Last updated on March 8, 2024
Act of Heroism | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve
Some of you may be too young to remember this but there was a time when Magic’s story was essentially the MCU but within the Magic multiverse. The Gatewatch were the main leads of the story as they sought to put an end to Thanos’s… I mean Nicol Bolas’s nefarious plans to become a living god.
This was also the time when expansions were released in two-set blocks. I just want to take this opportunity to mention blocks were absolutely the best way to release new expansions and I think WotC should go back to block releases.
But enough of that. Let’s look at the set that brought the destruction of Amonkhet and the Gatewatch’s darkest hour.
Hour of Devastation Basic Information
Vizier of the Anointed | Illustration by Jakub Kasper
Set Details
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | HOU |
| Hashtag | #MTGHOU |
| Number of Cards | 209 (199 + 10 Planeswalker Deck exclusives) |
| Rarities | 89 Common, 62 Uncommon, 44 Rare, 14 Mythic Rare |
| Mechanics | Afflict, Eternalize, Exert, Cycling, Aftermath, Deserts |
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Set Release | July 14, 2017 |
| Prerelease Week | July 7-9, 2017 |
About the Set: The Story
Hour of Devastation | Illustration by Simon Dominic
The complete story for Hour of Devastation is available in the official Magic Story site, so if you want the full version go check it out. It’s always good to show support for the short stories, lest we get another War of the Spark situation.
Hour of Revelation
Millennia before the Gatewatch, before their trip to Amonkhet, before most of them had even been born, Nicol Bolas had already set his plans in motion. The Mending of Dominaria had changed how planeswalker sparks worked, shifting them from interplanar demigods to simply powerful spellcasters.
The dragon knew what the Mending would bring, and he was reluctant to let himself become like those who he deemed inferior. He’d already started preparations to restore his power after his spark became weakened, and Amonkhet was a part of that plan.
The ancient dragon had plans for the plane, and no one, not even the eight immortal gods of Naktamun, would stop him. The battle was short and brutal. The gods were defeated swiftly, their memories wiped away, with only five of them being allowed to remain in Naktamun. Every adult mortal was vanished away by Bolas, ensuring only children whose culture could be modified to serve his needs remained. The gods had their memories changed to fit his plans and desires. Both gods and mortals now had a new, mysterious, absent figure who’d been prophesied to return: the god-pharaoh, who would return to Amonkhet when the second sun finally placed itself between the horns of his ancient monument.
And the time had finally come. The people of Amonkhet were ready to welcome the return of their god-pharaoh after centuries of worship and ritual and adoration. The time of the Hours.
The Hour of Revelation was the first stage of his return, as the door to the afterlife opened. The Necropolis where those who completed the Trials were laid to rest. To wait.
The people of Naktamun waited for their god to rise from the Necropolis and thought that had occurred when a winged figure flew out of the gates and into the city. But Samut immediately recognized him for what he was: a demon.
The demon Razaketh cursed the waters of the Luxa river into blood, carrying death with him. He called out to Liliana, as he was one of the demons that had signed her pact. He held power over her body, forcing her to obey his will. But Liliana wasn’t alone. The Gatewatch arrived to her aid, confronting the demon. Their combined powers were enough to bring down the demon after a rough fight, eventually having him devoured by the reanimated corpses of the crocodiles in the corrupted river. With this, three out of the four demons Liliana had pacted with were now dead.
Hour of Glory
After the death of Razaketh, the blood of the Luxa river began flowing backwards, seeping into the Necropolis. A flash of light followed, and after it came three towering figures. They were greater than the gods of Naktamun, being gods themselves. The three abominable figures marched out from the Necropolis. The Scarab God, the Locust God, and the Scorpion God. They’d once been siblings of the Naktamun gods but now were nothing like what they’d once been.
