Today we’re going to talk about a brand new Magic: the Gathering Mechanic set to premiere June 10th in the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set! It’s never too early to be excited for a new Magic product. And, although our knowledge on the set is limited, Baldur’s gate definitely has a lot to be excited about. Not least of which, are the brand new mechanics. In this article, I’ll dive into everything we know so far about Magic’s newest mechanic: Initiative.
Initiative is a Player Designation mechanic first introduced in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate. No player begins the game with Initiative. Instead, the Initiative mechanic can be introduced by effects found on cards in the Baldur’s Gate set. Once a player has initiative, the designation can then be taken away by any opponent who successfully deals combat damage to that player. The attacking player then gains initiative.
Initiative is very similar to the Monarch mechanic. It’s a Player Designation that switches hands through attacking. Unlike Monarch, however, which lets players draw an extra card on their end step, the reward for having Initiative is a bit more complicated. Not to worry. In this article I’ll break down everything you need to know about the mechanic.
What Is Initiative?
As mentioned above, Initiative is a designation that players can gain throughout the game. Players originally gain Initiative through a variety of different effects. From what we know right now, it seems like the most common way is through enter the battlefield effects like that found on White Plume Adventurer.
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How Does It Work?
Okay, so now we know how to get Initiative, and how it moves from player to player. What does Initiative actually do though? I’ll explain.
Whenever you take Initiative, and at the beginning of your Upkeep, you get to Venture Into the Undercity. If you’re familiar with the Dungeon cards from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, then you basically already know how this works.
There are also cards from Battle for Baldur’s Gate that interact with Initiative and grant rewards to players who have it.
Rules
Here I’ll list a few common rulings concerning the new mechanic, as well as the official reminder text for the token.
- Whenever a player with Initiative loses the game, the next player to take a turn gets Initiative.
- Only one player can have Initiative at a time. If a player gains Initiative through a card effect, any other player loses the designation.
Reminder Text: “Whenever one or more creatures a player controls deals combat damage to you, that player takes the initiative.
Whenever you take initiative, and at the beginning of your upkeep, venture into Undercity. (If you’re in a dungeon, advance to the next room. If you’re not, enter Undercity. You can take the Initiative even if you already have it.)
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What Is the Undercity?
The Undercity is just a really complex dungeon. If you’re in the Undercity and you have or gain Initiative, then you get to go one step further. I’ll list here what each step of the dungeon does.
Secret Entrance
This is the first room in the dungeon. The text reads: “Search your library for a basic land card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.” From here you can choose to go into the: Forge or Lost Well rooms.
Forge
The text for this room reads: “Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature.” From here you can choose to enter either the Arena or Trap! rooms.
Trap!
The text for this room reads: “Target Player loses 5 life.” This room leads to the Archives room.
Lost Well
The text for this room reads: “Scry 2”. From here you choose to enter either the Arena or Stash rooms.
Arena
The text for this room reads: “Goad target creature.” This room leads to the Archives or Catacombs.
Stash
The text for this room reads as follows: “Create a Treasure Token.” This room leads to the Catacombs.
Archives
The text for this room reads: “Draw a Card.” From here you advance to the final room, the Throne of the Dead Three.
Catacombs
The text for this room reads: “Create a 4/1 Black Skeleton Creature Token with Menace. From here you advance to the final room, the Throne of the Dead Three.
Throne of the Dead Three
So here we are finally at the final room of the dungeon. The text for this room reads: “Reveal the top ten cards of your library. Put a creature card from among them onto the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it. It gains hexproof until your next turn. Then shuffle.”
Initiative Cards Full List
Cards that Grant Initiative
Dungeoneer’s Pack
Imoen, Mystic Trickster
Passageway Seer
White Plume Adventurer
Right now, since official spoilers season has just begun, we don’t have a full list of the cards that introduce the mechanic into a game. We also don’t yet know of any cards that interact with the mechanic, though there certainly will be some.
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End Step
Initiative is a fresh new take on the popular Monarch Commander mechanic with a Dungeons and Dragons twist. Now that spoiler season has begun, I can’t wait to see more of this mechanic. And I most certainly can’t wait to start drafting Commander packs again and venturing into the dark rooms of the Undercity. Until then, be sure to check back here regularly for more updates.
