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. Humanity survives in the vastness of the Grand Fortress, a stronghold that holds the last millions of the human race, and in the townships scattered throughout the darkness, perched upon a razor's edge. While humans are associated with all colors of mana, they are most strongly tied to white mana, and the works of their civilization unfold only as far as the light they can produce.

☼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.

~Rares~
There are two horizontal cycles of rares here: the Vanishing Iconics, which have an effect if they die before their due time, and the Taramir Incarnations.

Other than that, we have two cards that support Wall Tribal at rare: Walls of the Grand Fortress (Motto: "The Only Wall You'll Ever Need") and Defense of the Fortress, an update (nearly a functional reprint) of Fortified Area. The last two cards, Xenophobic Purge and Mass Suicides, are effects I found rather interesting.

Xenophobic Purge is part of a mini-theme in Age of Darkness: hating on multicolor! Purge is the most pushed of the lot (thusfar), annihilating almost anything, unless of course your opponent is playing a monocolored, making it a sideboard card, if a very potent one. Mass suicides on the other hand is the standard 5-mana wrath of the set. It's very color intensive, but at the same time it gets around hexproof, indestructible, and regeneration.


Walls of the Grand Fortress

Creature – Wall [R]
Defender, Indestructible
Walls of the Grand Fortress may block any number of creatures.
0/10

Starborn Angel

Creature – Angel [R]
Flying, Vanishing 4
When Starborn Angel dies, if it had a time counter on it, exile it and gain 4 life
4/4

Stagnation

Creature – Incarnation [R]
All permanents have indestructible.
Life totals can’t change.
If a permanent would enter the battlefield, exile it instead.
4/4

Defense of the Fortress

Enchantment [R]
Wall creatures you control get +1/+0
Rather than the attacking player, you assign the combat damage of each creature blocked by one or more walls you control. You can divide that creature's combat damage as you choose among any of the creatures blocking it.

Xenophobic Purge

Instant [R]
Exile target permanent if it is multicolored or if it is any color other than the color that is the most common among permanents its controller controls.
“Strength comes from unity. Unity comes from ensuring our number is pure. Cast unclean things into the night. If any citizens resist, cast them into the night as well.” – Matricia, Township Mayor

Mass Suicides

Sorcery [R]
Each player sacrifices all creatures he or she controls.
“In the immediate wake of the last dawn, the population of the Grand Fortress was cut in half and the number of full lorekeepers fell from thirteen to three, a calamitous drop in which suicides played a large part” – Morgan of Voor


~White Mythic~
Lore-wise, walls are not the first defense of the Grand Fortress: it's guarded by a massive network of spellcraft not unlike a Circle of Protection but far more potent and on a far grander scale. The Wards of the Fortress, therefore, offer you (personally) the best protection imaginable from hostile action. Of course, it takes a lot of power, and this is Taramir. So be prepared to pay for that defense... and for the day when you can no longer

Stagnation I would have to see played, but it scares me. Any form of alt win con would love this card.

Walls of the Grand Fortress is brutally strong. At 10 toughness, unless someone is making you sac things you are pretty damn safe behind this wall. At least flying creatures can get around it. This card seems Mythic to me.

I really like Starborn Angel. I love the idea of getting a bonus off it if someone kills it early. Why the exile?

Defense of the Fortress I don't have anything to say on. I think the focus on defense and walls is fun.

Purge and Mass Suicides are both well done and I believe balanced. Purge is a A list card for sure and a big draw for the set.

The Mythic...its just not worth playing. A steep cumulative cost with no innate form of protection. I spend 5, get maybe one or two turns where I can still afford to do something before the cumulative cost is eating all my mana, so I can lose half my permanents. That's assuming someone doesn't just pick it off with removal. Only in a very specific deck would I play this and in Limited it would likely be a death sentence. You drop it, and unless we are in some kind of race condition, I just sit back and wait for you to die.

I reckon the mythic should be rare and stagnation should be mythic.

Stagnation is terrible and you should feel terrible.