The Mechanics of the Echoverse

<p style="text-align: right;"><em><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodline Recollector" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodline Recollector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by Cynthia Sheppard</em></p>
<p>After our unexpected journey with <em>The Hobbit</em>, we return once again to <em>Magic</em>'s own Multiverse, and Jace's grand scheme comes to fruition as it shatters everything we know about the Multiverse in <em>Reality Fracture</em>! This set has been a long time coming, ever since we learned of Jace's plan in the epilogue of the <em>Outlaws of Thunder Junction</em> story. Without hyperbole, this is the most excited I've been for a set in a long time. So let's see what the Echoverse holds for Minotaurs.</p>
<p>For those new to my reviews, I analyze cards from the perspective of Minotaur Typal and how they can be used in the various sub-strategies available, those currently being <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/aggro">Aggressive Combat</a>, <a href="https://edhrec.com/tags/discard">Discard</a>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magar of the Magic Strings" href="#" target="_blank">Magar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> Big Spells. Each has its own nuances, but all broadly rely on the same core Minotaur Typal backbone.</p>
<p>So with that, let's rewrite all of known history and explore the Echoes in the greatest what-if scenario I've ever seen. Who knows, maybe in the Echoverse, I'd be a Merfolk Typal player.</p>
<h2>Minotaurs in the Echoverse</h2>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tether Technician" href="#" target="_blank">Tether Technician</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tether Technician"></div></div>
<p>I was hoping we would get an Echoverse Angrath, but I'll settle for a Minotaur meant for Limited.</p>
<p>Overall, I'm not too impressed. I understand it's a common, but Minotaurs need a lot more these days to make the cut. It does have its uses, though. Having a large body with reach helps us defend against flyers, as so few Minotaurs have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Minotaur Sureshot" href="#" target="_blank">reach</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. And its enters-the-battlefield trigger, which lets us discard a card to deal 2 damage to any target, fits well in Discard decks. The simple truth is that Tether Technician costs too much for what it does.</p>
<p>EDH has increased in speed so much that a five-mana card has to be impactful. Sure, it gives us a discard and some chip damage. But compare that to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kragma Warcaller" href="#" target="_blank">Kragma Warcaller</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Neheb, the Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Neheb, the Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or even <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sethron, Hurloon General" href="#" target="_blank">Sethron</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. These are Minotaur cards that are impactful to our strategy and push us forward in the midgame. Tether Technician doesn't, and the effect it does have would be better suited to the early game. So unless you can play an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza&#039;s Incubator" href="#" target="_blank">Urza&#039;s Incubator</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, that's just not going to happen.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bloodline Recollector" href="#" target="_blank">Bloodline Recollector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Bloodline Recollector"></div></div>
<p>When I first saw this card, I was of two minds. I felt excited by the prepare spell (who doesn't love drawing three cards?), but I wasn't sure how reliable it would be to activate.</p>
<p>At first, I thought this would be best used in a sacrifice-themed Minotaur deck. There isn't a lot of support for it, so this could be another tool to make the package more viable.</p>
<p>However, on closer inspection, Bloodline Recollector doesn't care if our creatures die; it cares if any three creatures died during a turn. That small difference opened up so many possibilities, as with this new context, the Vampire could fit in with any Minotaur deck.</p>
<p>In a typical Minotaur Typal deck, we are committed to combat damage. So in combat, if two opposing creatures die and one of ours dies, that will satisfy Bloodline Recollector, and at the end step, we can cast the prepared spell. And in Discard decks, this will be huge for refueling our hand for more discards. Even if our opponents kill each other's creatures, that will prepare Ancestral Craving.</p>
<p>I think it's going to be a huge addition to help our Minotaur decks stay in the game and keep us from running out of gas.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ajani&#039;s Anguish" href="#" target="_blank">Ajani&#039;s Anguish</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ajani&#039;s Anguish"></div></div>
<p>I'm deadly serious when I say this is the card I'm most excited to add to Minotaur decks.</p>
<p>Minotaur Typal really relies on its keyword lords. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rageblood Shaman" href="#" target="_blank">Rageblood Shaman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has won me more games than I can remember, but it's very vulnerable as a creature. This enchantment provides a more resilient source of mass trample, which makes our combats significantly more threatening.</p>
<p>Then Wizards had the brilliant idea to staple <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fireball" href="#" target="_blank">Fireball</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> onto this effect, meaning we now have removal on top of keyword support. That makes Ajani's Anguish relevant at any point in the game. Early on, we can pick off a mana dork; in the late game, we can remove a threat or squeeze out extra damage for lethal. It's going to be an absolute powerhouse, and I'm ready for it.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Identity Echo" href="#" target="_blank">Identity Echo</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Identity Echo"></div></div>
