The Duskmourn: House of Horror bundle is available for purchase in MTG Arena until September 24, 2024. You can pick up a 50-pack bundle tha??t w??ill set you back by $49.99.

The special bundle also includes some extra items, including Gold Packs, which are always pretty valuable to craft decks you want. ?But the pack isn't cheap either, and it?'s always essential to evaluate what you get for your buck.

MTG Arena Duskmourn: House of Horror bundle contents

Here's what ??you obtain from?? pre-ordering the special bundle:

• 50 Dusmourn: House of Horror packs
• 5 Golden Packs
• 1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares card
• 1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares card style
• 1 Kaito Bane of Nightmares card sleeve

The sleeve will be unlocked immediately for your collection once you pre-order the bundle. The listed price is set at $49.99, but the final amount could vary based on the platform and your regi?on.

Is it worth buying the Duskmourn: House of Horror bundle?

It depends on what type of MTG Arena player you are. If you're strictly free-to-play, there's no exclusive reason as to why you should spend on this bundle. If you want to really dip into your wallet, November's Foundations could be worth looking into. It's a unique se??t, and the cards will be available in Standard for at least five years after their launch.

If you're someone who regularly invests money into the game, this bundle is worth its price. For one, I absolutely love the horror-themed designs of the cards. Based on the cards revealed until now, the meta in Standard will shift. Having 50 packs from the new expansion on day one will de?f?initely help.

Even if your pack luck is poor, you're expected to get a handy amount of rare and uncommon wildcards, and a few mythic at least. When I opened 45 packs from Bloomburrow, I received about five Mythics and three Mythic wild cards. I am expecting s??imilar numbers from my pre-order bundle, especially since there will be five more packs.

You also get the Golden Packs, which can contain multiple Mythics in them (Golden Packs contain only Rare and Mythic cards). Kaito is an additional Mythic that you're guaranteed from t?he bundle, along with his alternate card style. Whether Kaito can dominate the meta remains to be seen. If it does, you're one step closer to building a meta deck while saving one more wild card.

This is what you'll get for the same amount if you d?on't pre-order.

• 9,200 gems for $49.99.
• Assuming they charge 200 gems for every pack, 9,200 gems will fetch you 46 packs.
• 46 packs will get you four additional Gold Packs (with a chance of maxing it out to 5).

If you were to purchase the packs separately, you'd end up with 46 packs for the exact cost. You'll also get one less Golden Pack and there won't be Kaito's Mythic as well (you can craft it with a wild car?d).

If you choose to?? pre-order, make sure to check out when Duskmourn will release, and what are some of the cards that have been showcased.

The post Should you pre-order the Duskmourn: House of Horror bundle in MTG Are??na appeared first on Destructoid.

September will be a big month for MTG Arena fans (and Magic fans in? general), as the Duskmourn: House of Horrow set will go live.

This is going to be the fourth main expansion set to be released in the digital game in 2024. While fans have missed out on some of the previous collaborations like Assassin's Creed and Fallout, all core sets are al?ways released on the digital version, along with their paper release. Let's take a look at when the new cards will go live and what we know about them so far from the official sources.

MTG Arena Duskmourn: House of Horror release date

Duskmourn: House of Horror will launch globally on September 27 if you're playing the paper version of the game. On MTG Arena, however, the expansion goes live on September 24. This is also indicated by th?e pre-order bundles that are currently available inside the in-game store.

Till September 24, you can pre-order up to three special bundles - a 50-pack set, the premium Mastery pass fo??r the upcoming expansion, and a set of exclusive card-draft token combo. All pre-order bundles can only be bought with real money - you can't ?spend your gems to get them.

While the release still has a couple of days left, Wizards has already revealed some fantastic cards that are going to?? be available in the new expansion.

MTG Arena Duskmourn: House of Horror cards

In the lead-up to the release, Wizards has revealed over 100 cards that would be part of the new set. The Duskmourn: House of Horror is if you've guessed it from its name, a horror-themed set. Naturally, a lot of cards represent that design element. You can check all the revealed cards by clicking on this link??. Here are some of the cards?? I love based on their abilities and designs.

• Enduring Innocence: Ability to become a staple in decks that use lower-power units.
• The Wandering Rescuer: Beautiful alternate art, and loads of abilities including hexproof.
• Toby, Bestie Befriender: Ability to flood the board with token creatures, which can also gain flying if left unchecked.
• Enduring Curiosity: Helps players to draw more cards and returns as an enchantment when killed.
• Archon of Cruelty: Has one of the best card arts.
• Damnation: Can be a great counter if the opposition has flooded the board with creatures.
• Goryo's Vengeance: The alternate card art looks pretty impressive.

I am really interested to see how Duskmourn: House of Horror cards will alter the meta. Bloomburrow has witnessed the?? rise of cards that have low cost but gain a lot of power in a couple of turns. Many of the upcoming cards look to be of the type that requires a few turns to be set and for their synergies to work. We could be walking towards a meta where games could have more turns on average.

The post MTG Arena Duskmourn: House of Horror expansion release ?date, revealed cards, and more appeared first on Destructoid.

Bill the Pony can be a commander

In case you haven't heard, there's going to be a Lord of the Rings Magic: The Gathering set out this summer. While the art shown off so far has been marvelous, it turns out that the team over at Wizards of the Coast has a lot more going for it than cool art. We spoke to Ovidio Cartagena, lead art director on the set, about what to expect. Spoiler alert: Wizards is going big on this set.

What's the deal with the Lord of the Rings set? A recap

Beyond the obvious reason of "money," Cartagena likens the Lord of the Rings set as a natural fit for Magic: The Gathering because of its commitment to "Universes Beyond," which have crossed over with franchises like Transformers, Warhammer 40K, as well as Secret Lair drops like The Walking Dead, Fortnite, and Street Fighter.

Liz Stewart, Senior Communications Manager at Wizards of the Coast, says that the team went "all-in" on the flavor of the set, which was the result of long hours of textual research from Tolkien's work. That research shows, as locations like The Shire, Minas Tirith, and the Paths of the Dead are going to be on full display, and all of the lands will include paths the characters from the series had to traverse throughout the world: you can even see them as specks sometimes in zoomed-out shots! Alongside those aforeme?ntioned perilous lands, the set also isn't afraid to get silly. Bill the Pony is in, and can even be a Commander. Sam's cookware has been added to "multiple cards as an Easter egg," Cartagena teases.

For those of you who are unaware, The Lord of the Rings legalese can get complicated. For this project, the team worked specifically with Middle-earth Enterprises (MEE), a steward of much of the "core" material that comprises the most popular bits of Tolkien's work: including The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the cleverly-stretched appendices (which are found at the end of Return of the King, and add some extra lore bits into the mix). I asked about their experience working with MEE, and Ca??rtagena noted:

"We worked primarily with Middle-earth Enterprises. It was pretty easy. Working within the confines of the book was a good fit, because that's how most of us got to Tolkien's lore. Y??es we wanted to refer??ence other parts...but the Lord of the Rings is such a rich set that we didn't run out of things to talk about for sure."

When asked how the team handled some of the source ma??terial, specifically the Eye of S?auron, they thought out-of-the-box at first before delving too deeply into some of the more commonly accepted interpretations:

"How are you going to do an eye [of Sauron]? Well, [we're] not going to do the eye, yet. Sauron was designed as this dark wizard, I love the design...the armor has the Palantir on the chest so he always has access to it. For Frodo, we wanted a more heroic shot of him. Several years pass between when he inherits the property o??f the ring, and when he embarks upon his journey."

