As the sheer volume of anime alternate art cards in Magic will attest, Wizards of the Coast is often generous when it comes to providing exclusive goodies for players in Japan. Today, we see the same in reverse. As announced by Viz on Twitter, a much-lauded MTG manga is coming to the US for the first time in the Fall of this year.
The series is known as ‘Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated,’ and its announcement is exciting for a number of reasons. Firstly, because it brings a popular Magic-centric story to a whole new audience of hungry Vorthos’. Second, because the new release will include an “exclusive card,” more than likely a shiny promo. No matter what aspect of Magic you enjoy, there’s something to love about this announcement.
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What is ‘Destroy All Humans. They Can’t be Regenerated’?
But just what is this series that everyone already seems to know about? ‘Destroy All Humans. They Can’t be Regenerated’ is a manga that debuted in 2018 in Japan. Written by Katsura Ise and illustrated by Takuma Yokota, the series was first serialized in the Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine. Since then, 15 collected volumes have been published, the last of which was released just one week ago today in Japan. The US is around 5 years behind in terms of releases, then.
The story of Destroy All Humans centers on High School student Hajime Kanou, an otaku with a penchant for Magic. While playing with some friends at school, he crosses paths with Emi Sawatari, his academic rival. Though she turns up her nose at Magic at school, Hajime later finds her playing at a local game store. This ignites a double rivalry, in which the pair compete both in Magic and at school, deepening their bond all the while.
There are fairly obvious similarities to Yu-Gi-Oh! here, in the High School setting and reliance on card games. Destroy All Humans, despite the aggressive title, does lack the supernatural elements that largely defined that series. For now, at least. That said, a more grounded take on a card game manga sounds like a good time, and the ’90s setting should provide some welcome nostalgia to boot.
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Potential Promos
If the story of Destroy All Humans doesn’t grab you, the exclusive promo cards might. In every volume of the manga in Japan, a foil promo has been included. These vary a lot in terms of quality, with staples such as Counterspell rubbing shoulders with the likes of Wild Growth. Despite this, many of them regularly sell for over $10. This isn’t bad at all for what are essentially free gifts.
Now that this MTG manga is coming to the US, it’s bringing along a new set of promos. The announcement post promises “an exclusive card,” which is a tantalizingly vague way to put it. This is unlikely to be ‘exclusive’ as in ‘never before seen,’ but it may be a first-time foil printing like the Culling the Weak we saw last year. It could even be a new printing with alternate art, in the vein of some anime art promos we’ve seen in the past.
Of course, Destroy All Humans may retain the same promos it had originally when it comes stateside. If that’s the case, then we can expect to see a foil Diabolic Edict with the Tempest art in Volume 1. This isn’t the most exciting promo, but it still commands a decent price. It sees regular play in both Pauper and Commander, too. New promos would, naturally, be a lot more exciting, but even just getting the same ones as Japan would be solid.
An exact US release date for Volume 1 is yet to be confirmed, but Viz has specified ‘Fall 2024.’ That could mean anything from a 4-7 month wait from now. Not ideal, but fans have waited 5 years for an English translation already; what’s a few months more?
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