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Thanks for checking out my very first custom MTG set.

My name is Nils, and I’m from Sweden. So with Kaldheim around the corner, I’m very curious to see what WotC has cooked up around Norse Mythology. So much so that I decided to create my own take on the theme. That ended up being this set – Yggdrassil: Battle for the Nine Realms.

The set is a top-down set, themed around Norse Mythology like I said. But I have also injected a bit of Scandinavian folklore. It’s broadly focused on combat, and combat oriented mechanics. Furthermore the set also places emphasis on future-sight, the afterlife, legendary heroes and their stories, as well as the races that inhabit the different realms.

Seeing as these are the stories I grew up on, I had a lot to draw on. And it was important for me to make sure that the characters and events in the stories were represented in magic, both in terms of mechanics and flavor, in a way that accurately told their story.

In this set you’ll find a lot of legendary and historic permanents. Sagas and Shrines are back. And I’ve added a new artifact subtype called, Rune, which works sort of like a seal enchantment, but some of them get stronger for each used Rune.

Yggdrassil is the tree that binds the nine realms together. This is where the core themes of the set stems from. The nine realms are Midgard (Naya colorpie and Human tribal), Jotunheim (Jeskai colorpie and Giant tribal), Alfheim (Sultai colorpie and Elf tribal), Svartalfheim (Jund colorpie and Dwarf tribal), as well as Hel (Esper colorpie and Spirit tribal). In addition to the main five realms there is also Muspelheim (a world of fire), Nifelheim (a world of mist), Asgard (home to the core gods), and Vanaheim (realm to the second set of gods).

Besides the races mentioned above, there are also quite a bit of Gnomes (taken from folklore, the little creatures are very keen on accumulating treasures), some Angels (Valkyries), Merfolk (sinister water spirits), Zombies (Draugr), Witches, and more.

Humans are mostly concerned with raiding and their relationship with gods and heroes. Giants are the enemies of the Gods, and wield fire and ice. The elves do elvish things. The Dwarves are either warriors or explorers. The spirits are the dead souls awaiting Valhalla.

As for the sets mechanics I’m bringing back two mechanics, as well as giving an old mechanic a “Mill” treatment. The returning mechanics are Afterlife and Raid. And the so-called “saboteur” mechanic has been given the name Loot.

New mechanics include Berserk and Prophecy. Berserk is straight-forward. It gives a +2/+0 boost and trample at the cost of having to sacrifice the creature at EOT. Prophecy on the other hand plans ahead by tutoring cards which end up third from the top of your library.

On top of that, another older mechanic is returning on two cards because I felt it was the best way to tell those characters stories. The mechanic is Wither. And the cards Fenrir, the Scourge and Hodur, the Blind have the keyword. Fenrir is good at fighting Gods, and Hodur was tricked by Loki into killing Balder.

Like I said earlier, this is my first ever set. I do not expect it to be perfect, or even good (there are most likely a lot of spelling errors, and strange wording as well). But I did finish it. I cut about 140 cards from where I was initially. It’s been an interesting experience, making this. And I hope you enjoy the set!

P.S. There are plenty of cultural references, as well as references to other well known cards from magic's history, in the set. Can you spot them all?

I’m curious to see how it stacks up against Kaldheim in terms of ideas and themes.

And I love writing, so a personal favorite part of creating the set has been coming up with flavor texts.

Some of my personal favorite card creations include:

• Shield Wall – A simple card, but still rich in flavor.
• Counter Attack – I love play on words, and puns. Feels like a very complete cards in all aspects.
• Calm Before the Storm – A clean take on Divination.
• Alfheim Matron – The even more hideous version of Goblin Matron.
• Consumed by Shadow – Does a good job showing how Berserk can be used as a boost or as removal sometimes.
• Freya, the Brawn – A clean walker design that makes interesting use of Raid.
• Nisser Fortune Teller – Again, play on words. Also quite flavorful.
• Outnumber – The name subverts expectation, and the use of Raid makes it interesting as it has a strong defensive quality, as well as a use as an offensive tool.
• Reckless Strategies – I like cards that give your opponent something that may seem like a positive, but when you look deeper you realize it’s not.
• Tales of Conquest – A clean, flavorful saga.
• Alfheim Jotun-Hunters – Marries artwork, flavor, and effect nicely.
• The Nine Realms – Not too powerful when you play it, but should be a nice mana fix in limited.
• Fenrir, the Scourge – I think this is probably one of the best examples of a characters story/abilities being told through mechanics.
• Giant Dilemma – Rich in flavor. Yummy!
• Hellbent Executioner – Combines Berserk and Loot in an interesting way.
• Temporal Punishment – Powerful, and seems to combine both blue and white effects in what it does.
• Draupnir, the Infinite – Guess I’m a Nisser. I like big, costly value engines.

Actually, I am a Nisser. I made myself into a card too. Can you spot it?

Let's see what similarities exist between this set and Kaldheim: