Discord and Roll20 have introduced a new integration designed to simplify the initiation and management of tabletop games within Discord’s platform. This collaboration brings Roll20’s suite of virtual tabletop tools directly into Discord’s Activities, allowing users to launch and play games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Cyberpunk RED without leaving the Discord environment.
With this integration, Discord users can seamlessly access Roll20’s tools including interactive maps, cha
Discord and Roll20 have introduced a new integration designed to simplify the initiation and management of tabletop games within Discord’s platform. This collaboration brings Roll20’s suite of virtual tabletop tools directly into Discord’s Activities, allowing users to launch and play games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Cyberpunk RED without leaving the Discord environment.
With this integration, Discord users can seamlessly access Roll20’s tools including interactive maps, character sheets, simulated dice rolls, and drag-and-drop rulebooks by selecting Roll20 after clicking the Rocket Ship icon in a Voice Channel. This setup eliminates the need to switch between apps and facilitates direct login or signup options at first launch, providing a straightforward path to starting the game.
The collaboration supports a range of popular games and includes several free starter adventures to help new players begin without any initial investment.
Discord users: you can now seamlessly launch the complete Roll20 virtual tabletop directly within Discord as an Activity, making it easier than ever to dive ...
Board games are a great social activity that brings people together by disconnecting everyone from their screens. But what if your favorite stories and worlds from the screen could be a part of board game night too? With these ten great board games based on video games, it’s now possible to enjoy your favorite digital titles in an exciting new tabletop setting.
1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- The Adventure Game
Image via Modiphius
The iconic adventures and exploration of Skyrim await you in
Board games are a great social activity that brings people together by disconnecting everyone from their screens. But what if your favorite stories and worlds from the screen could be a part of board game night too? With these ten great board games based on video games, it’s now possible to enjoy your favorite digital titles in an exciting new tabletop setting.
The iconic adventures and exploration of Skyrim await you in the game’s excellent tabletop adaption. As opposed to the classic video game, Skyrim- The Adventure Gameis a cooperative experience for up to four players, which affects both the combat and dungeon loot systems. Each player’s character is suitably unique, and the strategic decisions you make throughout the game’s two campaigns can trigger exclusive story outcomes as well.
The Fallout Board Gamedoes just about everything right in adapting this classic video game franchise. An unknown post-apocalyptic world awaits you outside your vault, along with deadly enemies and warring factions. The art style is most faithful to the series’ more recent adaptions, and the storylines are appropriately thematic and recognizable to anyone who’s played Fallout before. Interactions between players are semi-cooperative; while everyone has their own objectives, they also need to work together to prevent any one of the non-player factions from taking over the wasteland.
Kingdom Rush is a classic tower defense game in which you place archers and other troops to defend against waves of oncoming enemies. Whereas the original video game is a fast-paced race, Rift in Timeinstead features more calculated, strategic gameplay. The game comes with a booklet of scenarios that you can play against, which makes it easy to adjust the difficulty. In addition, the miniatures look great and are fun to paint.
Establish your kingdom, expand your territories, and build the great monuments of man in Civilization: A New Dawn, the most recent tabletop adaption of Sid Meier's Civilization. Though the original video game draws its roots back to a 1980s board game, the video games that followed have evolved significantly. A New Dawn utilizes many of the newer technology and city upgrade options from the most recent titles. Playtime is thankfully shorter than the 2010 edition of the board game, and to top it all off, the game tiles are gorgeous.
Small World of Warcraftis a WoW-themed adaption of the popular board game Small World. Players take control of the major races in Azeroth, including everything from Orcs to Worgen, and attempt to conquer as much territory as possible on the game’s various islands. Once one of the races you control is overextended, you can take charge of another to continue the conquest and hopefully have the most points by the end of the final round.
With its outstanding deck-building and strategy elements, Slay the Spire feels like the perfect video game to bring to the tabletop environment. Contention Games has done just that via Kickstarter, with the recently released adaption gathering nearly four million dollars worth of pledges. All the best elements of the original title are here, including, of course, the absolutely iconic six-eyed whale Neow. The biggest change here is the cooperative multiplayer, but it's a welcome change that's more befitting a board game.
Survival is the name of the game in This War of Mine: The Board Game, which does a fantastic job of bringing the war-torn surroundings and impactful storylines of the original video game to the table. During the day, you’ll build up your shelter and gather the resources you need to scrape by. During the night, you’ll have to fight off bandits to protect what little you have. The mechanics of exploring new locations work really well, with risks and rewards to be found in every corner of the war-torn city.
Dead by Daylight: The Board Gameleans heavily on hidden movement mechanics to represent the Killer’s stalking presence and the four Survivor’s attempts to escape. All the basic elements of the video game work surprisingly well in the tabletop environment, and there are also plenty of props and other tools that the Survivors can use as they work to stay alive. Most importantly, the competitive thrill of the original remains.
The cozy confines of Stardew Valley come to the table with immersive, cooperative gameplay and faithful attention to detail, though the board game does have some key differences from its source material. The players have a set number of turns in which they can complete their goal cards and rebuild the community center, but if the season cards run out, the players lose. Thankfully there’s still lots of farming, fishing, and mining fun to be had, along with plenty of interaction with the Valley’s most recognizable inhabitants.
God of War’s most iconic characters come to the table in style in the God of War card game. You’ll need to complete a series of scenes and quest cards to survive Ragnarok and win. It’s primarily a deck-building game, though you’ll be up against a set of randomly selected monsters and bosses rather than the other players at the table. It’s a must-have collectible for fans of the God of War franchise. We're also looking forward to finding out if the upcoming God of War Gamefound project will be an even better tabletop adaption than this one.
