The Wizard creature type is a populous one across the history of Magic: The Gathering. Debuting in Magic’s first se??t, Alpha, in 1993 with the ever-present and not-quite-omnipotent “Tim�(aka Prodigal Sorcerer), Wizar??ds have since become something of a mascot creature type for the game.

With over 1,000 Wizards now populating Magic, blue dominates the type with over 500 Wizards in thei??r ranks. Green brings up the rear in terms of sorcerous sundries with only 32?? Wizard creatures. But all colors feature at least 30 Wizards, so it’s a creature type that you’re sure to run into when playing Commander �but what are the best Wizard cards for the format?

Grab your floppy pointed hats, a wand, a staff, a spellbook, or whatever talisman?? you need to help hone your spellcasting abilities, and let’s explore the finest Wizard cards for Commander.

Honorable Mentions

Voidmage Prodigy

A revelatory card upon release, as well as Magic Hall of Famer Kai Budde’s Invitational card, this Wizard lord turns al??l of your Wizards into walking Counterspells (the capitalization is merited, as the activation cost for the ability is double blue. While the game has seemingly passed this card by, as a player who came of age during the release of Onslaught, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least mention this mighty morphing powerhouse Wizard.

Arcanis the Omnipotent

Speaking of Ons??laught and powerful Wizards, how does Omnipotence sound? No, not the one you’re thinking of. This legendary Wiz??ard from Onslaught has a pretty bad rate (five mana for a 3/4 with no evasion), but the bonus is that you can tap it whenever you want to Ancestral Recall yourself. Again, the power level of this card is not ultra-high, but it did retain its rarity upon being reprinted in 2024’s Foundations, and it also makes for a great reanimation target for the first card on our list proper.

Top 20 Wizards for Commander

20. Bloodline Necromancer

While the majority of this list will feature blue creatures, we’ll kick things off with a premier black Wizar??d. Combining the black elemen??t of reanimation with the wizarding element of necromancy, this Vampire Wizard made its debut in the Commander 2017 release.

While five mana is fairly steep for a mere 2/2 flyer, it’s this creature’s triggered ability that really sings, especially when paired with cards that duplicate triggered abiliti??es such as Panharmonicon. Simply gently place a threatening,?? mana-intensive Wizard or Vamp in your graveyard, then play this nifty little Wiz to get it back �no questions asked. Pairs well with beefy Wizard lords such as Cyclone Summoner and Galecaster Colossus.

19. Talrand, Sky Summoner

This legendary Merfolk Wizard hails from the core set Magic 2013, and it has long been a favorite for spellslinging Commander decks. While this card has become a bit obsolete �cards are far stronger now than they were in 2012 when this card debuted �the rate of producing a 2/2 flying Drake to????ken for every instant or sorcery spell you play is still a nifty payoff for Wizard decks.

Talrand really shines when paired with cards that double (or even triple) your token generation, as well as cards that double up your triggered abilities, of which Wizard decks can happily apply multiples of. Still, this i??s an iconic card that can still be an important cog in spellslinger Commander deck archetypes. Also, this card simply has a great name, and "Sky Summoner" is an objectively cool ?title. It also happens to accurately describe this fishy fellow's creature-generating ability. When form meets function, one can't help but smile.

18. Niv-Mizzet, Parun

There have been a total of seven Niv-Mizzet iterations over the years, ?with four them being Izzet-colored and the other three costing WUBRG (all five colors). This version of Ravnica’s legendary Dragon Wizard hails from 2018’s Guilds of Ravnica. This card is a Commander classic, as it lets you draw a card? whenever any player �not just you �plays an instant or sorcery.

This should activate quite frequently for you if you’re the owner of this card, and this beefy Parun makes for an excellent option as your Izzet commander. Beyond that, multiple different variants of Niv-Mizzet go infinite with one another as well as with Cur??iosity-style effects that draw you cards upon damaging foes.

17. Docent of Perfection / Final Iteration

The? only true typal “lord�found here is this five-mana transforming Insect Horror from Eldritch Moon. While the front side of this card is certainly spicy for spellslinger Wizard deck variants, it’s actually the card’s backside (Final Iteration) that delivers a truly impressive boost to power and toughness for your myriad Wizards on the battlefield, including the ones that are produced whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell.

Beyond the Docent’s sheer power, this is a singularly flavorful card that directly references �and even features �a renowned card from a prior related set. Delver of Secrets remains a favorite archetype in the high-powered Legacy format, and its flipside, Insectile Aberration, ?is shown here as the upgraded Docent, and then, ultimately, the Final Iteration, completing the Delver’s transformation from devious Wizard to all-consuming Insect god.

16. Step Through

While not a Wizard creature, this?? five-mana sorcery features a spicy little activated ability that is perfectly suited to Wizard-focused Commander decks. Sometimes, there’s a specific Wizard you’re looking for, and you simply haven’t been able to find it through the various card-drawing mechanisms you have in place throughout your well-brewed Wizard deck. Enter Step Through’s wizardcycling ability.

Pitching this card from your hand and paying t??wo mana to nab any Wizard you want from your library is tremendous utility, and keeping this card in hand for special occasions can sometimes spell the difference between utter defeat and clean victory. Furthermore, it also works as an emergency double bounce spell as a last resort, but you’d definitely prefer to use it as a two-mana tutor spell.

15. Goblin Electromancer

A staple Goblin Wizard in Wizard decks and spells-matter decks of all stripes is this Izzet card that originally released in 2012 as part of the Return to Ravnica set. While it might not be the most overpowered card in the history of Magic, the?? ability to simply lower the cost of all of your instant and so??rcery spells by one colorless mana is often enough to transform Wizard decks from plodding, finicky piles to well-oiled machines.

Wizard decks are often focused on reaching a critical mass of spellcasting, and even if they’re not, the ability to lower the cost of counterspells, bounce spells, or other?? more control-oriented plays makes this two-mana Wizard a jack-of-all-trades that fits neatly into almost any deck that features its colors.

14. Flame of Anor

Introduced in Universes Beyond: The Lord of the Rings from 2023, this card represents one of Gandalf’s finest moments: his defeat of the Balrog after the Fellowship traipsed through the Mines of Moria. Seeing as Gandalf is among the most powerful and iconic Wizards throughout pop culture history, it’s no surprise to see one of his signature moments captured with a terrific Magic instant.

Of course, Gandalf being the adept Wizard that he is, this card’s modality is more effective when you control a Wizard as you cast it; instead of choosing one of three options, you get to choose two of three options �a supreme upgrade, especially when one of the options is drawing two cards. The most used modes chosen in Commander are likely to be drawing two cards and dealing five damage to target creature, though the artifact destruction is also a nifty option if one of your opponents has a particularly annoying trinket on the boa?rd.

13. Balmor, Battlemage Captain

Wizard decks have gotten many boosts over the years, especially ones that specialize in casting instant or sorceries. Cards with prowess, or cards that provide +1/+1 counters?? whenever you cast an instant or sorcery are perfect fits within a “spells matter�Wizard shell. One card that was first printed in 2022’s Dominaria United that perfectly fits into this theme is Balmor, Battlemage Captain.

This Izzet Bird Wizard gives all of your creatures trample and a +1/+0 boost whenever you cast an instant ?or sorcery. The trample addition is key here, as simply boosting power and toughness is often not enough for a gang of Wizards to get over th??e finish line �unless they have flying, of course. Balmor also serves as a terrific budget option as a Wizard deck commander, as it’s only an uncommon and was also reprinted in Foundations.

12. Wizards of Thay

An intriguing and highly synergistic Human Wizard, Wizards of Thay hails from the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set, which unveiled the entire team that was featured in the award-winning RPG from Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3, alongside this 3/3 Wizard with the quite rare myriad keyword (only 32 cards in Magic’s history feature this ability).

Debuting in Commander 2015 on the card Broodbirth Viper, this ability allows the creature that hosts the ability to duplicate its??elf and attack each other player in your Commander pod. With Wizards of Thay, this is especially useful, as that means it can lower the cost of your instant and s?orcery spells by a whopping four colorless mana. Oh, and this card also allows sorcery spells to be cast at instant-speed. As such, combat can truly become a nightmare for foes to deal with when you’re swinging away with Wizards of Thay.

11. Archmage Emeritus

This card originally released in Strixhaven: School of M?ages from 2021, and it features the magecraft ability. Unlike many other Wizard cards, magecraft allows players to benefit from not only casting spells, but also from copying them. This is a notable bonus, as other Wizards on this list as well as a bevy of spells can copy your instants and sorceries with ease.

Being able to draw cards upon play??ing or copying your spells is big game, as Wizard decks always want to have several answers in hand lest their foes aim to quash their well-laid plans. Recently reprinted in Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander, this card is gearing up to be a Commander staple, as its a?verage price point above $4 across all printings indicates.

10. Ertai Resurrected

Ertai has been a notable part of Magic lore for decades, and his name is featured on a total of seven cards, including three distinct cards of the man himself. While the original Ertai card, Ertai, Wizard Adept from Exodus, is somewhat underpowered by today’s standards ?and his follow-up card, E?rtai, the Corrupted from Planeshift is only a niche Commander option, it’s 2022’s Ertai Resurrected from Dominaria United that truly shines across multiple formats.

While a 3/2 for four mana isn’t great, the ability to counter a wide range of effects (spells, activated abilities and triggered abilities) or destroy a creature or planeswalker when Ertai enters makes this card an amazing Swiss Army knife that can answer ??a number of “kill-on-sight�threats, often in a surprising way, a??s the fact that this card counters triggered abilities can really stymy a foe’s game plan in unexpected ways.

9. Thassa’s Oracle

While Laboratory Maniac is also a Wizard, it’s this two-man?a Merfolk Wizard that deserves a spot on this list. Sure, the abilities are similar, but Thassa’s Oracle allows you to hav??e at least a few cards in your library for its instant-win scenario, whereas the Maniac leaves you completely denuded of anything in your library.

Beyond that, if your board is littered with a lot of blue pips after playing cards such as Future Sight, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Azami, Lady of Scrolls or any other cards with blue in their casting cost �which, if you’re playing Wizards, will likely be most of them �then the ability ??to win the game on the spot becomes even e??asier, making this tricky little Merfolk an unassuming yet powerhouse threat for Wizards.

8. Basalt Ravager

This fun finisher hails from the Kaldhe??im set, which introduced a number of Giant typal synergies. Of course, this Ravager just happens to be a Giant Wizard, so this card’s ability can also be used to brilliant effect in Wizard decks that want to stack the board with Wizard tokens or other inexpensive Wizard ?cards.

The real fun of this card is if you can duplicate the ability with cards such as Naban, Dean of Iteration, Harmonic Pro??digy, or Strionic Resonator (or, if you really want to get crazy, all three). Being able to blast any target �likely an opponent �for, let’s say, eight damage three or four times will almost certainly be enough to finish them off. This card is a ravager, indeed.

7. Riptide Laboratory

Another way to re-trigger some of your Wizards�best abilities is with this nifty little utility land. Originally releasing amidst the typal cornucopia of 2002’s Onslaught, this nonbasic allows you to tap it and pay one co??lorless and one blue mana to return any one of your Wizards to your hand. Of course, this can be used to save that creature from removal, or to simply ambush your foes with the various strong ETB effects that Wizard cards are home to.

For example, return your Ertai Resurrected to your hand for future countering abilities. Or bring back your Basalt Ravager to dome your foe for big dam??age based on the number of Wizards you have. Or return your Bloodline Necromancer to your hand to reanimate another big-time threat from your graveyard. The possibilities are nearly endless, so toss this land in your next Wizard-based Commander deck and don’t look back.

6. Adeliz, the Cinder Wind

With a?n ability similar to Balmor, Adeliz is actually the slightly stronger option, though she lacks the beneficial trample keyword, and she is only limited to boosting Wizards �not all creatures. Still though, in a Wizards typal deck, that should be pretty much all your creatures anyway, so that limitation shouldn’t adversely affect the impact this uncommon Izzet legendary from the Dominaria set has on the game.

This card having haste makes it quite the potent threat, as you can throw it down and then immediately attack. Then, next turn, the fun can really begin. ????Whether you have a deck full of powerhouse red combat tricks or other fun shenanigans, all of your Wizards going forward will get a +1/+1 boost whenever you play an instant or sorcery. Combine that with cost-reducing cards like Wizards of Thay or Goblin Electromancer, and you’ve got the makings of an unstoppable freight train that your opponents better act quickly to stop or they’ll be toast.

5. Dualcaster Mage

This fun three-mana Human Wizard debuted in the Commander 2014 set and is a notab??le piece of tech for spellslinger decks, especially those that employ a critical mass of Wizards. This card is notable for being able to go infinite in a variety of ways, like with Twinflame, Molten Duplication and even Saw in Half from the “Un-set�Unfinity.

This card pairs beautifully with Archmage Emeritus, as you’re able to draw a card on the casting as well as on the copying of the spell you choose to duplicate. It can also put you far ahead on board when paired with another notable legendary Wizard�/p>

4. Naban, Dean of Iteration

One of the best ways to maximize the plethora of ETB tr??iggers that Wizard cards employ is v?ia this legendary Human Wizard from 2018’s Dominaria set. Being able to double up any abilities that pop upon your Wizards entering the battlefield is surely going to be a massive swing in favor within your well-crafted Wizards deck.

Do note that this ability includes cards�abilities that are already on the battlefield (such as Docent of Perfection’s or ?Talrand, Sky Summoner’s) as well as cards with the actual ETB effect (such as Basalt Ravager or Ertai Resur?rected).

