Magic: The Gathering Returns to Marvel with Darkhold Destiny
Magic the Gathering and Marvel have already crossed over a couple of times with Spider-Man and the Marvel Super Heroes set last year. But for its third Marvel set, MTG is getting spooky with Darkhold Destiny.
Magic: The Gathering is set to return to Marvel with a new set titled Darkhold Destiny. This marks the third time that the two franchises have collaborated on a Magic: The Gathering set, following the successful Spider-Man and Marvel Super Heroes sets. However, Darkhold Destiny takes a more magical approach, featuring characters like Doctor Strange and the Asgardians within a fantastical multiverse setting.
What sets this Marvel crossover apart from previous ones is that Wizards of the Coast was allowed to write its own story for the set, giving it greater cohesion with Magic's multiverse rather than feeling like a traditional crossover. This also granted artists more creative freedom when depicting the Marvel characters. For example, Scarlet Witch, who appeared standard in the Marvel Super Heroes set, now closely resembles her Magic portrayal, retaining key costume elements.
The narrative revolves around Dormammu and Hela using the Darkhold to invade the entire multiverse. Doctor Strange, Thor, and other Marvel heroes then must band together to stop the cosmic threat. Thematically, the spells in Darkhold Destiny are divided into three schools of magic - Arcane, Divine, and Dark. Arcane magic belongs to Doctor Strange and his allies, Divine magic is wielded by Asgardians and similar entities, while Dark magic is primarily used by the set's villains, with some heroes like Ghost Rider also employing it.
Wizards of the Coast has introduced several unique mechanics to the set, including returning the Arcane subtype to instants and sorceries after a 22-year hiatus. The set will also feature four commander decks - Strange Academy (White/Blue/Black), Gods of Asgard (White/Red/Green), Midnight Sons (White/Black), and Lords of Hel (Black/Red).
Each commander deck will come in a collector's edition with foiled cards. Additionally, there will be two scene boxes containing six mechanically unique cards each, and both the standard bundle and gift bundle will include a mechanically unique promo card. The first glimpse of the unique Marvel story will be revealed in February alongside an Image Comics comic, followed by another comic closer to the set's April 2027 release.
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