controller casts a spell from anywhere other than their hand. Foretell indeed casts spells from exile, and speaking more broadly, Vega also synergizes with effects such as Suspend from the Time Spiral block or Flashback from sets like Shadows over Innistrad.
How Kaldheim Makes Use of Foretell
So far, the Foretell mechanic has had a strong presence in blue and green mana, and it's likely that Foretell will be most prominent in blue and green mana. After all, even if a mechanic can appear in any color, it may be "weighted" toward one or two particular colors, and a time-based mechanic like Foretell is a natural fit for blue mana. This color is all about foresight, careful planning and tricks, and Foretell works well for that. Instants such as Saw It Coming are the perfect trap for an unwary opponent, for example, and the blue god Alrund also has a strong affinity for Foretell.
However, Foretell does appear on large creatures and green and red spells too, which diversifies the mechanic. Such diverse mechanics suffer slightly because they're not totally focused on a certain tribe, color or strategy. Instead, they are meant to enrich a set as a whole and give it a mechanical identity overall. Clearly, Kaldheim is a world where seeing the future is a common practice, such as seeing visions of the gods' will or seeing patterns in the auroras high in the sky. This power seeps into every color of mana, and on Kaldheim, the immediate future is just as much of a battlefield as the present.
In the game, both players may have Foretell cards stocked in the exile zone, ready to pounce when the time is right. This deepens the Kaldheim set a great deal; otherwise, it would be almost entirely focused on creature combat and board states, and some players might not like that. There is more to Magic than "this army versus that army," and mechanics like Foretell keep all players on their toes. It takes more than a sizeable army to win the game.