Yes, Nine Nazgul can be played together on the battlefield, and there's a Witch King card. The main event is the 18 borderless "seam cards," which depict the Battle of the Pellinor Fields without borders. Wizards of the Coast calls it a "war painting," and just one artist (Tyler Jacobson) worked on it. Cartagena shares some insight into the ordeal: "It was an epic undertaking. It took a while to get it right. 18th and 19th-c?entury paintings were looked at for reference. It took eight months,?? and Minas Tirith is on one side, with Barad-dur on the other. It's meant to be read from right to left to flow like the scene itself in the books."

Sagas (multi-step cards that play out kind of like adventures) return, which is ??a natural fit for this set. Planeswalkers are out (fine by me!) and Oathbreaker is in, according to Mike ??Turian, product architect for this set:

"All of the cards in The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth products are legal in Oathbreaker. The set doesn’t have any Planeswalkers in it, as early on we agreed that Planeswalkers didn’t fit int??o the setting of Middle-earth. Beyond that, we try to make fun Magic cards that support all of our formats."

[caption id="attachment_382720" align="alignnone" width="640"] Im??age via Wizards o?f the Coast - art by Kieran Yanner[/caption]

The Lord of the Rings Magic set will have four pre-constructed Commander decks

Announced as part of the press event, Magic will be getting four new Commander decks in the set?:

• Eowyn: Riders of Rohan
• Frodo: Food and Fellowship
• Galadriel: Elven Council
• Sauron: The Hosts of Mordor

All four Commander decks include a collector booster, sample pack, and two legenda??ry traditional foils.

So when is the Magic: The Gathering Lord of the Rings set coming out?

In addition to the set itself and the aforementioned commander decks, there will also be jumpstart boosters, as well as a starter kit (two preconstructed 60-card decks). Yes, there will be a Secret Lair drop too (call the Professor!) based on 1978 Bakshi film, which will be on sale in June. Summer, Autumn, and Winter Ents are in as digital Magic: Arena pets, as well as a pet "One Ring" if you pre-order the set on Arena. The ring will?? melt if you lose a game, which is neat??, but still very interesting in the context of Tolkien not wanting certain elements of his work to be romanticized.

Here's a full breakdown of when the Magic Lord of the Rings sets are out:

• Pre-release is June 16-22
• Arena (digital) launch is June 20
• Full launch is June 23

Here's a gigantic preview of Magic: The Gathering Lord of the Rings cards and playmat art!

[gallery columns="9" link="file" size="medium" ids="382536,382537,382538,382539,382540,382541,382542,382543,382544,382545,382546,382547,382548,382549,382550,382551,382552,382553,382554,382555,382556,382557,382558,382559,382560,382561,382562,382563,382564,382565,382566,382567,382568,382569,382570,382571,382572,382573,382574,382575,382576,382577,382578,382579,382580,382582,382583,382584,382585,382586,382587,382588,382589,382590,382592,382593,382594,382595,382596,382597,382598,382599,382600,382601,382602,382603,382604,382606,382607,382608,382609,382610,382611,382612,382613,382614,382615,382616,382617,382618,382620,382621,382622,382623,382624,382625,382626,382627,382628,382629,382630,382631,382632,382633,382634,382635,382636,382637,382638,382640,382641,382642,382643,382644,382645,382646,382649,382650,382651,382652,382653,382654,382655,382656,382657,382658,382659,382660,382661,382662,382663,382664,382665,382666,382668,382669,382670,382671,382672,382673,382674,382675,382676,382677,382678,382679,3?82680,382681,382682,382683,382684,382685,382686,382687,382688,382689,382690,382691,382692,382693,382694,382695,382696,382697,382698,38269??9,382700,382701,382702,382703,382704,382705,382706,382707,382708,382709,382710,382711,382712,382713"]

The post Magic: The Gathering’s Lord of the Rings set looks fantastic: here’s more info appeared first on Destructoid.

The Phyrexians are back with a vengeance

Wizards of the Coast is still rolling with multiple Magic: The Gathering sets each year (for both paper Magic and digital variants like Magic: Arena), and the next set, March of the Machine, is ready to debut in April.

There are some heavy-hitting artists backing this set, including the always fantastic Magali Villeneuve: who I would consider one of the greatest artists in the history of Magic. You can get a look at some spoiler cards for March of the Machine below, as well as some full art. The full story of the set can be read here.

March of the Machine is out on April 21, 2023 in full, with pre-release events sta??rting on April 14, and a digital release on April 18.

All the new and returning mechanics from March of the Machine set

Battle (new card type & new mechanic) - Battles are a brand new card type introduced in March of the Machin??e. It represents Phyrexia’s invasion of the multiverse and everyone else playing a little defense.

Each battle in Mar??ch of the Machine is ??a transforming double-faced card:

Front Back

Casting a Battle

• Battles can be cast during your main phase if the stack is empty, just like creatures, sorceri?es, and other n?on-instant spells.

• Each battle enters the battlefield with a number of defense counters on it equal to its defense, found in the lower right corner of the front face. This tells you how much damage it takes to defeat a battle. Much like planeswalkers??, battles can be attacked and damaged. But unlike with planeswalkers, the general idea isn't to cast them, protect them, and hope they stick around. You're battling to take them out.

Protecting & Attacking a Battle

• A battle’s subtype provides rules for ho?w it can be attacked. Since every battle in this set has the subtype Siege, they all play by the same rules. As a Siege battle enters the battlefield, its controller chooses an opponent to be its protecto??r. Every player except a battle's protector may attack it.

• Only a battle's protector may block creatures attacking it. Don't confuse protector for controller. You're going to attack battles that you control—the first time in? Magic that you've been able to attack your own permanents.

• Battles are susceptible to more than just combat damage, though. Some spells and abilities may specifically say that they cause damage to be dealt?? to battles. Also, any spell or ability that says "any target" can target a battle.

Defeating a Battle

• Any damage dealt to a battle cause that many defense counters to be removed from it. When the last defense counter is removed from a Siege battle, the battle is defeated and ??a triggered? ability triggers.

• As this ??ability resolves, the battle's controll??er exiles it then casts the back face from exile without paying its mana cost.

Backup - The forces defending their homeworlds aren't doing so ?alone. Backup is a new triggered ability that allows creatures to help a friend—or even themselves—in a pinch.

• Whenever a creature with backup enters the battlefield, you put that many +1/+1 counters on a target creature. If you chose another creature as the target, that creature also gets every abili?ty of the original creature that is printed below backup until end of turn.

Incubate - I?ncubate is a new keyword action that allows you to cr??eate Incubator tokens.

• An ??Incubator token is a new kind of predefined token, joining ones such as Food ??and Treasure. It’s also a transforming double-faced token.

• An Incubator token is a colorless artifact token with "{2}: Transform this artifact." The back face is a 0/0 colorless Phyrexian artifact creature. The instruction to incubate will include a number which indicates how many +1/+1 counters to put on the Incubator toke??n. Those counters don't do much while the token has its front face up, but they do a great job of keeping the Phyrexian artifact creature alive once it transforms.

Chaos Ensues - Planechase is a major feature of the Commander decks in March of the Machine. On previous plane cards, chaos abilities had the trigger condition, "Whenever you roll [CHAOS]." Starting with March of the Machine, this condition has been replaced by "whenever chaos ensues." With respect to the planar die, nothing has ?changed; rolling [CHAOS] will still cause these abilities to trigger. However, now there are ways to have these abilities trigger that don't involve the planar die at all.

