On December 8, Unstable finally joins the silver-bordered family as the third "Un-set." After thirteen years of speculation (and six years of design, much of it by Mark Rosewater's toaster), Unstable is one of the most anticipated sets in recent memory.

It's amazing. Let's take a closer look at what to expect and how to best promote it.

What is Unstable?

Unstable brings a lighthearted, humorous fantasy world to life that will enchant your players and stretch the limits of what Magic games can do. It's designed to be drafted and can be combine with the other silver-bordered sets but provides the best experience drafted by itself.

What will excite players the most?

The long-anticipated Contraptions (an artifact subtype teased in Future Sight) are a reality and the infamous Steamflogger Boss (for ten years, the only card to refer to Contraptions) returns in black border—one of six black-boardered cards in the set.

Also, if the art on Pet Project looks familiar, that's because you've seen it on one of the Draft Weekend mini-posters—along with art from eight other cards, which together make a single piece.

Quite possibly the most legendary character from Magic's past finally gets a Planeswalker card…with a twist.

There's a squirrel subtheme in the set, including a squirrel lord as the Draft Weekend promo!

More ways to affect a Magic game with outside boosters!

Gorgeous, full-art, borderless lands and tokens!

These cards are silver-bordered, which means they aren't tournament legal (except basic lands and tokens, which are). But that won't stop players from collecting and playing with the cards in casual games.

Unstable improves upon its silver-bordered predecessors by going through the riggers—pun intended—of a full development cycle focused on providing a fun, replayable draft experience.

The set features five fabulously fanatical feuding factions, each represented by an allied color pair:

• The Order of the Sprocket: White/blue cyborg knights that seek self-perfection through mechanical (and often kitchen-based) improvements.

• Agents of S.N.E.A.K.: Blue/black spies and secret agents of questionable efficacy that use dubious gadgets to conduct their work.

• League of Dastardly Doom: Black/red supervillains and their sometimes less-than-super minions in a race to see who will get to destroy the world first!

• Goblin Explosioneers: Red/green goblins that love experimenting with things that explode. Simple as that.

• Crossbreed Labs: Green/white ingenious animal hybrids that create even more outlandish animal hybrids.

What now?

Now that you know some of the key marketing elements, it's time to start promoting Unstable Draft Weekend!

As previously mentioned, Unstable is designed to be drafted. What better way to celebrate the release than with a weekend filled with Unstable Booster Drafts?

Unstable Draft Weekend occurs on December 9–10, right after release day. Run as many Unstable Booster Drafts as possible.

Additionally, Unstable Draft Weekend events count towards our Holiday Draft Series promotion.

Make sure you have enough product to support this weekend of socializing and wacky fun. Contact your distributor or Wizards Direct Sales to order Unstable today.

By Jordan Comar