The Scorpion God crossed the gate to the afterlife and was greeted by Ronas, who assumed this was to be a trial of sorts for him. Rhonas prepared to face the Scorpion God and the two towering figures met each other on brutal combat. After a ferocious encounter, Rhonas managed to overpower the monstrous creature. But as he turned to celebrate his victory with his followers, the seemingly-dead Scorpion God rose, grappling Rhonas as his stinger went straight through his skull, killing him.
Hour of Promise
Prophecy had stated that during the Hour of Promise, the Hekma, the magical barrier that protected Naktamun from the hordes of undead, would no longer be needed. And the Locust God sought to fulfill that prophecy. The monstrous being sent forth a plague of locusts to eat away at the barrier, weakening it until it was destroyed.
Chaos erupted as hordes of undead and locusts swarmed the city. People fled and ran in horror. But some mortals decided to fight back. Hapatra, as well as Samut and Djeru, all banded together to find a way to fight back.
The three went in search of the remaining gods and found Kefnet and Oketra fighting the Scorpion God. Despite their insistence that the two should go to safety, the gods kept on fighting. Their attacks didn’t do much damage but they still managed to keep the Scorpion God at bay.
Oketra eventually landed an arrow in the middle of the monster’s head, making it dissolve into dust. But the joy of victory wouldn’t come, as the dust reshaped and reformed into the Scorpion God once again. It landed a surprise blow on Kefnet’s head, piercing it with the stinger.
Oketra tried to have the mortals flee the battle, but Hapatra charged directly at the Scorpion God. Right before her inevitable demise, Oketra interfered, protecting the vizier. The Scorpion God stabbed her through her stomach in a swift and terrible hit, killing her.
Three of the five immortal gods now laid dead. The Scorpion God continued its way into the city, and as it walked away, people gathered to mourn their fallen gods. Amongst them was Gideon, who had formed a deep connection with Oketra.
Hapatra approached Gideon, stating her suspicions: that the God-Pharaoh, responsible for all this chaos, was an “outsider” just like she had deduced Gideon and the Gatewatch were. After Gideon confirmed her theory, she stated that it would then be their responsibility to deal with the God-Pharaoh, and they should abandon her city as soon as they were done.
Hapatra left with Djeru and Samut to find the two remaining gods. Samut and Djeru managed to find Hazoret quickly. She was fighting back the horrors that encroached from the desert. Hazoret rejected their help and prompted them to gather as many survivors as possible to take them to the desert and hide. Despite everything, Hazoret still believed in the return of the God-Pharaoh, expecting him to be the savior they needed. And her prayers would be answered.
A massive portal opened in the sky, and from it came Nicol Bolas. The God-Pharaoh had returned. Observing the death and devastation with a smile, the dragon approached the city. But before no one’s hopes could get too high, he summoned a rain of black fire upon them, perpetuating the destruction around him instead of stopping it.
As Hazoret’s mind raced in search of answers, a dark truth was exposed to her. A voice was praising Nicol Bolas. Her sister Bontu. As it turns out, Nicol Bolas had no need to erase Bontu’s mind; she’d been corrupted with the promise of power and glory, so she obeyed willingly, ensuring the fate of Amonkhet went as planned.
Bolas ordered Bontu to murder her sister. She cast a spell to tear away at Hazoret’s mind, which weakened her but simultaneously returned her memories, revealing the truth of Nicol Bolas and her sister’s betrayal.
Bontu trapped her sister’s dying body in black tar and dropped it at Nicol Bolas’ feet. Claiming her service was ended, Bolas blasted Bontu with a spell. Weakened and dying, the god tried charging at Bolas but was suddenly overrun by a horde of undead. In one last act of defiance, Bontu released a wave of energy that destroyed everything around her, and then withdrew her spells over Hazoret. With her sister released, Bontu finally died.
Hour of Eternity
It was said that during the Hour of Eternity, the worthy dead would take their place by the side of the God-Pharaoh to live eternally. This was a quite literal promise. The Scarab God marched forth, followed by a massive army of lazotep-coated undead: the Eternals. Nicol Bolas had at his command an undead, nearly indestructible army.
