Magic's Norse plane
Kaldheim is Magic's Norse plane: ten linked worlds, a World Tree between them, and gods who behave far more like people than like abstractions. It leans on the mythology without simply reskinning it.
Foretell is the mechanic worth knowing. Pay two generic mana at sorcery speed to exile a card from your hand face down, then cast it later for its foretell cost. It smooths your curve, hides information, and gives you something to do with a turn you would otherwise waste.
Themes
Foretell
Pay two generic mana at sorcery speed to exile a card from hand face down, then cast it on a later turn for its foretell cost. Your opponent knows a card is there but not which one, so it hides a trick as well as spreading the cost.
Boast
An activated ability you can only use once each turn, and only after the creature attacks. It rewards committing to the attack rather than holding back, which is the point of a set about warriors.
Runes
A cycle of cheap Auras that enchant an artifact or creature, grant a small bonus, and replace themselves with a card when they enter. Auras that do not cost you a card, which is the usual reason not to play them.
Snow
Snow-covered lands and snow permanents return, with cards that scale on how many snow permanents you control. A supertype rather than an ability, so it works quietly in the background of a deck.
Changeling
A creature with changeling is every creature type at once, wherever it is. In a set with this many tribes it slots into whichever one you end up in.
Where You Can Play It
Kaldheim has left Standard, but that is the only format it left. Here's where each code is legal now.
Kaldheim left Standard at the September 2022 rotation, the one Dominaria United triggered, alongside Zendikar Rising and the rest of that rotation year. A rotation only ever removes cards from Standard, so everything here is still playable in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Limited
A full ten-pair format, unusually tribal for a non-typal set: Elves, Dwarves, Giants, Angels, Demons, Dragons and Berserkers all have support, and changeling stitches them together.
All ten two-color pairs
Full ten-pair format
Most pairs carry a tribe as well as a mechanic. Foretell spreads across the whole format because a two-mana investment fits any curve, while boast concentrates in the aggressive pairs and snow in the green and blue ones.
Commander
One tribal, one graveyard-and-exile.
Elven Empire
Lathril, Blade of the Elves
Black-green Elves, going wide and draining with Lathril's tap ability.
Phantom Premonition
Ranar the Ever-Watchful
White-blue, built on foretell and cards exiled face down.
Building one of these into something of your own? The precon buying guide covers how to judge a deck, and the Commander deck template is the shape to build toward.
FAQ
No. It left Standard at the September 2022 rotation, the one Dominaria United triggered, along with Zendikar Rising, Strixhaven and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. KHM cards are still legal in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
Pay two generic mana at sorcery speed to exile a card from your hand face down. On a later turn you may cast it for its foretell cost, which is usually cheaper than its normal cost. Your opponent knows a card is waiting but not which one.
It is an activated ability you can use only once per turn, and only after that creature has attacked. It rewards committing to an attack rather than holding creatures back.
A cycle of cheap Auras that enchant a creature or Equipment, give a small bonus, and draw you a card when they enter. Replacing themselves is what makes them worth playing, since the usual problem with Auras is losing a card to removal.
Two: Elven Empire, led by Lathril, Blade of the Elves, and Phantom Premonition, led by Ranar the Ever-Watchful.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Kaldheim released on Feb 5, 2021; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
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