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All the other racers are on the starting line, ready forMagic: The Gathering’s first big multi-planar race. A small homunculus with one enormous eye lifts his microphone. “Racers,” he declares, making eye contact with you, “Start! Your! Engiiiiiines!”
In the fast-paced environment of the Ghirapur Grand Prix, you can’t go straight from full stop to full speed. And a new mechanic, “Start your engines!” and the associated speed tracker allow you to accelerate towards full speed and leave your opponents in the dust. But what are the benefits of speed, and how does it work?
What Is Start Your Engines?
“Start your engines!” is a keyword ability first introduced in Aetherdrift, not to be confused with the card by the same name introduced in Kaladesh. As soon as a permanent with “Start your engines!” comes into play under your control, oras soon as you gain control of a permanent with “Start your engines!”, you gain a speed of one.
Speed is a trait that sticks to you, like being the monarch or having the city’s blessing.All players start at zero speedand stay there until they first control a card with “Start your engines!”.
Once a player has a speed trait, they canincrease it once on each of their own turns by causing an opponent to lose life. Speed only increases by one point each turn, and caps out at four, which activates the max speed ability found on most permanents with “start your engines!”.
If an opponent loses life during your turn thanks to an effect you don’t control, you still get to increase your speed.
Unlike energy, poison, and some other effects that count up,speed does not use counters. While that means you can’t cheat your way to max speed using proliferate, it also means that you can’t reduce a player’s speed using effects likeSolemnity.
How To Use Start Your Engines!
Ironically, despite being themed around speed, “start your engines!” is one of the slower mechanics outside limited formats, since you can’t cheat your way to max speed quickly.
Most effects that check for speed specifically look for max speed, while the rest give you more benefits the higher your speed gets. Point the Way is an example of this latter type: for four mana, you’re able to sacrifice it to find basic lands up to your current speed and put them into play. When your speed is at two, that’s an okay return. When it’s four, that’s fantastic.
Sincecards that check for speed work best when you reach max speed, to use these permanents effectively you shouldattempt to reach max speed as early as possible. Ideally, you should play a card with “start your engines!” on turn one, and have max speed by turn three.
While the ability that normally allows you to increase speed can only be triggered once per turn,it isn’t triggered when you start your engines. So you may cast Point the Way to get your speed to one, then attack your opponent to increase it to two in the same turn.
Best Cards With Start Your Engines!
With only a few dozen cards that can start your engines, there are a handful of clear winners that stand above the rest.
Vnwxt, Verbose Host
Vnwxt, Verbose Host has a lot going on for two mana. With zero power, he won’t be attacking much, but he immediatelyeliminates your hand size, starts your engine, and has four toughness, enough to avoid dying to Lightning Bolt. Once you reach max speed, hedoubles the number of cards you draw.
While Vnwxt doesn’t do anything particularly flashy, he’san easy add to most blue decks, even those that don’t have a speed focus, and he’s a perfect addition to aPlagon, Lord of the Beachdeck.
Goblins are already a synergistic type, and Howlsquad Heavy does so much for them that it’s shocking that it wasn’t printed as a legendary creature in order to lead Goblin Commander decks.
In addition to starting your engines, Howlsquad Heavygives all of your Goblins hasteandcreates a new 1/1 Goblin during each of your attack phases. Once you reach max speed, you cantap him to create red mana equal to the number of Goblins you control, which can get absurd quickly in conjunction with how many Goblins red players like to put on the battlefield.
The Speed Demon
At five mana, The Speed Demon is ironically one of the slowest cards with “Start your engines!”. But that’s okay, because it’sone of the few cards that benefits before you reach max speed. Ideally, you’ll be able to build up speed before casting The Speed Demon, but it works just fine if it starts your engine.
As long as you control The Speed Demon, youdraw cards and lose life equal to your speed. One life for one card has long been considered an excellent return, especially if you have a way to regain life or are playing a format with a higher starting life total.
Mendicant Core, Guidelight
Medicant Core, Guidelight is cheap, so you’re able to start building speed early, andhas fantastic synergy with artifacts. Not only does it gain power as you gain control of more artifacts, it also allows you tocopy artifacts as you play themin a way that closely resembles Bloomburrow’soffspringmechanic.
In limited environments, Medicant Core’s max speed ability will allow you toduplicate big, expensive artifact bombs like gearhulksfor practically nothing, but in unlimited formats like Commander, it can get really wild,duplicating mana rocks and game-bending cards from thirty years of Magicsets.
Perilous Snare
Artifact removal is severely underutilized in most formats, allowing Perilous Snare to function asa semi-permanent removal option. For three mana, it exiles any opponent’s nonland permanent until it leaves play, plus you may tap it toput a +1/+1 counter on any Vehicle or creature you control.
Several white cards have a similar banishment effect, but it’s usually limited to enchantments, andno other card with the same effect also buffs your creatures this way, making Perilous Snare a unique piece that fits in a variety of decks.