Everything had failed so far, and Samut saw no other way out of this destruction other than taking Hazoret’s advice: fleeing into the desert. Hapatra, with Samut and Djeru following her, led the survivors into the desert, trying to escape the hordes of eternals. As the enemies drew closer, and the warriors realized just how unkillable these foes truly were, the Gatewatch arrived to help.
The group of planeswalkers decided to go after Bolas, while Djeru and Samut would go out to find Hazoret. The two humans went into the city until they came across Rhonas’s corpse. Samut was filled with an overcoming fury, which she turned into a rousing speech for the survivors around her. They would fight to see another day.
As she spoke, Hazoret found them. But she wasn’t alone. The Scorpion God followed closely behind, chasing the injured Hazoret. The monstrous creature attacked relentlessly and pierced Hazoret’s arm with its stinger. Before the venom could reach her body, Hazoret sliced her own arm off, though not before casting a firestorm over her foe.
Samut leapt into the air, furiously. She climbed on top of the Scorpion God and started hacking away at its weakened carapace. She was joined by the other mortals, who started bombarding the creature with attacks and spells. Despite the massive losses the horrifying creature was causing, the relentless attack from the mortals pushed it back. A khenra warrior wielding Rhonas’s gigantic staff managed to push the Scorpion God back into a rope that the others were holding, causing it to lose its footing. With a final powerful kick from Samut, the god was sent towering down onto a broken obelisk, which impaled it through the chest. As the creature squirmed and turned, Hazoret pierced the carapace with her spear and started burning the beast from the inside out, finally reducing it into nothingness. The Scorpion God was finally dead.
Hazoret thanked the mortals for their brave deeds, especially Samut. This praise filled Samut with an overwhelming joy and pride. So overwhelming, in fact, that with a flash and in the blink of an eye, she was no longer in Amonkhet. Samut opened her eyes and she was in Theros. Her spark had ignited. However, knowing she was still needed in Amonkhet, she managed to instinctively planeswalk back to her home.
Hour of Devastation
Naktamun laid in ruins and four of its gods were dead. The survivors were escaping to safety but the largest threat of them all still loomed over the plane: Nicol Bolas. The Gatewatch were ready to confront him.
Gideon charged against the dragon while the rest of the team started casting spells to weaken him. Their efforts were futile. Liliana’s zombies got trampled, Chandra and Nissa’s flames and vines were ignored, Jace’s mind spells weren’t even close to matching Bolas’s power, and the indestructible Gideon was bounced off walls repeatedly.
The dragon eventually lowered his defenses, allowing Jace to enter into his mind. Little did the mindmage know how big of a trap this actually was. Bolas used his own powers to harm Jace’s mind profoundly, which caused the telepath to instinctively planeswalk away.
The next to fall was Liliana. She was already certain of their defeat, so Bolas’s manipulation came easily. He promised Liliana the knowledge to use the Chain Veil without major drawbacks. She urged the others to follow her but they refused, which led her to abandon the group on her own, feeling defeated.
Only three remained: Gideon, Chandra, and Nissa. Chandra was the next of them to planeswalk away as her attacks did nothing to Bolas, and she grew weaker with every hit she took. Nissa convinced her to planeswalk away so she could focus on saving herself and Gideon.
Doubt seeped into Nissa’s mind. She doubted the Gatewatch and its goals, and she doubted their chances to defeat someone as powerful as Nicol Bolas so unprepared. The dragon took advantage of this doubt, trapping her in a spell of dark tendrils. Right before the end, Gideon tackled the dragon strongly enough for Nissa to break free and teleport away. Only one remained.
Gideon was already tired and weakened so the fight didn’t take long. Bolas took him down swiftly, demonstrating that he could even break through Gideon’s magical shield, rendering him vulnerable. But the dragon knew Gideon wouldn’t reject death. So he gave him the choice: stay and die or run away with his life. Gideon doubted for a moment, ready to embrace death, but he planeswalked away before giving in to his worse impulses.
