Japanese MTG players have it really good at the moment. Not only do they get exclusive promos and a Magic-themed manga, but now they’re getting an all-new event as well. This event is called The Wanderer’s Summer Festival, and it’s arriving on Japanese shores alongside Bloomburrow later this year.
This is a unique event with a unique distribution system and some aesthetically appealing goodies up for grabs. While this event is Japan-exclusive for now, that may well change if fan demand picks up in the days and weeks to come.
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The Wanderer’s Summer Festival Promotion
So what actually is The Wanderer’s Summer Festival? This is a promotion offered in all Japanese WPN stores, starting with the release of Bloomburrow. The set is slated to launch on August 2, 2024, so essentially three months from now. While the event is active, buying any six Play Boosters in-store will get you a nice bonus sticker.
The majority of these stickers are fun extras, featuring ‘chibi’ versions of popular Magic Dragons. Both the original Elder Dragon cycle and the Kamigawa Spirit Dragons are featured, as well as others. Among these stickers, however, can be found ‘Hit Stickers.’ These are rare golden stickers, and if you’re lucky enough to open one, you can immediately trade it in for a prize.
What are these prizes, you may ask? Well, depending on the Hit Sticker you open, you can get either an exclusive playmat or a set of exclusive sleeves. Both are pictured above, and both feature brand-new artwork that includes The Wanderer and Kaito Suzuki, two popular Kamigawa Planeswalkers. There’s also a one-of-a-kind third prize. To the player who finds the last Chibi Character Sticker in the event, a print of the artwork signed by artist Fuzichoco will be given.
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Meet The Artist
That name may be familiar to you if you’ve followed Magic art closely over the last few years. Fuzichoco has worked on several pieces for the game, all in a distinctly ‘anime’ style. These have largely been special alternate art versions of cards, whether that’s a frame-breaking Tamiyo, Collector of Tales from War of the Spark, or a surprisingly cute take on the infamous Farewell from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.
Outside of their work in Magic, Fuzichoco is an accomplished illustrator. They have two published art books to their name and have also completed work for multiple virtual musician projects. They’re credited with the design of Lize Helesta, and worked on some of the visuals for the Hatsune Miku Magical Mirai 2020 event, as well. They’re an accomplished artist, then, and they’ve clearly brought their A-game to the exclusive artwork on display in these prizes.
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Potential Expansion
So that’s all well and good for Japan, but what does it mean for players elsewhere in the world? There are a couple of possible implications. Firstly, the secondary market value of the prizes themselves. Exclusivity always lends some extra financial heft to a given collectible, and these prizes have it in spades. Not only do you need to actually be in Japan to claim them, but the random nature of the Sticker promotion means that you’re not guaranteed to get one even if you do visit a Japanese store.
These factors combined could lead to these playmats and sleeves being expensive collector’s items. Particularly given the quality of the artwork and the fact that it depicts two popular characters. That said, playmats don’t typically have a high price ceiling, even for similarly exclusive ones, such as tournament Top 8 prize mats. For that reason, it’s unlikely to be out of reach price-wise for those who want it. The same is true for the sleeves, even more so perhaps.
This will be especially true if the event makes its way to other regions as well. While there’s no word on this at present, there is precedent for it happening. Just a couple of weeks ago, a Japan-exclusive Cowboy Bebop crossover was extended to the rest of the world. It’s unlikely that this new event will generate the same level of buzz, given that the prizes involved aren’t playable cards, but it could happen.
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