The shifting sands of Arrakis are home to the most precious substance in the universe: spice. As the leader of one of the Great Houses in Dune Imperium: The Board Game, you’ll need to conquer the desert planet, win skirmishes, and expand your influence with factions like the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen if you hope to claim victory. In this article, we’ll be looking at the different editions and expansions of the game and answering some of the most common questions about this modern tabletop c
The shifting sands of Arrakis are home to the most precious substance in the universe: spice. As the leader of one of the Great Houses in Dune Imperium: The Board Game, you’ll need to conquer the desert planet, win skirmishes, and expand your influence with factions like the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen if you hope to claim victory. In this article, we’ll be looking at the different editions and expansions of the game and answering some of the most common questions about this modern tabletop classic. Let’s start by looking at the two core versions of the game.
The Dune Imperium board game essentially has two different versions of its core game: Dune Imperium and Dune Imperium Uprising. The gameplay in the two editions is largely the same, with each centering around deck building, agent placement, and desert combat. However, there are several key differences between the original Imperium release and Uprising. To start, Uprising features an all-new set of Dune Imperium leaders, with characters like Feyd-Rautha, Lady Margot Fenring, and Princess Irulan all entering the fray. In addition, many of the board spaces have new functions. To top it all off, there is also a new six-player mode in which the players will be divided into opposing teams.
In terms of new game mechanics, Dune Imperium: Uprising has a lot to show for itself. It drops the Mentat token from Imperium, which originally allowed you to purchase an additional agent for a turn. It also drops the foldspace cards, which made it much easier to level up your standing on the game’s four influence tracks. In exchange, Uprising adds spy tokens that you can place between board spaces in order to draw cards or unlock adjacent locations that are already occupied by enemy players.
The newer edition of the game also adds sandworms to combat, which doubles the rewards you earn for winning a round’s conflict. This mechanic makes fighting more important than ever and might change up your favorite Dune Imperium strategy, though all of the combat cards have been edited appropriately to make the game less swingy. Uprising also adds contracts, which essentially function as single-use board spaces that give substantial rewards when you send an agent to them. The intrigue cards are also altered to match the new gameplay mechanics.
Should You Buy Dune Imperium or Dune Imperium Uprising?
If you’re just getting started with Dune Imperium, then Uprising is a great place to start. However, there are no bad options here. If you already own and enjoy Dune Imperium, Uprising can still be a great pickup if you’re a big fan of the game. However, you might want to prioritize expansion content first since it adds even more mechanics than the changes from Uprising.
Dune Imperium Expansions
Each Dune Imperium expansion adds more cards and dramatic new gameplay elements, along with additional board space actions that open up new pathways towards conquering Arrakis and claiming victory. Below you’ll find details about each addition to the game, listed in our suggested purchasing order.
The Rise of Ix Expansion for Dune Imperium expands the game board with new game-changing board spaces that allow you to purchase technology, boost your shipping and smuggling efforts, and obtain the coveted dreadnought units. The dreadnoughts add three combat power to your side and can temporarily hold territory in your name, which ups the stakes in each conflict. There is also a new selection of powerful yet difficult to master house leaders that are perfect for more experienced players. If you’re going to get one of the expansions, Rise of Ix is definitely the best choice.
The Dune Imperium: Immortality expansion adds an additional board to the play space that represents the players’ interactions with the Bene Tleilax and their genetic advancements. The expansion also adds graft cards, which allow you to combine the cards in your hand into a single action for more powerful effects. These cards are definitely fun to use, though not as much of a game-changer as the Bene Tleilax board or the components of the Rise of Ix expansion. Immortality also includes a family atomic token for each player, which is an underrated addition that allows you to clear out the cards available for purchase from the Imperium deck and draw new ones.
If you love Dune Imperium and just can’t get enough, you can upgrade your game experience with a beautiful selection of miniatures that replace approximately sixty of the game’s more basic-looking tokens. Unlike the other two expansions, this pack is entirely cosmetic. However, the visual upgrade it provides is substantial, especially if you enjoy painting the miniatures. There’s also a Rise of Ix Dreadnought Upgrade Pack available through the Dire Wolf store that offers similar cosmetic benefits but for the expansion’s components.
Can You Play the Dune Imperium Expansions With Uprising?
Every Dune Imperium expansion is compatible with both the original release of the game and Dune Imperium: Uprising. However, when adding the expansions to Uprising, there are a few cards you might need to remove, such as the Rise of Ix conflict cards, in order to maintain a balanced game. Further directions on these changes are available at the back of the Uprising rulebook.
Board games are a fairly robust and universal source of fun. People of all ages can enjoy them, and most importantly, you can play them with others, making them more of a social occasion than sitting down to play a video game solo.
However, not all board games are appropriate for every age, and that becomes a problem when you've got kids, young relatives, or friends with children who need to be entertained. Board games are a minefield because they need to be more complicated than card games
Board games are a fairly robust and universal source of fun. People of all ages can enjoy them, and most importantly, you can play them with others, making them more of a social occasion than sitting down to play a video game solo.
However, not all board games are appropriate for every age, and that becomes a problem when you've got kids, young relatives, or friends with children who need to be entertained. Board games are a minefield because they need to be more complicated than card games used to help babies learn about shapes and colors, but they can't be so complex that all the rules just go over their heads. In this article, I'm putting all my knowledge at your disposal because I've been playing board games with my nephews for over a decade.
The best board games for 7-year-olds
Below, I've listed the best board games for 7-year-olds that I've played with my nephews and nieces over the years. While they're older now, I've played these games with 7-year-olds and some of their relatives who were even a little younger at the time. You'd honestly be surprised at how much they can understand and want to engage with the game being played.
I've ranked these board games with the best at the bottom of the list and the worst at the top. However, all of them are great and worth a try if there's a 7-year-old you need to entertain and you don't want to stick them in front of a screen.