3. Azami, Lady of Scrolls

Originally printed in 2004’s Champions of Kamigawa set, this legendary Human Wizard features an amazing activated ability: Simply tap an untapped Wizard you control to draw a card�that’s it! This is a brilliant effect, as Wizards often care about drawing a card or feature cards that are able to? go infinite via card-drawing combos (looking at you, Niv-Mizzet).

Certainly, Azami ca??n go infinite with multiple different cards, such as past fabled combo-enablers like? Mind Over Matter and Intruder Alarm, but perhaps Azami’s best infinite combo partner is The Locust God from 2017’s Hour of Devastation�as you can get infinite card draw, infinite draw triggers and other sweet payoffs in combination with a number of cards that play with creature types.

2. Inalla, Archmage Ritualist

Perhaps the best option to choose as your Wizard commander is this legendar??y Grixis Human Wizard that was originally released in the Commander 2017 set. Featuring the eminently rare eminence ability (see what I did t?here?), this Wizard allows you to duplicate any nontoken Wizard that enters the battlefield under your control by paying one colorless mana, though those tokens are exiled at end of turn.

However, with the right combinations of cards �such as cards with impactful ETB triggers �Inalla can be a nightmare matchup. As a commander, Inalla is a top-flight choice for Wizard decks as she opens up the best options in that creature type’s most populous colors: blue, black, and red. Of course, while her eminence ability is the eyebrow-raiser, her other ability is the one that can end games quickly with some spicy combos, as tapping five untapped Wizards to force the target player to lose seven life is pretty trivial in the righ??t circumstances.

1. Harmonic Prodigy

Many of the cards on this list feature game-breaking triggered abilities or stupendously powerful ETB abilities and others, like Naban, Dean of Iteration, can double up those triggers so long as they’re ETB abilit??ies. What if there was a two-mana Wizard that could double up any triggered ability, whether they be ETBs or static ones? You’d get Harmonic Prodigy.

This card pulls double duty as an amazing enabler for both Wizard and Shaman typal strategies, but in a Wizard-focused deck, Harmonic Prodigy is the engine that makes your entire deck hum. Want to draw another card via Archmage Emeritus? Sure thing. How ab?out doubling up tokens created by Docent of Perfection, Talrand or Inalla? You got it. Doubling up the power and toughness boost Wizards receive from Adeliz? Harmonic Prodigy’s ?got you. This card’s supreme utility and power cannot be overstated, and to top it all off, it’s got prowess, so it gets a +1/+1 power and toughness boost (actually +2/+2 because it’s a triggered ability) whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell. An amazing creature from Modern Horizons 2, and definitely the best Wizard card for Commander ever printed.

Wizards For the Win

Perhaps it’s because the Wizard creature type shares a name with the parent company that’s been responsible for Magic: The Gathering since its founding in 1993, Wizards of the Coast. Or perhaps it’s simply that fans of the fantasy genre enjoy a character who can employ magic to succeed. Either way, Wizards will remain a popular and important part of Magic forever, and I hope you enjoyed reading about the bes??t studious spellslingers in Commander.

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A race across worlds, wars with dragons, and deep-space voyages barely scratch the surface of what's to come for Magic: The Gathering in 2025.

Wizards of the Coast's world-renowned trading card game is scheduled for six new set releases this year, three in-world and three Universes Beyond crossovers. The in-world sets are Aetherdrift, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and Edge of Eternities, while the Universes Beyond sets feature collaborations with Square Enix's Final Fantasy and Marvel's Spider-Man.

Check out the timeline below with each? s??et's official release date and some extra details.

Aetherdrift

February 14, 2025

After the enormous multiversal war in March of the Machine, gateways called omenpaths opened, allowing beings other than planeswalkers to travel between worlds. This new status quo allowed Wizards of the Coast to do something unprecedented: one set featuring three different worlds. It accomplished this feat through a death race across Avishkar, Amonkhet, and Muraganda, with the g?rand prize being the powerful Aetherspark. Familiar faces Chandra and Daretti return, attempting to claim the artifact, which also serves as the set's headliner card.

Tarkir: Dragonstorm

April 11, 2025

The wor??ld of Tarkir returns after a 10-year respite, and the dragons are returnin??g along with it. Sarkhan Vol, who also returns in this set, orchestrated their comeback. The planeswalker traveled through time and prevented the dragons' destruction by reviving Ugin, which allowed them to reign supreme over Tarkir. Lastly, the wedge gameplay that spawned in the original Tarkir set is the focus of the new one.

Final Fantasy

June 13, 2025

Magic: The Gathering adds another unbelievable crossover to its repertoire, Final Fantasy. The set features cards based on characters, events, and game mechanics from every one of the franchise's 16 main installments. Cards adorned with Cloud, Noctis, Terra, and even chocobos are playable in the new release. Artwork was handled by artists at Square Enix and Wizards of ??the Coast, recreating the classics and developing original pieces jus??t for the crossover. The Final Fantasy release begins the new policy of Universes Beyond sets moving forward being legal in all constructed formats.

Edge of Eternities

August 1, 2025

On the outskirts of the multiverse lies the Edge, a starfield bordering the Blind Eternities, where alien races use never-before-seen technology and types of magic to struggle for control of the Sothera system. Despite the set's focus on unfamiliarity, the planeswalker Tezzeret is a recognizable presence in the Edge, vying for power in the galaxy. Wizards of the Coast calls Edge of Eternities a science fantasy in the vein of Bethesda Softworks' Starfield.

Spider-Man

Late 2025

Wizards of the Coast teamed up with Marvel last year to release a Secret Lair superdrop featuring card designs inspired by five superheroes from the comic publisher's catalog. This year, that partnership continues with an entire booster set inspired by Spider-Man. The only confirmation of its re?le??ase date so far is the second half of 2025, but it could drop in October if it follows the pattern of the previous four sets.

Unannounced Universes Beyond Set

TBA

Confirmed for the fourth quarter of 2025, Magic: The Gathering's final release of the year largely remains a secret. The release is a tentpole set, and it features randomized booster packs for the Limited format and decks for Commander play. Rumors that the set is based on Avatar: The Last Airbender began swirling last month when cosmetic bundles on Magic: Arena's online shop featured references to components heavily utilized in the lore of the 2005 Nickelodeon cartoon. Ironically, Spongebob Squarepants, another Nickelodeon cartoon, ??is confirmed as a Secret Lair release in 2025.

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It was only a matter of time before the two fantasy worlds collided, and on June 13, 2025, Magic: The Gathering will finally join forces with the world of Final Fantasy to bri??ng a stunning new set of cards to the table.

As part of MagicCon: Las Vegas, Wizards of the Coast have revealed a bunch of new sets that will be released at some point in 2025, and while we’ll get into the other sets a little further down, the focus here is definitely on the Final Fantasy cards and the beau??tiful examples of artwork that we’ve already seen. 

The set will feature not only well known faces from across the 16 game franchise, but also locations, spells, and mounts. It will be the largest single collection of artwork from the franchise as well, featuring artwork by both Wizards of the Coast artists and renowned Final Fantasy illustrators. 

My Final Fantasy XIV fangirl heart is overjoyed at the inclusion of an Emet-Selch card, as well as other familiar faces like Kefka from FFVI and Sephiroth from FFVII. There’s also a Post Moogle that’s beyond adorable, and an illustration of Tidus and Yuna wrapped in an embrac?e. 

I’ve got to be honest, I’ve managed to avoid being pulled into the world of Magic: The Gathering thus far, but this might be the set that breaks me. In fact, there’s no might about it, I’ll be pre-ordering this as soon as I possibly can. If you want to do the same, you can sign up for updates via the Wizards of the Coast website. 

All Magic: The Gathering sets revealed at MagicCon: Las Vegas

If you’re no?t into Final Fantasy, here are the other sets that were also revealed during MagicCon: Las Vegas:

Innistrad: Remastered (January 24)

This reprint of the Innistrad set first released in 2011 will be the first to release in 2025. If you’re a fan of the gothic horror world filled with vampires and werewolves, then you’ll know what to expect from Innistrad: Remastered. However, there will be a new type of card included, cal??led Headliners, which are described as “the most excitin?g card to collect in a releaseâ€? 

Aetherdrift (February 14)

The first Standard-legal set of 2025, Aetherdrift will follow a “death raceâ€?theme in which residents from three different planes in the MTG?? universe will come to together to compete for the Aether Spark. Apparently it’s a trophy that provides an incredible amount of power to the winner. 

Tarkir: Dragonstorm (April 11)

Tarkir: Dragonstorm will be set on the plane of Tarkir, and will see five clans battle it out against a surge of lethal dragons. This set will include some familiar faces,?? including Sarkhan and the spirit dragon Ugin. 

Edge Of Eternities (August 1)

When Edge of Eternities is released in August, MTG will be jetting off into space for this first-time space opera. Explore b?eyond the edges of the known multiverse in an area known as the Solthera system, ?and encounter a familiar yet long-absent villain, Tezzeret. 

Marvel's Spider-Man (TBA 2025)

Although we have no specific release date for this Spider-Man themed expansion, it will work nicely alongside the soon-to-be-released Marvel themed Secret Lair Superdrop, which is coming in November. 

Secret Lair x SpongeBob SquarePants

I think you could be forgiven if you didn’t see this one coming, but yes you read that correctly. SpongeBob, and likely the rest of Bikini Bottom, is being brought into the Magic: The Gathering universe. There’s no specific release date for this one, and I’m interested to se?e how it goes, so watch this space.

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As we approach 2024's spooky season, Wizards of the Coast is ramping up its Secret Lairs. We've already got an entire haunted house set on the way with Duskmourn, but now there are more and more side sets to collect, like this Chucky Secret Lair Drop.

The Secret Lair x Chucky Drop is the perfect complementary set for Duskmourn. As players explore this haunted house realm within Magic: The Gathering, they'll encounter all sorts of horrors that would spook a normal person in any setting. Chucky is by far one of the most terrifying horror movie characters out there, and seeing the franchise enter MTG at this crucial point just feels so right. Each card looks incredible and will add an unsettling feeling for opponents when they ??see it because they know something bad is about to happen.

Every card in the Secret Lair x Chucky Drop

Below, I've listed every card in the Secret Lair x Chucky Drop. Each one, as you'd expect, features incredible artwork that's out of this world. If you're planning on crafting some new decks with all the Duskmourn cards, this is a set you should definitely be looking t?o loo?p in.

• Chucky: A 4/3 Legendary Creature Demon Berserker. Whenever an attacking creature dies, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. Chen Chucky enters, until your next turn, creatures your opponents control attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.
• Sorry Jack...Chucky's Back: Enchantment. Pay 2 life and 1 Black Mana: Return target creature from your graveyard to your hand.
• Tiffany, Bride of Chucky: A 2/3 Legendary Creature, Demon Rogue with Deathtouch. Boast - Pay 1 Black Mana, and target player searches their library for a card, then shuffles and puts that card on top.
• Friends to the End: Sorcery. Strive - This spell costs 2 more Red Mana to cast for each target beyond the first. Choose any number of target creatures you control. For each of them, create a token that's a copy of that creature, except it has haste. Exile those tokens at the beginning of the next end step.
• Play Pals Factory: Artifact. Whenever a nontoken creature enters, if Play Pals Factory is untapped, that creature's controller creates a 1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token.

This set goes live on the Secret Lair website on September 30, 2024, and will cost you $30 to pick up. It's worth signing up to be notified of when it goes live because of the new way that Secret Lair drops work. Instead of? being printed to demand, only a limited number of each set is now ever?? made, so you must get your order in fast if you want to pick them up.

The post All cards in the Secret Lair x Chucky Drop appeared first on Destructoid.

Wizards of the Coast has announced a third Hatsune Miku Secret Lair Superdrop, and it looks just as gorgeous as the first two. The Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Electric Entourage Superdrop launches on September 30,?? 2024, and it's one you won't w?ant to miss.

The Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Electric Entourage Superdrop consists of five Planeswalker cards around which you could easily build a deck. While, of course, they're reskinned versions of cards we already know from Magic: The Gathering, the artwork is what we're all here for. If you want a gorgeous deck, or to simply add to your collection with some new Secret Lair cards, this is a great Superdrop to get in on because the Hatsune Miku ones have been incredibly popular in the past.

Every card in the Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Electric Entourage Superdrop

Below, I've listed every card in the Secret Lair x Hatsune Miku: Electric Entourage S?uperdrop and what their abilities are. The names are quite difficult to work out because, at the time of writing, all I have is the image above to go on. The abilities are easy, though, since the original cards?? are already out in the wild.

• Miku, Voice of Power: (3) Legendary Planeswalker. +2 - Create a 1/1 green Elf Druid creature token with "Tap to add 1 Green Mana." -2 - Destroy target artifact or enchantment. -6 - Draw a card for each green creature you control. Miku, Voice of Power can be your commander.
• KAITO, Mysterious Mayhem: (5) Legendary Planeswalker. +1 - Scry 1, then draw a card. -2 - Return target creature to its owner's hand. -8 - You get an emblem with "Whenever an opponent casts his or her first spell each turn, counter that spell."
• Miku, Divine Diva: (4) Legendary Planeswalker. +2 - You gain 1 life for each creature you control. -2 - Create three 1/1 white soldier creature tokens. -5 - Destroy all other permanents except for lands and tokens.
• Luka, Traveling Sound: (3) Legendary Planeswalker. +1 - Search your library for a swamp card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. -3 - Target creature gets +X/+X or -X/-X until end of your turn, where X is the number of swamps you control. -6 - You get an embelm with "Swamsp you control have 'Tap to add four Black Mana to your energy pool'."
• Rin & Len, Harmony Incarnate: (5) Legendary Planeswalker. +1 - Draw a card, then discard a card. +1 - Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains first strike and trample until end of turn. -8 - Draw four cards. When you do, this card deals damage to any target equal to the number of cards in your hand.

