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. Rather than being based in a fairly mundane version of New York, Darkhold Destiny is taking the likes of Doctor Strange and the Asgardians and telling a more magical story (forgive me). What really separates this new out-there set from the other two Marvel sets is that Wizards of the Coast was really able to write its own story with Marvel's characters and settings, which makes them feel less like a crossover and more like a part of Magic's multiverse.
With a new story written in-house, Wizards of the Coast was also able to give its artists more license to create their own takes on Marvel characters. For instance, while Scarlet Witch looked standard in the previous set, her art for Darkhold Destiny looks much more like an MTG character, while still retaining some signature parts of her outfit – the mask is still there. The story revolves around Dormammu and Hela using the Darkhold to invade the entire multiverse, requiring Doctor Strange, Thor, and other Marvel heroes to stop them.
The set is heavily focused on spellcasting, themed across three schools of magic: Arcane (Doctor Strange's allies), Divine (Asgardians), and Dark (the villains, though some heroes like Ghost Rider will also wield it). You can expect a lot of focus on cool instants, sorceries and 'unique enchantments.' Wizards is even bringing back the Arcane subtype on instants and sorceries, which hasn't been used since Saviors of Kamigawa all the way back in 2005.
In addition to standard Booster Packs and Collector Boosters, Darkhold Destiny will 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). There will also be two scene boxes, each with six mechanically unique cards. Wizards of the Coast plans to give the first glimpse of its original Marvel story in February with a comic produced alongside Image comics, followed by another comic closer to when the set launches in April 2027.