March of the Machine spoiler reveals

Main set

[ga??llery size="medium" ids="371263,371264,371265,371266,371267,371268,371269,371270,371271,371272,371273"]

Commander

[gallery size="medium" ids="37128??7,371288,371289,371290,371291,371292,371293,371294,371295"]

Multiverse Legends

[galler?y size="medium" ids="371296,371297,3??71298,371299,371300,371301,371302,371303,371304,371305,371306"]

Promo pack cards

[gallery columns="5" size="medium" ids="371307,371308,371309,371310,3713??11"]

March of the Machine spoiler full art

[gallery columns="2" link="file" size="large" ids="371274,371275,371276,371277,371278,371279,3?71280,371281,371282,371283"]

The post Wizards just revealed some March of the Machine card??s for Magic: The Gathering appeared first on Destructoid.

From the Dragons and Treasure sets

Magic: The Gathering's Jumpstart 2022 line is set to debut on December 2, and will once again inject cards both old and new ??into the gametype. As a reminder, Jumpstart is a product intended literally ju??mpstart quick games, by smashing up multiple thematic boosters: Angels and Dogs, Rogues and Pirates, that sort of thing.

This 2022 set is available in paper Magic, and although it isn't something I'm constantly playing, it's a nice thing to come back to, and have sets ready for. It has also been confirmed that Jump Start 2022 would not make it into Arena. Without further ado, onto the card previews!

[gallery co??lumns="2" link="file" ids="350266,3?50267"]

New cards/cards with new art from the Dragons set:

• Dragon Mage
• Plundering Predator

So these are an interesting duo, especially given how popular dragon tribal is in many circles of Magic. Dragon Mage is highly costed, but could make for some interesting plays, especially in some wild jank mill decks??. Plundering Predator is also highly costed for its effect: but perhaps with enter the battlefield/blink effects, you could do some fun things with it.

Note that Dragon Mage already exists, but the art is new.

[gallery columns="4" link="file" ids="350268,350269,350270??,350271,350272,350273,350274,350275,350276,350277,350278,350279,350280,350281,350282,350283"]

Reprints from the Dragons set:

• Bogardan Dragonheart
• Dragon Egg
• Dragon Fodder
• Dragonlord's Servant
• Dragonspeaker Shaman
• Furnace Whelp
• Kargan Dragonrider
• Lathliss, Dragon Queen
• Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
• Sarkhan's Rage
• Sarkhan's Whelp
• Scorching Dragonfire
• Sparktongue Dragon
• Tormenting Voice
• Dragon's Hoard
• Thriving Bluff

So there's a lot of familiar faces here, especially?? in the last few years. Sarkhan being part of the dragon set was predicable, and I'm sur?e some folks may not like that level of predictability: but he also opens up some options for building out dragon-based Jump Start decks.

[gallery columns="2" link="file" ?ids="350284,350285"]

New cards/cards with new art from the Treasures set:

• Dutiful Replicator
• Rapacious Dragon

In a far wackier move, the Treasures set has some lower costed ?fare. Dutiful Replicator is fascinating, and given the sheer amount of token play in this set, it'll synergize insta?ntly. Rapacious Dragon has the good old fashioned two treasure token effect, so it can create some immediate value to offset its cost.

Rapacious Dragon exists already, but the art is new.

[ga?llery link="file" columns="4" ids="350299,350300,350301,350302,350303,350304,350305,350306,350308,350309,350310,350311,350312,350313,350314,350315??,350316,350317,350318,350319,350320,350321"]

Reprints from the Treasures set:

• Barrage Ogre
• Big Score
• Blaze
• Blood Aspirant
• Brazen Freebooter
• Captain Lannery Storm
• Gadrak, the Crown-Scourge
• Goldhound
• Goldspan Dragon
• Improvised Weaponry
• Kuldotha Flamefiend
• Professional Face-Breaker
• Pyre-Sledge Arsonist
• Reckless Fireweaver
• Ripscale Predator
• Sokenzan Smelter
• Sudden Breakthrough
• Trove of Temptation
• Vault Robber
• Welding Sparks
• Gleaming Barrier
• Goldvein Pick

Yet again we have a mix of old and mostly semi-new/new cards, and the Treasure set does mostly what it says on the tin. Expect lots of tokens and litera??l treasure play, amid lots of big red damage. Goldspan Dragon sticks out like a sore thumb, and lucky is the one who cracks at least one of them in a Jump Start game.

The post Exclusive: Here’s a lo??ok at new MTG Jumpstar??t 2022 cards coming to paper Magic appeared first on Destructoid.

Audacity

Wizards of the Coast has provided us with another exclusive Magic Arena card (that's also coming to paper Magic of course): Audacity. It's set to debut in the The Brothers' War set, which is out on November 11 via pre-release, November 15 in Arena, and November 18 in paper Magic.

As a reminder, here's a quick rundown of the lore for the release, to?? set the mood:

"Through nefarious me?ans, the evil Phyrexians establish a foothold on Dominaria. They secretly transform ordinary citizens into deadly sleeper agents who go about their lives, ignorant of their new purpose. As word of the Phyrexian incursion spreads, the people of Dominaria attempt to band together as the sleeper agents threaten to tear them apart."

The Brothers' War is going to have all sorts of lore implications, and follows the Dominaria United set that arrived back in September. From here, we'll be delving even further into the story of the Phyrexians, with Phyrexia: All Will Be One, slated for January 2023. It's a pretty busy block for Magic, as the Dominaria st??oryline/setting once again is hitting it pretty big with the community.

Destructoid's exclusive Magic Arena card: Audacity

As for the card itself, it's an enchantment aura called Audacity that costs G, enchants a creature, and provides a +2/+0 and trample bonus. When Audacit?y is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, you draw a card.

This is the sort of thing you wouldn't mind drawing in most Magic formats, limited included. A low cost always ensures that it's generally playable (or very playable), and although it's not a flash/instant-speed enchantment. Plus, the art from Rudy Siswanto is killer and wonderfully showcases the ?direct conflict from the lore.

As us??ual, I can't wait to pick one up and put it in a top??loader!

The post Exclusive: Here’s a look at a new The Brothers’ War card coming to paper Magic and Magic Arena appeared first on Destructoid.

It's out on June 10

At this point, Wizards of the Coast has plenty of IP under their belt to send to the planes of Magic: The Gathering with H?asbro running things. And whatever they don't own, they can likely lock down a deal for: like the upcoming Lord of the Rings set, and the recent Street Fighter crossover. So when Dungeons and Dragons or Baldur's Gate is involved, people perk up. That includes the Baldur's Gate Commander set, which we were given a brief look at recently.

The next Commander Legends set is Battle for Baldur's Gate, and it's out on June 10 (with a pre-release session from June 3 through June 5). The big focus this time is features from past sets, like the "dungeon" mechanic from Forgotten Realms (with just the Undercity dungeon card, with the intent to possibly share one across the table), backgrounds (like?? "raised by giants"), and more legenda??ry creatures: to funnel into the RPG theme of the Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander set.

Corey Bowen, leader designer for Magic and on the Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander set, had the theme of heroic adventures and teamwork in mind when their team crafted the set. The gist was to lean into the social aspect of Commander as well as some of the larger-than-life elements of the universes they're drawing from. You can really see that in some of the cards below, many of which are legendary and are pulled directly from D&D classes, like a halfling knight, devil noble, and a human wizard. Lightning bolt and fireball were something the te??am "had to include," because of the flavor involved, as two of the most recognizable cards in the game's history.

