Announcement Day 8-31

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

BIG news day for Magic: the Gathering players.  Just like back earlier this year on May 15th, Wizards of the Coast bundled a number of new product announcements.  We suggest you pop on over to the mothersite (linky here) and / or watch the video posted to You-Tube (linked here).  

Given the all the very awesome information on the next MTG set, Kaladesh, posted earlier, today's story 'A Time for Innovation' from Kim Kreines, and the general excitement as we move into this weekend's PAX West convention, we a feeling kinda dizzy.  Anywhoos, let's get churning through all the big news out today -

Reporting from the historic Paramount Theater (the central locus of Magic: the Gathering at PAX in Seattle), WotC Community Manager Nate Price leads us through a rapid-fire interaction with other Wizard staffers -

• Lead Creative Designer Kimberly Krienes talks about the back-story of Amonkhet, the set releasing April 28, 2017.  Tag line of 'Rise Among the Worthy'.  This looks to be an Egyptian-themed Plane where warriors compete in the Trials of the Five Gods and earn an honoured place in the Afterlife.  The second set in the Amonkhet block is 'Hour of Devastation' with the tag-line 'Unleash your Endgame'.

• Game Designer Gavin Verhey summaries the following upcoming products.  'Archenemy: Nicol Bolas' is the continuation of the Archenemy series pitting the dragon against two friends.  

• Senior Game Desinger Sam Stoddard talks about the following product releases -
 - Commander Anothology, releasing June, 2017.  This is to be a bundle of  previous Commander products "Heavenly Inferno," "Evasive Maneuvers," "Guided by Nature," and "Plunder the Graves" together in one package.  
 - Duel Decks: Mind vs. Might.  The teaser here is the representation of the age-old clash between mages and warriors, or brains and brawn. 
 - Modern Masters 2017 Edition, releasing March 2017.  This set is to revisit some of the most remarkable sets from recent history, representing everything from Eighth Edition through Magic 2014–including trips through Innistrad and Return to Ravnica. 

• Wizards of the Coast President Chris Cocks - an introduction to the man, the myth and legend, who is attending the very first PAX - evar.  The big reveal here is the artwork for 'Chandra, Torch of Defiance' which is to see print for the upcoming Kaladesh set.

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