MTG players love new cards. Spoiler seasons for new sets are incredibly hectic with the amount of excitement, and new content that hits the internet. Magic players light up discussing all of the new cards and how it impacts that little slice of MTG that they are so passionate about. A great example was how I personally became incredibly excited about Archdruid’s Charm on reveal. I love playing Lotus Field Combo in Pioneer, and this card seemed great for it. Evidently, according to recent decklists, it is.
If each individual spoiler gets a ton of MTG players excited, imagine what happens when a spoiler affects an entire subset of cards! Recently, thanks to an MTG event celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons, Wizards of the Coast announced a special event. Players have the opportunity to draft the beloved Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set with a few twists. In addition to adding a Collector Booster to your pool, players even get to play with a new Dungeon! Considering that a Dungeon affects a whole series of cards, this announcement was an unexpected delight.
With this addition, any cards that Venture into the Dungeon or The Underdark could have a plethora of new options available to them.
Not only does a new MTG Dungeon open a ton of unexplored gameplay space, but players quickly identified that the new Dungeon was capable of doing some broken things alongside Venturing homestays like Acererak, the Archlich. Considering how much this Dungeon can add to existing cards that like the mechanic, the excitement is understandable.
Sadly, there wasn’t a lot of clarity regarding whether this Dungeon would be legal for play outside the event. It is now a few days after the new Dungeon was announced, and it seems that we finally have an answer.
Rule Zero Dungeoneering
This massive new Dungeon was the card in question that players were excited to try. As you may notice, this card looks absolutely massive, and that’s because it is. Baldur’s Gate Wilderness is not a standard sized card, which already had many players doubting its legality.
Regardless, many MTG players waited with bated breath for an official answer to this question. A Dungeon this powerful could even see play in Vintage and Legacy! Initiative cards already see play there, and maybe this is a new option for players to Venture into instead of the Underdark.
After a few days worth of waiting, MTG Designer Mark Rosewater finally answered a question related to this card’s legality on Blogatog. Tumblr Thasgar was just as confused as many in regards to Baldur’s Gate Wilderness, and asked for some clarification in regards to what the legality for this Dungeon is.
“Is the Baldur’s Gate Wilderness dungeon only for the event coming in May, or is it entering the comprehensive rules and Commander/Legacy/Vintage? I’m hearing people online say it will be, but not seeing anything official about it.”
In response to this inquiry, Rosewater did confirm that this new Dungeon is “just for the event.” This means that Legacy and Vintage players need not worry about Initiative becoming a bigger menace than it already is.
That said, Rosewater also stated that players can use it casually if they want to. In Rosewater’s words, “if people enjoy it and want to casually use it, there’s nothing we can do to stop it :).” Should you want to use this Dungeon in your own Commander games, there is little stopping you aside from the consent of the rest of the table. Just don’t bring this oversized Dungeon to any sanctioned events.
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Player Opinion
According to feedback from players in regards to this announcement, while some are disappointed, many expected this outcome. As mentioned by Redditor SquirrelDragon, the distribution model for this new Dungeon was a big hint that this was unlikely to be legal for sanctioned play:
“The distribution model is a big clue that it wouldn’t be legal. Although nothing in the rules prevents Wotc from printing a new dungeon only in Oversized form and only distributing 4 to each store, if and when they introduce a new one it’ll most likely be printed in regular card size and more widely distributed in packs”
SquirrelDragon
We already mentioned that an oversized MTG card is generally an indication that the card will not be considered legal for sanctioned play. The limited number of Dungeons being distributed to each store, however, is an even bigger indication. If this were a legal venturing option, every player who attends the event should get a copy of it. Instead, only four are reportedly appearing at each store.
This, ironically, could make this MTG Dungeon an expensive collectible. If enough players want to find a paper copy of the Dungeon, a bizarre supply issue could be created.
Many MTG players already plan on using this Dungeon in their various Cubes, Drafts and Commander games despite it not being legal for sanctioned play. Baldur’s Gate Wilderness is available as a PDF online, but finding one as shipped to LGS’ will be rather difficult. If you plan to acquire one of these for yourself, it would be in your best interest to plan on attending the Battle for Baldur’s Gate events happening at WPN stores on the weekend of May 17.
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