Without further ado, card previews/spoilers!

Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander set cards:

[gallery link="file" ids="322216,322217,322218,322220,322221,322222,322223,322224,322225,322226,322227,322228,322229,322230,322231,322232,322233,322234,322235,322236,322237,322238,322239,322240,322241,322242,322245,322246,322247,322248,322249,322250,322251,322252,322253,322254,322255,322256,322257,322258,322259,322260,322261,322262,322263,322264,322265,322266,322267,322268,322269,322270,322271,322272,322273,322274,322275,322276,322277,322278,322279,322280,322281,322282,322283,322284,322285,322286,322287,322288,322289,322290,322291,322292,322293,322294,322295,322296,322297??,322298,322299"]

The post Magic reveals the Magic Baldur’s Gate Commander set, here’s some cards appeared first on Destructoid.

If all goes well, we'll check out an Indonesian folklore horror game too

Hey guys! I'm here early! I won't be home for a few days, so I'm popping in today instead of the usual Friday night Twitch stream time slot. In the Magic: Arena realm, climbing the standard ranked ladder has been going relatively smoothly?. I plan to play mostly limited when Capenna drops (at least until a standard meta becomes clear), so it's been good to become familiar with the game again in the mode I know best.

My goal for today's stream is to grab diamond or get very close to it; if we do, I'll probably play around with a cool Indonesian folklore horror game I saw called Pamali. See you there!

Drop by Destructoid’s Twitch channel every Friday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to hang out.

The post We’re streaming some Magic the Gathering: Arena tonight appeared first on Destructoid.

11% across certain products

Magic: The Gathering card pricing is increasing for certain lines, due to the "cost of ??goods, transportation, and manufacturing."

Wizards of the Coast says that due to industry trends they're increasing prices "around 11%," on "select products," starting in September. Draft and set boosters are the most significantly impacted, but here's the list of stuff going up in price later this ?year:

• Draft Boosters
• Set Boosters
• Collector Boosters
• Bundles
• Jumpstart Boosters

Also note that "Commander decks, meanwhile, have a price increase ?going into effect with Streets of New Capenna [later this month]: there are no plans to increase the price of Commander decks further in July." Masters, Modern Horizons, Secret Lair, Challenger Decks, or Universes Beyond will not see increases...yet. Dominaria United will be the big product coming in with this new price hike.

Naturally, this comes after record-setting profits, with the recent Kamigawa set ("the best-selling Winter set of all time") hailing as one of the most successful sets ever. Will the labor force see any of that yield? Or perhaps pile on more "cost of goods" expenses for Magic: The Gathering card pricing? Wizards of the Coast is in a precarious situation when it comes to scale, and being owned by Hasbro comes with certain corporate responsibil??ities. You can see the motivation for passing the buck in this case.

The post Magic: The Gathering card pri??cing is? going up for some products appeared first on Destructoid.

Out on April 28 in Arena, and April 29 in paper

Magic: The Gathering is still setting a blazing pace for new sets, and New Capenna is just around the corner. It feels like the fairly well-received Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set just got here, but come April 28 weekend (with a pre-release the week before), we're getting the follow-up in both Arena and in ?proper paper form. With that out of the way, let's get to the New Capenna keyw?ords.

Connive

"Draw ??X cards then discard X cards. Put a +1+1 card on that creature for each nonland card discard??ed this way."

Depending on the effect, thi??s could end games, especially if you connive a hasted creature. I'm looking forward to seeing what people come up with here: one example s?hown is a 1/4 flying creature with ward 1 that can also connive, which could be useful in limited play.

Casualty

"Sacrifice a creature w??ith power 1 or greater, when you do, copy this spell."

The classic creature sacrifice archetype is back, but available in many color options, it seems. One card in the New Capenna set is a two-cost blue mana spell (instant) that lets you look at the top two cards of your library: put one of them into your hand and the other on the bottom of ?your library. Copying it should be fairly easy for some swarm decks.

Blitz

"If you cast this spell for its blitz cost, it gains haste and when this creature dies, draw a card, sacrifice it ??at the beginning of the next end s?tep."

Similar to connive, I c??an see this ending games if done correctly. Haste on command ca??n be deadly, especially in red, as one of the below cards shows.

Alliance

"Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control?, [do an effect]."

This is a pretty standard effect that's in every set?, but geared toward the thematic?? element of other creatures entering the battlefield and triggering an effect. Green swarm should be a fun color for this one.

Shield Counters

"If a creature with a shiel??d counter on it woul??d be destroyed or dealt damage, remove a defense counter from it instead."

It's kind of like an ammo-based hex. You can play around with them and swap ?them around or add more depending on your build, and it should make for?? some pretty unique decks.

Hideaway (the returning old keyword)

"When this permanent enters the battlefield, look at the top X cards, exile one face down, and when you meet a condition, ?play it for free."

We've seen this in many competitive card games, including modified forms in many recent Magic sets, and it's back! In any case, the New Capenna keywords are looki?ng spicy.

There's a few other things Wizards is doing to make New Capenna stand out. Borderless and extended art cards will return, as will flashy gold-stamped foils: McCall says this is the "coolest foil they've ever made." The Gala Greeters minion also has a different version for each language Wizards publishes Magic in, "based on a golden age" for that region.

Yo??u can get a look at all of the above in the gallery below!

[gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="315674,315675,315676,315?677,315678,315679,315680,315681,315682,315683,315684,315685,315686,315687,315688,315689,315690,315691,315692,315693,315694,315695,315696,315697,315698,315699,315700,31?5701,315702,315703"]

The post Here are the Magic: The?? Gathering details and keywords for the mobster-themed Stre?ets of New Capenna set appeared first on Destructoid.

And a bunch of cards, too

Magic is constantly adding to its repertoire of keywords, and even in standard when sets rotate out, it's knowledge you'll always need to be accumulating. Here are the Magic: Kamigawa Neon Dynasty keyw?ords and m??echanics you'll need to navigate in February.

Modifications

Equipment, auras you control, and counters are modifications, which can impact different ways modifications can interact with specific cards. For instance, one card (Goro-Goro, a Legendary Creature) can create a 5/5 red Dragon Spirit creature token with flying for 3 colorless mana and two mountains. You can only activate this if you control an attacking modified creature. As a side note, it's auras you control.

Ninjutsu (returning mechanic)

For a cost, return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking. This is a familiar concept, as some current/recent cards already have something similar to this.

Channel (returning mechanic)

For a cost, discard ?[x]: then d??o an effect. Examples shown so far include "search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle," and "the owner of target nonland permanent puts it on the top or bottom of their library." Wizards notes that this can smooth out mana issues as a secondary option of sorts.

Legends (returning mechanic)

Wizards says it has more "fertile ground" for legendary creatures and multi-colo??r commanders, so there will be a large swath of legendary creatures in this set.

Cycles

Some cards will provide extra options, like Ao the Dawn Sky, which can put up to seven nonland permanent cards with a total mana value of four or less from among seven cards onto the battlefield, or put two 1+/+1 counters on each permanent you control that's a creature or vehic?le after it dies.

DFC Sagas

Sagas will return with the main purpose of "causing stories to come to life," and representing "tradition" in the set. One saga will transform into a 3?/3 haste tr??ample creature after it expires.

Reconfigure (new)

For a cost, attach to target creature you control; or unattach from a creature. Reconfigure only as a sor??cery. While attached, this isn't a creature. Wizards says this is going to be one of the main "cybernetic" enhancement fantasies in the set.

