Magic: The Gathering Arena reveals Liliana, the Last Hope and Sorin, Grim Nemesis for Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered

With Sorin and Liliana set to arrive in Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered set, they pack a great deal of power for a variety of decks. Interestingly, not every MTG Arena fan played during the Shadows Over Innistrad expansion, so these could very well be new cards to some players.

The remastered MTG Arena expansion will feature 302 cards that are legal in both Explorer and Historic formats. Additionally, it won't contain any digital-only cards or cards that were rebalanced for Magic: The Gathering Arena. So, for those who have never seen these powerful planeswalkers before, here’s what they can do for your decks in the near future.

---

What can Liliana, the Last Hope and Sorin, Grim Nemesis do in Magic: The Gathering Arena?

Frankly, Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered is going to bring some devastating cards into the Explorer and Historic formats of Magic: The Gathering. Besides the cards that are originally slated to be in this expansion, there are some other cards that will be added as part of a “Bonus Sheet.”

As revealed by Wizards of the Coast on Twitter, it’s been confirmed that both Liliana, the Last Hope and Sorin, Grim Nemesis will return to MTG in this Magic: The Gathering Arena exclusive set. Although a few cards may be cut out of this digital release, these two cards will remain unaffected.

Liliana, the Last Hope

• Mana Value: 1BB
• Type: Legendary Planeswalker - Liliana
• Rarity: Mythic Rare
• Base Loyalty: 3
• +1 Ability: Up to one target creature gets -2/-1 until your next turn.
• -2 Ability: Mill two cards, then you may return a creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
• -7 Ability: You get an emblem with “At the beginning of your end step, create X 2/2 black Zombie creature tokens, where X is two plus the number of Zombies you control.”

Being a 3-drop in Magic: The Gathering Arena, Liliana should easily see play in mono-black Zombie decks. You can keep weakening your opponent while aiming for that powerful -7 ability. Even if you get board wiped, she can still generate threats, since the ability requires “2+X” Zombie creature tokens. Some players could potentially add some Proliferate to these decks.

---

Sorin, Grim Nemesis

• Mana Value: 4WB
• Type: Legendary Planeswalker - Sorin
• Rarity: Mythic Rare
• +1 Ability: Reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. Each opponent loses life equal to its mana value.
• -X Ability: Sorin, Grim Nemesis deals X damage to target creature or planeswalker and you gain X life.
• -9 Ability: Create a number of 1/1 black Vampire Knight creature tokens with lifelink equal to the highest life total among all players.

Although Sorin, Grim Nemesis is incredibly expensive, he can be a real game-winner, depending on how you structure your deck. His +1 ability, if you’re running a deck with high-cost creatures, can be absolutely devastating. You would likely have to build around that specific ability and find ways to cheat him into play, but it would certainly be a worthwhile win condition. Perhaps White/Black control will make a return.

Whether these cards will be competitive in Magic: The Gathering Arena’s faster formats, that remains to be seen. Nonetheless, they're fairly interesting and are set to arrive soon. Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered comes to Magic: The Gathering Arena's Historic and Explorer formats on March 21, 2023.