Wizards of the Coast revealed Marvel's Darkhold Destiny, the first Universes Beyond set of 2027 for Magic: The Gathering, during an hour-long panel at New York Comic Con on October 9, GameSpot reported. The set launches April 9, 2027, at big-box retailers and local game stores. IGN noted that it is the card game's third Marvel crossover, following the Spider-Man and Marvel Super Heroes sets.
Wizards teased the set in a YouTube video shortly before the panel, according to IGN's live coverage. IGN noted that Wizards had already revealed the three in-universe sets on its 2027 schedule, and that the year's other three sets are Universes Beyond releases.
An original story inside the Marvel setting
Unlike the earlier Marvel sets, Darkhold Destiny tells an original story co-created by designers at Wizards and Marvel, GameSpot and Polygon reported. In it, the villains Hela and Dormammu seize the Darkhold, the cursed book the set is named for, and use it to invade the Marvel multiverse, while Doctor Strange, Thor, Scarlet Witch and other magic-focused heroes oppose them.
Wizards also created a new superhero for the set. Polygon reported that the studio pitched five original characters and Marvel chose one; the character has not yet been revealed. GameSpot said the character will be introduced in a Marvel Infinity comic series starting in February, and Polygon reported that a tie-in comic written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly will tell the same story as the cards.
It may be the most complex Universes Beyond set we've made because we knew that it was very aimed at Magic players.
Mechanics and products
Head designer Mark Rosewater told Polygon that the set supports Limited strategies for all ten two-color combinations. According to IGN, its spells are organized around three schools of magic: Arcane for Doctor Strange and his allies, Divine for the Asgardians, and Dark mostly for the villains, though some heroes such as Ghost Rider also wield it. The Arcane subtype on instants and sorceries returns for the first time since 2005's Saviors of Kamigawa, and a new mechanic called Vengeance lets players cast a spell from the graveyard and return the permanent it is attached to back to the battlefield, GameSpot reported. Cards shown during the panel included Gargantos and the Darkhold itself.
The product line includes Booster Packs, Collector Boosters, Bundles and two scene boxes with six mechanically unique cards each, IGN reported, along with four Commander decks, each also sold in a foil collector's edition:
- Strange Academy (white-blue-black), led by Doctor Strange and focused on blinking creatures and reusing spells; Polygon said it draws on the 2020 comic in which Doctor Strange and Doctor Voodoo found a school for young spellcasters.
- Gods of Asgard (white-red-green), led by Thor, built around raising his power and entering combat every turn.
- Midnight Sons (white-black), led by Blade alongside Moon Knight and Ghost Rider against Marvel's vampires, with play centered on gaining and losing life.
- Lords of Hel (black-red), featuring Hela and Dormammu with armies of zombies and Mindless Ones that can be sacrificed for card draw.
IGN reported that the first comic glimpse of the story arrives in February, with another comic due closer to the set's April release.
