Wizards of the Coast is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons with a Magic: The Gathering x Secret Lair crossover. As announced, there will be five unique Dungeons & Dragons-themed Secret Lair drops in the coming months, with each themed around aspects of D&D history.
One of them, subtitled Astarion’s Thirst, will introduce a brand new art card for Astarion, the Decadent with the beloved hero splayed, tits out, on a purple couch. The artwork is a sight to behold – and it appears it’s already inspired renewed interest from Baldur’s Gate 3 players looking to get into Magic: The Gathering.
Over on Twitter / X, there’s been countless thirst posts surrounding this card reveal, and quite a few folks who’ve expressed interest about getting into Magic: The Gathering, purely for this particular card. You should never underestimate the power of a twink in MTG, and this appears to be further proof for that stance.
At a glance, this Astarion would be wonderful as a black-white mana Commander, particularly if you’re keen to create a vampire-themed deck. He’s got deathtouch and lifelink, and at the beginning of your end step, you can choose to gain life, based on how much life you’ve already gained that turn, or feed on an opponent, based on how much life they’ve lost. That’s a pretty powerful ability, compounded by the fact that you can use it every turn.
Read: MTG: Bloomburrow is brimming with adorable, deadly critters
Beyond Astarion, there also more Baldur’s Gate 3 representation in this collection, in the form of a full art Karlach, Fury of Avernus. Karlach looks fierce in this artwork by Mila Pesic, roaring to the skies as fire emanates from her body. She’s a bit more limited as a commander as she’s red mana-only, although her first strike abilities are very handy.
For now, these are the two main cards Wizards of the Coast has shown off for its upcoming Secret Lair drops, but we expect to see more shortly. As announced, here’s the five D&D-themed sets on the way:
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: An Exhibition of Adventure
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Astarion’s Thirst
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Karlach’s Rage
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder I
- Secret Lair x Dungeons & Dragons: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder II
It’s likely the rest of the cards will feature heroes and icons from the MTG: Adventures In The Forgotten Realms set, as well as some new additions, each with the signature high quality art of Secret Lair drops.
These upcoming sets will be available from the official Secret Lair website from 27 August 2024, priced at USD $29.99 for the standard editions, and USD $39.99 for the foil editions. They are likely to sell out, so it’s best to stay tuned for preorder news.