Note that Wizards of the Coast has changed how Secret Lair Superdrops work. It used to be that you could pre-order a??t any point during a certain window of time before the Superdrop was closed forever. Those orders were then printed to demand and shipped out.

However, a new system, which Magic: The Gathering players really aren't fans of, now sees a set number of each Superdrop printed. You'll need to wait in a queue on the Secret Lair website t?o put in your order, but a bot or scalper could get in ahead of you and take all the card??s for themselves.

Sign up f?or alerts if you want to get these cards because I guarantee they'll sell out quickly. The only way to ensure you get a pack is by being available ??on September 30, 2024, and at the Secret Lair website's disposal for at least an hour.

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Wizards of the Coast has revealed yet another Ghostbusters and Secret Lair crossover for Magic: The Gathering. We'v?e had an entire set dedicated to Slimer, but this one focuses on the animated TV series, something many of ??us grew up watching.

First, we had Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! as a Superdrop, and now we have Secret Lair X The Real Ghostbusters as another. This second set looks at various episodes from throughout The Real Ghostbusters TV show, containing hand-picked moments that fit well with the mechanics of the cards they've been used for. The artwork is reminiscent of the original show, too. It's a nice touch I love as both a fan who watched the series growing up and someone who enjoys Magic: The Gathering today.

Every card in the Secret Lair x The Real Ghostbusters Superdrop

Below, I've listed every card in the Secret Lair X The Real Ghostbusters Superdrop, so you know what's coming and wheth?er you want it for you?r decks. The last set was all about building up a graveyard and then bringing those creatures into the game. This set instead focuses on clearing the graveyard.

• Ecto-1: A */* Artifact Vehicle. Tap to exile up to two target creatures from a single graveyard. Ecto-1's power and toughness are each equal to the number of cards exiled with it. Crew 2.
• Ghostbuster's Patch: Instant, choose one -

  • Ghostbuster's Patch deals 4 damage to target player or planeswalker.
  • Permanents you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
  • Target creature gains double strike until the end of turn.

• Careful Study: Sorcery. Draw two cards, then discard two cards.
• Answer the Call: Instant. Search your library for a creature card, reveal that card, put it into your hand, then shuffle.
• Total Containment Failure: Sorcery. Pay 2 black mana to Suspend 3. Each player exiles all creature cards from their graveyard, then sacrifices all creatures they control, then puts all cards they exiled this way into the battlefield.

As you can see, all of these cards are geared towards getting cards out of graveyards and then empowering their owner. I particularly love Ecto-1 because you could very easily combine it with a card that throws a few creatures into your graveyard and create feedback loop that makes a massive monster you can wipe out your opponents with. I also love how Ghostbuster's Patch is a fantastic juxtaposition of something all Ghostbusters fans love, but if you come up against that, it's going to be terrif??ying.

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Wizards of the Coast has revealed the Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! Superdrop. This is yet another very special collaboration between Magic: The Gathering and an iconic franchise that forms part of the TCG's ??Unive??rses Beyond theme.

The Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! Superdrop does exactly what I think a few of us have wanted for a long time. Ghostbusters is finally coming to Magic: The Gathering through these cards, kicking things off not with the characters you know and love from the classic movies and more modern takes like the reboot, series, and even video games but with one who has been the face of it since day one. Of course, I'm talking about Slimer because there really is no other service you're gonna call ??when you see its face.

When is the Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! Superdrop release date?

The release date for the Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! Superdrop is September 30, 2024. You can sign up to receive an email alert when the Superdrop goes on sale on the Secret Lair website. I can't recommend this enough if you desperately ?want the set because of how Secret Lairs are now sold.

For those of you who aren't aware, Secret Lair Superdrops used to be put up for pre-order for a few weeks before those pre-orders closed forever. This meant that everyone who wanted to p?ick up a Superdrop could do so at their leisure.

However, the system has been changed. There is now only a limited supply of every Superdrop available for sale, and once they're sold out, they're gone. This has caused some controversy among the Magic: The Gathering community because the Secret Lair website isn't set up to stop scalpers using bots to buy all the stock and r??esell it for a profit.

All cards in the Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! Superdrop

At the time of writing, five cards have been revealed for the Secret Lair x Ghostbusters: Slimer! Superdrop. I've listed every card we're aware of below, alongside their ab?ilities, so you can start crafting a deck that uses every single one ??ahead of time.

• Slimer: Voracious Apparition - A 0/0 Legendary Creature, Ooze. As Slimer enters, you may exile two creature cards from your graveyard. If you do, he enters as a copy of one of those cards with a number of additional +1/+1 counters on him equal to the power of the other card.
• Slimed - A 1-cost Instant, Split Second. Counter target activated or triggered ability. If a permanent's ability is countered in this way, activated abilities of that permanent can't be activated this turn.
• Slimer's Feast - A 2-cost Sorcery. Each player discards their hand, then draws cards equal to the greatest number of cards a player has discarded this way.
• Escape Containment - A 4-cost Sorcery. Demonstrate. Mill five cards, then return a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
• Pernicious Deed - A 1-cost Enchantment. Pay X to Sacrifice Pernicious Deed: Destroy each artifact, creature, and Enchantment with mana cost X or less, where X is the amount of mana you tapped to Sacrifice Pernicious Deed.

I really like this Superdrop. It's ver??y much one that will suit decks that focus on building up a big graveyard and then pulling massive creatures in for lower costs. My favorite addition to a deck like that from this Superdrop is Slimed because you can put a pause on any attempts from your opponent to stop you from pulling that 10/10 out of your graveyard and into play to destroy them.

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Disney Lorcana's sixth major set is called Azurite Sea. It brings characters from Big Hero Six and just about everybody from Rescue Rangers to the TCG in a fresh n?ew s??etting: The Azurite Sea. Characters take to the seafaring setting with brilliant abilities to build a new deck around.

The Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set was revealed during September 2024's Lorecast livestream. It's one that's been in the works since the game's creation and brings some very exciting cards to the game. As you'd expect, the set can be used to build upon decks from every previous set, but you could also build a brand new one from cards you pick up specifically from Azurite Sea and still potentially beat your opponents withou??t too many issues.

Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set release date

The release date for the Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set is November 15, 2024 in hobby stores, and November 25, 2024 for all other major ret?ailers. This means you can pay a whole ten days early if you head to your local game store to take part in a launch or pre-release event.

Ravensburger has explained that it's growing the Disney Lorcana netwo?rk with retailers worldwide. While there's always going to be a huge focus on events at Disney Resorts, local game stores are a huge part of why this game has succeeded. The Shimmering Skies Gateway Box didn't hurt either. That's why the creator wants to double down on the local and entry-level element, opening the game up for even more newcomers.

Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set information

The story of the Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set sees the Illumineers head out into dangerous ??waters in search of a more experienced Illumineer to help them fix the Great Illuminary. To do this, they'll sail the Azurite Sea and encounte??r all sorts of foes who want to control the realm.

You can actually find the Azurite Sea mentioned on a couple of older cards, namely Monstro, Whale of a Whale, and Denahi, Avenging Brother. What I love most about it is that it takes you to a seafaring setting and brings Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet into the fra??y one again, but this time the hero of his own deck.

Ravensburger has revealed several cards from the set on its official site already. As you'll see, almost every major character, at least the ones of note, from Big Hero Six and Rescue Rangers has made it to the set.

At the time of writing, I've not seen any new Peter Pan cards, which is strange because the pirates from that franchise w?ould fit right in here. Of course, Ravensbu?rger has to keep some things secret until release day.

Where to buy the Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set

The first place you should look to buy the Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set is your local game store. These are the businesses where you'll get to play with a lot of other players, so they're worth supporting if you can. However, if?? you can't buy from a local store, I have a few online suggestions for you.

• Amazon (US & UK): Amazon is a reliable retailer we all use now and then. The prices for cards here can be a little steep, but it'll have a lot more stock than your local store or other retailers who might run out early.
• Magic Madhouse (US & UK): I've used Magic Madhouse a few times for Disney Lorcana orders, and they always send products promptly. It's not as expensive as Amazon, but it's still fairly pricey if you're buying a few booster boxes.
• Chaos Cards (US & UK): Chaos Cards is another very reliable retailer that I trust with my orders. For Disney Lorcana, it's not too expensive. You can even get a discount for buying multiple booster boxes and earn points towards discounts on every order.
• Axion Now (UK Only): Axion Now is a decent retailer, one of the biggest in the UK for Magic: The Gathering. It's a little slow on the uptake with Disney Lorcana, but it does stock every set and will be a good place to buy from if you can't find Azurite Sea elsewhere.
• Ravensburger (US & UK): Ravensburger makes Disney Lorcana, so of course it sells sets. However, you're only going to get the latest sets here, and they're roughly $20 more than your local game store will offer them. But they're a good last stop if you're searching everywhere and can't find Azurite Sea on any other website.

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During the September 2024 Lorecast, Ravensburger revealed the sixth set for Disney Lorcana, Azurite Sea. The set introduces characters from Big Hero 6 as the Illumineers search for someone experience?d enough to help repair the Great Illuminary.

Hot on the heels of the launch of the Shimmering Skies set, the Azurite Sea set for Disney Lorcana expands the universe yet again with characters such as Baymax, Hiro Hamada, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Go Go Tomago, and Fred. But the set isn't all about Big Hero 6, adding Chip and Dale, Gadget Hackwrench, Monterey Jack and Zipper from Chip ’n�Dale Rescue Rangers for the first time as well. This set is slated for release ?on November 15, 2024, meaning you haven't got long to wait at ??all.

A new wave for Lorcana

The Disney Lorcana Azurite Sea set looks incredible. While Big Hero 6 is obviously the main focus with new characters, it's Treasure Planet I'm excited about. The set brings two new decks to the game: An Emerald/Sapphire deck featuring Go Go To?mago and Gadget Hackwrench, and my personal favorite, an Amber/Ruby deck with none other than Jim Hawkins and Tigger.

Stitch of Lilo and Stitch will also be a big part of this set. In addition to looking great in every piece of artwork he's featured in, he'll be the star of the Stitch Collector’s Gift Set. This is an interesting box set you can pick up for $49.99 that includes four Azurite Sea booster packs and a special Stitch-??Alien Buccaneer promo card?? with a water-inspired foil treatment.

In addition to this new set, Ravensburger also announced the dates for the next two Disney Lorcana tournaments during the ?same Lorecast. The details for these, the next North American and European tournaments??, are as follows.

• December 6-8, 2024 | Disneyland Paris Resort â€?Disney Newport Bay Club
• January 10-12, 2025 | Disneyland Resort California â€?Disneyland Hotel

Anyone who has qualified through regional Challenge events this year will be given a badge for the Championship tournament that entitles them to access to the entire event. If you're planning a flying visit to either resort and want to get in on the competition, now is the time to do something about it. Hopefully, Pete, Game Referee doesn't cause a scene, but you never know.

The Azurite Sea set will have been out for roughly a month by the time the championship takes place, so all the latest and most powerful cards will be on full display. I'm excited to see if any Treasure Planet cards come along to break the meta or form part of either?? event's winning deck.

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The creators behind the Flesh & Blood TCG, Legend Story Studios, has revealed what it's doing to celebrate the game's 5th anniversary. In addition to an event taking place in stores worldwide, t??here w?ill also be a tournament and a rare hero card to grab to celebrate the game's birthday.

The best part of Flesh & Blood's 5th anniversary for all players is that Crimson Haze, known to many fans as a vengeful ninja who helped get them into the game, is returning as the Ira, Scarlet Revenger. This is a new version of Ira, a hero card that anyone can get by heading down to their local game store and participating in a 5th anniversary celebration event. The card will be tournament legal, so it's worth picking up even if you don't know where it's going to fit in your decks because you don't need to worry about any bans and restrictions for it.

Ira is only the beginning

The 5th anniversary celebration events will take plac??e between November 1-3, 2024, but on November 3, 2024, specifically, the World Championships: Osaka will take place. Participants at the World Championships will get an exclusive Japanese language anime art version of Ira, Scarlet Revenger, a real token to ??remember the event with.

I love this because it's an event-exclusive item that will retain a decent amount of value. Disney Lorcana doesn't make its debut in Japan until 2025, so it feels like Flesh & Blood is keep??ing ahead of the competition and one step ahead? in a way.

Anyone traveling to Osaka to watch the event can also pick up an exclusive souvenir package that contains a 5th Anniversary Pack featuring Ira, Scarlet Revenger, a set of limited edition Japanese language anime art heroes for Dorinthea Ironsong, Nuu, Alluring Desire, Viserai, Rune Blood, an exclusive playmat, sleeves, and deckbox. This sounds a lot like the MTG Festival in a Box product, but in this instance, it's exclusive to attendees of t?he ev??ent.

There will also be Japanese language anime versions of Dorinthea, Nuu, and Viserai at the event, but details on these cards are light at the time of writing. More 5th anniversary celebrations will take place over the course of October, so it's worth keepin??g an eye out for announcements.

Anyone who doesn't want to miss out on these Japanese-language cards might need to book a trip to Osaka because I don't know if they'll ever be made available again. As for the local game store tournaments, each store will likely announce them individually, but keep checking the official Flesh & Blood website for details just in case.

Osaka is a long way to go t?o celebrate a TCG, especi??ally when even companies like Wizards of the Coast offer a fan pack for physical events that anyone can purchase if they can't attend. It'll be interesting to see what else Legend Story Studios has in store for fans as we get closer to the World Championships and the 5th anniversary celebrations.

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Every TCG evolves over time, and Flesh & Blood is no exception. Ahead of the game's fifth an?niversary and the release of the Rosetta set, the creators wanted to share the most updated banned and restricted card lists so that everything else can be enjoyed to the full?est.

