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Gods, heroes and devotion
What this set is
Theros is Magic's Greek mythology plane, an enchantment-themed set of gods, heroes and monsters. Its five Gods, one per color, are legendary enchantment creatures with indestructible, and they are only creatures while your devotion to their color is high enough.
Devotion counts the mana symbols of a color among the mana costs of permanents you control. It powers the Gods, Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Heroic, bestow and monstrosity are the set's other mechanics, and scry, which had been occasional, appears on twenty-nine cards.
For Commander, the Gods are popular mono-colored commanders, and the set printed the first scry lands (Temple of Mystery and its cycle) and Swan Song.
Themes
Every mechanic in Theros
Devotion
Your devotion to a color is the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents you control. Hybrid symbols count toward both colors.
Heroic
An ability word that triggers whenever you cast a spell that targets this creature. Auras and pump spells become engines.
Bestow
Cast the enchantment creature for its bestow cost as an Aura attached to a creature. If that creature leaves, the Aura becomes a creature again instead of going to the graveyard.
Monstrosity
An activated ability: if the creature isn't monstrous, put X +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes monstrous, often triggering a bonus. It can only happen once.
Scry
Look at the top cards of your library and put any of them on the bottom. Used heavily here, and a regular in sets from then on.
Where You Can Play It
Format legality
Theros shipped under a single code and is legal in Pioneer, Modern and the eternal formats.
Not Standard-legal; Standard only ever holds the last few years of sets. Theros cards are playable in Pioneer, Modern, Legacy, Vintage and Commander, except that Prophet of Kruphix is banned in Commander. Commons from any set are Pauper-legal; that isn't listed per set here.
Limited
The draft format
A creature-and-enchantment format. Heroic decks target their own creatures, and bestow creatures double as Auras, so two-for-ones were common.
Heroic fliers
Tempo
Heroic creatures and cheap targeting spells, with fliers to close.
Devotion to black
Midrange
Heavy black decks with Gray Merchant of Asphodel draining for more each time.
Monsters
Big creatures
Monstrosity creatures that grow late in the game.
Commanders
The most played commanders from Theros
The legends this set is best known for. Tap one for its printings and what it costs.
Boosters, precons and singles from Theros are on TCGplayer.
FAQ
Common questions
How does devotion work?
Count the mana symbols of a color among the mana costs of permanents you control. That number is your devotion to that color. Lands and tokens with no mana cost add nothing.
Why aren't the Theros Gods creatures?
Each God is an enchantment that is only a creature while your devotion to its color (or colors) is at least the number printed on it, five for the Theros Gods. They are indestructible either way.
Is Theros legal in Pioneer?
Yes. Theros came after Return to Ravnica, where Pioneer begins.
All card names, art, and mechanics belong to Wizards of the Coast. Theros released on Sep 27, 2013; details reflect the set as published. Sources: Wizards of the Coast set pages and release notes, Draftsim, Untapped.gg.
Playing Theros in Commander?
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