Pop Up Pirate is a pretty simple game that 2-4 people can happily play together. The pirate goes into the barrel and is set in place until someone puts a sword into the wrong hole. Every player takes turns to place swords in the holes in the barrel and hopes they're not the ones to trigger the pirate to launch out of it.
This game is loads of fun to play with children and adults alike. I've played multiple games where we've all been incredibly cautious and tactile and have reached the end of the barrel with one slot left. At that point, it's like watching the final player walk the plank, and it's always hilarious.
We've all played Snap in a pinch. It's a game you can make with two decks of cards if you've got absolutely nothing else, but it works better with a dedicated product that includes it. Most sets include at least a few games, and you can make your own up after you're done with Snap for a while.
For anyone who doesn't know, Snap is a simple card game where you and each player place cards down face up from a pile until you see two in succession that match. When that happens, you must shout "snap" and slam your hand down on the pile to claim it. Each player loses as they run out of cards.
7-year-olds are at just the right age when they're good at Snap, and they love that. It's an easy game everyone knows, and they're the masters. Giving them a game they've got an advantage in will help it go on for longer and feel better by the time they're finished because they've probably won most of the rounds.
Cheat is a game you can play with one standard deck of cards. Everyone takes seven cards and goes around in a circle, saying what their card is as they place it next to the face-up card in the center. Their card must be the same suit or one number higher or lower than that card.
At the start, this game is easy because you can cheat, and no one can call you out on it. But as it goes on, it becomes incredibly difficult not to laugh as you lie about the card you're placing down. You have to call another player's bluff to get them to pick up the pile of cards that are amassed on the table, but if you get it wrong, that pile is yours.
This game is fantastic for 7-year-olds because it gives them the ability to lie without hurting anyone. It's cheeky fun but still restricted to the board game itself.
Uno is an absolutely fantastic board game for 7-year-olds because, like many in this article, it can go on forever. There are a few different game types you can play with a single deck, but the most common uses colors and numbers, requiring you to place your cards, switch the direction of the rounds, or block someone from making you pick up more cards or skipping a turn.
This game is hilarious for 7-year-olds because they think they hold all the power. To be fair, they do. They know the game better than anyone and can ruin your day by placing a blocker or skip card just as you think you're about to place your last card and win the entire game.
Connect 4 is a classic board game you can play for hours with people of all ages. But 7-year-olds just have more stamina for it. This is a game they know they can beat you at, and they're going to make you play again and again until they're on a losing streak and want it to end.
The goal of the game is simple: get a line of four counters in your color. I've had to play this game for almost a full day while my nephews, niece, and my own kids rotated through playing against me. It's a winner for any rainy day or just when you need a board game to break up the hours.
Kerplunk never gets old. It's a structure through which you must poke dozens of sticks before pouring marbles over them and getting them stuck. Then, and only then, does the game start. You take it in turns to pull sticks out and collect marbles, and you want to get the best sticks possible so you earn the most marbles on your turns.
This game teaches strategy and a little bit of deception. It's loads of fun and only requires a few minutes to set up for each round. The random way the marbles fall is what makes it so engaging for a 7-year-old, and because it feels different each time, it can be played over and over for hours.
Guess Who? is a great game to play with any 7-year-old. Each player has a board of characters and must choose one as the character that their opponent has to identify by asking questions about their appearance. It sounds simple, and it really is, but the fun is in how you ask the questions.
I've had the best time with younger family members asking about hair and eye color in the strangest way possible. If you lean into the silly side of the game and have fun with it, this can be a true banger of a game that keeps on giving.
Battleships is a classic game I've been playing since I was a 7-year-old. Each player has one side of the game and must place their ships around the sea. You then take turns firing shots at various places on that ocean, trying to score a hit on your opponent's ships.
This game makes you feel like some sort of naval strategist as a 7-year-old, and you feel pretty great when you nail a hit as an adult as well. What I like about it is that everyone is on even ground. A 7-year-old knows the shapes of each ship and is out for your blood in this game. It's brutal.
I've played the normal version of Settlers of Catan with a 7-year-old, and it's been fine, but I have to recommend the Junior version just in case this is your first time with the title. It's a simplified version of the game that will prepare young people for the complexity of the full version.
The Junior version of the game is essentially the same, but it's a bit faster-paced to better keep everyone's attention. If you're a family who loves the base game, I can't recommend this enough because it will mean you get to play Catan for years to come.
While the recommended age for The Game of Life is 8+, if you've ever played it, you know that you can grasp it at 5 years old. This is an incredibly simple board game that's about as linear as it gets. You go from one end of the board to the other and make choices based on dice rolls along the way.
The idea with this game is to get your 7-year-olds used to playing board games at all. It's easy for them to win, and there are enough variations for each run that make it feel new each time you play. This is the preparation game for more complex things to come.
Monopoly needs little introduction. It's a game in which everyone starts with a set amount of money and must buy up property as they move around the board to, hopefully, charge other players and increase their rent by adding to those properties over time.
The best part about this game is the metagame that forms between every player as it goes on. You can end up becoming a property mogul and charging your dad or your uncle a fortune just to keep a roof over their heads for the night. It's fantastic fun, but you need to know when to let the game end before it sparks an argument.
The Garden Game is an oldie, but it's pure gold. It's a unique board game with gorgeous artwork and an incredible boar with polystyrene gardening plots that you must play to plant your seeds in. Each type of plant adds pints to your score, but some add more points if planted with others.
The game is almost educational in the way it teaches you about plant pairing, but it's also a fun game. Cards will wash out your plants and ruin your day or give you some serious growth, depending on what you get. It's great fun for all ages, but it's a game you're going to have to pick up a second-hand copy of from eBay. they pop up all the time but are well pout of print at the time of writing.