Bans and restrictions aren't put in place in Flesh & Blood to bring the game's meta back to what it was. They're used to help keep the game fair and remove damaging combos that might compromise the game's integrity or just not be fun to play with or against. It's important to continuously change the game b?ecause the player base ca??n find those making the game can't because they see it through a different lens. That's why the following bans and restrictions have been brought into place from September 4, 2024.

All card bans and restrictions in Flesh & Blood for September 2024

From September 9, 2024, the following Flesh & Blood cards are banned in Classic Constructed? and Bli?tz games.

• Art of War
• Bonds of Ancestry
• Cash In
• Orihon of Mystic Tenets
• Tome of Aetherwind
• Tome of Divinity
• Tome of Fyendal
• Tome of Firebrand

From September 9, 2024, the following cards ar??e restricted in Living Legend games.

• Bonds of Ancestry: A deck can only include one card called Bonds of Ancestry.

These bans and restrictions are all part of Legend Story Studios' effort to bring Flesh & Blood closer to its core values. With so many sets introduced over the past five years, it feels the game has gotten away from itself a little. Newer games like Disney Lorcana haven't experienced this yet, but others, such as Magic: The Gathering, have, and newer sets have to compensate?? for older cards. Of course, more bans and restrictions will be added or adjusted over time to keep the game in line with its vision, so many of these may be reverted i??f new cards come along to keep them in check.

This time around, the banned cards have a long legacy of being part of Flesh & Blood, but they need to be removed for the time being. The game has changed over the past five years into something a lot more solid and enjoyable, and these cards provide a lot of power ??that now mak?es a deck overpow?ered and unfair to play against. I think the intention here is to bring the game into a state where it feels fairer right before the Rosetta expansion comes along with new cards that fans will almost certainly find a new meta within.

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During the Tokyo Toy Show 2024, Disney Lorcana made its Japanese debut. The card game is set to be released in the region in January 2025 with a slimmed-down version of The First Chapter set, smaller and cheaper ??booster packs, and three starter decks to get new pla??yers started.

As translated and reported by Mushu Report, Disney Lorcana's The First Chapter set has been officially revealed. Ravensburger is working with Takara Tomy as its distributor for the game in Japan. If you've been a fan of Disney Lorcana since it was initially released, this launch may look a little wonky to you. While the products that help you ??leap into the core experience are unaltered, it's the pack-opening experience that's going to feel very different.

New cards for everyone to collect

While Disney Lorcana's first Japanese set is a fully translated version of The First Chapter set, it's not quite like it was when it launche??d in the West. The Japanese set is reported to have 204 cards instead of the 216 the English set has. Booster packs will also be smaller, with 6 cards in each one instead of 12.

However, fewer cards in each pack also means a lower price. So, you'll be able to purchase a Japanese Disney Lorcana booster pack for 330 Yen, which is roughly $2.26. All three main starter decks for the set will be co??mplete with 60 cards, though. Meaning any?one who purchases them has a full deck they can play with right out of the box.

While there's no information on which retailers you'll be able to purchase these cards from, you can keep an eye on the Takara Tomy website to see them as soon as they're advertised. Of course, the best part about this set is that it brings Disney Lorcana to a new audience, but it's als?o a completely? new set of cards for collectors to pick up.

Japanese variants are a part of both the Pokemon TCG and Magic: The Gathering. Sometimes, Japanese variants are worth more, others just look better if t??he text is arranged differently, ??and some feature exclusive artwork.

At the time of writing, The First Chapter is one year old. Booster packs are fairly hard to come by outside of the ones you get in starter decks, and it's not really viable to chase Enchanteds through those. I'm sure that for some fans, the set's Japanese release will provide another opportunity to pick up rare cards from booster boxes. After all, you can always memorize a card's effect and play it regardless of whic?h language the text is written in.

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The Disney Lorcana Shimmering Skies set introduced dozens of ??new cards for players to experiment with and ruin each other's careful strategies using. One card, in particular, has been causing quite a stir within the community because some players don't understand how it works: Pete, Game Referee.

The issue is with Pete, Game Referee's effect. The card's text states, "Blow the Whistle: When you play this character, opponents can't play actions until the start of your next turn."?? Players are discussing how the card works on Twitter because some believe it's unclear. While many players take the effect at face value, others can't decide if the effect must be announced when played or if it impacts how you play and move other cards.

No action cards until your next turn starts

The way Pete, Game Referee's effect should work is exactly as it reads. Once played, your opponent can't play any actions, which are a specific type of card similar to Instants in Magic: The Gathering, unti??l the start of your next turn. You don't need to announce it. The effect is simply in play once ?the card has been played.

User CitizensofLorcana posted ??a question about the card's ruling on Twitter, and User GooglyGlimmers, a well-k?nown judge in the community who understands the nuances of the game's rules extremely well, provided a clear and concise answer.

What GooglyGlimmers is saying makes complete sense. The official tournament rules provide a guideline for what could happen with this card's trigger being missed, but it's not precise enough. As they add later in the conversation, "Well, right now we’re at the point where we don’t know what the expected amount of communication is. It could be that playing Pete and then correcting your op??ponent when ?they try to play an action is sufficient. Or you might have to specify the trigger when you play him."

If it were me who had missed the effect, I'd apologize and take back the action card once it was pointed out. But I understand that there are so many more nuanced situations that could arise because of Pete, Game Refe?ree's trigger being missed.

While in a casual game at home or a local game store, it would be easy to simply agree to play a missed trigger once you've caught it or leave it because the turn has passed. In tournaments, though, a missed trigger?? is a huge deal and could be seen as the difference between a player winning or losing, especially if an action card allowed an opponent to draw two cards that helped them get the last 2 Lore they neede??d to win.

GooglyGlimmers outlined that "Missed triggers have their own section in the Play Corrections Guide that technically covers this exact situation. It just lacks the clarity we’re looking for." Players and judges want specificity when it comes to dealing with Pete, Game Referee's effect, and what happens if it's missed, so there's no room for error when decisions are being made at Disney Lorcana's ??highest level.

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Disney Lorcana's first set, The First Chapter, was released in August 2023, but despite the massive appeal of Disney's plethora of characters and movie uni?verses to me as a dad who has watched pretty much every one of their movies, I never picked the TCG up.

However, when I asked manufacturer Ravensburger what the best way to get into the game? was, it told me that the Shimmering Skies set has changed everything with a brand new Gateway Box that helps you learn the game and prepare to master it.

Disney Lorcana has only had five sets up, including Shimmering Skies, and I've heard that it's changed a fair bit since launch with the new mechanics and characters added in each set. While the main appeal of any TCG is ripping booster packs and seeing what pulls you get, with Enchanteds bein??g the best in this one, if you want to really get into a TCG, you need to learn how to play it.

What's in the box?

Inside the Disney Lorcana Shimmering Skies Ga??teway b??ox, you get the following.

• 2 Starter Decks (30 cards each)
• 4 Reward Packs (18 cards each)
• 30 Damage Counters
• 2 Double-sided Character Movers
• 2 Character Bases
• 1 Game Board
• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Guidebook with QR codes linking to how-to-play video tutorials
• 2 Deck Tip Pamphlets

This is all you need to get started in the world of Disney Lorcana. Note that the decks and rewards packs are set and don't contain any Enchanteds or extremely rare car??ds that you might be hoping to pull for from booster packs. This box is designed to teach you how to play, not make you rich.

Once you've opened the box, the guidebook tells you everything you need to know. It outlines your first several games by explaining the basic rules of playing Disney Lorcana with a few card types omitted?? to keep things simple. This is the most bare-bones version of the game that only uses character cards.

From there, you need to foll?ow the 'quests' in the rulebook. These require you to play a few games, a villain and hero simultaneously, and quest for Lore. Once you've mastered those basics, you can unlock the Gate 1 pack, which adds Songs and new characters to each deck.

There are four Gate packs to unlock by playing multiple rounds and l??earning the growing complexities of the game as you go. By the time you've opened Gate 4 and have played a few rounds with all cards unlocked, you're ready to open a booster box, build your own deck, and head to your local game store for a game night.

I learned how to play Disney Lorcana with?? my wife, who had absolutely no previous experien?ce playing car?d games. Over the cou??rse of a week, we played rounds each night, adding new cards every time we sat down to play until we couldn't stop.

We usually crack out Scrabble when we have time for a board game, but Disney Lorcana is now our go-t?o. The Gateway Box made it so much more accessible not only to me but to someone who needed the slower pace and levels to work through before being thrown in at the deep end.

Every card is linked to a Disney movie or franchise, making this an easy card game to become engrossed ?in. Most of us watched a few of the movies as children, and parents will know most of the songs by heart.

Bringing the characters to life in a new way, with a card game that relies on you earning points instead of fighting each other, just makes Disney and the TCG world feel more accessible as an adult. Disney Lorcana also doesn't really have a proper meta deck yet, meaning you can try out all sorts of card combinations and still be in with a chance of winning. That, and the fact that the goal is to sco?re 20 Lore, not annihilate your opponents, adds enough elements to the game that require a careful strategy that blurs the line between board games and TCGs.

It's easy to pick up games like Magic: The Gathering by watching people play it on YouTube, but not everyone has the time to sit there and invest hours in learning a game before they decide if they want to buy a few packs and start playing. Even then, there's a significant financial element to every TCG?, with Shimmering Skies booster boxes costing over $100 at launch. That's a steep price for something you're either only going to collect or 'might' play.

The Disney Lorcana Shimmering Skies Gateway box is the perfect way to get into the game. It's dirt cheap at the time of writing on Amazon, and?? I imagine that price won't rise too much because this product is designed to be accessible forever.

If you're on the fence about getting into the game, whether you're a long-time TCG fan or have no experience but love Disney or some combination of both, this really is the box for y??ou. Both starter decks are viable against anyone and fun to play. When you feel like you've outgrown that box, there's a whole world of Shimmering Skies and beyond to look forward to, and I can't wait to see you there.

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Disney Lorcana fans couldn't wait to get their hands on the new Shimmering Skies set leading up to its launch weekend. Many pre-ordered their decks and booster boxes early and shared their amazing Enchanted pulls with the commu??nity so we can all desperately hope we get some good ones in our packs.

Fans who have pulled an Enchanted from a Disney Lorcana Shimmering Skies booster pack have been sharing them on the TCG's subreddit. There are a total of 18 in this set alone, but we all obviously have our favorites that we'd love to pull for our coll?ection. It looks to me like anybody who picked up a booster box has managed to get at least one Enchanted pull, though there are those who seem to have gotten lucky and picked up a few from theirs.

Shimmering shinies

User RaggleFraggle5 has shared one of my favorites from the set over the Shimmering Skies launch weekend. It's a 5-ink Action card called Finder's Keepers which allows you to draw 3 cards. But the reason I love it so much is because of the gorgeous artwork from Aladdin featuring the one and only Iago.

User CansofKrylon posted an interesting Enchanted that's very slightly cut incorrectly. It's Snow White, but you can see from the card's back that it's been cut slightly too high. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the error? makes it much more valuable because you can't see what t??he other card, if there is one, would be. I'd be keeping this one to play because it's a great conversation piece.

User AndiK94 pulled my absolute favorite from the Lorcana Shimmering Skies set. It's Donald Duck Pie Slinger, a 5-Ink Floodborn Hero Knight. He's got? Shift, so you can play him for 4-Ink if you have another Donald Duck in play. However, it's his abilities that make him the perfect card fo?r me.

Humble Pie allows you to make your opponents lose 2 Lore if you play this card using its Shift cost. Raging Duck adds +6 Strength to the card if your opponents have 10 or more Lore. It's the ultimate comeback card for turn 4 and I can't wait to play i?t.

Finally, user Living-Calendar-1716 shared their lovely pulls from the secon?d booster box they picked up. The highl??ight here is, of course, Clarabelle.

Thi??s card has some truly fabulous artwork, but at 7-ink it's not cheap to play. Its Shift cost is 5, which isn't too hefty if you've played a lot? of Ink early on. Clarabelle's ability, Keep in Step, is incredibly powerful because it lets you draw cards to match what your opponent has in their hand at the end of your turn, provided they have more. This can force your opponents to play their cards early and make mistakes or just give you more to chase Lore with.

I'm yet to pick up my own booster box for Shimmering Skies, but these pulls are making me want to grab more than one. Interestingly, I noticed that the prices for booster boxes dropped one day after launch day for the set, so they're worth grabbing s??oon if you want to build up your collection without breaking the bank.

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Board games are great because they bring you and your friends and fami??ly together around something social. They get you talking and hanging out together. Everybody usua??lly has fun and creates great memories regardless of who wins.

But what you don't need is a memory of being squished around an awkward table. My in-laws are adamant that their extendable table is the perfect piece of furniture for every occasion. When the entire family gathers around it to team up for a board game, though, it really isn't. There's just noth??ing worse than being uncomfortable or being unable to see or feel like you can join in with a board game, which is why board game tables matter.

The best board game tables

Below, I've ranked the best board game tables I could find on the market based on the quality of the experience they can help you?? achieve when playing a board game. Each one is decent, but I've ranked them from worst at the top to the best at the bottom. So, if you're after the best possible board game table for a regular group, scroll through and see what takes your fancy.

10. Frienda Folding Game Table (best budget table)

• Price: $24.99
• Sits: 4
• Unique Selling Point: Felt-covered and easy to store.

The Frienda Folding Game Table is your best cheap and cheerful option for a very basic 4-seater table with a washable cover for any accidental spills. I really like it because of the fact that you ??can fold it up and store it away between uses, and the cover will absorb whatever someone spills on it, meaning you minimize the mess that ends up on the floor.