Artifacts an??d enhancement synergy will also play a part in the s?et, as well as samurai and warrior traits.

You can check all the Kamigawa Neon Dynasty keywords out in t?he gallery below!

[gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="305715,305716,30571?7,305718,305719,305720,305721,305722,305723,305724,305725,305726,305727,305728,305729,305730,305731,305732"]

The post Here are the Magic: Kamigawa Neon Dynasty keywor?ds and mechanics appeared first on Destructoid.

'Alchemy' is coming, but it will change how Historic works in a bad way

Magic: Arena is introducing the Alchemy mode to the game, and in true Magic: Arena fashion, they've muddled the message. Here's a breakdown of what's been happening since the reveal this past weekend.

In a shock announcement, Wizards of the Coast unveiled "Alchemy," a digital-only mode that only works in Arena, coming this month. The gist is that there will be rebalanced cards, as well as 60 "totally new cards" that "could only work in digital Magic." Think Hearthstone mechanics, stuff that wouldn't translate very well to paper Magic.

That sort of messaging is going to instantly ruffle some feathers. While Alchemy is a side mode, it is getting a decent amount of attention from the team (over Pioneer), and the prevailing sentiment from the community is basically "if I wanted to play Hearthstone, I'd play Hearthstone." As a historical player of both myself, I get that, because each of them has a dist?inctly different feel, and I like swapping between them.

So here's the kicker, and why so many people in the community are pissed. Alchemy is not technically its own thing. It's actually going to impact Historic (the mode where you can play any old card you own, not just the standard rotation) in a big way. Cards will be changed for Historic too, and whether it's nerfed or buffed, you will not get wild card refunds. In other words, Magic is going to effectively soft ban cards that they make unplayable, but not refund you. In Arena prop?er, if something is banned, you get a refund for that card.

It?'s a bizarre move. Why have Alchemy impact Historic at all? To justify the development work on it? If it was a wacky side mode people could ignore it. But the combi?nation of having it swallow up another existing mode and the wild card situation means it actively hurts the game.

The post Magic: Arena is crea?ting a new digital-only mode that cheapens an existing one appeared first on Destructoid.

"PLAYVOW"

Want another Magic: Arena free pack? Well, the?? new set is here! And like clockwork, another "play" code is ready to be plugged in.

This one is "PLAYVOW," which unlocks three free Crimson Vow packs. If you're playing Magic: Arena on a PC, you can input the code directly on the store. If you're playing on mobile, you need to annoyingly enter it on the official Arena site after logging in. Of course, there's a lot more to come beyond this Magic: Arena free pack offer, as Magic doesn't stop.

As a recap, we just came out of the other half of the?? 2021 Innistrad set?? (read: spooky), Midnight Hunt. Considering it arrived on September 16, some people may not ha?ve even taken in all of Midnight Hunt, but Crimson Vow is here all the same. It'll be the king of the castle ??until January 2022, at which point the cyberpunk Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set will be the new hotness.

After that comes Streets of New Capenna, then Dominaria: United, and The Brother's War. Those sets will last through November 2022 and by then, we'll have a new standard rotation, with Zendikar, Kaldheim, Strixhaven, and Forgotten Realms cycling out. It should be a pretty interesting rotation, especially after people figure out all of the Innistrad ins and outs. After all, we're stuck with the two Innistrad sets until the end of 2023, barring any potential card bans (which we haven't had yet for standard at ??the time of publication).

The post Magic: Arena just launched the Crimson Vow set, here’s a new free pack code appeared first on Destructoid.

Well, three Crimson Vow spoiler cards, kind of!

It's spoiler season for the new set, and Destructoid has two exclusive MTG Innistrad: Crimson Vow spoile?r cards to share!

Let's break them down.

Dawnheart Geist (two cost, one colorless, one white mana)

So Dawnheart Geist is a classic two-drop creature, with the ability to grain tw?o life after casting an enchantment: a nice effect, but with combo potential.

As a spirit, it interacts with a number of existing Innistrad: Midnight Hunt cards, which were just introduced into the meta. Cards like Thraben Exorcism and Patrician Geist, a??mong others, could work with the spirit trait. It might not see standard play, but I wouldn't hate to see it in a draft deck where I'm already flush with enchantments.

As an uncommon card, it's not going to break the bank in both paper Magic or in Arena.

Path of Peril (three cost, one colorless, two black mana)

Path of Peril is a little more interesting. So it's a sorcery, and lets you destroy all creatures [with mana value two or less] by paying its base three cost. So this is already useful since it's a sweeper, especially in limited play. Note that it a??lso has cleave.

If you forgot what cleave does, it lets you cast a spell for its cleave cost. If you do, you remove the w?ords in square brackets, such as search you??r library for a [basic land] card, [reveal it,] put it in your hand, then shuffle. In this case, it would remove the "mana value of two or less."

I can see this being a sideboard card in some play, as folks leverage the kicker-esque effect of board wiping swarms of little creatures/tokens, or bigger threats. I can't tell you how many times I've seen swarm decks in platinum rank or above in Arena where this would have been useful.

You can check them out in the gallery below: and note the extended art option fo??r Path of Peril!

[gallery ids="292025,292026,292027"]

The post ?Here are two exclusive Magic: The Gathering Innistrad Crimson Vow spoiler cards appeared first on Destructoid.

It's out in November

Magic: The Gathering just got spooky recently with th?e Midnight Hunt set, which is one part of the Innistrad one-two-punch. The next stop? Crimson Vow. We got a chance to see the new set for ourselves with Mike Turian (product architect) and Meris Mulalley (worldbuilding design manager); and once again they blew the art direction out of the water.

As Mullaley explains it, the center of Crimson Vow is not around the harvest, but Olivia Voldaren's wedding, as a continuation of the most recent set. We're off werewolves: it's a vampire-centric set y'all. Heroic planeswalkers attempt to stop the wedding and event eternal night, so the phrase "crimson vow" has an?? obvious meaning here in context. Sorin i?s back in Planeswalker form, with Kaya, Chandra, Teferi, and Arlinn: all of whom want to best Olivia.

As far as mechanics go, daybound and nightbound return, as does disturb (which has been evolved to allow, say, creatures to return to the battlefield from the graveyard as an enchantment in spirit form). Exploit returns from previous sets (when creatures with exploit enter the battlefield, you may sa??c??rifice a creature). It's also completing the cycle of dual lands from Midnight Hunt (tapped unless you control two or more lands).

There's new stuff, of course. Blood tokens make an entrance in this set: tap one mana, sacrifice this artifact, discard a card: draw a card. Very fitting, thematically. Turian says that they opted not to go with the old clue mechanic because of theme considerations; and that they might come bac??k. ??"They are now permanently part of Magic," he noted.

Training is new, too (whenever this creature attacks with another creature with greater power, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Like many mechanics, I suspect this one could lead to a few powerful meta combos with super cheap trainees. Cleave lets you cast a spell for its cleave cost: if you do, remove the words in square brackets, such as search your library for a [basic land] card, [reveal it,] put it in your hand, then shuffle. So in other words, it can be any card, and it's not revealed. That card, Dig Up, is one green mana by the way, and scales up just like kickers always have with that cleave e??ffect.

As a cherry on top, Olivia and Soren will be getting Sisters of the Undead and Count Dracula alts, respectively: with Bram Stoker's Dracula flavor text quotes. These will be done in "Dracula Series Cards" via box toppers and collector boosters (non-foil and foil). Olivia and Soren will get Magic: Arena avatars and there will be at least one new battlefield. They went all-out on the vampire theme, and I'm here for it all the way until the next rotation (Crimson Vow is in the far-future Q4 2023 rotation). Crimson Vow hits Arena on November 11, with pre-relea??se on November 12, and tabletop to follow.

