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Magic: The Gathering’s latest set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths shows off its massive monsters in reveal trailer

Step on it.

The cinematic trailer for trading card game Magic: The Gathering’s next set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths has been revealed.

In the latest video, MTG planeswalker Vivien blasts away a multi-eyed monstrosity to the beats of Joan Jett’s rock number Bad Reputation. After being downed, it gets back up again, powered by a distant glowing crystal, and begins readying a beam of energy in its toothy maw.

Upcoming MTG expansion Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths is set in a new plane and introduces a host of brand new creatures and gameplay mechanics to the card game.

Among the new MTG creatures due to land in the set are numerous versions of giant energy beam-spewing lizard Godzilla, as well as other stars of monster movies, such as Mothra and King Kong. Several of the set’s cards are inspired by kaiju - the Japanese term for huge beasts.

One of the Godzilla-inspired cards, Spacegodzilla, Death Corona, has been pulled from the upcoming Ikoria set in order to avoid any association with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It will only make an appearance in the first batch of the physical set and has been renamed in the card game’s digital incarnation, Magic: The Gathering Arena.

MTG publisher Wizards of the Coast has confirmed a range of new gameplay elements arriving in Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. Among these is mechanic Companion, a rule that changes the way players can build a Magic: The Gathering deck, granting them a Legendary Creature to wield, and Mutate, which allows players to exile a number of permanent cards from their library then put them on the battlefield, among a host of other wild effects, depending on the creature using it.

Lore-wise, the plane of Ikoria features a world at war with giant monsters. A new MTG book exploring the Ikoria setting, Sundred Bond, by writer Django Wexler will be landing April 7th.

Five pre-constructed decks, based around the different Magic: The Gathering mana colours will be released around the set.

Unlike previous MTG decks, there will be no planeswalker-based decks in Ikoria. Instead, the Ikoria decks will use Commander, one of Magic: The Gathering’s most popular formats and one of the many ways you can learn how to play Magic: The Gathering.

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths is due to release digitally on April 16th. Pre-release events for the set were cancelled in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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About the Author
Sara Elsam avatar

Sara Elsam

Contributor

Sara has been writing since 2017, contributing news, features and more to outlets including Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, Variety, The Guardian, BBC and Tabletop Gaming magazine. An expert in Dungeons & Dragons, they’re also a fan of all things horror and psychedelia both on and off the table. They are happiest rolling big dice, raising mobs and rocking out with their Bard-Lock.

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