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.