Chess is a startlingly simple game, but one that few people have a decent boxed copy of in their homes. It doesn't take much to learn the rules, but mastering them is a lifetime's work. Some people can make a career out of the game if they're good enough.
I think this is an essential game to play with any 7-year-old because it teaches them the basics of a board game they can love for the rest of their lives and go on to play with anyone in the world. There's no way you can sit down at a public Chess corner without knowing the game, and being part of that feels like a rite of passage for everyone.
Draughts is a board game that's a bit simpler than Chess, but it can be no less strategically advanced. The idea is to take all of your opponent's pieces still, but there's a layer of extra play you can add with various rulesets that see you gain pieces back for reaching the opposite side of the board.
As with Chess, I think this game is essential for anyone to learn as young as possible. It teaches you a game you can play forever and one that pretty much everybody can interact with. It opens doors in the future and it's a game you can use to pass the time even if all you have is rocks and some sand.
Blokus is the ultimate game to play with 7-year-olds because they can see strategies you'd never notice. Every player picks a color and must place their tiles across the board. However, you can't place a tile unless one of its corners touches the corner of another already set piece.
This gets really difficult by the end of the game, with the board becoming a mosaic of multiple colors of tiles. The thing I'm always impressed by with my nephews is how they manage to thrash me with ease. Once they get it, they can see the way to set every tile they have before you've worked out your next move.
Wizards of the Coast has officially revealed that the second Magic: The Gathering and Hatsune Miku collaboration in the MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation drop. the small set will only be available for a limited time but packs a real punch.
The MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation is comprised of six new cards you can add to your decks and collections. They all feature the digital pop sensation in beautifully hand-crafted art that encapsulates her personality and
Wizards of the Coast has officially revealed that the second Magic: The Gatheringand Hatsune Miku collaboration in the MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation drop. the small set will only be available for a limited time but packs a real punch.
The MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation is comprised of six new cards you can add to your decks and collections. They all feature the digital pop sensation in beautifully hand-crafted art that encapsulates her personality and music alongside mechanics on cards that you'll find useful enough to use in a range of deck types. Of course, getting these just because they're pretty is just fine and is what I'll probably be doing.
Every card in the MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation drop
Below, I've listed every card in the MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation drop. With each one, I've included the mechanics of the cards so you have an idea of what they do, even if all you're buying them for is to be sleeved and stored or just to ensure you have this gorgeous artwork in your possession.
Thespian's Stage
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Thespian's Stage is a colorless land card that allows you to use one colorless Mana. Tapping the card allows it to become a copy of another land card, except it will retain its ability. It's not going to be hugely powerful, but it might make an impact.
Sol Ring
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Look, we all know what Sol ring is and does. This card has the prettiest art of any variation by far, though. This artifact card will add two colorless mana, effectively boosting you to turn three. Its usefulness varies depending on who you speak to.
Song of Creation
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Song of Creation is my favorite card in this set, based purely on artwork. It lets you play an additional land on each of your turns. Whenever you cast a spell, you'll draw two cards, but you'll need to discard your hand at the beginning of your end step. You've got to play carefully with this card. Use it, then dump it as soon as you don't need it.
Miku, Child of Song
Image via Wizards of the Coast
This card is a pretty powerful 6/6 legendary creature, but it takes a lot of mana to play. It has Trample, and when it dies, you destroy all nonland permanents. As a bonus, those nonland permanents can't be regenerated, just to add extra insult to injury.
Chord of Calling
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Chord of Calling has Convoke and allows you to search your library for a creature card with mana value X or less, with X being the card's power. When you get that card, put it into the battlefield and then shuffle. A great way to quickly grab a key card for our strategy.
Diabolic Tutor
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Finally, we have Diabolic Tutor. This card lets you search your library for a card, put that card into your hand, and then shuffle. It's potentially incredibly powerful, depending on your strategy. I can think of more than a few uses for it, and most of them blend with Sol Ring.
Wizards of the Coast has revealed the next Hatsune Miku crossover with Magic: The Gathering. It's yet another Secret Lair drop comprised of six collectible cards that look stunning and will be well worth adding to your decks if you're quick enough to get a copy of the set.
This latest set is called the MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation drop. It's the second collaborative drop between the incredibly popular card game and global digital superstar Hatsune Miku. It'll be availab
Wizards of the Coast has revealed the next Hatsune Miku crossover with Magic: The Gathering. It's yet another Secret Lair drop comprised of six collectible cards that look stunning and will be well worth adding to your decks if you're quick enough to get a copy of the set.
This latest set is called the MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation drop. It's the second collaborative drop between the incredibly popular card game and global digital superstar Hatsune Miku. It'll be available as part of the Secret Lair Summer Superdrop 2024, which you can pre-order from June 24, 2024, at 9 AM PT until July 14, 2024, at 11:59 PM PT. You'll have to be quick, though, because I suspect this particular set is going to sell out quickly.
MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation is all you need for a magical summer of TCG
Image via Wizards of the Coast
The MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation has six new cards for you to add to your collection. As you'd expect, each one is themed around the digital superstar Hatsune Miku. I've outlined every card in the set below so you know what to expect. My favorite is the one shown in the image above, Miku, Child of Song.
1x Diabolic Tutor
1x Chord of Calling
1x Child of Alara as “Miku, Child of Song”
1x Song of Creation
1x Sol Ring
1x Thespian’s Stage
If, like me, you haven't purchased a Secret Lair Superdrop for a while, you should know that Wizards of the Coast changed the system a little while ago. Superdrops and Secret Lair sets, in general, are now no longer printed to demand once a campaign finishes. Instead, there's a limited number of everything on offer, so you might miss out if you don't get your order in right away.
