Adventures in forgotten realms will be Magic: the Gathering’s latest release. It will be out on MTG Arena and MGTO on July 15th and have a paper release date of July 23rd. As always when a set is just around the corner, I like to discuss what I am looking forward to and what my fears are, from a Lore, Art, flavor, and mechanical standpoint.
Let’s get the lore out of the way first, because I think there is a large potential for this to be the weak point of the set. Here we are going into a universe beyond the multiverse of Magic: the Gathering, and well I don’t exactly have the biggest trust in WOTC to do it right. What I mean is that the Lore has been a sore spot for a while and well I think it will take a lot of nuances to get a setting like this right. So far there isn’t any word on who will be helming the story of the set, so we can’t speculate on its quality, but my main wish is for there to be a reason for us visiting this world outside of the multiverse. Will this push a larger narrative forward or will it simply be a fan service set for those that like the forgotten realms.
Don’t get me wrong its an interesting world with unique characters which has an overlapping fan base with MTG, it’s just feels like its adding to my problem with the story, as it feels listlessness and its inability to form a larger narrative is getting old.
One of my gripes in this regard is the addition of Planeswalkers to a set that isn’t really tied to the multiverse we are coming from, unless they surprise us and there is going to be some connection (but I feel it’s more to do with the “needed” Planeswalkers quota).
Once again, I think we are looking at another one and done set and story, one that isn’t really giving us Lore nuts what we really want. For us though we will just have to look to the future, into the fall block and our return to Innistrad where I have this gut feeling that we will start to finally form a larger narrative because of it being a 2-set block.
Where I am excited for Adventures in Forgotten realms is in its potential to knock it out of the park Mechanically and thematically. I think a Dungeons and Dragons set has a lot of room for interesting mechanics that really put you into the D&D mindset. We have already seen the Venture mechanic which places your creatures into dungeons, then based on your decisions it effects their runs and your battle. I think this is a huge flavor win, and one I will play around with for a while, I just wish there were more dungeons.
What I would love to see though would be a return of the Level mechanic as its really the one set where it makes so much sense. I know Maro has mentioned in the past that the Level mechanic didn’t quite play out how they wanted, but I believe that if it were paired with the venture mechanic, we could have a fresh take on it. Imagine placing your level up creature into a dungeon and when they come out, they are stronger for it, they level up! Personally, I have a feeling we won’t see it but I am holding out hope.
As someone quite invested in the color pie, I am really looking forward to seeing how it applies to a setting that already uses its own alignment chart. Its something that is similar but different in many ways. How will each class be represented by the color pie, and how can we surmise its parallels with the Dungeons and Dragons alignment chart. I have plans to release a video by the time the set drops discussing how I intend to do away with the alignment chart and instead get you to use the color pie, but we can talk more about that down the road.
In the end I am on the fence about the set, I don’t want to judge it before it drops. I do hope it shatters my expectations, but I have been doing this for a bit now and I think my fears are founded. I’m always looking to be surprised though, as I do love Magic: the Gathering and I want it to be at its best. For those of you heavily invested in D&D I am sure it will be a blast for you. Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments I am curious to read them. Are you excited? Is there something that’s on your Wishlist? Let me know!
With hat friends I’ll catch you in the multi… I mean forgotten realms, bye!
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