New releases for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering were unveiled by Wizards of the Coast during a direct-to-fan virtual event.
Wizards of the Coast, a gaming division of Hasbro, has announced a new line-up of innovative releases for later this year and beyond during its Wizards Presents virtual event. These initiatives enhance Hasbro’s $2.1b games portfolio for players of all ages, which includes iconic fantasy brands Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons.
Dungeons & Dragons continues to innovate the tabletop and digital roleplaying genre with the next evolution of core rules to enhance players’ enjoyment of the game. Wizards of the Coast says that crossover opportunities with the film and book industries will also add to the more than 50m people who play D&D, fast approaching its 50-year anniversary.
Among the new introductions in Dungeons & Dragons, One D&D represents the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons that brings together updated rules and is backwards compatible with 5th Edition, D&D Beyond. An early-in-development D&D digital play experience will offer players and Dungeon Masters full immersion and rich 3D creation tools.
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen will be available everywhere with a standard cover, with an alternate cover only available through game stores in December. On 28th February 2023, Shadow of the Dragon Queen Deluxe Edition will also be released. Dungeons & Dragons will offer bundles of physical and digital content to fans on D&D Beyond (Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen can be preordered now).
Since 1993, Magic: The Gathering has thrilled players and card collectors. With more than 50m fans to date, Magic is a worldwide phenomenon in more than 150 countries. Upcoming products announced at the event include the Universes Beyond product line; a way for fans to play Magic: The Gathering beyond Magic’s planes with cards representing iconic fictional settings and characters in pop culture.
Fans also got a first glimpse at details for the latest entry in Universes Beyond, Warhammer 40,000. In addition to four commander decks, four Sol Rings are themed after each faction, with cards in the collector’s edition of each commander deck boasting a new Surge Foil treatment.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth set unveiled new artwork for The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, spanning 18 individual cards as part of a booster release that will immerse fans in Middle-earth. The set is also coming to Magic: The Gathering Arena as an Alchemy set later next year.
Magic: The Gathering is joining forces with Doctor Who in a new Universes Beyond collaboration that includes Commander decks, collector boosters and Secret Lair drops.
Magic: The Gathering celebrates its 30th birthday in 2023. The year-long celebration kicks off this year and includes the Magic 30 event taking place at Las Vegas’ Expo in October, promotions commemorating Magic’s history, and special promotions unique to in local game stores.
It was announced that, later this year, Dominaria United will be released, and Wizards of the Coast also unveiled its upcoming premier Magic: The Gathering set releases for 2023. The Phyrexia story arc continues with Brothers’ War, Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machine. Q2 2023 will also see the release of March of the Machine: The Aftermath, and further releases include Wilds of Eldraine and Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
More information about everything that was revealed in Wizards Presents can be accessed here.
Earlier this year, Bliss Distribution was appointed as a Wizards of the Coast distributor in the UK. As well as supplying Wizards of the Coast products, qualifying retailers to access the Wizards Play Network – a resource for organised play events in the UK.
