Odyssey (Magic: The Gathering) - Definition

Odyssey is the 25th Magic:The Gathering expert-level expansion set. Released in October, 2001, Odyssey is the first set in the Odyssey Block (Odyssey, Torment, Judgment). Its expansion symbol is a small image of the Mirari (see storyline).

The set contains 350 cards total (110 Rare, 110 Uncommon, 110 Common, 20 Basic Land)
(57 Black, 57 Blue, 57 Green, 57 Red, 57 White, 15 Artifacts, 39 Land, 11 Multicolor).

Mechanics

Odyssey 's main theme is the graveyard. All the colors interact with the graveyard and use it as a resource, though green and black are the strongest graveyard colors. Previously, the graveyard rarely affected gameplay, but Odyssey 's cards forced players to constantly keep track of both graveyards at all times.

Odyssey introduced two graveyard-centered mechanics:

• Flashback - These spells can be played again from the graveyard, essentially getting a second use out of the spell. Red and green are the strongest flashback colors.
• Threshold - Certain spells and creatures gain bonuses when the graveyard reaches or exceeds the seven card threshold. Blue is lacking in threshold cards but has the easiest time achieving threshold.

Odyssey 's secondary theme is token creatures. Throughout the Odyssey block, all the colors receive more token creatures than usual, and green's token creatures are the most powerful tokens in Magic history.

Storyline

The storyline of Odyssey leaps forward 100 years in the future on the remote continent Otaria. Odyssey 's protagonist is Kamahl, a formidable fighter-mage skilled in both throwing fireballs and melee combat. Kamahl has a close friend Chainer and a cool-headed sister Jeska. The antagonist is Laquatas, a sly merfolk who uses trickery and mind control to bend others to his will. Other characters include the cephalid emperor Aboshan, Kamahl's centaur friend Seton, Kamahl and Jeska's dwarven trainer Balthor, the militaristic Kirtar, and the unpredictable and popular among fans summoner Braids.

Almost everyone in the story is after the Mirari, a legendary artifact of immense power with the ability to make its wielder's innermost wishes come true. The Mirari is relatively small, resembling a metallic ball mounted on a wirey helix. The Mirari notoriously drives its wielder insane, often causing death and massive destruction, wherein it awaits a new master.

Oddities

Many of Magic's marquee races like Elves and Goblins are completely absent from Otaria. White is represented by Nomads and the Aven birds of The Order; Blue has the peaceful, squid-like Cephalids; Black is plagued by the Horrors and Minions of Cabal summoners; Red showcases Dwarves, Firecats, and Barbarians of the Pardic mountains; and Green is rife with Centaurs, Squirrels, and the insect-like Nantuko druids of the Krosan forest.

The Magic: The Gathering Creative Team's new approach to Magic's storyline starting with Odyssey are myriad:

• The 15 previous sets' storyline, beginning in Mirage and climaxing in Apocalypse depicting the adventures of Gerard Capashen and the Weatherlight crew, has been dropped. For Odyssey, a new story begins in a new setting with a new cast of characters.
• Kamahl is a red protagonist (Red is usually the color of chaos, destruction, and comedy relief).
• Laquatas is a blue antagonist (Blue is the color of knowledge, trickery, and now, even deceit).
• The black themes portrayed in Odyssey include the entertainment and glory of the pit fights mixed with capitalism, which have relatively good connotations compared to black's themes in previous storylines (which include genocide, soul harvesting, and finding the most agonizing torture for captive victims).
• New storylines can be as short as three sets, and each storyline can be revisited or cross paths (for an example, see Mirrodin's storyline).

Famous Cards and Tournament Lore

• Mirari - Ironically, Odyssey's iconic legendary artifact was initally the set's biggest chase rare.
• Call of the Herd - Soon displacing Mirari as Odyssey 's most expensive rare, Call of the Herd showcases the Flashback mechanic by producing two Elephant tokens from a single card for a very cheap cost.
• Shadowmage Infiltrator - Magic Champion Jon Finkel designed his Invitational Card after his favorite creature Ophidian (from Weatherlight). Shadowmage Infiltrator's art bears Finkel's likeness.
• Wild Mongrel - This green common creature interacts so well with every card in Odyssey that when Torment and finally Judgment were released, Wild Mongrel became the most played creature in many tournaments.
• Psychatog - Unofficially Magic's most powerful creature, Psychatog can efficiently convert cards drawn and spells played into damage to the opponent. The premier kill card for many decks, Psychatog dominated tournaments almost immediately and continues to warp many tournament formats.
• Upheaval - this powerful spell, returning all permanents in play back to their owners' hands, found its way into many decks based around Psychatog. When these two cards are played on the same turn, the opponent usually has no resources to stop Psychatog from killing him. Magic developer Randy Buehler later admitted that putting these cards in the same set was a mistake.