<p>Identity Echo has one job, and that's to <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Polymorph" href="#" target="_blank">Polymorph</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> your tokens or small creatures into a threat. Naturally, this fits perfectly with the <em>Multiverse Reforged</em> precon's game plan, but I think it's also good for Minotaurs.</p>
<p>This enchantment may seem a bit odd in Minotaur decks at a glance. Minotaur cards aren't usually that expensive; a lot of our cards hover around three to five mana. So Identity Echo's effect isn't helping us cheat on mana. But what it does do is fix our bad draws.</p>
<p>If we're late in a game and we draw a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deathbellow Raider" href="#" target="_blank">Deathbellow Raider</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, it's not going to help much. So we can cast it, then activate Identity Echo to dig for a much more impactful creature. We can also do this to the Minotaur tokens Sethron generates. Essentially, we're upgrading our Minotaurs.</p>
<p>However, this is complicated by the existence of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dreamshaper Shaman" href="#" target="_blank">Dreamshaper Shaman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This Minotaur effectively does the same thing, but with three differences: it costs more to cast, it's cheaper to activate, and it can only be used at our end step. So when evaluating whether you want to add Identity Echo to your deck, ask yourself if Dreamshaper Shaman is better for you, because I don't think you need both.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Samut, Hazoret&#039;s Champion" href="#" target="_blank">Samut, Hazoret&#039;s Champion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Samut, Hazoret&#039;s Champion"></div></div>
<p>Samut is sweet and simple: a two-mana creature that gives all our creatures haste. Not terribly exciting (unlike her Echoverse counterpart, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Samut, Tyrant of Naktamun" href="#" target="_blank">Samut, Tyrant of Naktamun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>), but sometimes the uncomplicated cards can be the strongest.</p>
<p>In Minotaur decks, mass haste is always welcome. At the moment, we have a few methods to give our Minotaurs haste. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mass Hysteria" href="#" target="_blank">Mass Hysteria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for example, is cheaper, being a one-mana enchantment. However, it also gives haste to our opponents, and I think in the long run that does more harm than good for us. The other way is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Anger" href="#" target="_blank">Anger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but it's hard to set up unless we're playing a Discard deck. Currently, I use Sethron and Kragma Warcaller, but they're expensive, so Samut allows us to hit the ground running right from the start.</p>
<p>It should be noted, though, that we don't want too many cards in our deck that grant mass haste, since additional instances of haste do nothing. However, because Samut can be cast early, I think she'll be very useful in the early game until our other haste cards can come into play.</p>
<h3><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tinybones, Pocket Nuisance" href="#" target="_blank">Tinybones, Pocket Nuisance</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span></h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tinybones, Pocket Nuisance"></div></div>
<p>This wee skeleton was a bit of a surprise for me. I tend to pass over Tinybones, because his effects usually reward hand attack spells, whereas Minotaurs care more about self-discard, so the cards just never synergize.</p>
<p>That's still true of this newest incarnation of Tinybones, as when he enters, each opponent discards a card. However, the second ability has specific wording that I think Minotaur Discard decks would be very interested in: "Whenever a player discards one or more cards, Tinybones deals 1 damage to each opponent." Because it says "a player," Tinybones will still trigger when we discard.</p>
<p>With this established, I can't help but see Tinybones as a black version of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glint-Horn Buccaneer" href="#" target="_blank">Glint-Horn Buccaneer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, giving Discard decks more options to shred through opponents' life totals when we discard. However, unlike with Glint-Horn, we can't just dump our hand with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="One with Nothing" href="#" target="_blank">One with Nothing</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to machine-gun people. So you'll want to lean on single-card discard effects to get the most out of Tinybones, and repeatable outlets like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Patchwork Gnomes" href="#" target="_blank">Patchwork Gnomes</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are what would be best.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>And with that, Jace's Echoverse is undone, and Emrakul makes her grand entrance to consume it. I was really impressed by how this set was designed; it felt like a sequel to <em>Planar Chaos</em> in all the right ways. I thought the echoed pairs were a fascinating design space, not only showing how these characters have changed but still fitting within Limited draft archetypes. There are so many cards I want to play with outside of Minotaurs, which I haven't felt in a really long time. I only hope that next year's in-universe sets are just as great.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, we're heading back to Universes Beyond before long — to the final frontier, no less — as <em>Star Trek</em> caps off the year. I don't believe Minotaurs have ever been a part of that franchise, but maybe I'll be surprised.</p>
<p>Which <em>Reality Fracture</em> cards are you sleeving up for your Minotaurs? Let me know in the comments. Until next time, be sure to check out the <a href="https://edhrec.com/articles/tag/reality-fracture">other set reviews on EDHREC</a> for a broader analysis of everything the set has to offer.</p>


fra set review

The Mechanics of the Echoverse

Reality Fracture's Best Cards for Minotaur Decks