This MTG Secret Lair × Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation will almost certainly be a popular one that sells out faster than most. I tend to sit on Secret Lair drops for a while before I decide what I'm getting, but you won't have that luxury with this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6VhAvtekeU
Hatsune Miku has a huge following and live shows that must be seen to be believed. As a collector and art-lover, I adore these cards, but they've also opened me up to a library of music that I didn't know I needed in my life and I love them all the more for that.
Dungeons & Dragons is a game designed to create the illusion that you've entered another world. Epic fantasy novels heavily inspired the creators of D&D, and the tabletop role-playing game's connection to fantasy literature has only grown stronger with age.
Both the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide encourage players and DMs to hit their local library before they get to work designing their next character or crafting their party's next adventure. I've been playing D&
Dungeons & Dragons is a game designed to create the illusion that you've entered another world. Epic fantasy novels heavily inspired the creators of D&D, and the tabletop role-playing game's connection to fantasy literature has only grown stronger with age.
Both the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide encourage players and DMs to hit their local library before they get to work designing their next character or crafting their party's next adventure. I've been playing D&D on both sides of the DM screen for years, and I can safely confirm that the ten standalone books and series listed below helped me create some of my favorite characters and campaigns.
10. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Image via Lionsgate
Some of the best D&D campaigns I've been in revolved around solving mind-bending mysteries with a magical twist. If your latest campaign is a noir-influenced fantasy whodunnit that's piqued your interest in the mystery genre, you should check out The Dresden Files.
Jim Butcher's long-running urban fantasy series follows the adventures of the titular sorcerous detective, who dedicates his eternally imperiled life to solving outlandish capers tied to Chicago's hidden magical underworld. If you're in the market for some exciting noir tales that happen to feature the odd vampire or demon, The Dresden Files is for you.
9. The Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft and August Derluth
Image via TheCollector
Many of D&D's most iconic monsters, including the multi-eyed, beam-spewing Beholder, are beings from the Far Realm, a plane of pure cosmic chaos where the line between reality and illusion becomes illegible. I've been in more than a few D&D games where the Far Realm's innate insanity slithered its way into the mix, and this refreshing dose of existential dread wouldn't t have been possible without the Cthulu Mythos.
H.P. Lovecraft's tales about a pantheon of incomprehensible extraterrestrial gods lurking in the shadows of the universe pioneered the cosmic horror genre, and D&D players are looking to add a bit of eldritch spice to their latest character or campaign will find plenty of inspiration in them. Be warned: Lovecraft was, to put it bluntly, racist, and his uncensored work will make most readers uncomfortable.
8. The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien
Image via New Line Cinema
It would be heresy not to put The Lord of the Rings on this list. J.R.R. Tolkien's famous literary cycle was D&D's biggest inspiration, to the point where there were legal disputes surrounding the early usage of terms like orc, elf, dwarf, and dragon.
Some D&D fans might be surprised to see The Lord of the Rings ranked so low. I'd still recommend Tolkien's iconic trilogy to any D&D player who hasn't read them, especially if they started playing a campaign set within the Forgotten Realms. However, D&D grew out of Middle Earth's shadow long ago, and saying that Lord of the Rings is "the" series for D&D fans feels a bit regressive, especially since many modern D&D settings go out of their way to buck the tropes Tolkien established.
7. Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
Image via Tor Books
One of the best parts of a D&D campaign is building the world where the story will play out, especially if the group's DM is willing to let the other players in on the world-building process. If you and anyone else at your table are kicking around the idea of starting a new campaign set at a much later or earlier point in your world's history, Malazan Book of the Fallen will give you some great ideas.
The Malazan series is a masterclass in fantasy world-building that follows the rise of the titular empire over millennia. With a cast consisting of immortal mages and dynasties with lineages stretching back centuries, Malazan is perfect for players and DMs who want to explore how the passage of time can change a character, a civilization, or even a world's innate magic.
6. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Image via Dicebreaker
Any experienced D&D can attest that the Rogue is one of the funniest classes to play. Plenty of fantasy novels star nimble-fingered sneaks who prefer to creep through the shadows while the warriors and the mages hog the spotlight, but few will feel more familiar to D&D players than Mistborn.
Brandon Sanderson's seminal fantasy series unfolds in the world of Scadriel, where ash never stops falling from the sky, an oppressive empire rules most of the world, and the only hope of defeating the fallen hero of prophecy lies in a young thief named Vin. Vin is essentially an Arcane Trickster Rogue, and her quest to overthrow the Final Empire with magic and subterfuge is full of fun twists on established fantasy tropes that will leave D&D fans in awe.
5. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolf
Image via Simon & Schuster
One of D&D's most "peculiar" settings is Dark Sun, a grim realm where magic is inherently toxic and a gang of vicious Sorcerer Kings rule everything under the red, dying sun. Due to some problematic elements of its world-building, Dark Sun has not received an official setting book for a while, but anyone who enjoys it will find a suitable substitute in The Book of the New Sun series.
Set on a far-future version of Earth where society has regressed to feudalism, The Book of the New Sun is a haunting parable that follows a disgraced torturer's transformation into a messianic figure who holds the key to the world's future. Visions of the future and mysterious magics abound in this series, and anyone who's experienced the world of Dark Sun will feel right at home reading this.
4. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Image via Biblioctopus
I'm one of those D&D players who love to lose themselves in their character, and I'll always prefer a campaign that gives me the complex challenge of navigating interpersonal relationships over ones that focus on dungeon-crawling or combat. If you're also one of those players, I can't think of a fantasy series you'll like more than A Song of Ice and Fire.