In the meantime, here's the goods! Ka??migawa: Neon Dynasty is next in ??a few months or so.

[gallery ids="291562,291563,291564,291565,291566,291567,291568,291569,291570,291571,291572,291573,291?574,2915??75,291576,291577,291578,291579,291580,291581,291582,291583,291584,291585,291586,291587,291588,291589,291590,291591,291592,291593,291594"]

The post Magic: The Gathering’s Crimson Vow set brings plenty of vampires with it appeared first on Destructoid.

'GOLDENCOMMUNITY'

[Update: The above Magic: Arena code expires today ??at 11AM ET, you still have a little bit ?to redeem it!]

While Wizards of the Coast has toned down the smorgasbord of free Magic: Arena code handouts, they do bust them out from time to time. There's a code for the start of every set traditionally, and sparing bonuses for people?? to input for free stuff. L??ike this new one that popped up this week.

The cause for the occasion is Magic: Arena's nomination for "best game community" at the Golden Joystick Awards, which Wizards decided to turn into a code. If you input the Magic: Arena code "GOLDENCOMMUNITY" in the storefront you'll net 1000 XP (enough for a level-up) as well as two random cosmetics (I got two Japanese-region alt-art styles for cards). You have until October 26, 2??021, to use it.

Remember that if you're on PC, the code can be copied and pasted into the storefront instantly. If you're on mobile, you're either going to need to log into the PC edition, or log into your Magic: Arena account from somewhere and enter it there. Yep,?? it's stil??l like that.

The time to complete the mastery [sea??son] pass for the first Innistrad set is rapidly shrinking, as Crimson Vow is poised to release next month on November 11. That's only a few weeks away! Set rotation has always been off-kilter every so often, and people are going to have to pony up for potentially new powerful cards pretty soon.

The post This new Magic: Arena code will g?et you ?a free level and cosmetics appeared first on Destructoid.

PLAYMID and BORROWEDTIME

The spooky Innistrad set is out now in Magic: Arena, and it brings a brand new standard rotation with it. This is the moment where most of your decks (if not all) blow up, and it's time to completely reinvent the meta on the fly. For me, it's one of the most exciting times of the year for Magic, before people s?tart to settle in on accepted decks in higher ranks. I'm also mostly just elated that Eldraine is gone ??and I won't see adventure decks every other game.

But another Magic: Arena set means more bugs, and this time it deals with the weekly win counter. As noted by the team, the launch of the set did not actually reset your weekly wins on launch (this typically happens so everyone can start completely fresh in the new expansion, and not miss out on any XP). To that end, you can use the code "BORROWEDTIME" before 8AM PT on September 23, and you'll get 4,000 free XP for your troubles. Magic: Arena has done this sort of thing fairly o??ften, though typically in the ea??rlier, more buggy days of its lifespan.

As for the next code on the docket, every expansion, including the Innistrad set, has received some sort of free pack code. This time it's "PLAYMID," which will net you free packs of the set. ??That code doesn't have a hard cutoff (at least for a while), as new seasonal set codes last quite a while.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQi3raUki7s

The post Magic: Arena’s Innistrad set is out, alongside of two codes for free stuff appeared first on Destructoid.

You have roughly a week until the current pass expires

Another recent game, another season pass to navigate. Oh sorry, "mastery pass." Magic: Arena is a little easier to follow compared to most games because seasons align with new set releases, but you still need to, in FOMO fashion, finish the pass or you miss out on the rewards forever. This new Magic: Arena code should help.

Shared on the official Magic: Arena Twitter account, the code is "SCALEUP." It'll grant you 3000 XP for your troubles, which is a substantial chunk of levels and possibly the last nudge you need to finish up the pass. The code expires on September 15, which is when Arena is gearing up for the Innistrad set.

It isn't very clear whether or not this code stacks with the "Midweek Magic" event, but just in case, you may want to queue up for that (all it takes is any historic deck)?; even if you jump into a game and concede so it "counts" your progress.

As it turns out here's also a recent Magic: Arena code that grants XP that a bunch of people totally missed. Doled out on September 4, the code is "PARCELMYR,"?? and it'll provide some XP, gold, and a few card bonuses.

Wizards of the Coast reminds people that you can redeem codes both online, and in the in-game Arena storefront on PC.? Annoyingly, the mobile edition still doesn't have a way to redeem codes in-game.

The post Use this code quick for bonus Magic: Arena XP appeared first on Destructoid.

Due on September 16 in Arena, with a paper launch shortly after

Wizards of the Coast is betting big that the return to the goth?ic horror-themed Innistrad theme is going to be a hit: so much so, that it's actually a multi-release set, the likes we haven't seen since Ravnica in 2018-2019. First up is Midnight Hunt, which is going to make a splash ?in just a few weeks. We got a chance to preview the set with Wizards, and get a look at some of the keywords and mechanics that are returning and debuting.

Worl?dbuilding design manager Meris Mullaley perfectly conveyed the potential of the set, noting that while the vibe was still "gothic horror," the art and lore teams were able to really draw out the "deeply spooky lurking shadows" element of the plane. Amazingly, this is actually shown in many cards, with little Easter egg shadows or a creepy relic just hanging out in a corner nonchalantly.

Mechanically, several very familiar things are returning, namely more dual lands that come in tapped unless you control two or more lands. The set will also feature daybound and nightbound keywords, which ar??e dual-purpose cards that transform. This is mostly used to showcase humans turning into werewolves after specific conditions are met.

Let's take Tovolar, ?Dire Overlord. As a three-cost legendary creature, at the beginning of your upkeep, if you control three or more wolves and/or werewolves, it becomes night. At that point you transform any number of human werewolves you control. and in nightbound form, Tovolor changes into the Midnight Scourge, a werewolf himself.

With all of the triggering conditions this will be much easier to play/keep track of in Magic: Arena. About that! We asked how this will all work in Arena, and principal product designer Mike Turian noted: "double-faced cards are easier to operate in Arena. It helps with the tracking...they do a good job of leveraging digital to help o??ut game?play." It definitely cuts down on the brain burn.

There's also a disturbed keyword that lets you pay a disturbed cost to cast something from your graveyard, as well as decayed, which prevents creatures from blocking, and forces them to be sacrificed at the end of combat. The coven keyword triggers when you control three or more creatures with different power levels (in other words, a 1/2, a 2/2, and a 3/2), which causes an effect. As far as planeswalkers go Arlinn is returning and she'll sport a werewolf form just like Tovolar (but ??with planeswalker capabilities), including daybound and nightbound shenanigans.

You'll be able to play Innistrad: Midnight Hunt on September 16 in Magic: Arena, followed by a pre-release from September 17-23, and a full release on ??September 24. After that, Innistrad: Crimson Vow is due out on November 12-18 in pre-release, with a November 19 wide date. Then we're on to the next set in January of 2022.? As Mulalley informs us, there will be a web fiction piece that covers events through Crimson Vow to bridge the gap: "it made a lot of sense for them to be two parts of a larger narrative," she says.

It's a bit rapid-fire, and standard is going to get a huge shakeup soon as rotation is looming. With Eldraine out of the picture (thank God), we ?should see some pretty interesting decks. Theros, Ikoria, and Core 2021 are set to cycle out as well.

