Mechanics
Tempest introduced two new keyworded mechanics to Magic: Buyback and Shadow.
Buyback appeared on instants and sorceries. Spells with buyback had an optional buyback cost which, if paid, caused the spell to return to its owner's hand after being cast instead of being placed in the graveyard.
Shadow appeared on creatures. Creatures with shadow could not block or be blocked, except by creatures with shadow. The shadow ability only appeared on certain blue, black or white creatures (with the exception of the red/white Soltari Guerrillas), and creatures with Shadow were all relatively small.
Several non-keyworded mechanics were also introduced. Licids were a creature type that had the ability to become creature enchantments. This caused numerous rules complications.
Slivers were also introduced in Tempest. These were creatures that shared their abilities with other Slivers in play. Slivers continued into Stronghold, and later made appearances in Legions, Scourge, Time Spiral, Planar Chaos and Future Sight.
The Medallions were a very popular cycle of artifacts, one for each color, that reduced the cost of spells of the appropriate color. Slower monocolor decks (mainly blue) saw them as first pick.
The "stuck" or "slow" lands were a cycle of 5 uncommon lands that add mana of two allied colors, but when used, did not untap on your next turn. This "slowness" made them less popular than the Ice Age "pain lands." Additionally, there was a cycle of 5 rare lands which could generate enemy colors. These lands came into play tapped and could provide colorless mana without penalty, but would deal a point of damage to their controller when tapped for colored mana. They were later replaced with the enemy-color "pain lands" in Apocalypse, which used a format similar to the aforementioned Ice Age pain lands. Reflecting Pool was a powerful land used in many multi-colored decks, only reprinted once in Shadowmoor.
Read more about this topic: Tempest (Magic: The Gathering)
Famous quotes containing the word mechanics:
“It is only the impossible that is possible for God. He has given over the possible to the mechanics of matter and the autonomy of his creatures.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“the moderate Aristotelian city
Of darning and the Eight-Fifteen, where Euclid’s geometry
And Newton’s mechanics would account for our experience,
And the kitchen table exists because I scrub it.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)