George R.R. Martin's iconic world runs on dynastic politics, not magic or prophecies, and its dedication to subverting and reimagining established fantasy tropes means that none of the characters you come to care about are safe. Any fan of D&D and other character-driven TTRPGs will love A Song of Ice and Fire.
3. Wings of Fire by Tui. T Sutherland
Image via Scholastic
If the title didn't tip you off, dragons are an important part of D&D, and there are a wide variety of them across the game's many supplements and setting books. Some of my favorite (and most traumatic) D&D memories are tied to dragons, and the only fantasy book that comes close to challenging D&D's draconic diversity is Tui T. Sutherland's Wings of Fire series.
The world of Wings of Fire has a dragon for almost every element, and players who've run a Dragonblood Sorcerer will feel more than a little validated reading the series.
2. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Image via MTV and Spike
One of the DMs in my local D&D group has weaponized the art of the "mid-campaign twist." Every game he runs shifts pitch at the halfway mark, re-contextualizing everything we've done up until that point in shocking and exciting ways. Terry Brooks Shannara series does something very similar, and D&D fans who know what it's like to watch the world you've adventured through turn upside down will feel a bit of nostalgia reading it.
At the onset, the Shannara books feel like a near-complete rip-off of Tolkien, with elves, young naive warriors, and magical MacGuffins designed to kill evil overlords. However, as the books progress, shocking secrets about the world of Shannara are unmasked, and readers are left to grapple with the knowledge that this world might not be as fantastical as it appeared at first glance.
1. Discworld by Terry Pratchett
Image via Paul Kidby
What is D&D, if not the perfect blend of fantasy? The game gives you all the tools you'd ever need to slot every fantastical creature and form of magic into your campaign setting; the only limits that exist are those in your imagination. For this reason, I believe that no fantasy book embodies the spirit of D & D more than Discworld.
The flat realm of Discworld is a wonderous patchwork woven together with elements pulled from almost every mythology, religion, and folklore tradition in the world. Wizards, demons, gods, and Death himself exist harmoniously as part of a magical ecosystem where nothing feels out of place. As funny as it is profound, Discworldis the perfect fantasy series for D&D fans.
There are countless LEGO sets available to purchase and, if you’re trying to keep to a certain budget, things can get a little complicated. With sets costing hundreds of dollars, it’s not always easy to find an affordable LEGO set to gift or hoard.
However, as a collector with a child who is also turning into something of a LEGO fan, I’ve had to get thrifty, and I’ve become pretty good at finding LEGO sets on the cheaper side. On this list, I’ve included something for all tastes and the bes
There are countless LEGO sets available to purchase and, if you’re trying to keep to a certain budget, things can get a little complicated. With sets costing hundreds of dollars, it’s not always easy to find an affordable LEGO set to gift or hoard.
However, as a collector with a child who is also turning into something of a LEGO fan, I’ve had to get thrifty, and I’ve become pretty good at finding LEGO sets on the cheaper side. On this list, I’ve included something for all tastes and the best part? None of these sets sell for more than $50 USD.
Bonsai Tree
Price: $49.99 USD
Image via LEGO
The Bonsai TreeLEGO set allows you to create not just one tree, but two. Well, almost. You can build one trunk and then have the choice between greenery or Cherry Blossoms to complete the look. I love this set and have it in my bedroom, changing the leaves depending on the season.
Venomized Groot (Marvel)
Price: $49.99 USD
Image via LEGO
I can’t be the only person whose favorite character from the Marvel universe is Groot, and this set combines him with another favorite - Venom. You can build this set to be either half-venomized or completely venomized, allowing for some customization and variety if you decide to deconstruct and build the set again.
Dobby the House Elf (Harry Potter)
Price: $34.99 USD
Image via LEGO
One for the Harry Potter fans, Dobby the House Elf doesn’t come alone. You also get a LEGO version of Tom Riddle’s Diary from The Chamber of Secrets, complete with soggy sock, and the cake which results in bars being put on Harry’s window. Dobby’s giant green eyes and happy smile are just too cute.
Everyone is Awesome
Price: $34.99 USD
Image via LEGO
The Everyone is Awesome set is definitely a display piece, with its rainbow backing and solid color minifigs. Designed by Matthew Aston, it’s a celebration of inclusivity, positivity and kindness. Even if it’s not designed to be played with, this one’s still a pretty cool set to have. Bonus points if you can avoid getting the song stuck in your head.
Dinosaur Fossils: T. Rex Skull (Jurassic World)
Price: $39.99 USD
Image via LEGO
Even if you’re not that much of a fan of the Jurassic World franchise (though I’m unsure how you couldn’t be, at least when it comes to the original movie), this set looks really nice sitting on a shelf. You get both the T. Rex footprint and fossilized skull to display, as well as a small plaque relaying details about real-life T. Rex.
Isabelle’s House Visit (Animal Crossing)
Price: $39.99 USD
Image via LEGO
Part of the fairly recent inclusion of Animal Crossing as a LEGO collection, Isabelle’s House Visit includes not only the house and surrounding greenery, but also a floating present and two minifigs - Isabelle and Fauna - which complete the scene. The set has only 389 pieces, so it's one children can help with and enjoy dismantling just to put it back together again.
Orchid
Price: $49.99 USD
Image via LEGO
My fiancé purchased the Orchid set for me as a gift and we built it together, so I may be a little biased here, but I cannot overstate how good value this set is. It’s actually pretty big, standing at 15 inches tall, so it’s replaced the real plant on my dining table. I can attest that, as someone who is terrible at keeping houseplants alive, LEGO flowers are an excellent alternative!
Escape from the Lost Tomb (Indiana Jones)
Price: $39.99 USD
Image via LEGO
If you’re a fan of the Indiana Jones franchise, or Egyptian iconology, or just LEGO in general and hankering to build something, the Escape from the Lost Tomb set is good value for money. It has 600 pieces and, when built, has interactive parts which make it good for both kids and adults.