You can fin?d a full gallery of Midnight Hunt cards below!

[gallery ids="282432,282433,28243?4,282435,28243??6,282437,282438,282439,282440,282441,282442,282443,282445,282446,282447,282448,282449"]

The post Magic’s new Innistrad set is bringing the pumpkin spice and werewolves appeared first on Destructoid.

A wizard is never late

We heard about the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set for Magic: The Gathering in passing earlier this year, b?ut now Wizards of the Coast is ready to actually talk about it �and give us our first pi??ece of art!

Naturally it's Gandalf, hanging out in The Shire near the start of The Fellowship of the Ring. We can see various Hobbits in the background enjoying his firework display, including one th?at is ce?rtainly Bilbo Baggins. The card is called "Gandalf: Friend of the Shire."

As for who is appearing, "Gollum, and Frodo" are all confirmed, in addition to the obvious reveal of Gandalf. While it will be printed in paper Magic, the Lord of the Rings set has been confirmed for Magic: Arena as well as Magic Online.

Interestingly, the partnership seems to be with Middle-earth Enterprises (MEE), and not the Tolkien estate directly. Meaning, the set will likely stick to everything MEE is entitled to: which includes events covered in Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King,? and the appendices, similar to how the Jackson films p?layed out. Still, I'm holding out for at least one Valar planeswalker.

Here's the rub on how this set actually interacts with Magic at large, straight from the Wizards of the Coast blog:

"Like all Universes Beyond product, the set will not be legal in Standard, but Modern (and Historic) legality provides the greatest opportunity for the most people to experience this beloved world while still holding Standard as its own space. While the set isn't focused on Modern like a Modern Horizons set might?? b??e, we wanted to give as many players the opportunity to play with these cards and enjoy them."

In short, it's not standard legal, meaning you won't be seeing it in some elements of competitive play. However, it will be used in modern and historic formats, which includes Magic: Arena with the latter.

You can find the entire 2021 Magic showcase below, with the Lord of the Rings talk starting at roughly 39:00 in.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrq5jk5J04&t

The post Lord of the Rings is coming to Magic in 2023, here’s a Gandalf tease appeared first on Destructoid.

One starts on August 10, the other on August 15, and the last one on August 20

[Update #2: Kaladesh Remastered is now live. The same as before, log into Magic: Arena, go to the "Premiere Draft Kaladesh Remastered" button on the main menu, and select the green [free] "start" button. You hav?e until August 20.??]

[Update: The first draft period is ending soon, so m?ake sure you log in and rare draft at the very least! You'll f?ind it under a green "start" button after selecting "Amonkhet Premiere Draft" on the main menu. If you resign immediately after drafting, you'll get 50 gems (premium currency) and one free pack)]

Magic: Arena rarely gives away free stuff other than a pack or two at the start of a new set, so when this news came across my desk, I perked up. As confirmed in a new blog update, we're getting three Magic free dr??afts sta?rting today, featuring different sets.

To be cle??ar, this is one "first entry fee" being waived for each event, which kicks off with Amonhkhet Remastered today. All of the??m will run for five days, so you have that entire time to log in once and partake.

Here's the rub. So if you're not a fan of drafting for whatever reason (or you'?re new and are a bit intimidated by the prospect), you can just dive into the?? draft, grab the free rewards, then cancel the run before you even play. This is typically known as "rare drafting," where instead of selecting cards that are actually beneficial and synergistic to your deck, you just take the rarest cards to save you from spending expensive wildcards.

There's no downside to it! J?ust bo?okmark this page if you need a reference point.

As a recap, here's all of the Magic free drafts:

• Amonhkhet Remastered (August 10- August 15)
• Kaladesh Remastered (August 15 - August 20)
• Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths (August 20 - August 26)

The post Magic: Arena is giving away t????hree free drafts starting today appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh look, some cards

So on August 12, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons will enter Magic: Arena. What does it mean? Well, it'll involve "hundreds" of Modern Horizons, Horizons 2, and 31 "new-to-Magic" cards entering the fray that are "exclusive to the digital edition of the game." While Arena has been up to its own tricks in the past and has influenced Magic as a whole, developments like this further show the impact that Arena has on Wizards as an organization.

Here's a look at a few cards we got from Wizards to showcase the ty??pe of things that Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is going for.

Players may recognize Gadrak, as the legendary dragon is fairly recent. Zabaz the Glimmerwasp is part of the festivities too, as is Static Discharge. As a two-cost, it deals X?? damage to any target, where X is 3 plus the ??number of charge counters on Static Discharge. Then put a perpetual charge counter on this card and each card named Static Discharge in your hand, library, and graveyard. Global cards? Count me in!

While we weren't provided images for the following Jumpstart: Historic Horizons cards, we also know that Destructive Digger, Arcbound Shikari, Dueling Coach, Arcbound Slasher, Steadfast Sentry, Battlefield Promotion, Arcbound Mouser, and Arcbound Prototype are making it in. These cards range from Modern Horizons to M20 to WAR, to STX, to J21 appearances in terms of sets, so this initiative is spanning multiple years of Magic.

Coupled with the already-previewed cards from Wizards, you can tell this set is going to be kind of crazy. Tome of the Infinite alone is a wacky card, conjuring "random cards" from its spellbook to your hand, including po?werful drops like Giant Growth and Lightning Bolt. As a reminder, according to Wizards, "when you play in Jumpst?art: Historic Horizon events, you'll automatically receive a mix of basic lands based on the packets you choose, balanced for the costs and activated abilities on the spells in your packets."

Again, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is aiming for an August 12 release in Magic: Arena.

[gallery ids="276611,276612,276613"]

The post Here’s an exclusive look at some Magic: Arena Jumpstart: Historic Horizons Set cards appeared first on Destructoid.

Ladder woes

With only a week left of this MTG: Arena season, it's time to rocket through the ranks from Diamond into Mythic. I'm typically not playing too much ranked these days, but with the release of standard 2022, I found myself picking it back up due to the shift in legal sets. There'??s been a lot of co??ntrol decks coming to life so the ladder feels extra tedious for me. I've made good progress with aggro to counter all the control however, particularly in monowhite/angels, so I'm hoping it'll be enough for the final stretch.

Depending on that experience, tonight will also include some beloved puzzle segments or Majora's Mask's water temple �chat's choice!

I hope to see you the?re for all the big brain strategy plays and to hear all about how your w??eek has been!

Drop by Destructoid’s Twitch channel every Friday starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to join us.

Miss last week’s Twitch stream? Catch the latest video-on-demand archive.

The post We’re? live on Twitch tonight to rise the ranks in MTG: Are??na appeared first on Destructoid.

With a bit of Baba Is You too

Welcome back to the start of another beautiful weekend! Today is especially exciting since I'll be taking my first look at Magic: Arena's newest set release, the D&D-themed Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, on tonight's stream. I?? haven't been following it up until release because I wanted to ma?ke my own first impressions, and WOW there are so many new cards and gimmicks that will be a fun challenge to learn.

Also, if you haven't heard, the ??sets that are making the current standard ladder borderline unplayable (Eldraine, Ikoria, etc.) have been rotated out in an exclusive and newly available standard ladder (Bo1 format only) and I'll probably look at brewing something for that too. I personally prefer and excel in Bo1 so this is ??refreshing for me.

When we've had our fun with Arena, we'll head over to Baba Is You, 'cos I haven't played that yet either and I've been itching for some puzzle games. From what little I've seen, Baba looks cute and cryptic, so The Witness has prepared me fully for that.