This is the ideal table for playing board games with 7-year-olds. While they?'re usually sensible, everyone gets silly sometimes, and drinks and snacks will almost certainly be spilled. Save yourself a lot of has??sle and the nightmare of locating somewhere for a piece of furniture you don't want out all the time, and get this folding table for when it's required.

9. 6-Drawer Wooden Puzzle Table (Best table for puzzles)

• Price: $69.99
• Sits: 2
• Unique Selling Point: Organize your puzzle pieces, tackle the bigger picture when you want, and keep everything organized.

This 6-Drawer Wooden Puzzle Table is the best way for almost everybody to do a puzzle. As the name suggests, it's got six drawers for you to organize pieces into, be that edges, colors, faces, machines, or whatever the puzzle requires. From there, you can delve into each as you work your way through the puzzle with a glass of something bubbly or sweet and ?your favorite show on in the background.

While some of you may prefer to p?uzzle in peace, I?? like to do them with my wife, which is why a big table like this is perfect if you want to complete one with someone else. You can sit on either side, distribute pieces as a team, and still take it at your own pace.

8. Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon Table Set (Best classic multipurpose board game table)

• Price: $82.99
• Sits: 2
• Unique Selling Point: 3 games and storage for all pieces in one place.

This Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon Table Set is the perfect 3-in-1 board game table for anyone who loves dropping in and out of all three of these classic games. As a kid, I always ?had a chess set on the go somewhere in the house, a travel Backgammon game we could pull out at a second's notice, and Checkers pieces we could use on the chess board if we wanted.

These games don't require a hefty amount of set up?? or a lot of time and brainpower. Once learned, their rules are ingrained in our brains, and they become the easiest board games in the world to sit down, play, set back up, and repeat until you're done or need to move on. I think this table is pretty perfect for family life because it can sit in the corner in a cozy snug and get dragged out on those days when you feel like you need to fill the void of time with another human, but you need something between you to focus on.

7. Klask (Best board game that is also a board game table)

• Price: $59.99
• Sits: 2
• Unique Selling Point: Klask is its own board game that the table is a part of.

Klask is a board game played by holding the board game table itself, which means it's effectively its own board game table. While you can't use it for anything other than Klask, the game is fun enough that you won't want to. Each player uses a magnet under the table to c?ontrol a piece on top and tries to score po?ints by hitting a ball into their opponent's goal.

Yes, it's a much more simple version of Subbuteo using one piece and magnets, but it also has a fierce following. The game has a world championship tournament that sees players worldwide come to Germany to play, ?celebrate the tiny tabletop title that brought them together, and spend wa??y too long in outdoor hot tubs between bouts.

6. Digital Board Game Table Plans (Best for building your own board game table)

• Price: $5
• Sits: 4+
• Unique Selling Point: A project for you to complete and the self-satisfaction of being able to tell everybody who plays at it that you built the very table their D&D characters died on.

If you're looking for some Digital Board Game Table Plans so you can have the design work done for you and get to work building, then this is the item for you. The table this design results in is stunning because it has folding? surfaces at every edge for players to place whatever the game requires, plus a decent surface that can be switched and lowered to suit your needs.

Note that this requires assembly on every level. All you're getting are some plans that you'll need to follow using your own tools. Part of me loves the idea of building my own board game table, and choosing the wood and finish, knowing I'd built every part, would feel incredible. I?f you're looking to do this, make sure you have the time and tools ready because the wood and finish will cost you ?dearly before you've even contemplated every piece of kit required to make the table.

5. Custom Game Table (Best for mid-sized board games)

• Price: $999.00 to $1499.00
• Sits: 4+
• Unique Selling Point: A smaller, purpose-built table that can still be used even when you're not playing board games.

This Custom Game Table is perfect for purely playing board games and maybe the odd TTRPG session, provided you don't need too much space. With three sizes available, you can easily pick up a reasonably priced table that'll suit your needs, but even the basic small model should work for four of you getting together to play a game of Settlers of Catan.

The board game table has solid sides, a nice deep center with a lush finish, and holders for dice or drinks. It's a decent multipurpose option that can be covered over when it's not being used, so it's another useful surface in the home. I think this is such a key feature and makes the expense of a board game table so much more ??worthwhile because you're actually getting two pieces ??of furniture for the price of one.

4. Artig Board Game Table (Best for playing long sessions)

• Price: $1,190 - $3,375
• Sits: 6+
• Unique Selling Point: An understated design that's as practical as every other board game table you'll find.

The Artig Board Game Table comes in a few sizes, so you can select exactly what's best for you. It's got a gorgeous range of finishes in Maple, Cherry, or Walnut and features LEDs on the inner play space so you can light up the game you're playing without blinding everyone as the d??ay goes on and the session gets later and later.

As with all good board game tables, this one packs drinks or dice holders and has drawers for all the essential board game kits. I'd pack mine with D20s to keep them out of the way and because we ??all have way too many to store properly anywhere else. Artig's tables might be a bit high on th??e price point, but it's the artistry you're paying for, as well as the quality of the table, which should last you for decades.

3. D&D Tabletop TV (Best for TTRPGs with maps)

• Price: $2,875 - $1,827.50
• Sits: 6+
• Unique Selling Point: An understated design that's as practical as every other board game table you'll find.

This D&D Tabletop TV is one step down from an interactive TTRPG map screen you can upload your own images to. The idea is that it's robust enough to place all your miniature??s on and roll D20s across but it can display the town, forest, or otherworldly realm your party is ex?ploring at that very moment in time. Of course, pen and paper are fine; this is just the next level when you're ready. There's even a 4K option to make your next session almost real.

What I like about this board game table is that it's robust. A DIY version would see a much flimsier screen being used, but TTRPG player??s aren't gentle in the heat of the moment. The only downside to this table is that it's a glorified table topper. You've got to put it on another table unless you're playing on the ground. The built-in cooling vents ensure the screen won't overheat, but I imagine they may also get a little loud if you've been playing for?? a few hours.

2. Storable Lite Gaming Table (Best for versatility and space-saving)

• Price: $500
• Sits: 2-4
• Unique Selling Point: Play anywhere, fits everywhere, and suits all board games.

The Storable Lite Gaming Table is a true game-changer. It's been designed with every aspect of board games in mind but from the angle of saving space and weight and being easy to transport and store. You may not expect it, but ?this thing comes apart into pieces you can store away when you don't want it out and takes up a fraction of the space. If you don't want to assemble it each time, it's thin enough that you can store it on its side in most cupboards or nooks too.

The real appeal of this board game table is how it takes every board game and shrinks down the space required. Dice rolls go down a chute to retain the authenticity of the result without potentially losing them or needing to roll across the ?board space. Cards can be lined up along the edges for TCGs, and there is even space for counters should your game require them.

This is a fantastic table that hits on price and potential uses. When I'm in the market for a specific board game tabl??e, this will be the one I aim to get because I have kids who want to pick up all the pieces of every board game, and that's just not safe for them. Being able to store everything out of the way, including the? table, means I have my space when I need it and only when I need it.

1. The Leviathan Board Game Table (Best for every board game, worst for your budget)

• Price: $15,500
• Sits: 6+
• Unique Selling Point: A board game table with drawers, storage, space for every board game, and a fabulous finish that shines when packed down into a standard dining table format.

The Leviathan Board Game Table is a self-proclaimed beast of a table that has everything you could ever need for a board game night. ?It has drawers for all your pieces and space for everyone to roll D20s. You can convert one end into a Game Master spot complete with dividers. It even lights up with LEDs around every edge to complete the look of the session before you've started.

Of course, the downsides of this table are the lead time and price. It takes up to 7 months to build and $15,500. Split between a group, that's somewhat more acceptable, but it would need to be the only board game table I ever used for the rest of my life to justify that cost. It really could be, though, since you can set up any board game, including Warhammer 40K, on it and keep all the bits and bobs you need for those gam?es in the drawers ready to go.

The potential saving grace for this board game table is tha??t it can also be packed up into a standard table. You could use it a??s your everyday dining table under a tablecloth and whack out the board game table when you've got sessions coming up. As a multipurpose piece of furniture, it's truly next-level, but you definitely need to put the hours in to justify buying it in the first place.

The post 10 Best board game tables for 2024 (Ranked) appeared first on Destructoid.

The Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set is a supercharged new set for the Pokémon TCG that's supercharged with a Pikachu ex and packs in more than 250 cards for you to collect, trade, and play with as you figure ou?t what the best decks you can build with it are.

One of the biggest new aspects of the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set is to allow players to enjoy cards themed around the Terrarium, which was introduced to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk. There are loads of new ex Pokémon to pick up, as well as interesting ACE?? Spec cards that continue to bring a new twist to the game.

When is the release date for the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set?

The release date for the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set is November 8, 2024. Cards will be available digitally through the Pokémon TGC Live app on November 7, 2024, and prereleases will begin? even earlier on October 26, 202??4.

Soon after, fans in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand can look forward to the Pokémon TCG: Grand Adventure Collection. This is a collection of cards celebrating Pokémon Horizons: The Series with cards featuring the series' dual protagonists and much more. Cards from this expansion w?ill be available at select ?retailers starting on November 15, 2024.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set information

The Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks se??t has some incred??ibly rare cards for you to find if you're cracking packs. These include the following.

• 8 ACE SPEC cards
• 8 Stellar Tera Pokémon ex and nine Tera Pokémon ex
• 23 Illustration Rare Pokémon
• 11 special Illustration Rare Pokémon and Supporter cards
• 6 hyper rare Gold Etched cards

The aim of this set is to bring even more Stellar Tera ex Pokémon to the TCG. These are some of the best-?looking cards I've ever seen in the game, so I'm excited to see what's been cooked up for the entire set when it's finally in my hands.

The cards that tend to gain val?ue are the Illustration Rares and, of course, those Gold Etched cards. Trainer cards are also some of the most expensive from past sets, so if you're looking to boost the value of your collection, those are the ones to pick up or trade?? for.

Where to buy the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set

The best place to purchase the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks set is your local game store. Supporting these stores hel??ps keep physical TCG events alive and boosts your local economy, which is sorely needed these days. However, if your only option is to purchase online, I have a few? suggestions for you below.

• Pokémon Center Online (Worldwide): Pokémon Centre Online is the most reliable retailer for the Pokémon TCG. You can grab all the products you want while they're in stock, and this store always has something extra. For example, the ETB for this set includes a limited edition stamped card and box. The only downside is that this retailer is a tad on the expensive side.
• Chaos Cards (US & UK): Chaos Cards is another great retailer with prices so low that it's to your detriment. Products here sell out ridiculously fast, so get your pre-orders in quickly because it won't be holding the stock you're after for long.
• Magic Madhouse (US & UK): Magic Madhouse is a great and very reliable retailer. I use this one the most for my goods. They deliver on time and have great prices that are always in line with what you'd expect. The best way to order from Magic Madhouse is to get your pre-orders in as soon as possible to keep the costs low.
• Amazon (Worldwide): Amazon is a fantastic retailer for getting your TCG products quickly and efficiently. I've used it before for my needs, but I do think the prices rise much faster than you may notice. Especially as you get closer to the launch date of a set.

The post Pokémon TCG: Scarlet and Violet – Surging Sparks release date, set information, and where to buy appeared first on Destructoid.

When I bought my first Magic: The Gathering booster pack on the recommendation of a friend, I expected a fun card game. What I got was an open gateway to the most nightmarish imagery a 10 ye?ar-old could legally acquire. I was immediately hooked.

At the time of this writing, MTG artwork is at the cutest it has ever been. I've previously written about the most baffling artwork in the history of the game. Now, let's go for a trip down memory lane to be reminded of the?? most disturbing st??uff the popular card game series has ever brought upon us. Maybe this is how we get Wizards to come up with the most horrifying set next!

Living Wall

Living Wall's artwork depicts human parts cobbled together in a wildly disharmonic and likely even highly dysfunctional way. Luckily, most of the Magic: The Gathering cards with the scariest artwork are based in fiction, or maybe in nightmares someone has had. The Living Wall might have a darker origin, however, as its artwork looks a lot like a very specific ??????????????????????????kind of tumor called "Teratoma", which I honestly recommend you do not google.

Hey, do you know what's also living and could make for a better wall than feeble human tissue? Trees. We have a lot of t??hose in fiction, but someone at Wizards decided that they just wanted to go for the straight-up nastiest-looking wall imaginable.

Sensory Deprivation

If you're into MTG, you likely expect the scariest things to com??e out of Blue cards to be counter spells. Not this time, as sensory deprivation features the very detailed depiction of a person with their eyes and mouth sewn shut. It's not even a very good sewing job, as the eyes and mouth remain mostly open, ??meaning that the objective here was more about achieving the utmost cruelty, less about actually preventing the person to see or speak.

This is one of the few instances where the card's ability does in no way match the absolute horror depicted in its artwork. Nice flavor text?, though!

Claustrophobia

If you don't suffer from claustrophobia, this one probably won't do all that much for you - so long as you manage to never be buried alive and your final?? realization is that it is, indeed, a very bad thing. ?Despite featuring no actual gore, Claustrophobia, the card, manages to immediately convey the horrors of being trapped in a small space with no hope of release. The Blue color set is very good when it comes to surprising players with some really horrifying stuff.

Plagiarize

Plagiarism is the worst crime when it comes to? writing, but it's such a simple thing that it's hard to convey how damaging it can be to one writer, to the writing community, and to art at large. I really can't tell exactly how what's going on in the picture translates to actual plagiarism, but I love how artist Jeremy Jarvis went out of his way to depict this crime as one of the most nightmarish things to ever come out of the Blue color set.

