Introducing Signature Spellbook: Seth, Probably Better Known as Signature Spellbook: SaffronOlive
Signature Spellbook: Seth, Probably Better Known as Signature Spellbook: SaffronOlive, also known by its set code SSSPBKASSSO, contains seven cards for any serious jank player. Each card comes with spicy new art and a sweet new card frame. The featured cards take us on a journey through some of the most memorable moments in Budget Magic and Against the Odds history. The set releases on April 1, 2018, and has an MSRP of $19.99, but due to the high demand for jank and the potential for price gouging, you should reserve your copy as soon as possible for a chance to get the product for near MSRP.
What cards will you find when you pick up your copy of SSSPBKASSSO? Here's the complete card list along with a brief description of why each card is in the set (in alphabetical order, not in order of jankiness).
Blood Moon
Apart from being the key card in the infamous Free-Win Red deck, Blood Moon is one of the secrets to building Against the Odds decks. In fact, one of the best ways to make your janky Modern deck work is to build a deck, lose a bunch with it, and slowly start adding copies of Blood Moon until you win occasionally. Need proof of Blood Moon's jank credentials? Check out any of the million Against the Odds decks featuring the card. Oh, it's also been the MTGGoldfish preview card not once, but twice.
Panharmonicon
Magic cards with enters-the-battlefield triggers are designed to trigger only once, which means if you can trigger these abilities two, three, four, or even five times with the help of Panharmonicon, even something as lowly as an Elvish Visionary or Wood Elves suddenly becomes extremely powerful. Thanks to the endless amount of enters-the-battlefield triggers in Magic, Panharmonicon quickly developed into a Budget Magic staple and holds the record for having the highest number of decks built around it on the series. The beauty of the artifact is that you can play it anywhere, from mono-colored decks to land destruction builds in both Standard and Modern. Or, you can simply jam everything together into one deck. The possibilities are truly endless!
Panharmonicon
What's better than one trigger? Two triggers! Taking inspiration from some silver-border mechanics, not only does SSSPBKASSSO have two copies of Panharmonicon with unique art, but if you happen to get both copies of Panharmonicon on the battlefield together, make sure to put them side by side, so you end up with this Panharmonicon panorama:
Siege Rhino
Siege Rhino might not jump off the page as an obvious inclusion in Signature Spellbook: Seth, Probably Better Known as Signature Spellbook: SaffronOlive, since it's a pretty spiky (which is the opposite of spicy) card, at one point being the best card in Standard and a Modern staple. However, Siege Rhino's Signature Spellbook bona fides become clear when you have a whole bunch of Siege Rhinos, like perhaps 34 of them.
Sierra Angel
Sierra Angel isn't just one of the most iconic Magic cards in the game's history (alongside Muttavault and Donovan Bane) but also oh-so refreshing. While in terms of gameplay, she mostly shows up in limited, the advent of the Old School format has given the five-drop new life as a constructed powerhouse, delivering evasive, vigilant damage along with a delicious can of soda for the thirsty player. Plus, her name is just so fun to say!
Sphinx's Tutelage
Sphinx's Tutelage is in SSSPBKASSSO to appease the old-timers. While Panharmonicon gets all of the credit these days, Sphinx's Tutelage was basically Panharmonicon back when Panharmonicon was just one of Mark Rosewater's fever dreams. In fact, until Panharmonicon came along and broke the record, Sphinx's Tutelage held the distinction of having the most Budget Magic decks built around it. Drawing cards is by far the best thing in all of Magic, and Sphinx's Tutelage just happens to be the perfect finisher in a deck that wants to do nothing but draw its way to victory.
Tree of Redemption
There's an unwritten rule of set design that when you are choosing which cards to put into a premium supplemental product, you don't want people paying their hard-earned money for said product to be too happy and joyful with the cards that they receive, so you must include a Tree of Redemption to make them question their life choices. At least in SSSPBKASSSO, unlike Masters 25, the art of Tree of Redemption perfectly captures the feeling you get when you open a copy.
Conclusion
Now that you know the story behind the cards in Signature Spellbook: Seth, Probably Better Known as Signature Spellbook: Saffron Olive, make sure to pick up a copy at your local game store on April 1, 2018. I'll leave you today with a better look at the beautiful panoramic Panharmonicon art from Adriano Kitani:
