Swarm of Locus

Swarm of Locus is a unique card from the 2021 Mystery Booster Playtest Cards, a series created by Wizards of the Coast for the Magic: The Gathering ecosystem. These cards were designed as an internal experiment, featuring unconventional mechanics and 'playtest' aesthetic designs that mimic the look of work-in-progress cards used by developers during the game's design phase. They were inserted into Mystery Booster: Convention Edition packs as a way to provide players with a glimpse into the experimental design process and to showcase concepts that were considered but ultimately discarded or refined for standard play.

The card features an aesthetic characterized by the 'playtest' label, typically featuring white-bordered, text-heavy designs with placeholder-style art or none at all, intentionally meant to look unfinished. This specific entry is part of a deliberate effort by the design team to introduce chaotic, 'outside-the-box' gameplay elements into draft environments. Upon release, these cards were received with significant intrigue by the enthusiast community, as they represent rare artifacts of the game's evolution, often valued more for their curiosity and the novelty of their design iteration than for their inclusion in standard tournament play.