Magic: The Gathering’s latest set, a massive crossover with Dungeons & Dragons, officially launches on MTG Arena Thursday, July 8.
The Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set officially launches on July 23, but it’s available early in the digital card game version of MTG Arena, for fans to get an early taste. MTG Arena can be played for free both on PC and mobile devices. Surprisingly, there’s never been a direct crossover between Magic the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons until now, but the series has crossed over with Warhammer, Lord of the Rings, and more.
As the 88th official expansion the set adds 281 new cards as well as two new game mechanics; venture in the dungeon and pack tactics. Dungeons, of course, are a core aspect of the Dungeons & Dragons series. Here’s more on how the system works from Magic the Gathering’s site,
“There are three dungeons in the set, and you’ll be able to see each of them alongside any card that references dungeons. On desktop platforms, you can hover over a card and right-click on it to flip through the dungeon options. On mobile, you can press and hold on the card to see a list of the dungeons (much like the way cards in a mutate stack are shown). If you’re not in a dungeon already, whenever you “venture into the dungeon,” you will choose one of the three dungeons in the set to enter:
You’ll start in the entrance, the first room at the top, activating the triggered ability in that room. As you continue to venture deeper into the dungeon, you will often be offered a choice of which room and triggered effect you want to choose next: Until finally you reach the end of the dungeon, completing it. If you venture again, you can choose to go back to that same dungeon or select one of the others.”
While the set has plenty of Easter Eggs and references, players don’t need to be familiar with Dungeons & Dragons in order to use it. There have also been changes to help enhance the story of Dungeons & Dragons, like Land cards now having flavor text. Head to the Magic the Gathering site to see more info on the different cards and options available in the Dungeons & Dragons set.
