D&D's Magic Cards - Welcome To The Dungeons

The talk of the Magic the Gathering cards themed and set in The Forgotten Realms has been the toast of the town for all the fans who play both of Wizards' legendary games (such as myself). I've been covering the the card previews very closely on the blog thus far, and today we finally get to see what the signpost, big mechanic of the set.

Stacking the Odds

Mixed adventurer cards from adventures in the forgotten realms

Nadaar, Selfless Paladin MTG Card

We had a brief glimpse at a 'dungeon' mechanic on a gargoyle card. Thanks to this generically edgy Rogue and this Paladin, the likes of which is very close to a character of legend in my homebrew setting, we have a sense of what “venture” means. By going into the dungeon, we the player flip over a new card type and put it in the command zone. This all feels very similar to the Contraptions in Unstable. We can only be in one dungeon at a time, and when you first enter a new room, we get its benefit. There are three dungeons in all, and when you finish one, certain cards get a benefit, like Gloom Stalker and Cloister Gargoyle.

The dungeons range from punishing to advantageous, and an excellent side quest and mini game tucked into the usual wizard's duel of Magic. Many critics have called the mechanic bad and not worth the effort. To that I simply say: “who cares?” Yes, it is highly unlikely that high level tournament play will probably never consider Dungeons and the venture mechanic, but honestly that's okay. Calling a mechanic good or not isn't centred by how much competitive play it sees. Phyrexian Mana is widely regarded as a bad mechanic because it's so good, because it distorts gameplay so heavily that it breaks certain fundamentals of Magic. Sure we may not see Dungeons at the top tables of premier play (whatever that may be these days), but I'd rather it be fun and forgettable, like Meld, than an absolute format warper like Energy or Adventures.

The Dungeon cards - ready for adventure

A key character from many novels has found her way onto a Planeswalker card. This charming Bard will help you delve deeper into dungeons, whilst being excellent card selection. The ultimate, of continually buffing your team will make for very swingy boards in casual games.

Elly Tumblestrum Cards

Evolving Wilds Classic Adventure Style

This has to be the most charming and flavourful redesign of a card I've ever seen. Evolving Wilds is a common card and budget staple for all 2+ colour Commander Decks. It functionally works exactly the same, but it's been wonderfully redesigned to look like the cover of an AD&D Adventure. I've seen a Red land in a similar style to look like a Bugbear Cave quest, but I won't comment on it until it becomes official. As for right now, any D&D and Magic nut will want to snap up this version very quickly.

Drawn to Adventure

We've been treated to more Game Master basic lands, and each of them bring such GM magic to Magic. The more I see of the set, the more wonderful flavour I can feel from the cross over. Something I hope they can truly sustain.

Now we want to hear from you. Which cards are you most excited to sleeve up so far? What tropes from Dungeons and Dragons are you hoping to see? Let us know in our discord server or in the comments below, and look to Apotheosis Studios' blog for even more comments on the new cards as they come.

Adam Ray contributes much for adventurers here on Apotheosis Studios. As co-founder of fantasticuniverses.com, he writes about card gaming and PC gaming to a corner of the internet he carved out himself. On Youtube, he can be found game mastering for No Ordinary Heroes, or editing the antics on The Hostile Atmosphere. Find where he dwells by climbing his Linktree.