WotC So, when do the announce the July book? Guesses on what it'll be? 🤔

[Parmandur]

Never touched Magic before. Was a Pokemon player for a time and might be neat to do the DnD Magic. Just buy and build decks with that set as a one-and-done
Super confused by where to start

According to the releases there the "Collector Booster Packs," "Draft Booster Packs," as well as just "Booster Packs." Plus displays for all three. There's "Theme Booster Packs" but also a Bundle. And "Commander Decks"
If I just want to buy some cards and play, what the naughty word do I ask for at the store?! If I want some extra cards to build my own deck or two which of the three different types of packs is the best??

Jeez, could WizCo make this any more confusing?!

They've been working to make the product line as overwhelming as possible to maximize profits, for sure.

The good places to start are going to be the Prerelease bundles (whether in a safe in-store event, or take a couple home to open with friends and family) and the Commander decks. The Prerelease bundle will have some intro material, the life counter d20, and a bunch of boosters designed for opening and building a quick deck. Commander is a casual, multiplayer (as in, more than 2 people) format that has been gaining popularity as an entry point, and interestingly was invented by the players, not WotC.

If you have played Pokemon, you have played Magic, actually. Getting up to speed on how to play is very easy right now, and free: Magic Arena is free to play, and just going through the tutorial will get the gameplay basics down.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I wouldn't speculate too much, though they did seem to hint it is big. They have an entire Commander deck themed around Dungeon cards, so it is certainly not a Limited only card.

Dungeons of Death Commander Deck is named after dungeons, but I don't know if it actual contains cards of the dungeon type or if the name is just intended to invoke a certain flavour. I could be wrong.

It does seem to at least be a new card type and so far only seems to appear in Draft products, outside of the boosters.

 

[Parmandur]

Dungeons of Death Commander Deck is named after dungeons, but I don't know if it actual contains cards of the dungeon type or if the name is just intended to invoke a certain flavour. I could be wrong.

It does seem to at least be a new card type and so far only seems to appear in Draft products, outside of the boosters.

The Commander Deck names tend to be descriptive, so expect the Aura deck to have Aura cards, the Dragon deck to have Dragons, and the Dungeon deck to have Dungeons: the Portals are the real wildcard there.

I see no indications that Dungeons are Draft booster exclusives, and can you provide a citation on the double sided Dungeon card, because I don't see that in the article...? Just because there is a promo card or a slot in a specific product does not mean that it exclusive to a particular format.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Comparing the up coming commander decks to the Strixhaven decks, suggests each deck will have 16 to 17 new cards each, so that will be 64 to 68 new cards (including 16 Legendary Creatures, 8 of which would be foils). Outside chance that it has as many new cards as Commander 2021 for new 81 cards, but divided up into 4 not 5 decks, which would be roughly 20 per deck, with one deck having 21.

 

[Parmandur]

Comparing the up coming commander decks to the Strixhaven decks, suggests each deck will have 16 to 17 new cards each, so that will be 64 to 68 new cards (including 16 Legendary Creatures, 8 of which would be foils). Outside chance that it has as many new cards as Commander 2021 for new 81 cards, but divided up into 4 not 5 decks, which would be roughly 20 per deck, with one deck having 21.

On the other hand, the Kaldheim Commander decks had 16 new cards between them, and the Zendikar Commander decks also did not have many new cards. As this is not the Commander 2021 batch, maybe 30-ish new cards between the four decks is about right.

The Strixhaven decks are the Commander 2021 central Commander product, like Ikoria's were Commander 2020. The main Commander decks tend to get big new Commander exclusive cards, not the other Sets.

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

If you have played Pokemon, you have played Magic, actually. Getting up to speed on how to play is very easy right now, and free: Magic Arena is free to play, and just going through the tutorial will get the gameplay basics down.

Leaning how to play shouldn't be hard

Knowing if I should buy a dozen Booster Packs or Collector Booster Packs or Draft Booster Packs is the hurdle.

 

[Parmandur]

Leaning how to play shouldn't be hard

Knowing if I should buy a dozen Booster Packs or Collector Booster Packs or Draft Booster Packs is the hurdle.

Yeah, it's confusing.

So, there are four types of Booster:

• Draft boosters, which have 15 cards, mostly Common, a few Uncommons, and a Rare or Mythic Rare. This is what comes in the Prerelease and in the bundles. This is what you get for drafting or other Limited play, and you end up with a lot of chaff cards.
• Set boosters have 12 cards, a token, and an "art card" for collecting. This has better cards than the draft boosters, but you can't play Limited games with them: fun for buying to get cool cards for the Set.
• Collector boosters come with 15 cards that are blinged out. Pretty pricey, don't get Collector boosters.
• Theme boosters, which they decided not to show the art for here which is interesting, have 35 cards that are designed to fit together in a theme, like an all Green booster may have an Elf theme, or a Cat theme that ties together all 35 cards. You could just grab some land and play these, and have some fun.

 

[Maxperson]

All I know is that I haven't done much more than a draft or two a year for the last 10-15 years, but I plan on buying two boxes of the D&D set when it comes out. I just did a draft of the newest set the other night and I thought it was a lot of fun.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Leaning how to play shouldn't be hard

Knowing if I should buy a dozen Booster Packs or Collector Booster Packs or Draft Booster Packs is the hurdle.

You forgot Bundle and Commander Decks. The safest investment is the Commander Decks because you will know the cost and value before hand, no gambling. Beyond Commander Decks unless you enjoy limited, your better off buying singles off the secondary market, because as I said everything else is gambling.

 

[Rikka66]

Draft boosters, which have 15 cards, mostly Common, a few Uncommons, and a Rare or Mythic Rare. This is what comes in the Prerelease and in the bundles. This is what you get for drafting or other Limited play, and you end up with a lot of chaff cards.

These are what you would be considered the "normal" booster pack.

If I just want to buy some cards and play, what the naughty word do I ask for at the store?!

That somewhat depends if you're hoping to go down to game night at the store, or play with friends at home.