Wizards of the Coast has just dropped a huge barrage of announcements for fans of both Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as well as Magic: The Gathering (MtG) as part of the Wizards Presents 2022 livestream.
From bold new crossovers to a radical way for the community to shape the D&D, Wizards Presents 2022 had something for everyone who enjoys both titles.
Wizards Presents 2022: D&D Announcements
The two biggest stories out of Wizards Presents 2022 were Dragonlance, as well as One D&D.
Dragonlance – Two Ways To Fight Off Dragons
With Dragonlance, players are transported back to the world of Krynn, where the forces of good will need to fight off classic enemies in a higher-stakes setting as you fight in the War of the Lance to protect Solamnia from the Dragon Queen. Compared to other D&D adventures which can often be much more focused around individual groups, the War of the Lance makes the setting feel much higher in scale- all the art shown reflects a society prepping for war, with crowds of soldiers marching off to become well-done obituaries against a horde of dragons.
There are two main ways to enjoy the return to Krynn in D&D that were shown off- the first is a new adventure book, titled Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen. This adventure puts you in Solamnia as it fights off the armies of the Dragon Queen, and features one more neat feature: buying a physical copy of the code will also include a code for the digital version, redeemable on D&D Beyond.
Supporting your local game stores will get you a special alternate cover, featuring the terrifying Lord Soth to terrify your players.
Of course, the return to Dragonlance brings one more bonus along with it: Wizards of the Coast are also releasing a boardgame, titled Warriors of Krynn. Developed in tandem with the adventure, this set puts you in a cooperative adventure as the warriors of Solamnia fighting off the armies of the Dragon Queen. While details about the minute-to-minute gameplay were scarce, it looks like it will focus greatly on the actual army vs army aspect of the setting- so you’ll want to check it out if watching hordes of fantasy men smash into each other tickles your fancy.
Thankfully, superfans of Krynn will have a way to pick up both sets in one fell swoop- picking up Shadow of the Dragon Queen Deluxe Edition will include the titular adventure as well as Warriors of Krynn, along with an exclusive DM screen and the D&D Beyond digital version. All of these will be available from December 6th at your friendly local game store or from the D&D website.
One D&D – A New Framework For D&D
Featuring new, backwards compatible content for D&D, One D&D aims to be a more welcoming way for players to get into the tabletop RPG. A huge part of the push with One D&D is the idea of community collaboration- Wizards will release playtest packets that players can use in their campaigns, and give their own feedback before the full release of the feature.
While One D&D’s full launch is a while away (the fruits of the playtesting are expected to be a part of the 2024 Player’s Handbook), it’s also no reason to start recycling your old books- it’s backwards compatible for Fifth Edition, so whatever’s in your books like Strixhaven or Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons will still be usable in One D&D, until another ruleset comes out to supercede it.
Dubbed Unearthed Arcana, these packets contain experimental new changes for D&D. A sample we were given covered new guides to character creation, sporting a broader range of ancestries for Tieflings, as well as an entirely new race: the celestial Ardlings.
There’s more than just rule changes in store, though: using the newly-acquired D&D Beyond, One D&D in future will also give tools for virtual sessions, including 3d dungeons and models, with the dungeons coming in both pre-built and customizable format.
The Future Roadmap for D&D
On top of those two big announcements, there’s also plenty more to look forward to for adventurers of the Forgotten Realms. Here’s the 2023 lineup for Dungeons & Dragons:
Winter 2023: Keys from the Golden Vault
Ocean’s Eleven meets D&D in this book of short adventures revolving around heists.
Spring 2023: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
A companion to last year’s Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons focused on giants.
Summer 2023: The Book of Many Things
A collection of creatures, locations, and other goodies that are connected to the mysterious Deck of Many Things.Summer 2023 “Phandelver Campaign” Expands the classic Lost Mine of Phandelver into a full campaign tinged with cosmic horror.
Fall 2023: “Planescape”
The legendary setting returns! Like Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, Planescape is a three book slipcase: setting guide, bestiary, and adventure
Wizards Presents 2022: MtG
Not to be outdone, Wizards of the Coast also prepared a veritable treasure trove of information on the popular card game for the next year. These include a closer look at the Universes Beyond launch, with a better look at previously announced collaborations as well as one entirely new one set to hit game stores.
Timey Wimey Magic Stuff With Doctor Who
Doctor Who is joining the Universes Beyond collaboration for MtG, bringing with it commander decks, collector boosters and even Secret Lair items for the whovian in your Friday Night Magic circles. They haven’t given in-depth details, but expect some of your favorite Doctors to show up to celebrate 60 years of Britain’s favorite sci-fi series.
Let The Galaxy Burn With Warhammer 40K
Speaking of popular British sci-fi, they also gave us another look at the upcoming Warhammer 40k expansion for Magic: The Gathering. Each of the four factions (Imperium, Chaos, Tyranids, Necrons) will even get their own Sol Ring artifact, letting you have an artifact themed after your favorite factions.
This set will feature commander decks themed after the 4 factions, as well as Surge Foils in the collectors editions for each deck.
Lord of the Rings
Coming in Q3 2023, the Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle Earth set will feature cards depicting iconic moments from the popular fantasy series. These include the 18-card Battle of Pelennor Fields, which you can combine together to make a scene to put Peter Jackson to tears. The set is also coming to Magic The Gathering Arena as an alchemy set when it launches.
The Future Plans For MtG
The next year is also going to be a big year for MtG, as Wizards announced a multi-part Phyrexia arc, starting with the upcoming Dominaria United set, launching 9th September.
Here’s a look at all the sets coming between 2022 and winter 2024:
- Fall 2022: Dominaria United
- Fall 2022: Brother’s War
- Winter 2023: Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- Spring 2023: March of the Machine
- Spring 2023: March of the Machine: The Aftermath
- Fall 2023: Wilds of Eldraine
- Winter 2024: The Lost Wilds of Ixalan