Monster & Magic Item Cards Coming In February

Three new items have popped up on Amazon: two decks of Monster Cards (CR 0-5, and CR 6-16), and one of Magic Items! They all have a release date of 5th February 2019, though they are already available in local game stores and from Gale Force 9.

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"Monsters exist at the heart of every game of Dungeons & Dragons, and monster cards make accessing the information contained in the Monster Manual easier than ever.

Quickly organize the creatures your players might meet in your next game and avoid disruption during that critical encounter. Monster Cards are a fantastic way to keep the game moving, as well as to provide a challenge to adventurers both new and experienced.

- Contains 179 durable, laminated cards for a range of deadly monsters from the D&D Monster Manual with a challenge rating from 0 - 5.
- Up-to-date game statistics provided on one side, and evocative art of the item on the other.
- The perfect tool to help Dungeon Masters manage and reference their menagerie during play."

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"Monsters exist at the heart of every game of Dungeons & Dragons, and monster cards make accessing the information contained in the Monster Manual easier than ever.

Quickly organize the creatures your players might meet in your next game and avoid disruption during that critical encounter. Monster Cards are a fantastic way to keep the game moving, as well as to provide a challenge to adventurers both new and experienced.

- Contains 74 durable, laminated cards for a range of deadly monsters from the D&D Monster Manual with a challenge rating from 6 - 16.
- Official game statistics provided on one side, and evocative art of the item on the other.
- The perfect tool to help Dungeon Masters manage and reference their menagerie during play.
- Special double-sized cards featuring more powerful or complex creatures."

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"From adamantine armor to wings of flying, every magic item in the Dungeon Master's Guide is on a card of its own in this easy-to-use deck of cards.

Keep your game moving along when the adventurers find that crucial magical treasure, by providing your players with a card that is quick and easy to reference in and out of the game.
- Contains 294 durable, laminated cards for a hoard of magical weapons, armor, and other wondrous items from the D&D Dungeon Masters Guide.
- Official game statistics provided on one side, and evocative art of the item on the other.
- The perfect tool to help Dungeon Masters equip their villains or dole out rewards to their players' heroes."

Thanks to Oryzarius for the scoop!

 

[Faenor]

None of the beasts from the back of the mm. Those would be very useful to keep out for pets and wildshapes.

 

[Birmy]

Are you sure that they don't already exist? I have even seen an unboxing video a month ago... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC3o9wW87NY

"They all have a release date of 5th February 2019, though they are already available in local game stores and from Gale Force 9."

 

[TerraDave]

I just saw that they existed, and are also available from specialty online retailers.

Like here:

https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2147738157/Spellbook-Cards---Monsters-0-5

I have the old AD&D monster cards, and something like that can be pretty handy, but I really don't need it. Hmm

 

[maceochaid]

I got these a while ago too. Somewhat annoyingly (and confusingly, given it's a licensed product) it doesn't have all the monsters in it. No Beholder of Mindflayer, for example.

Did you get the higher level set? Because mind definitely had the Mind Flayer in it, used it in a session the other week.

 

[Langy]

I'm pretty sure it's missing the Beholder for the same reason it's missing the Adult Dragons or the Unicorn - it doesn't have any Legendary creatures. I'm expecting a future pack with those in it, possibly in an even larger card size.

EDIT: Also, the magic cards. The idea is really good, but the execution leaves something to be desired. Specifically, about 10% of the cards have generic art that doesn't fit what the card is supposed to be, and some cards are for multiple items rather than for a single item (for example, there are cards that are for 'any sword' rather than for 'a longsword' or whatever). If I were in charge I'd also change the border or the font color or something to indicate item rarity.

For the magic items where the card is for a singular item, the cards are awesome, and I'll definitely be using them in my campaign. For the other cards, well... They'll probably be replaced by my own home-made versions.

 

[Mepher]

I have both decks of Monster Cards. I am disappointed also by the lack of Beholder and some other Legendary creatures. The other issue I have is with releasing these with 2 different card sizes. Half of the monsters fit on single cards, while they used double width cards for the monsters with larger descriptions. I would rather pay a little more and have all of the cards one size for filing purposes. As it stands I have mixed them all and ordered them identical to the Monster Manual, next I will get a file card box with dividers and label them. It will still have different sized cards mixed. If they were all the same I could have easily put them into a binder.

 

[Badvoc]

I got these a while ago too. Somewhat annoyingly (and confusingly, given it's a licensed product) it doesn't have all the monsters in it. No Beholder of Mindflayer, for example.

Yep. I got this a little while back and, although I haven't looked through them in too much detail yet, I noticed a few glaring omissions when I shuffled though the monster decks. I can't believe they missed out rats!

They are nicely done, and I'm generally happy I have them.

 

[Staffan]

I'm pretty sure it's missing the Beholder for the same reason it's missing the Adult Dragons or the Unicorn - it doesn't have any Legendary creatures. I'm expecting a future pack with those in it, possibly in an even larger card size.

There are some legendary creatures in there, e.g. the aboleth. I think the cutoff, other than CR, is stat block size. The beholder's stat block takes up about a page of the Monster Manual all on its own, so it would be impossible to put it on a card in any meaningful form that doesn't just say "See the MM".

What is more annoying is that they haven't included the common stuff - animals and NPCs. They are, after all, among the more common opponents. But perhaps that's for a later addition. Or perhaps they didn't have enough art of those.

 

[EthanSental]

I’m glad to see newer products for 5e. With the increasing popularity of 5e and growing player base, hopefully WoTC and 3rd party can reach a licensing agreement to make cool things that TSR used to make, like card sets and such.

 

[Inchoroi]

I was tempted to get the magic item cards last week, but decided not to...I tend to write a bunch of lore for my magic items, anyway, so it wouldn't really be that useful.