Ad Nauseam

Ad Nauseam features one of the most gruesome and panic-inducing artwork I've ever seen in an MTG card. It's gory but bloodless, making all?? the pain that the creature shown above seem to have been very carefully engineered.

I believe Ad Na?useam works on its own, but please note how it's drawn by Jeremy Jarvis, the same artist who did the art for the "Plagiarize" card shown above. I think Ad Nauseam goes from grotesquely amazing to extremely prescient when you visualize that poor creature as someo?ne doomed to only read and copy plagiarized work until the end of time.

Mind Maggots, Brain Maggot

The first iteration of an MTG brain ??creepy crawly showed up on the Exodus set, and I'm willing to bet it was more than enough to fill everyone's yearly recommended dosage of nightmares. Still, the people at Wizards are just way too generous and decided to keep at it with ever-more horrendous depictions of this terrifyin?g being. The latest iteration of Brain Maggot is one of the scariest creatures in the history of the game both in terms of artwork and concept.

Great job! Please picture the writer of this piece as someone wh?o definitely do??esn't have a few of these inside his brain!

Brood of Cockroaches

I believe we all agree that Cockroaches are just the worst creature IRL �yes, even worse than brain maggots. The only redeeming thing about Cockroaches is that they like humans about as much as humans like them, and try to avoid contact with humans as much as possible. The artwork of this card, however, shows us a much more grim reality, one where Cockroaches will actually crawl towards people while they are asleep - and where our cats will? just not do anything about it. That's two nightmares in one that result in a picture that requires no visceral imagery to get your human blood boiling.

Fleshformer

This is one of my favorites because it depicts gore in an almost beautifully abstract way. You know that something really really bad is taking place, but you can't quite put your finger on what it is. That's what makes the Fleshformer ex??t??remely scary, its ability to extract "mana" from people in a way so cruel that most others can't even begin to comprehend it.

Lobotomy / Thought Scour (2012)/ Amnesia

I was torn between three cards depicting dubious and likely non-consensual brain-meddling, so I decided to just go with the three and make a nice before, during, and after scene. Lobotomy is the first of the bunch that I saw as a kid. It came out shortly after I'd started playing, and it immediately had an impact on me. We don't see any gore, but the setup clearly leaves no room for the faintest glimmer of hope that things are about to turn out well for that person. Thought Scour is one of the goriest cards in the history of the game, so much so that the card's latest versions feature a much more kid-friendly artwork. Lastly, there's Amnesia, the closing act. It's scary because of the gore, yes, but even more so because of that inexplicably alive person's ??now completely empty gaze. All three cards are regarded by the community as some of the most disturbing in the history of the game, and I'm s??ure your brain will agree.

Pulling Teeth

Last but definitely not least, we have one of the simplest and yet most effectively cringe-inducing artworks in th?e history of the game. Even with access to today's best methods, there's a non negligible amount of the world's population that just cannot stand the idea of going to the dentist without trembling a bit.

Pulling teeth, the card, ??excels because even though we think we're looking at an image conceived just to make us feel sick, we may very well just be looking at a correct depiction of the point of v??iew of a "dentist" from medieval times.

Feed the Serpent

The world of MTG is home to hordes of incredibly huge and vile monsters, but you never see one doing anything as scary as the serpent seen in "Feed The Serpent", which is funny, because it's just a normal instance of a giant snake snacking?? on a poor human. Though it features no gore and it's not in first person view, you ca?n very well experience all the dread that went through the poor guy's mind �and even though he only felt it for an instant, you'll have that image stuck in your mind forever.

Is there any more immediately terrifying card than Feed the Serpent? If so, I challenge you to show it in the ?comments.

The post 11 MTG cards with the scariest artwork appeared first on Destructoid.

Wizards of the Coast recently pulled back the curtain on its upcoming Mystery Booster 2 set for Magic: The Gathering in a WeeklyMTG livestream. The hosts clarified that this set is exclusive to conventions and Festival in a Box products through the Secret Lair website, a??nd fans can't seem to agree on how they feel about it.

The community has been discussing the MTG Mystery Booster 2 set on the game's subreddit and are currently debating two opposing schools of thought. One group of fans really likes the set and the plan for its di??stribution at conventions and via Secret Lair products because it gives everyone who wants to a chance to pick it up. The other group insists that MTG already has too many sets and adding one more is too much, but they also believe it should be available at retail in addition t??o the other sales funnels.

One too many inaccessible sets

MTG's head designer, Mark Rosewater, explained the logic behind Mystery Booster 2's availability on his personal blog. It seems to boil down to the fact that the internal convention team and Wizards of the Coast paid for the set out of its budget to have something to offer attendees, and that's why it's conv??ention/Festival in a Box exclusive.

User ??Stonetoothed summarizes one side of this debate extremely well. "Seems like a kinda perfect response IMO. It’s exclusive because it is special, it was a??lways meant to be special and the alternative isn’t a full release the alternative is it not existing at all."

User Reaper527 demonstrates the thoughts behind the opposite end of the debate. "Magic players claiming to be product fatigued. Magic players complaining about not getti?ng more product. The problem is that WOTC is flooding us with crap that we don't want, and then refusing to sell us the stuff we actually do want."

While it's easy to point to this debate and say the fact that the set is limited is what makes it desirable to those who wouldn't attend events, I think there's a bit more to it. Festival in a Box products are incredibly expensive. Yes, they come with Collector Boosters for various other sets, a full box of two sets, Mystery Boosters included, and a lot of other merch; they cost around $300. A standard box of Play Boosters would set you back le???ss than $200, depending on the set.

The original Mystery Booster set was initially released in late 2019, right before the COVID-19 pandemic. After the world went into lo?ckdown, the set was part of the Festival in a Box products that you could get to feel like a part of MagiCon events even though most of us couldn't travel to attend them. I picked up a couple of these between 2020 and 2021 and had a lot of fun with them.

The Mystery Booster series is designed to be drafted for?? games and used for nothing else. The packs contain reprints and fun tester cards that make for great silly games, but they're far from a professional tournament. They're definitely a lot of fun to play with against those who just want to try something silly, thou?gh.

The set was then sold at retail as time went on, along with lockdown restrictions and people's understandable worries about getting together with hundreds of others. Mystery Booster 2 is launching at a time wh?en more people are conscious of using facemasks and hand gel to avoid spreading anything, and many of us are desperate to get back to hang??ing out with the c?ommunity we love.

I like that Mystery Booster 2 is exclusive to MTG events, whether you're attending one or buying the Festival in a Box. However, Wizards of the Coast set a precedent with the first set, and I can't help but feel that it should follow suit, especially given that fans are showing a demand. The company could do with a win when it comes to Secret Lair, given the recent availability issues of other pro??ducts.

The post MTG Mystery Booster 2’s availability has sparked a new debate among fans appeared first on Destructoid.

The Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop will be released in August 2024, bringing five new sets? to market for fans to purchase if they're able to beat the queues and get their orders in early.

Secret Lair sets are always exciting because they breathe new life into old MTG cards we've either forgotten about or are so commonplace in decks that you just don't think about them like you do the intriguing cards in every new base set. The Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop is, as the name suggests, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of D&D and will bring a collection of cards to the table ??that you can use in your decks while admiring their nostalgic artwork?.

When is the release date for the MTG Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop?

The release date for the MTG Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop is August 27, 2024. At the time of writing, I don't have an exact time for the release but I will add one as soon as it's revealed. This set will be one of the most highly anticipated of the year, so I suggest you keep an eye on the time th?at day and ensure you're available so you don't miss out on getting the Drops you're after.

All cards and sets in the MTG Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop

Below, I've listed every set in the MTG Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop and the cards that come with those sets. There are five in tot??al, but?? each card is being revealed slowly over time, so I don't have all the details at the time of writing. I'll add each new card to the set it's part of as and when they're revealed.

Set 1: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: An Exhibition of Adventure

No cards that I know of have been revealed for this set at the time of writing. However, the name suggests it will be a showcase of artwork that looks at all of D&D instead of one particular area of the TTRPG.

Set 2: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Astarion's Thirst

At the time of writing, it looks like only one card for this set has been revealed. It focuses on Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3, who is, admitt??edly, a great character to build a set around.

• Astarion, the Decadent: 4/4 Legendary Creature, Vampire Elf Rogue with Deathtouch and Lifelink. At the beginning of your end step, choose one:

  • Feed: Target opponent loses life equal to the amount of life they lost this turn.
  • Friends: You gain life equal to the amount of life you gained this turn.

Set 3: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Karlach's Rage

This set focuses on Karlach, also of Baldur's Gate 3. She has one of the most interesting storylines, so I sus??pect that will come into play with these cards.??

• Karlach, Fury of Avernus: A 5/4 Legendary Creature, Tiefling Barbarian. Whenever you attack, if it's the first combat phase of the turn, untap all attacking creatures. They gain first strike until end of turn. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase. Choose a Background (I believe Backgrounds will be other cards in the set).

Set 4: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder I

No cards have been revealed that might be in this set just yet. A Beholder is a multi-eyed creature in D&D lore, so this set could consist of various? monsters you battle in the TTRPG.

Set 5: Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder II

As with the set above, we have no cards that might be part of this set that have been revealed just yet. I do believe they'll be creatures of characters from D&D's past, though.

Where to buy the MTG Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop

You can purchase the MTG Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop from the Secret Lair website. Stock will be limited because now all Secret Lairs are limited print runs instead of printed to order. So, if you?? want to make sure you get a copy of this Superdrop, you'll need to sign up for the newsletter to be alerted when it goes live.

I really do recommend trying to change up your day on August 27, 2024 so that you can drop everything, head to the website, and sit in a queue to get your pre-orders in. Recently, the situation with Secret Lairs has been a mess, and fans are incredibly cross? that they haven't been able to buy the sets they want due to scalpers bulk buying them at the front of queues. You'll only have a fighting chance of getting a set if you have nothing else to do and get in there ear?ly.

The post All cards in the MTG Secret Lair Dungeon??s & Dragons 50th Annive??rsary Superdrop appeared first on Destructoid.

Wizards of the Coast has announced the Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop. The Superdrop celebrates the 50th anniversary of D&D with a whopping five Drops that culminate in this colossal Superdrop. Each one will be available on the Secret Lair website on August 27, 2024.

The announcement for what will undoubtedly be the most sought-after Secret Lairs of 2024 was made on Twitter and required a thread for all the information despite only two cards having been shown so far. You'll be pleased to know that the cards play into your deepest desires and will feature characters from Baldur's Gate 3. At the time of writing, Karlach and Astarion have been revealed. However, I hope there's a callback to classic D&D artw?ork and characters from the past five decades somewhere in these five sets.

50 years of roleplay in five small sets

Wizards of the Coast has revealed the name of every Drop in the Secret Lair Dungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop. Outside of the two cards above, Astarion,? the Decadent, and Karlach, Fury of Avernus, we don't know anything els?e. All the set names are as follows.

• Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: An Exhibition of Adventure
• Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Astarion's Thirst
• Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Karlach's Rage
• Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder I
• Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder II

As you can tell, it's difficult to work out what will be included in each set based on these names alone. Two are obviously character-specific for Astarion and Karlach, while the one sounds like a look at classic D&D art, and the other two could be anything.

Unfortunately, the announcement has been somewhat clouded by fans' issues with Secret Lairs. Wizards of the Coast now only sells a limited number of sets when a Secret Lair goes live, which has led to scalpers buying in bulk and pre??venting anyone els??e from buying the cards they're after.

User Kurisu commented, "Brin??g back the old Secret Lair system." Jen goes even further. "'While supplies last' So you mean I'm going to get in the queue as it opens, again. And then I'm going to wait for two hours, again. And then, when I'm inputting my payment info, I'm going to find out it sold out. Again. Old system way better, even with the wait."

Fans just aren't happy with how the Secret Lair system currently works and simply want to be able to buy their cards. If nothing changes by the time August 27 rolls around, it looks like most fans will miss out or have to pay double fo?r each of these sets.

The post Secret Lair D??ungeons & Dragons 50th Anniversary Superdrop announc??ed appeared first on Destructoid.

Magic: The Gathering has been getting more and more fed up with the new sales format for Secret Lair Drops, but the release of the Monty Python Drop was the final straw. The community is furious ??because the system is so easily exploited by scalpers and seems de??signed to prevent fans from buying the cards they desire.

Over on the MTG subreddit, moderators have had to create a Rant Megathread for every user to post their frustrations in because so many wanted to make individual posts about the Secret Lair situation. One of the TCG's biggest content creators, Tolarian Community College, who is always incredibly fair to Wizards of the Coast when it comes to business ma?tters, has said that he's done and won'??t be buying any Secret Lairs until something is done about the situation.

Completely sold out

Secret Lair Drops are proxies. Packs of MTG cards with unique artwork and based in the Universes Beyond realm. These Drops used to be printed to demand and were available to pre-order for a limited time on the Secret Lair website so that everyone had a chance to purc??hase them if they wanted them.

However, Wizards of the Coast recently moved to a limited print run system. This means that Secret Lair Drops can sell out if you don't head to the website to buy them early. This has made them much more desirable and attractive to scalpers, especiall?y because you can buy them in bulk.

As The Professor points out, this means that fans can no longer wait until they're free?? to pre-order a Secret Lair Drop. Now, you've got to take time off work and block out the commitments so you can sit in a queue online and hope you get to order the cards you want. Many fans have done this, only to sit in a queue for over an hour and end up seeing a "Completely Sold Out" message when they get through to the site.

I used to order a lot of Secret Lair Drops. I have the Fortnite and Warhammer 40K runs and think they're fantastic. I was able to order those right as the? pre-order window came to an end, which was the perfect system for me as a dad who has no time to spare apart from the 10 minutes before I pass out at the end of the day.