I hope to see you in chat tonight to let me know what you think about the current state of Magic, tips or ideas for puzzles and decks, h??ow your week has been, I want to hear it all!

Drop by Destructoid's Twitch channel every Friday starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to join us.

Miss last week's Twitch stream? Catch the latest video-on-demand archive.

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'PlayDND,' sneaky

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is out now in Magic: Arena, and will be fully released in paper form worldwide on July 23, 2021. But before that happens you can reap the benefits in Arena with three free packs: just like each set before it. This one has a rather sneaky subliminal code though, as it does?n't directly derive from the set; rather, it incorporates the inspiration behind th??e game.

The set might be Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, but the code is "PlayDND." That's with no spaces. Again, it'll grant you three free packs in Magic: Arena.

While Adventures in the Forgotten Realms seems to have launched swimmingly without any major errors, the developers did add one questionable element to the game: screen shaking. Each time something enters the battlefield (ETB), ?the screen has a shake effect. Like a lot of people I rushed to the options menu to find a?? toggle to turn it off, but there was none.

Some folks are reporting motion sickness due to the effect, and Wizards is "looking into" addressing it. Since I don't think anyone asked for it, you can take it out! But a toggle will do. For now, Magic: Arena free packs!

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This week went by SO fast! I still felt like I was in Tuesday yesterday. Moving to my new room and getting settled is going well, and I've picked up Ocarina of Time in regular streams again!

I was able to make my way (blind) through both the Water and Shadow Temples, but tonight we face the Spirit Temple. This game has so much content, I'm honestly surprised, and I'm sure there will be even more twists afterward that I didn't expect. We'll also be looking at the Friday night Magic: Arena game mode and see if we can't grab a few wins there before heading into Zelda. These temples are crazy complicated and cool, so I hope to see you there to solve them with me?!

Drop by Destructoid's Twitch channel starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to join us.

Miss last week's Twitch stream? Catch the latest video-on-demand archive.

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::Extremely Giorgio A. Tsoukalos voice:: Dungeons....

Magic: The Gathering's Dungeons and Dragons set is so thematic that the lands have flavor text. That was my main takeaway from attending an advanced preview event of the next set, which is ready to debut in both Magic: Arena and paper Magic next ?month. Wizards put an extraordinary amount of effort into this one.

According to Meris Mullaley worldbuilding and design manager on Magic, and James Wyatt, D&D and Magic writer, "no characters from the Magic universe appear in this set." That statement sets the tone for some of the new reveals, including memorable Forgotten Realms headliner Drizzt, as well as Bruenor Battlehammer?, Lolth Spider Queen (a planeswalker), Nadaar Selfless Paladin, Icingdeath, and Ellywick Tumblestrum. Oh, and "plenty of dragons," Mullaley sa??ys.

From what we've seen so far, the art is incredible, which is par for the course for Wizards in general. But they also have worked overtime here, designing cards that are "inspired by early monster manual art." 51 cards will get this treatment. The team confirms that "the most recent D&D set" was the core focus here, but there's ??plenty of referenc?es that go back decades.

One of the most interesting reveals during the presentation though had to be the venture keyword, linked to dungeons. Once a character enters play with/or a card triggers the venture keyword, players will either play one of three "dungeon" reference cards, or explore a subsequent room in an existing dungeon. Basically, there's a card that has a sequential order of rooms (from top to bottom) and you place a marker on it to denote "exploring" that ro??om. Each o??ne will confer a bonus for that player.

Cards have all sorts of interactions with venture, including instant adventuring or adventuring based on combat damage. They're kind of like sagas in that they're a l??ittle intricate, but the team confirms that "no card type can interact with them." They sound very fun in terms of the overall gimmick, but non-interaction could be a red flag for some.

My only fear is how the meta will shake up, and if this set will be impactful or not. Magic's standard meta has been somewhat stale as of late, with the same few archetypes dominating competitive play. I hope this set brings the flavor and is impactful, without going overboard in terms of power level like Eldraine did. Mullaley suggests "reading some cards aloud" like a D&D game. I think I might just do that when I play some kitchen table games with these cards in the future. There's so much of a crossover in terms of mechanics and theme with the two pr?operties, and i?t looks like they went all-out here.

It's out on July 8 in Arena, paper pre-release i?s July 16, and the g??lobal release is July 23.

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Again, it's 'Gameknights'

Magic: Arena periodically doles out new codes for hardcore and prospective players alike to use, which typically grant free packs. But ?this time around there's a new elusive full deck code in the wild: Gameknights.

This deck is called Avenging Angels, and is compliments ??of The Command Zone YouTube channel, who was set up with this bonus code from Wizards of the Coast. You have until June 28 to redeem it, the channel notes.

And here's a snapsh??ot of the cards that Gameknights will grant you:

For reference that's six rares (including one rare land) and one mythic rare.

Just like previous deck promos, it'll automatically build the cards and place it in your "decks??" section.

Avenging Angels is a fun little ride, providing some synergy with the angel tribal faction with a demon in the mix to boot. A fully built out version of this deck ?can also be viable in some ranks, and it mostly consists of newer cards to make it more flashy. Righteous Valkyrie is a standout card in case you were on the fence in terms of redeeming the code: it's something you'll be able to par??tially build out. For a three drop, it's exceedingly powerful.

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I'm always down for a bit of Jumpstart

Wizards of the Coast gave Magic: Arena fans a recent update for what's going on in June, and sifting through all?? of the news, my eyes immediately? went to Jumpstart.

What's Jumpstart? Well, it's a format that exists in both paper and digital Magic that lets players "smash" decks together. Boosters have 20 cards?? (all themed), and you smash two to?gether to have a legal "grab and go" deck. As you can imagine this is even easier to do in Arena, where everything is instant, and cards are comprised of the same concept.

All of that will be r?eturning to the game on June 4, running through July 8. It'll be 2,000 gold or 400 gems to play, and after your first two wins, you'll get a random rare or mythic. You can also play as long as you want during that time, as there's no limitations on entries.

Oh and as a reminder, the Historic Anthology V set is live now! That's 25 new cards that are being added to the Historic format of ??the game (read: old cards). For 25,000 gold or 4,000 g??ems you can snag four copies of each of them.

So not a who??le lot of news in terms of new features. A lot of that stuff will have to wait until the new set launches, and beyond.

The post Magic: Arena’s grab and go Jumpstart mode returns this week appeared first on Destructoid.

You gotta love low cost curves

Magic: Arena is still rolling along with a heavy focus on standard, but over the past few years, Wizard??s of the Coast has added several classic modes to help extend the life of the game.

"But what happens to my old cards" is always a question people ask in digital games (where resell value is zilch), and with the Historic format, Arena had an answer. Allowing folks to use their old stuff has been a boon for the game, especially as Wizards has steadily added cards in via their "Historic Antholog??y"?? system.

With the fifth set coming to the game, we were given five exclusi??ve cards to show off. Hailing from sets including, but not limited (ha) to Dragons of Tarkir, Innistrad, Scourge, and New Phyrexia, this pack adds a new wrinkle into historic play, all with very low cost curves.

I'll just take a second to say how much I appreciate cards like Dromoka's Command, which offer up multiple choices and decision points, especially at instant speed. Four, no less! And I'm a huge sucker for permanent global enchantments like Intangible Virtue, plus the potential for Stifle can get really nuanced in some Historic play. And Phyrexian mana (found on Vault Skirge) is....interesting!

It's a fun bunch!

Dromoka's Command

Intangible Virtue

Stifle

Vault Skirge

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