So, uh, the rest of last month was a bit of a shitshow. Already, the beginning of the 2nd Trump administration bent the United States over the table & started molesting it, but at least nothing blew up, so I’ll take what we can get. In the meantime, we’re now at the number 4 spot of my albums from 2020, but that’s not all I have in store for this month! I’ve got a few extra goodies I’m releasing, and today’s is something I alluded to on the 1st of January. MTG was pretty big in 2020, and the first output was pretty big. It was a return to a fairly recent plane we all went to, but one that was going through some pretty massive turmoil. Old characters came back, new ones emerged, and plans were set into motion that would affect the plane a few years later. So, craft that gold mask, escape the underworld, and get a look at my review for Theros Beyond Death. Let’s begin!
Story & Setting
Taken from the MTG Wiki:
“There is no ebook for Theros Beyond Death, nor were there weekly updates for Magic Story. It was revealed that the blowback from War of the Spark: Forsaken caused the Theros Beyond Death fiction to be delayed. The Franchise Team tried to find the correct time and channel to release it at a later point in time.
The set focuses on the Underworld of Theros over the normal world of the plane, with a major plot point being the return of Klothys, the Therosian god of destiny. It features the planeswalker Elspeth Tirel and her torturer Ashiok.
The Gods are at war, and they bring their champions to fight. Elspeth breaks free and defeats Heliod with a weapon created from her past traumas. Klothys finds out about Elspeth escaping the Underworld so she is sending someone to bring her back to the Underworld or capture her. ”
The blurb is just a condensation of what goes on in the set. There is a lot more that goes on than what’s above, and for the most part it’s actually pretty entertaining & well written. However, I will also say that there are places where story & characters are rather rushed. I’ll bring it up again a little later, but I thought I heard back then that Beyond Death was meant to be 2 sets, not one. Given that almost every main release since then has just been one, it’s entirely possible.
Art
The original Theros had wonderful artwork, and Beyond Death continues this quality. Many of the images seen really show off the Greco-Roman nature of the plane incredibly well: from the populace, to all of the various creatures, and the magic that many have access to, it’s clear that the art team were putting in a lot of work. My favorite detail that was in the first release of Theros that comes back in space in this second outing is the enchantment theme of constellations & stars. Because the gods come from & live in the stars (Save for Erebos, who dwells in the Underworld), the various beings born from them look like they’re partially made from stars, and much of the magic of the plane looks like it’s manipulating stars & constellations as well. It’s a pretty interesting take on Greco-Roman mythology, and it continues to be stunning 5 years later.
Mechanics
For the most part, Theros Beyond Death shares some of the mechanics from the original Theros block. Constellation has return, as well as the overarching theme of Enchantments. Whether it’s enchantment creatures (Including the gods of the plane), simple enchantments & auras alongside sagas, or even enchantment artifacts, it’s all back on the table. Given the theme of the Underworld coming into play, they gave us a new mechanic called Escape. Representing getting out of the realm of the dead, it’s actually pretty easy to understand: you tap some mana, and then you remove some cards from your graveyard from the game, and the amount of cards to remove is right next to the mana cost. On top of that, creatures with the mechanic often come back a little stronger after escaping, or they create an effect when they escape. Either way, it’s a flavorful mechanic, and one I hope comes back in the future!
Negative Aspects
Theros Beyond Death only had 2 bad spots in my view. The first point would be the somewhat rushed nature of the set. I don’t know if this was true or not (Probably was), but I could have sworn that TBD was meant to be 2 sets instead of one. If that was the case, it could explain why parts of the story went by fast (There are 3 Titans mentions, but only 2 got released in 2020, with the last in 2024 in Modern Horizons 3). Secondly, and maybe this is more of a nitpick than anything else, but the Escape mechanic can a little irksome to me. Flavor wise it’s perfect, as it shows off how those who are trapped in the Underworld can get out. My issues are that it’s spread out a bit unevenly among the colors, and the fact that there are a few non-creatures with the mechanic as well. Again, I give it to flavor reasons some non-creature spells have them, but it just come across as odd to me.
Overall Impression & Rating
Theros Beyond Death was a fun way to start the 2020 MTG season. It was a return to a fan favorite plane, and it had some new twists that made it different when compared to it’s first appearance. Sure, it felt rushed in a spot or two, and perhaps some of the mechanics were clunky, but our trip to the Underworld of Theros was neat. Hopefully if we go back a 3rd time, things will be smoothed out by then.
Theros Beyond Death gets an 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
And that was my review for Theros Beyond Death. A little dented in some spots, but still comes out strong everywhere else. So, I’ll see you tomorrow for my annual metal overview for my friend Al, and then before the 15th of this month, when we’ll look at a monstrous compilation, and not long after that my review for Katsucon 2025. See you later!
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