Zendikar

October 2, 2009 - 249 Cards

Its tagline is "Deadly perils, Priceless treasures". Unlike the previous two blocks, there is no multicolored theme (every colored card in the set is monocolored). Instead, the set themes around lands. Cards with the Landfall mechanic have effects that are triggered when a land comes into play. Adding to the land theme, there are a number of non-basic lands, including lands with a variety of enters-the-battlefield effects that were formerly restricted to creatures.

The first cards revealed from the set were a selection of basic lands, each printed with both a traditional frame and a full-art frame. There is a new subtype of card called Trap, which modifies the cost of casting a spell dependent on certain actions being performed by the opponent.

A new keyword mechanic, Intimidate, makes a creature unable to be blocked except by artifact creatures and creatures that share a color with the creature; in Zendikar and future sets, this mechanic will replace Fear, a similar ability that was restricted largely to black cards.Finally, a new class of creatures, Allies, have abilities that trigger when an Ally enters the battlefield. Zendikar also contains three Planeswalkers: Nissa Revane, who first appeared in the Xbox 360 game Duels of the Planeswalkers; Sorin Markov, an all-new vampire character; and a second version of Chandra Nalaar, Chandra Ablaze, as previously foreshadowed in the novel The Purifying Fire.

To promote the priceless treasures tagline of Zendikar, original, authentic vintage cards were inserted into a limited number of booster packs, replacing the basic land. These cards were for collector and incentive purposes only, and were largely not legal for sanctioned Zendikar block play.