The plane of Taramir has reached the end of its time. The struggles of the Waning Age have been forgotten, for the sun has set for the final time, leaving the world in darkness. Much knowledge was lost in the Last Dawn, but magic endures in the darkness, wizards and wise men screaming their revelations into night. Hidden away, the University of the Lorekeepers holds its vast treasure-trove of knowledge for no one to read while in the darkness the slow corrosion of Taramir itself unleashes strange, psychic entities into physical reality.
☼Taramir Block☼
Taramir Block consists of three sets: Taramir, Waning Light, and finally Age of Darkness. All three sets feature the new mechanics Salvage and Decay as well as the returning mechanic Cumulative Upkeep. In addition, Waning Light brought Fateseal into the picture. To this, Age of Darkness adds the return of Vanishing.
Salvage: Salvage is an activated ability that can be activated only when the card with salvage is in its owner's graveyard, when he or she could cast a sorcery. Salvaging a card exiles it and has the listed effects. Taramir introduced Salvage while Waning Light added off-color salvage costs and Salvage spells with effects dissimilar to their initial effect from being cast. Age of Darkness introduces Colorless and Nonmana salvage costs.
Decay: Decay is an ability word that causes one or more depletion counters to be added to the permanent with Decay, and causes it to be sacrificed when too many depletion counters have been accumulated.
~Blue Rares~
We have our vanishing Iconic and our Incarnation -- the highly annoying Paranoia. We also have our first rare reprint (Red and Black also have one each) in the form of Traumatize. But what I really want to highlight is Fading Mana. Essentially, Fading Mana is a variant on Nether Void that uses its cumulative upkeep, taxing your opponents for
plus whatever you paid most recently... on each spell.Fortress Archmage
Creature - Human Wizard [R]
: Return target creature to its owner's hand.Banishment is the first lesson. Summoning comes much later
0/1
Spirit of Dwindling Hours
Creature – Spirit [R]
Flying, Vanishing 4
When Spirit of Dwindling Hours dies, if it had a time counter on it, exile it and draw two cards.
3/5
Paranoia
Creature – Incarnation [R]
Flash
If you control one or more attacking creatures, Paranoia enters the battlefield tapped and attacking.
Paranoia deals damage to players in the form of exiling cards from the bottom of that player’s library (No life is lost. Exile as many cards as the damage Paranoia deals)
At the beginning of the end step, return Paranoia to its owner’s hand
4/4
Fading Mana
Enchantment [R]
Cumulative Upkeep
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, counter it unless he or she pays
. X is equal to 1, plus the number of age counters on Fading ManaTraumatize (Reprint)
Price of Ignorance
Instant [R]
Put the top 3 cards of target player’s library into that player’s graveyard. Repeat this process X times, where X is the number of cards in that player’s hand fewer than the number of cards in the hand of the player with the most.
~Blue Mythic~
So Fading Mana was an update on Nether Void. The mythic of the set is an update on an old card too. I think, though, this one will play quite differently than its predecessor -- with Fading Mana you still want to have a lot of extra generation to play through your own tax (in Cumulative upkeep rather than a symmetrical spell tax, but it's not apples and oranges). Here, you're going to have to be a little more creativ than with the original in that the cards that were combos with it aren't with Taramir's version.
Let's see what happens when time... simply ends.
Spoiler
[/sblock]