The Vestiges of Divergence are unique items created by the deities of Exandria and gifted to their chosen heroes in the long-past Age of Arcanum, before the Calamity. Now they are merely legends, but legends can be told anew. Because they are so rare and legendary, I knew we’d have to make them unique–I also wanted them to have an ability somewhat locked away to symbolize the fact that each one would awaken, and eventually exalt, through heroic deeds and adventures. Ultimately, we found the best expression of this by thinking a bit sideways. Most of the abilities of each one will be useable by any character, but for a few of the Vestiges–if you’re playing with a specific Class trait–you will gain an extra benefit not accessible to others.

Let’s take a look at the first of the six Vestiges in the set.

For Knee jerk Reactions, read on…

Start off with a BANG! I’m not high on all these cards, but I love Cabal’s Ruin. Void and Order have a lot of defense and will be able to produce a lot of Charged counters. With a 6-check, you can run 3 copies of this and feel good about it. It’s pretty strong, nothing game-breaking, but solid. Also, I love cards that can change gears and go for the throat like Cabal’s Ruin.

Dwueth’var plays with some pretty strong effects. The cost? Well you can only use one per turn cycle. Putting Eri Smiles and Seal 1 on a single card is a lot. Even still I’d usually feel like this card is too limited to track in the meta, but Void has gotten some powerful control in this set and this seems to respect the balance.

The meta around Actions is too murky to predict right now. There’s some cool combos and powerful effects coming in HoE. Is that enough to make Fenthras’ Enhance dangerous? Are there enough defensive Characters in the format to make the Response meaningful? We’ll just see, won’t we? +1 Speed is still strong. Respect that.

Plate of the Dawnmartyr is going to make you feel much bulkier over time, no matter the deck. The Response seems hard to activate and easy to cancel. But, with Breaker 2, it’s strong and versatile enough to play on the board and in the hand.

Strong! Give me damage. Give my facedown cards text. I love it! On turns when you can’t touch your rival, this card will seem unfortunately meaningless. Grasping Cat Claw anyone?

Titanstone Knuckles is my favorite card from the first round of Vestiges. The Knuckles are good on offense. Good for widdling down the rival stage. Good for Deflecting damage, so it can reward you for blocking or reduce the consequence for now blocking. GAS!