A minor rules change coming in with the next Magic: The Gathering set Bloomburrow was all set to have disastrous consequences for a classic commander. But now Wizards of the Coast has made a change to preserve the status quo.
There’s some really dry rules discussion required to explain this, so let’s try and breeze through it as smoothly as we can.
The gist is that where previously cards would say ‘pre-combat main phase’ and ‘post-combat main phase’, from MTG Bloomburrow onwards, this text will be replaced with ‘first main phase’ and ‘second main phase’. This is presumably an attempt to simplify or to reduce text on cards – as seen in the recent policy of writing ‘enters’ as shorthand for ‘enters the battlefield’.
This change is an errata for all previous cards that had this text. In this instance it’s not just the wording that changes – there are rules implications too. The trouble comes in when you start playing around with extra turns or extra phases.
According to a Twitter comment by MTG editor Matt Tabak, ‘second main phase’ refers strictly to the second main phase of your turn, not every main phase that takes place after combat. So if you create additional combat steps and main phases, those main phases don’t count as ‘second main phases’.
This plays havoc with a small handful of cards, which previously worked well with extra combat spells. The one players seemed most upset about was the MTG commander Neheb the Eternal.
Neheb creates mana in each ‘post-combat main phase’, which lets you chain multiple combat spell effects together, using the mana generated by each attack to fuel the next one. A particularly popular infinite combo was utilizing the card alongside Aggravated Assault.
Players were poised to take apart their Neheb decks at this tragic bit of news, but fortunately Tabak has now chimed in with an update. According to this statement, made on July 25, 2024, a select group of 11 cards (including Neheb) will keep the term ‘postcombat main phase’ .
Phew, everyone can relax again. Good to see the designers responding so quickly to fan feedback.
For more Magic: The Gathering content, take a look at our list of all existing MTG sets, and our guide to the MTG Arena codes you can still use to unlock free packs.
Source: Wargamer
