Last updated on January 14, 2025
Fatal Push – Illustration by Eric Deschamps
Two reprints shown in the official Magic: The Gathering Story Podcast strongly suggest that two cards from the Kaladesh block will soon return to Standard – and with them, reintroduce two Kaladesh mechanics to that MTG format.
Source: MTG Official YouTube Channel
The official podcast showed Call for Unity and Attune with Aether, using their original art in both cases and labeling their MTG set code as DFT – that's to say Aetherdrift, the first Magic Standard set of 2025, which releases in early February.
Should both cards really end up in Standard, they would also herald the return of Revolt and Energy.
Three Possibilities
Attune with Aether – Illustrated by Wesley Burt
The source for these reveals is as official as they come – The Magic Story Podcast is from Wizards of the Coast.
But we're only human after all (at least until the AIs take over…) and mistakes could have been made, so there are three possibilities here.
The first one is, “They showed the wrong cards“: The production team may have grabbed old Kaladesh assets to visually fill empty space. Aetherdrift takes place across three different Magic planes and the podcast is about Magic's lore, so it shows several cards (like March of the Machine‘s Elesh Norn) when mentioning how past events have shaped the multiverse.
And it wouldn't be the first time such slip-up crops up: As Reddit users noted, back in Dominaria United an official video “revealed” that Board the Weatherlight and Weatherlight would be in the set, but that turned out to be all wrong.
The second possibility is, “Right cards, but wrong set code“: These reprints may be from the Aetherdrift Commander Precons, not the main Standard set.
In other words, they may have shown “DFT” when they should have written “DRC”. There's a confirmed Energy EDH precon coming our way in February led by a Temur commander, and Attune with Aether would fit like a glove in it.
The third possibility is, of course, “Legit Comeback,” – Energy and Revolt, back in the Standard menu!
Revolting Cards
Aesthetic considerations aside, Call for Unity is an ugly Magic card. A five-mana do-nothing-when-enters enchantment is just plain awful.
Which, in my opinion, reinforces the third theory (these are legit!): Call for Unity is way too lousy a reprint for a Commander precon, and only makes sense if it's reprinted for Draft purposes in the main set.
In fact, all of the revolt cards are anywhere between “Meh” and “Yuck!” for Commander, again reinforcing the third explanation (these are legit Standard reprints!).
And there's one revolt card that, if reintroduced into Standard, would make a nice chunk of waves: Fatal Push. The black instant is a staple across Magic formats, even seeing play in Legacy and Vintage, and which is currently the most-played card in Pioneer.
Source: MTGTop8 – Pioneer
Black decks in Standard would love an extra copy of Cut Down in the early turns (Fatal Push kills every 1-drop and 2-drop that matters) that, with a bit of set-up, can handle Screaming Nemesis or Sheoldred, The Apocalypse. Revolt triggers when any of your permanents leaves the battlefield for any reason, so cracking a Food token or This Town Ain't Big Enough-ing your Stormchaser's Talent will enable it.
Energy Returns Too?
Energy returning to Standard seems like a longer shot, I think.
On the one hand, it's pretty much certain that Living Energy, one of Aethedrift's Commander precons, will focus on energy counters.
- READY, SET, CHARGE!—Join artificer extraordinaire Saheeli to stockpile energy, then charge up your artifact creatures for a big finish with this Red-Green-Blue Aetherdrift Commander Deck
- 2 FOIL BORDERLESS COMMANDERS—Every Aetherdrift Commander Deck includes 2 Traditional Foil Legendary Creature cards featuring Borderless art
- INTRODUCES 10 COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
- COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alternate-border Aetherdrift cards
- THRILLING MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
Living Energy is described on Amazon as “Join artificer extraordinaire Saheeli to stockpile energy, then charge up your artifact creatures for a big finish with this Red-Green-Blue Aetherdrift Commander Deck,” which is as loud as you can tell me this is about energy without yelling “Energy counters!”
On the other hand, Temur Energy broke Standard in half back in 2018; Attune with Aether was one of the cards that had to be banned back then. And energy decks dominate Modern right now, after Modern Horizons 3 unleashed new energy cards… this is not a mechanic to be tampered lightly with.
This, to me, suggests that the most likely theory is #2: They made a small labeling mistake on The Magic Story Podcast. These reprints are for the Commander precons, not the main set.
Hand in Hand
Call for Unity – Illustration by John Severin Brassel
So, if revolt is a lousy Commander mechanic (and Call for Unity is the ugliest of them all), thus suggesting these cards will be in the Standard set…
… but energy being kinda broken suggests that Attune with Aether and its ilk are not going to end up in Standard…
… which theory is the most likely?
I have a hunch it is: A mix of both!
- They correctly showed Call for Unity going back to Standard, bringing back revolt (and perhaps Fatal Push!),
- But some intern messed up and also wrongly tagged Attune with Aether as a DFT card when it should have shown “This is a Commander precon card.”
With the Aetherdrit reveals just around the corner, we'll find out soon enough!
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