Magic: The Gathering is about to release a new type of card, the Siege Card. This new type appeared in the “March of the Machines” set, now available to players of Magic: The Gathering.
Released in 1993, long before Hasbro bought Wizards of the Coast or even dreamed of owning Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering is one of the most successful trading card games of all time. Wizards of the Coast loves to offer tons of new options every year, sometimes even suggesting bold new directions for the game. An example is the Commander format, which was only released in 2011 and has become the most popular gameplay today.
Now, the controversial Wizards of the Coast is ready to change the game yet again, adding a new type of card to the upcoming March of the Machines set: Battle Cards, which will be available starting April 21st. According to the official announcement, there will be 36 such cards, at least four or five of each color, and some mixed colors. Not only will these new cards tie into the expansion’s story, but they will impact gameplay in interesting ways, allowing players to develop new strategies based on them.
While Magic introduces new mechanics basically every year, new types of cards are a big deal. All siege cards are double-sided and have two effects, one is triggered when entering the battlefield, and the other is triggered when the card is flopped. Many cards require between 2 and 6 mana to invoke and actually replace themselves when the player places them on the table, as most of them allow the gamer to draw new cards. However, their effects vary widely, as do the conditions that trigger the rollover. In short, it’s too early to tell if some of these first-release Siege cards will end up being some of the most expensive MTG cards around, or if they’ll end up being a fad and being forgotten.
However, MTG fans not interested in the next expansion set can already play with the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Secret Lair set. Released at the end of March, the expansion pack, which includes six new cards related to the movie, is a limited collectible and is available for sale now.