Spider Tank (Star Wars)
Price: $49.99 USD
Image via LEGO
This mechanical spider from the Mandalorian comes with three minifigs: The Mandalorian himself, Grogu, and Bo-Katan Kryze. The Spider Tank itself has a shooting function, designed to fling tiny bits of LEGO across the living room for you to find hours later once the kids are in bed, so I’d argue that this one should be kept out of small kids, lest your feet feel the force of the LEGO step.
The Sword Outpost (Minecraft)
Price: $44.99 USD
Image via LEGO
I have to admit, my first thought when the Minecraft collection of LEGO was announced was, “What took them so long?”. I mean, it’s a world built entirely from blocks so it just makes sense to make things from the game out of LEGO. Well, this is one of the sets now available from the Minecraft LEGO collection, including an oversized version of a Diamond Sword and multiple minifigs, like the adorably blocky pig.
Learning the rules of how to play Magic: The Gathering is all you need to do in order to have fun at most tables. But at some point in your journey as a Planeswalker, you may run into an opponent whose deck always has the upper hand against yours. This boils down to the balancing system within MTG, which, like many competitive games, is roughly based on a “Rock, Paper, Scissors” system. The concept is easy to follow, but it isn't as simple as it sounds.
In Magic: The Gathering, there are num
Learning the rules of how to play Magic: The Gathering is all you need to do in order to have fun at most tables. But at some point in your journey as a Planeswalker, you may run into an opponent whose deck always has the upper hand against yours. This boils down to the balancing system within MTG, which, like many competitive games, is roughly based on a “Rock, Paper, Scissors” system. The concept is easy to follow, but it isn't as simple as it sounds.
In Magic: The Gathering, there are numerous deck archetypes that represent our rock, paper, and scissors. At the core of MTG (and other card and video games), there are three primary archetypes: Aggro, Control, and Combo. This guide will go over these three archetypes and the Keyword Abilities that contribute to their success. By the end, you’ll be able to identify the archetype of any given deck, along with its strengths and weaknesses.
Image by Destructoid
The three core deck archetypes in Magic: The Gathering (MTG)
Aggro (Aggressive) deck archetypes in MTG
Starting with one of the easiest-to-understand archetypes, Aggro decks are everything that you think of when you hear “aggressive.” The strategy is to be in your opponent’s face, hitting hard and fast. To do this, Aggro decks primarily contain cards of the Red mana color due to its cheap creatures and Burn spells (such as Lightning Bolt) which are capable of dealing raw damage to any target.
Some abilities that thrive in Aggro decks are Haste, Prowess, and Trample. These abilities allow creatures to dish out damage quickly and efficiently. Remember, the goal of an Aggro deck is to be fast and overwhelm your opponents before they have a chance to establish themselves. You’ll be looking to swing (attack) with all of your creatures in every combat phase, if possible.
Although most Aggro decks in MTG use Red cards, that isn’t to say that other colors can’t be used to build aggressive decks. One of the weaknesses of Red cards is the lack of removal and denial options. Pairing Red with colors that cover its shortcomings, such as Black or Blue, will make for a slightly less aggressive but more well-rounded deck. The popular Gruul Aggro combination uses Red cards to establish an early board advantage and then uses enchants and +1/+1 counters from Green cards to form a powerful mid-game roster.
If you can’t defeat your opponent quickly enough, your army of small creatures won’t be able to stand up against the fearsome monstrosities built by Ramp decks or the various gimmicks that Combo decks employ.
Combo deck archetypes in MTG
Combo decks are the paper to Aggro decks’ rock, but that metaphor doesn’t paint the whole picture. Your strategy becomes a matter of putting together the pieces of a puzzle. Reliably drawing those pieces and defending your work in progress are the keys to being a successful Combo player. This is why Combo archetypes in MTG perform so well against Aggro strategies; There isn’t a fear of a Counterspell or Exile card awaiting your grand finale.
Each Combo deck has an overall win condition, with most having a few lesser combos included. While there isn’t a particular color that is overrepresented in Combo decks, there are many boxes that need to be checked to succeed.
Helpful spells and abilities for Combo decks in MTG include:
Tutor cards allow you to search your library for specific card types.
Spells or permanents with Hexproof, Indestructible, or Ward, which effectively increases the cost to target a permanent with spells or abilities.
Triggers or abilities such as “enter the battlefield (ETB)” or “Whenever you…” provide a focus for the deck to be built around.
An example of a win condition for a Combo deck would be Revel in Riches. By utilizing the Pirates tribe and their various means of Treasure generation or cards such as Brass’s Bounty, victory is easily attainable.
Image via Wizards of the CoastImage via Wizards of the CoastImage via Wizards of the Coast
With an ideal starting hand, Combo decks easily spiral out of control and become a dominant force at the table– or simply win the game. But as we mentioned at the beginning of this guide, this concept is only simple on paper. While Combo strategies excel against Aggro decks, they fall victim to the disruption that Control archetypes specialize in. A simple Counterspell or various forms of removal could put a stop to a Combo deck before it has the chance to get the ball rolling.
Control deck archetypes in MTG
With a Control deck, you’re disrupting the opponents’ strategy in every way that you can. This is done with Counterspells, forms of removal such as Destroy or Exile cards, or advanced strategies such as Mill or Discard. It’s because of these tools that Combo decks fear going up against Control decks.
Colors that are synonymous with Control decks are Blue, White, and Black. Each of these colors provides the means to put a stop to any deck strategy out there– so long as you have the cards in hand and mana to spare.
