It’s no secret that the MTG release calendar for each year is now incredibly busy. With products being released almost every month it’s a miracle that players can keep up with it all. While they are the ones causing the problems, we can actually thank Wizards of the Coast for this. When everything goes to plan, the release schedule is a finely tuned and well-oiled machine.
Before first looked and spoiler seasons, Wizards deliberately keeps a lot of MTG set details under wraps. This allows MTG players to enjoy the latest set to be released, rather than always looking toward the future. Unfortunately, Wizards of the Coast doesn’t have an ironclad grip over the entire internet. As a result, leaks and early reveals happen surprisingly often.
Most recently, a variety of new product listings have revealed curious details for multiple upcoming MTG sets.
Slightly Worse Precons
For starters, Duskmourn: House of Horror, the next set to be released, is a little bit worse than expected. Thankfully, this isn’t in terms of flavor, as the story chapters are proving to be an absolute delight. Instead, this curious downgrade can be found in the set’s four preconstructed decks.
Back in June, Wizards released the box art for the four Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander decks. Following this, an editor’s note would be attached to the article to deliver the bad news. The “Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander decks do not include a life wheel.”
Spotted by eagle-eyed Reddit user Copernicus1981, this is a very unusual, but nonetheless disappointing change. That said, it might actually be a positive for many MTG players. Thanks to the ubiquity of life wheels and life total trackers, removing this accessory should lead to less waste. Unfortunately, not everyone is an enfranchised MTG player.
Should a new player be picking up a Duskmourn deck as their first foray into Commander, they’ll now be without this useful accessory. Sure, you can use an app, or track it physically on paper, but those are an extra barrier before play. When you’re trying to get someone into a new game, you ideally want it to be as easy as possible.
Currently, it’s unclear whether or not the lack of life wheels in Commander decks will be a permanent change or not. In their Reddit post, Copernicus1981 suggests it might be, however, this appears to be unconfirmed. Hopefully, for the sake of new players, this accessory won’t be completely eradicated, but that remains to be seen.
A Foundation in History
Next up on the release calendar, new details have also been discovered about the MTG Foundations set. Specifically, Copernicus1981 discovered that a Darksteel Colossus promo should be up for grabs soon. Reportedly, this will be available during Learn to Play events as a gift alongside a relevant purchase.
While the promo itself is no longer listed on the WPN website, the ways to earn it thankfully are. During “the Deck Building event,” players will need to purchase either a Beginner Box, Starter Collection, Starter Kit, or 6 Play Boosters. While these products won’t be super cheap, getting a $9 reprint for your troubles isn’t too bad.
Alongside this new promo, Copernicus1981 also spotted some rather unusual Collector Booster packaging. As you can see above, the art for this product depicts Liliana with the iconic Chain Veil adorning her face.
While this art isn’t present in the WPN store for whatever reason, it nonetheless confirms some interesting information. Namely, it reaffirms that MTG Foundations isn’t bound by the present day of MTG. Instead, this set should be able to pull from all of Magic’s history however it wants to, much like a Horizons or Masters set.
Ultimately, this isn’t the biggest revelation by any means, since Foundations isn’t a premier set. Wizards also noted the set will pull from multiple periods of Magic’s history in the set’s reveal. This doesn’t mean it won’t be slightly confusing, however. After all, thanks to characters like Kaito appearing in the set, Foundations appears to have foundations in modern Magic.
A Two-Horse Race
Thanks to early product listings from Ultra Pro, concrete details about the MTG Death Race set have already been revealed. Also referred to as the “Multiplanar Race,” this set is reportedly only going to have two Commander decks. The last time a premier set only had two preconstructed Commander decks was back in 2023.
While a reduction in Commander decks may be disappointing to some, it appears that Death Race will have serialized cards. This is based on a product listing for a “Serialized Card Holofoil Playmat.” This may also mean the set has a Bonus Sheet, likely based around vehicles, but this is unconfirmed.
Last but not least, Copernicus1981 predicts that Death Race will launch on February 7th, 2024. This prediction is based on the end of MTG Foundations Standard Showdown events. Whether or not this prediction is accurate ultimately remains to be seen.
During their post, Copernicus1981 also deduced that Innistrad Remastered will launch on January 10th. This is based on the date Store Championship events end and past release date gaps. This is notably far less confirmed than the Death Race date. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long for more information and full confirmation.
Later this year, on October 25th, Wizards is due to reveal the 2025 release calendar in earnest. During the preview panel at MagicCon: Las Vegas, it’s expected Wizards will reveal names and dates for the 2025 sets. Hopefully, this means we won’t have to call Death Race/Multiplanar Race/Tennis by its codename for much longer.
