New Capenna is a city in America set in the 1920s, complete with criminal families and flapper flair. The Streets of New Capenna blends tremendous creative vision with an art deco atmosphere, all while incorporating Magic the Gathering’s unique brand of fantasy. A couple of the game’s architects and designers discussed the behind-the-scenes work that went into creating this previously undiscovered universe, as well as what players can expect from the gameplay.
The core of the gameplay in Streets of New Capenna is centred on a competition between five crime groups over a new source of magic known as Halo. In contrast to Kaladesh’s utilisation of Aether as a power source, Halo appears in New Capenna as a decorative feature with no mechanical application. Five new Triomes are also introduced in Streets of New Capenna, a mechanism previously seen in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
The Obscura is the first family, a group of powerful magicians and mystics who use their abilities to deceive and blackmail others. In the world of the dead, they use prophesy, fortune-telling, and mystical contact through dreams. Miguel Lopez, a game designer at Wizards of the Coast, described them as “builders and breakers of fortune.” “For a fee, you can have your own future or bury someone else’s.” Connive is the Obscura’s signature mechanic. This allows a player to draw a card, discard it, and then add a +1/+1 counter to the Conniving creature if the card was not a land card. Mana of the Obscura Their mysticism, with a touch of death, is symbolised by a triome of white, blue, and black.
The Maestros are the second crime family presented in Streets of New Capenna. They are a group of old-money vampires with a penchant for beautiful things. They are master assassins who follow a strict code of conduct: be accurate, professional, and thorough. Despite their shady dealings, they consider themselves artists and critics, and they have a penchant for collecting relics and secrets. Maestros’ signature mechanic is Casualty, which activates their vampirism. A player can pay an additional cost to cast a spell by sacrificing a creature with a certain ability, and then copying the spell. Blue, black, and red make up their Triome.
The Riverteers are the third crime family, described in the press release as “tough-as-nails artists who can break buildings as readily as kneecaps.” They are in charge of construction on New Capenna and have the largest stockpile of Halo of all the families. They are descended from the craftspeople who created the ancient kingdoms. Blitz is their distinctive mechanic, which functions as an alternate casting cost that allows players to give a creature haste while also forcing them to sacrifice them the next round, allowing them to draw a card. Their mana Triome is made up of three colours: black, red, and green.
The Caberetti are the fourth crime family, descended from New Capenna’s ancient druids and bards. Lopez explained, “The Cabaretti deal in favours, culture, and coin.” “If you want to make it as a star or tycoon in the city, you’ll have to go through the Cabaretti first.” The Cabarettis are passionate about forming alliances, therefore Alliance is their trademark mechanic. Depending on the card, whenever a new creature enters the battlefield on the player’s side, a different beneficial effect occurs. The Cabaretti’s mana is based on red, green, and white for Triome.
Finally, the Brokers, New Capenna’s lawyers and stock traders. Members of this family are descendants of New Capenna’s paladins, and they now run a self-serving business model that allows them to maintain a semblance of peace among the five families while claiming that the city of New Capenna is established on rule and order. Shield is the Brokers’ distinctive mechanic, in which sacrificing a shield counter protects a monster from being destroyed or incurring damage. Green, white, and blue are the colours of the Broker’s Triome.
The return of Hideaway, which was initially introduced in Magic the Gathering: Lorwyn, is one of the most important mechanics in Streets of New Capenna. This mechanic requires players to draw a set number of cards, choose one to exile face down, and then play it for free if specific criteria are met. The range of various image designs for cards in Streets of New Capenna is another fascinating aspect that highlights the release’s artistic approach. Cards with gold borders, two variants of each land type, 35 art treatments for mythic and uncommon cards, and nine cards with a character on the cover of a magazine are among them. There will also be a Phyrexian text version of the praetor Urabrask, as well as the reappearance of three planeswalkers: Elspeth, Vivien, and Ob Nixilis. The planeswalkers will be available in three different frame styles: standard, borderless, and art deco.
Streets of New Capenna will have a tabletop prerelease on April 22, followed by a digital release on April 28 and a paper release on April 29.
