Magic: The Gathering Arena to bring incredibly powerful Griselbrand and Snapcaster Mage to life in Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered

Magic: The Gathering Arena will revive two of the most powerful cards to be released in the Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered set. Both Griselbrand and Snapcaster Mage, though not in that expansion’s original launch, it will be available in this digital-only set as a series of bonus cards. This Bonus Sheet will feature some familiar, powerful cards for MTG Arena fans.

Griselbrand and Snapcaster Mage were staples, must-use cards during their time in Standard, and are widely used in every format where they are still legal. Interestingly enough, the former is banned in Commander, so it’s unknown if he will be allowed in Historic Brawl. Here’s what we know about these Magic: The Gathering Arena cards.

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Griselbrand and Snapcaster Mage coming to Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered

Shadows Over Innistrad is a digital-only set for Magic: The Gathering Arena, which features 302 cards for the Historic and Explorer formats. None of them will be playable in Standard in MTG Arena. While several cards have already been revealed for this upcoming expansion, these two in particular stand out for their incredible levels of power.

Among the Bonus Sheet of cards that will come to Magic: The Gathering Arena, Griselbrand and Snapcaster Mage will both be arriving in the digital card game. While these powerful cards are not guaranteed to break anything in the game, they are worth having in your collection, should you play either of the eternal formats they’re allowed in.

Griselbrand in Magic: The Gathering Arena (Image via Wizards of the Coast)

Griselbrand

• Mana Value: 4BBBB
• Type: Legendary Creature - Demon
• Rarity: Mythic Rare
• Keywords: Flying, Lifelink
• Stats: 7 power, 7 toughness
• Ability: Pay 7 life: Draw seven cards

Griselbrand is a simple but overpowered card from Avacyn Restored. Though he costs 7 mana to put into play in Magic: The Gathering Arena, there are plenty of ways to put it into play without spending that much. It is a card powerful enough to be banned in Commander. He was a key component in many decks.

The ability to draw seven cards for seven life is already an amazing power as a Magic: The Gathering card, but then you can attack with him and get that life back to draw another seven.

Now there are also ways to have an unlimited hand size; you can easily set up some grand strategies this way. You can also use him as a discard engine if you wish to set up revival combos.

Snapcaster Mage

• Mana Value: 1U
• Type: Creature - Human Wizard
• Rarity: Rare
• Keywords: Flash
• Stats: 2 power, 1 toughness
• Ability: When Snapcaster Mage enters the battlefield, target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. (You may cast that card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

Originally printed in Innistrad, Snapcaster Mage was a 4-of in virtually every Blue deck for its entire lifecycle in Standard. Now that it’s in Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Shadows Over Innistrad expansion, some very interesting propositions come to life. It’s an amazing control card, as you can flash it into play on your opponent’s turn, and use it to replay a counterspell you’ve used once before.

You can also flicker this in and out of play to keep using its ability since it only has to “enter the battlefield. ” It's efficient, fast, has a low mana cost, and a useful ability. There’s virtually never a bad time to use this card.

Players will be able to craft this with Wildcards or find it in Booster Packs when Magic: The Gathering Arena’s next remastered set comes to life. Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered arrives in the digital card game for Historic and Explorer formats on March 21, 2023.