As user Hotfirelegend on Reddit puts it, "This new system is terrible." Fans are calling for everyone to voice their frustrations through feedback to Wizards of the Coast. The more stories I???? read about users not having time to order due to work or Drops going live in the middle of the night in their time zone, the more confused I am about why this system was changed.

On the surface, the old Secret Lair sales format worked, but I can see how it could lead to stock from canceled orders piling up with nowhere to go. This new system all but e?nsures a 100% sold rate for every product, which looks great on a spreadsheet but comes at the cost of approachability. When buying from scalpers at double the price point becomes the best way to buy something, you know the system is broken somewhere.

The post Magic: The Gathering fans frus??trated and fed up after latest Secret Lair fiasco appeared first on Destructoid.

If you're into Magic The Gathering, You likely already have a good idea of w??hat the most overpowered MtG cards of all time are - at least until the next bi??g power creep peak comes. But what about cards so bad that having them in your deck would actively make it worse?

This is ??the kind of ancient knowledge that’ll make you look like a w??ise sage to people who haven’t been playing the game for long, or at least a source of great laughs.

Wood Elemental

Everything about Wood Elemental is just bizarre. It has a 4 mana cost and it requires players to sacrifice at least one untapped forest if its owner doesn't want it to die upon summoning. This means that if you want it to be an ability-less 4/4, for example, you'll need to waste 8 mana in one single turn, burning 4 forests in the process. It's an actively terrible card that even seems to go against its own concept. Why would a green elemental require you to destroy gree??n lands? Aren't these elementals meant to live to protect their element? Did they mean, like, chopped wood elemental?

Wood Elemental's artwork is what gave me the idea to come up with this list i?n the first place. That's because, as a card, Wood Elemental is about as good as its artwork. Brian Snoddy's work usually owns, so maybe he knew beforehand what card he was making the artwork for.

Apocalypse Chime

This is likely MTG's first foray into the world of Meta gameplay. This serious but very self aware card w?ill ask players for four tota??l mana if they want to destroy all cards from its own set. Problem is, Homelands, the set in question, was never known for its very powerful cards - even less so today.

The Apocalypse Chime was never any good, but it gets even worse ?by the day. Right now I'd ?say it's like a nuke that only kills creatures that have long gone extinct.

Juju Bubble

Imagine coming up with such beautiful art only to ??see it in such a terrible? card.

Juju Bubble is a great card, but only for high schoolers looking to scam third g??raders who're trying to get into the game. It looks great and offers a source of healing, which newcomers will likely think is just an amazing thing. It's not, especially when said healing comes at the cost of not just slowing down your play flow, but completely stopping it at some point. That amount of healing isn't worth the cost, let alone when you basically have to stop playing the game to keep it. This card would've been t??errible even if it weren't for its cumulative upkeep, which means you have to pay 1 more mana each turn to keep this already awful charade going.

Bargain

Let me remind you once again not to fall into the "gain life" trap. Having life points is all well and good, but gaining health alone is only going to delay the inevitable. In this case it's even worse, as Bargain costs its owner 3 mana to gain life and have their opponent draw a card �the much better end of the deal. Had this card had the opposite effect, it would be pret??ty good. This way, however, it is just the worst possible bargain for the pl??ayer who casts it.

Aladdin's Ring

Dealing 4 points of damage to any target ??is pretty neat, but not when it costs goddamn 8 mana to pull off. Even worse, this thing costs another 8 mana to ?put into play, making it one of the least cost-effective damage options in the history of the game.

I remember Aladdin not having an expensive ring that he could use to burn his enemies in the classic tale, but maybe he just never got the chance to put? this cumbersome piece to good use.

Mudhole

For 3 mana, Mudhole will remove all land cards a player ?has in their graveyard, meaning that it's very good at destroying lands which are already destroyed. Sure, bringing lands back from the graveyard is? a possibility, but hardly ever the biggest threat at your opponent's disposal. Worst of all, this is a rare card. The thrill of spending $5 on a Odyssey set booster in the hopes of not getting this was the real deal.

What's the point of this? Making sure the forests buried in you opponent's graveyard won't ??turn into extremely valuable oil a million years later?

Sorrow's Path

This is arguably the most legendarily baffling land in the history of this game. A land that produces no mana and serves only to swap blocking creatures. That would've been pretty unremarkable by itself, but there's also the part where this land will deal you and each of your creatures 2 damage each. Please note that this card belongs to the? Dark set, thus was meant for a ??time when creatures wouldn't automatically heal at the end of the turn.

Zephyr Spirit

Zephyr Spirit is yet another contender for the worst creature in the game, and he doesn't even have the excuse of being an "old" card. At 6 mana, Zephyr Spirit has an enormously huge cost that's comparable only to its incredibly ??awful ability. While you'd think tha??t coming back to the player's hand is cool to prevent it from dying, having a creature that costs so much to do so little �and only once before you have to pay for its cost again �feels like just one big joke. The only thing preventing this from being a contender for the worst creature in the game is the fact that it is a common, so your $5 wouldn't be entirely wasted if you happened to find one inside a booster back in '05.

Alabaster Leech

And here we have it, a crappy creature?? that, for the measly price of one mana, will make the game much harder for its owner �and its owner alone. Alabaster Leech would only ever more or less make sense in a deck where it's the only White spell, but it just isn't worth it simply for the extra 2 points in defense that it has over the regular 1 mana cost creature. For maximum effect, try to have four in play at the same time. The fourth one will be costing you 4 mana and bring no upsides whatsoever!

Alabaster Leech has a sick design, though it really doesn't look like a creature that should belong in White. It really does f??eel like a tapeworm that some evil psychic Necromancer? tricked the good guys into believing was a creature worth enlisting in their army.

Break Open

This is yet another one of tho?se cards meant to work only within their own block. "face??-up" and "face-down" creatures refers to creatures with the "Morph" ability, which allowed a select few creatures to go face down and become 2/2 creatures with no abilities.

Notice how the card's artwork shows a Barbari??an breaking a shield only to reveal a cute and seemingly defenseless Octopus inside? Well, thing is, the very very large majority of morph creatures are actually way stronger w??hen facing up. Even worse, many of these creatures have abilities that get activated once they get turned upside. Imagine not knowing the Onslaught set and keeping on using Break Open on creatures facing down in the doomed hopes that one day they won't be just wasting mana to greatly help the enemy.

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While Secret Lair sets aren't for everyone, there's no denying that they add some of the best proxies you can get to Magic: the Gathering. Thanks to an exclusive reveal from IGN, we're now able to see one of the most hilarious Secret Lair sets in all its glory: The MTG Secret Lair x Monty Python Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 set.

The MTG Secret Lair x Monty Python Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 set is comprised of nine core cards. However, as is usually the case with Secret Lair releases, there are foil and non-foil variants that differ in price to make the sets more approachable for those who can't afford to purchase every single product. I grew up watching Monty Python movies, so I get a lot of the references in these cards, but I could understand some fans not knowing what they're about and the set being a lot less appe??aling because of that.

All MTG x Monty Python Secret Lair cards in Vol. 1 and 2

Below, I've listed every card in the MTG Secret Lair x Monty Python Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 set. I've included the name of the card each Secret Lair card is based on so you can understand where they fit in the decks you play. As I've mentioned, these were exclusively revealed in a collaboration with IGN, but user ShowMeYourGs rep??osted them as a gallery to the MTG subreddit, where they're much easier to scroll through.

• Dismember - 'Tis But a Scratch!: Target creature gets -5/-5 until end of turn.
• Ashnod's Altar - Sir Bedivere's Scales: An Artifact card. Use it to sacrifice a creature and add two colorless Mana.
• Birds of Paradise - European Swallow: A 0/1 Creature with Flying. Tap to add one Mana of any color.
• Dark Depths - Castle of Aaargh: A Legendary Snow Land. Castle of Aaargh enters the battlefield with ten ice counters on it. Spend 3 Mana to remove an ice counter from Castle of Aaargh. When Castle of Aaargh has no ice counters on it, sacrifice it. If you do, create Marit Lage, a legendary 20/20 black Avatar Creature token with Flying and Indestructible.
• Door to Nothingness - The Bridge of Death: An Artifact card. The Bridge of Death enters the battlefield tapped. Spend two of every type of Mana and tap to Sacrifice The Bridge of Death: Target player loses the game.
• ThreeVisits - We Want...A SHRUBBERY!: Search your library for a Forest card, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
• Birds of Paradise - African Swallow: A 0/1 Bird Creature with Flying. Tap to add one Mana of any color.
• Prodigal Sorcerer - Tim the Enchanter: A 1/1 Human Wizard Creature. Tap and Tim the Enchanter deals 1 damage to any target.
• Buried Alive - Bring Out Your Dead!: A Sorcery. Search your library for up to three Creature cards, put them into your graveyard, then shuffle.

You can pick this Secret Lair set up from the official store when it goes live on July 29, 2024. However, each set will onl?y be available in a limited number, so get your orders ?in as soon as they go live if you don't want to miss out.

The post All MTG x?? Monty Python Secret Lair cards? in Vol. 1 and 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Disney Lorcana is a TCG with some fabulous cards. It brings the Disney movies and franchises so many of us grew up with to life in a whole new, tangible way. While the game got off to a rocky start with some fans when it came to playability, it's getting better with each set, the latest of which will be Shimmering Skies.

The new set will be released on August 9, 2024, and it's the first time certain Disney names make their TCG debut. The set should mix up the established meta players are accustomed to and give players something to swap into their decks or build new ones around. In particular, players �that includes myself �are excited about the addition of Wreck-It Ralph, which is why I agreed right away when Ra?vensburger reached out to see if we'd like to reveal six new cards from ?the upcoming set exclusively.

Six exclusive new Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies cards

I've outlined every new and sometimes tasty Disney Lorcana: Shimmering Skies card we're able to reveal below. Just as with Magic: The Gathering sets, new cards can completely change the game, but they also might not be used until another card comes along ??to make them more powerful. Read through what's on offer below to see if?? you can find a card that will be in every deck you play.

Fix-It Felix, Jr. (Trusy Builder) - Storyborn

Fix-It Felix, Jr. is a 2/4 Storyborn Hero with Bodyguard. This means he's going to have to be picked as the target if your opponent wants to challenge one of your characters. He's fairly strong compared to some characters. Baloo, for example, is ?a 0/3 � not a bad card to play if you want some protection.

Fix-It Felix, Jr. - Floodborn

If you want to play Fix-It Felix, Jr. but not as a Storyborn Hero, you can opt to use this Floodborn variant. As with all Floodborn characters, he's got Shift, so you can pay less to play him on top of your Storyborn or another version of Fix-It F??elix, ?Jr. This is a great way to evolve your board, especially because the Floodborn version adds two armor to your locations. I can see the duo of this card and the one above it being played a lot because it's quite advantageous.

Fix-It Felix, Jr. (Delighted Sightseer) - Storyborn

This Delighted Sightseer version of Fix-It Felix, Jr. is the last version of him I have to show off. It's not massively strong at 1/3, but its?? ability allows you to draw a card if you play it while you have a location. Combined with the Floodborn version, this could see you top up your hand and get t??hings moving in a game much faster than normal.

Wreck-It Ralph - Storyborn

Wreck-It Ralph is a very strong 6/7 Stroyborn hero. His ability, I've Got The Coolest Friend, lets you return a character card from your discard to your hand when you play him. If that card is a Princess character, Vannelope for example, you gain 2 lore. Not only is this ability very appropriate for? Ralph, but it's also a great way to pull cards back from your discard and replay them. This strategy definitely needs some other cards in it to help bolster your board, but I can already see the makings of an interesting loop here.

Sugar Rush Speedway - Location

Sugar Rush Speedway might just be Disney Lorcana's tastiest location to date. Once played, you can move characters to another locati?on for free by dealing a single point of damage to them. In a pitch, I can see that being extremely useful against opponents aiming to wipe out your locations one by one systematically.

King Candy - Storyborn Villain

King Candy is a delectable 2/2 Storyborn Villain, King, and Racer. This brings him in line with all the other Racer cards in Shimmering Skies, and while he has? no ability, this is a card you might w?ant in your deck if you want to build something villainous.

King Candy - Floodborn Villain

I love this Floodborn version of King Candy. It's a strong 3/3 Villain, King, and Racer with Shift, so you can play the Storyborn ver?sion and then pay less to play this m?onster onto the field. Its ability, Changing the Code, allows you to draw 2 cards and then put a card from your hand on the bottom of your deck when you play it. This feels sneakier than it should, but ultimately, it's going to let you pick up 2 new cards and get rid of one you don't need without it going out of play.

The post Exclusive: Six vibra?nt new Disney Lorcana Shimmering Sk??ies cards appeared first on Destructoid.

For the Inside an Elevator Secret Lair Superdrop, Wizards of the Coast has collaborated with LA-based art and design studio ?Brain Dead. The Superdrop features three individual Drops fans can purchase between July 29, 2024, and August 18, 2024, adding some outstan??ding artwork ?to anyone's collection.

The Magic: The Gathering: Secret Lair x Brain Dead collaboration includes well-known creature, land, and staple Commander cards that most MTG fans will be familiar with. The new lick of paint each card has received completely transforms them, making them look fresh and stand out from the board while you play. While every Secret Lair Drop has a distinct visual style, Brain Dead has taken thing?s to a whole new level. Of course, I can definitely see how this defiant art style might not be for everyone.

All cards in the Magic: The Gathering: Secret Lair x Brain Dead Inside an Elevator Superdrop

The Inside an Elevator Superdrop consists of three smaller Drops you can purch??ase for $29.99 as non-foil editions or $39.99 as foil editions. I've outlined what's in each Drop below so you can asses which ones you need most in your collection or d?ecks.

Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Lands

The Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Lands Drop is a set of two of each main land card. There's no??thing special about them mechanically, it's just the art that's special here. See every card in the drop below.

• 2x Plains
• 2x Island
• 2x Swamp
• 2x Mountain
• 2x Forest

Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Creatures

The Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Creatures Drop is made up of five creature cards you already know, but their artwork has taken a turn that makes them look retro, slightly disgusting, and part of an exclusive Secret Lair set all at once. All the cards and their mechanic??s, for a refresher, are below.

• 1x Consecrated Sphinx: A 4/6 Creature with Flying. Whenever an opponent draws a card, you may draw two cards.
• 1x Chaotic Goo: A 0/0 Creature. Chaotic Goo enters the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may flip a coin. If you win the flip, put a +1/+1 counter on Chaotic Goo. If you lose the flip, remove a +1/+1 counter from Chaotic Goo.
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker: A 2/2 Creature with Haste. Tap to put a creature token into play that's a copy of a target nonlegendary you control. That creature token has Haste. Sacrifice the creature token at the end of your turn.
• 1x Meteor Golem: a 3/3 Artifact Creature. When Meteor Golem enters the battlefield, destroy target non-land permanent an opponent controls.
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine: A 6/6 Artifact Creature with Deathtouch and Lifelink. When Wurmcoil Engine dies, you craete a 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Wurm artifact creature token with Deathtouch and a 3/3 colorless Phyrexian Wurm artifact creature token with Lifelink.

Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Staples

The Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Staples Drop contains unexpected variants of staple cards you'll find in most, if not all Commander decks. See what these are and what they do below.

• 1x Lightning Greaves: Artifact Equipment. Equipped creature has Haste and Shroud. Equip 0.
• 1x Skullclamp: Artifact Equipment. Equipped creature gets +1/+1. Whenever the equipped creature dies, draw two cards. Equip 1.
• 1x Sol Ring: Tap to add 2 colorless Mana.
• 1x Thought Vessel: Artifact. You have no maximum hand size. Tap to add 1 colorless mana.
• 1x Command Tower: Land. Tap to add 1 Mana of any color in your Commander's color identity.

The post All cards in the Magic: The Gathering: Secret Lair?? x Brain Dead Inside an Elevator Superdrop appeared first on Destructoid.

Wizards of the Coast has announced a new Secret Lair drop for July 2024. The Secret Lair x Brain Dead Superdrops see the LA-based collective of global artists and designers put their mark on Magic: The Gathering with? some distinctly different designs representing t?heir style.

This collaboration between Brain Dead and Wizards of the Coast has fueled three Superdrops that take card archetypes players know so well and give them an unexpected lick of paint. There are lands, Commander staples, and creatures. Players can pick up and add three individual drops to their collection or use them in their decks to bring a layer of flair to their next game when they're on sale in the Secret Lair store from July 29, 2024, until August 18, 2024.

Three Superdrops and some new merch

Across all three Superdrops, the Secret Lair x Brain Dead collaboration consists of a total of 20 cards. Each Drop is priced at $29.99 for the non-foil edition and $39.99 for the foil edition. As with all Secret Lair Drops now, these aren't printed to demand, so only a limited number of sets are available to purchase. In addition, Brain Dead will be selling some exclusive merch on its website to commemorate this collaboration.

With art by Gage Lindsten, Ema Gaspar, Gomzé, JRZ251, and Kogan, the Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Creatures Drop is shown in the image above. As you can see, the collective takes well-known Creatures and approaches the art for them in a way I don't think we've ever seen in MTG. Each card in this Drop is as follows.

• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Chaotic Goo
• 1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1x Meteor Golem
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

The Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Lands Drop has art from Gage Lindsten and Hank Reavis and does a great job of showcasing these fairly boring cards in a way that makes them the stars of the show. I particularly like the Mountain with a lone wate?r tower. Every card in this Drop is below.

• 2x Plains
• 2x Island
• 2x Swamp
• 2x Mountain
• 2x Forest

Finally, with art from Bardo Bread and Jackson Epstein, we have the Secret Lair × Brain Dead: Staples Drop. This Drop takes Commander card?s we all use regularly and spices them up with a new look nobody will expect. The cards you'll get in this set are below.

• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Command Tower

While these cards don't add anything new to MTG mechanically, as the Bloomburrow set will shortly, they do bring a new visual element to the game that stands out against al?l other card artwork. Brain Dead is known for taking a defiant approach to art and design, and you can really see that coming through in every card it's produced.

It doesn't matter if it's just that gorgeous Mountain Land or the eerie Wurmcoil Engine Creature card, I'd be happy to have any of these in my collection. The art certainly won't be for everyone, but there's a ret??ro style throughout here that I think will definitely appeal to many fans.

The post Magic: The Gathering: Secret Lair x Brai??n Dead brings a drop of defiant new cards this month appeared first on Destructoid.

The Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow set launches on August 2, 2024, and transports players to Valley, a beautiful part of Bloomburrow where all kinds of anthropomorphic creatures live together in harmony. In this article, we've got exclusive details on two of the cards you can ??get for your collection from this set.

Part of the fun of a new MTG set, for me, is discovering new cards and figuring out what they do or how they work as you open packs. However, Bloomburrow is a set I can't stop read?ing and speculating about, because it includes so many themes that I think many fans adore. Every new card I see fits the world incredibly well, and the mechanics open up some serious potential for mayhem, if you build your deck right.

Two exclusive new MTG Bloomburrow cards to feast your eyes upon

MTG Bloomburrow will add 261 cards to the base game for you to use?? in collecting and?? building decks. In the lead-up to the set's launch, Wizards of the Coast reached out to me to see if I'd like to exclusively reveal some of them. I said yes, and now you get to admire two new cards and their special variants.

Fecund Greenshell

Fecund Greenshell is a 4/6 Elemental Turtle Creature with Reach, one of the best abilities out there. This card?? gets +2/+2 as long as you control 10 or more lands, which isn't as difficult as you might think if you build your deck around slapping down as many lands as you can as early as you can.

Whenever Fecund Greensh?ell or another creature you control with a toughness gr??eater than its power enters (which also means when it enters the battlefield), look at the top card of your library. If that card is a land card, you can put it ono the battlefield tapped. Otherwise, put it into your hand.

This card's abilities are designed to make it more powe??rful, but you've got to work with those mechanics to maximize its attack power. It doesn't matter when it enters, but you've got to then play cards at or above power 4 so you can, hopefully, play more lands. Something like Dryad of the Ilysian Grove would pair very well with Fecund Greenshell, allowing you to quickly top it up to a 6/8 Creature you can annihilate most other cards using.

Fecund Greenshell Extended Art

The extended art version ?of Fecund Greenshell doesn't do anything different than the main version, but it is much prettier. You can see how the berries shooting out of its back are more like barbs, killing the birds that attack it. I think the fact that this creature appears to be based on a snapping turtle is hugely appropriate, because that spiny mouth?? looks lethal.

Festival of Embers

Festival of Embers is an Enchantment that can make you a force to ??be reckoned with. It lets you cast instant and sorcery spells from your graveyard by paying 1 life, as well as their other costs. This can be massively advantageous if you've been hammering opponents with spells. Even if you only want it so you can reuse one particul??ar spell, it's worth having in your deck.

The only downside here is that if a card or token is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you exile it instead. So you could reuse a spell, but if it then heads to your graveyard, it's out of t??he game instead. To dodge this a little, you can sacrifice the card and?? minimize its impact on what leaves the game for good, if you need to make the most of your graveyard.

I think Festival of ?Embers is going to work best with spells that have multiple abilities and effects. If you can really make the most of bringing back just a few spells and then sacrifice it, then I can see? it saving you from utter destruction at the hands of your opponents. You're really playing with fire if you use this, though, which makes sense given the artwork.

Festival of Embers Showcase Woodland

This is the Showcase Woodland variant of Festival of Embers. It's one of Bloomburrow's exclusive art styl?es, ??and I think it's pretty stunning. It gives off vibes of pagan festivals and an evil army amping itself up before a bloody battle. Quite appropriate for the utter destruction it can cause.

This set hits me right in the childhood, because its characters remind me of every story about animals overcoming adversity like Watership Down and The Animals of Farthing Wood. It feels about as close to MTG in the UK's countryside as you could? possibly get, and that's what I like about it t?he most. I believe these cards nail those themes on the head, and it'll be interesting to see if the entire set feels the same.

Despite the darker themes a few cards feature, Bloomburrow is the brightest and cutest set we've had for a while in MTG. With Duskmourn: House of Horror coming a few months ??after, it's definitely the light of this multiverse right before the night truly sets in.

The post Exclusive: Two brand new beautiful MTG Bl?oombu?rrow cards revealed appeared first on Destructoid.

Wizards of the Coast recently revealed new information about the upcoming Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow set. Alongside a trailer that showcases what it includes, the company announced Value Boosters, a new type of booster pack that?? fans don't see any value in whatsoever.

According to Wizards of the Coast, Value Boosters, which will be introduced with the Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow set, are "a smaller, lighter booster that contain a handful of new cards any fan can enjoy—a budget-friendly way to experience Bloomburrow." However, fans have two ma?jor issues with the new packs. First, Wizards of the Coast has only just consolidated all of its Booster types, and second, this Booster type seems designed to make newcomers spend more money to guarantee good pulls.

Cheaper packs, worse odds

The heart of the problem fans have with Value Boosters is that they have no guaranteed rare. Each ?one contains just seven cards as opposed to the 12 you get in Play Boosters and 15 in Collector Boosters. Of those seven cards, three are common, two are uncommon, one wildcard of any rarity, and one that could be a land, special guest??, or traditional foil.

The language on these packs even?? states, "contains up to 2 rares," but there's no guarantee of a rare or foil card like there is in the other boosters. Value Boosters will be cheaper because of the lower card count, but without the guarantee of a rare, some fans can see players buying 10 packs and getting very littl?e value for a deck or as a collector out of them.

Players have been discussing this at length on the Magic: The Gathering subreddit. User SWBFThree2020 puts it best. "Didn't they already try this with Alara�and it failed miserably? I remember me as a kid, seeing boosters for $2 each and getting so excited that I bought like 10 of them�only to realize they were micropacks and only like 3 of them had rares in it. Really soured me on MTG for a while."

As a fan, I must say that these packs look like they're targete??d more at newcomers who haven't had the luxur??y of guaranteed rares and numerous foils in boosters for years. If rares are harder to acquire through these cheaper packs, it'll take anyone buying them longer to pull the best cards needed to build or modify decks in meaningful ways.

User harker06 added, "Wizards - "we are creating play boosters to reduce the number of different booster types." Also Wizards - "Hey kid, you want a garbage booster?"" While this seems harsh, fans have been messed around with multiple booster types for years. Even the recent Assassin's Creed set has Beyond Boosters, which are yet another variation of the current simplified state of Magic: The Gathering.

Value Boosters also appear to be a way for Wizards of the Coast to look like it's trying to bring down the price of getting into Magic: The Gathering. When you dive into the details, though, it's an economy of scale that benefits the company with more numbers and tu??rns opening packs into a less enjoyable experience.

The Magic: The Gathering Bloomburrow set won't be released until August 2, 2024. Wizards of the Coast isn't going to change what Value Boosters are before then, but if fans continue to vocalize their thoughts, they may at least be limited to Bloomburrow.

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Flesh & Blood, just like any major TCG, has hundreds of cards, ?combinations, and decks that players like to combine to see if they can emerge victorious from competitions. However, sometimes, cards are just too powerful or broken to the point that the game isn't fun anymore.

When cards are banned in Flesh & Blood, it means they just can't be used in any format. While you and your friends might want to employ them in games behind closed doors, th??e fact that a card is banned means it's been deemed too broken to fit in the game any longer. If a card is restricted, that means it can still be used, but only in certain circumstances. These are often explained alongside the restrictions, which is why it pays to know about every banned and restricted card.

All banned and restricted cards in Flesh & Blood for July 2024

Below, I've listed every card in Flesh & Blood that has been banned or restricted and why as of July 8, 2024. The next banned and restricted list is due on October 1, 2024.

Banned: Bonds of Ancestry (Yellow) and Bonds of Ancestry (Blue) in Classic Constructed

In this specific circumstance, Legend Story Studios has decided to ban the yellow and blue forms of Bonds of Ancestry?? in Classic Constructed play. This is an unprecedented ban, but one that's designed to allow some heroes to rise up and become more viable while tackling a part of the meta-game that's fast becoming toxic. Yes, it's mostly down to Zen and the ability to pull off e??xplosive attacks using him.

Unrestricted: Channel Lake Frigid in Living Legend

With Living Legend in a fairly formative state at the time of this list, Legend Story Studios admits that it's difficult to make sound decisions regarding restrictions and bans. That's why Channel Lake Frigid is having its restrictions ?removed for the format.

Previously, the card was restricted alongside Hypothermia, but that move has pushed the game in the opposite direction, making it less enjoyable overall. Channel Lake Frigid aims to balance things out once again without giving p??layers a way to steamroll each other.

Banned: Aether Wildfire, Aether Flare, and Crown of Seeds in Blitz

Crown of Seeds, Aether Flare, and Aether Wildfire have all been banned for Flesh & Blood's Blitz format. There doesn't appear to be too much that's wrong or dangerous with these cards, but the game is about to get a powerful new set for Wizards with Rosetta.

These bans aim to balance Blitz with these new cards in mind. It's possible they'll be added back into play in the future, as with all bans and restrictions, but right now, Legend Story Studios has a plan for this expansion, and it doesn't involve these three cards. ?Reorganize your decks now, but be prepared to change them again once you get some decent pulls in September ??20224.

The post Flesh & Blo?od TCG? banned and restricted cards for July 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.