The victorious dragon towered over the city as Tezzeret joined him. He sent his servant away again to check on another one of his pawns: Ral Zarek, on Ravnica. Tezzeret left and Bolas rejoiced. His army was ready, he owned the Planar Bridge, and his endgame had begun.
A deafening roar of victory shook Naktamun as the first night in ages finally set over the city.
Set Mechanics
Beneath the Sands | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve
Eternalize
Eternalize is an evolution of the embalm mechanic from Amonkhet. Whereas embalm showed those fallen during the Trials that were mummified and brought back for public service, eternalize represents those who survive them and are mummified through the use of lazotep to join Nicol Bolas’s army.
Creatures with eternalize can be exiled from your graveyard after paying a specific mana cost to create a token that’s a copy of it, except it’s black, a zombie in addition to its other types, and has base power and toughness 4/4.
Afflict
Afflict triggers when a creature becomes blocked, allowing them to deal N (the numerical value of the afflict ability) damage to defending player.
Neheb, the Eternal is arguably the best card with the afflict ability (and a great card overall).
Exert
An ability returning from Amonkhet, creatures with this ability can be exerted which triggers an ability, and the exerted ability won’t untap at the beginning of its controller’s next untap step.
Hour of Devastation tweaked the mechanic by allowing creatures to exert as part of activated abilities, instead of it being an attack trigger.
Pride Sovereign and Angel of Condemnation are two of the best exert cards in this set.
Returning Amonkhet Mechanics
Other mechanics returning from Amonkhet include cycling and a support for it, as well as some more aftermath split cards, expanding on the block’s previous set.
It also brings some additional support for the desert theme and introduces the three forgotten gods of Amonkhet.
Hour of Devastation Full Card Gallery
White Cards
Blue Cards
Black Cards
Red Cards
Green Cards
Multicolored Cards
Colorless Cards
Lands
Notable Cards
Hour of Devastation has several cards that stand out due to their power or sheer usefulness. There’s some really powerful creatures like Neheb, the Eternal, Razaketh, the Foulblooded, and The Scarab God, all of which see plenty of play.
The set also introduced two new Nicol Bolas cards. The first is Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver which can activate its first ability for a one-hit Torment of Hailfire, which honestly makes up for its high mana value. And then there’s Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh, which may not be the single most powerful Nicol Bolas card but is still a massive beater if it hits the battlefield.
The set also had some pretty decent utility creatures like Ramunap Excavator, Crested Sunmare, or Firebrand Archer.
Some other notable cards in the set include: Mirage Mirror, Scavenger Grounds, Torment of Hailfire, Swarm Intelligence, and Fraying Sanity, amongst many others.
Available Products
Booster Packs
Hour of Devastation was sold in 16-card booster packs with one of those being a marketing card. Booster packs also had a chance of including an Amonkhet Invocation, this block’s entries to the Masterpiece Series. They all feature new art inspired by Amonkhet and its gods, as well as a special frame inspired by Egyptian steles. The Invocations have a different set symbol and aren’t considered part of the set or of the block.
- 36 Booster Packs
- 15 cards per pack
- Brand new and sealed
Planeswalker Decks
This set additionally had two pre-constructed Planeswalker Decks. One was helmed by Nissa, Genesis Mage and was in Simic colors, while the other was a Grixis deck with Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver at the forefront.
Wrap Up
Unraveling Mummy | Illustration by Tomasz Jedruszek
So that’s all about Hour of Devastation. I personally really liked this set, both in terms of story and for its mechanics and playability. I also really missed small sets in two or even three-set blocks. Hopefully one day Wizards’ll decide to go back to that release format.
But enough about what I think. What do you think about this set? Did you get a chance to play it back when it came out? What’s your favorite mechanic from it? Would you want to revisit Amonkhet anytime soon? Feel free to leave a comment, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to pay our Discord server a visit!
Have a good one, and I’ll see you next time.
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