Helpful spells and abilities for Control decks in MTG include:
Scry and Surveil cards along with sources of card Draw in order to keep a healthy amount of solutions in your hand to address any issues that arise.
Removal cards range from soft-removal options such as Bounce (return target permanent to its owner’s hand) to hard-removal in the form of Destroy or Exile cards.
Abilities that effectively increase the number of spells at your disposal. These would be Flashback or Magecraft spells or any card that allows you to “return Instant or Sorcery cards from your graveyard.”
But while Control decks seem to have all of the solutions for dealing with other deck archetypes, they struggle to close out games on their own. Control decks are notorious for running very few creatures, which greatly limits their offensive capabilities and makes defending those creatures a necessary task for victory. Many Control players resort to unconventional win conditions such as Laboratory Maniac or the various Jace Planeswalkers and their card drawing and milling mechanics.
Control decks can easily dismantle the strategies of Combo decks but struggle to keep up with the output of creatures and spells cast by Aggro players. Players of Control decks will frequently lose mana advantage to Aggro players due to the cost differences between the two. Eventually, Control players will run out of answers to Aggro players’ numerous questions, and defeat becomes inevitable.
Other deck archetypes in Magic: The Gathering (MTG)
Aggro, Combo, and Control archetypes are the foundation of many decks within MTG. There are a vast number of strategies that build off of one or a combination of multiple archetypes to create a unique playstyle. Archetypes such as Tempo or Midrange fuse the strategies of Aggro and Control decks but deploy them at opposing stages of the game.
Wizards of the Coast continues to expand the number of archetypes that exist in the game by introducing new abilities with every set. But at its core, Magic: The Gathering will forever be one of the most captivating games of Rock, Paper, Scissors ever.
While it might seem unimportant at first, the card sizes and dimensions for Magic: The Gathering cards are actually critical to competitive play and fairness within the community. They not only help to avoid cheating, but they also prevent you from getting scammed.
MTG cards are designed to be a specific size and weight to help protect fans who buy and sell them but also ensure the competitive scene stays free of any cheating. Markedly different cards can have a serious impact on a game, ma
While it might seem unimportant at first, the card sizes and dimensions for Magic: The Gathering cards are actually critical to competitive play and fairness within the community. They not only help to avoid cheating, but they also prevent you from getting scammed.
MTG cards are designed to be a specific size and weight to help protect fans who buy and sell them but also ensure the competitive scene stays free of any cheating. Markedly different cards can have a serious impact on a game, making it difficult to tell what the card does or if the text has even been altered to give a player an advantage through a completely fake rule. If you're buying, selling, or playing with MTG cards, it's worth checking if they're the right size and shape to avoid a humiliating loss.
What are the official MTG card sizes and dimensions for competitive play?
Image via Scryfall
According to Wizards of the Coast, the official MTG card sizes and dimensions for competitive play are 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) by 3.5 inches (8.8 cm). While foil cards are slightly thicker, most cards are 0.012 inches (0.305 mm) in thickness and weigh between 1.7 and 1.8 grams.
However, there are a few exceptions to these sizes and dimensions. For example, printing errors can create cards that are slightly larger and heavier. The 1997 MTGVanguard set's Vanguard cards are all 3 inches (7.6 cm) by 5 inches (12.7 cm), meaning they're all larger but are technically tournament-legal. These get set aside at the start of a game, so they're more of a gimmick and don't impact the rest of the game that much.
When it comes to these exceptions, they generally need to be revealed to both the judges and the opponent before a game even starts. If both players agree that a card isn't fake and can be used for a specific purpose, then, most of the time, it can be.
Obviously, this isn't always the case, but when it comes to proxies and cards of that type, the general rule of thumb is that as long as you're upfront about them with your opponent and agree to work with them in your game, they're fine.
Why do MTG cards have to be a specific size and weight?
Image via Wizards of the Coast
The reason MTG cards must conform to specific dimensions, size, and weight is because it's considered marking if they don't. Card marking is illegal in competitive play because it gives you an unfair advantage over your opponent.
You could compare this to drawing a black line on the back of a powerful card or one you know you need for your planned strategy. If you've got a hand that allows you to get your card, if you know that it's potentially only five cards deep in your deck, that's unfair on your opponent who doesn't know where their cards are in their deck.
Furthermore, a weighted card, or one that's slightly bigger than the rest, could make it easier to pick out in cases where your opponent gives you a set of face-down cards to pick from. There are several strategies where bigger cards can be of help in a game, which is why all cards must stick to the outlined sizing.
Another advantage of this strict rule on card sizes is that it makes it harder for anyone to create fake cards and sell them for a profit. This could become a real problem, especially with cards like the One of One Ring from the Tales of Middle-Earth set. If cards didn't have a set weight, even for foil versions, then it would be far too easy to fake rare cards for a profit.
Local Game Stores are becoming increasingly difficult to find as the world shifts to digital storefronts. Luckily for those living in remote areas or whose favorite store closed down, Magic: The Gathering has a thriving online player base across many platforms.
Many popular platforms take the (excuse the pun) magic from the tabletop to the internet. Each accommodates a variety of game modes and features which makes some more appealing than others.
Player preferences are primarily formed a
Local Game Stores are becoming increasingly difficult to find as the world shifts to digital storefronts. Luckily for those living in remote areas or whose favorite store closed down, Magic: The Gathering has a thriving online player base across many platforms.
Many popular platforms take the (excuse the pun) magic from the tabletop to the internet. Each accommodates a variety of game modes and features which makes some more appealing than others.
Player preferences are primarily formed around three criteria:
Game modes (Ex. Standard, Commander, Two-Headed Giant)
Accessibility (Installation, setup, cost)
User Experience (Interface, gameplay automation, matchmaking)
With those in mind, here are the best ways to play Magic: The Gathering (MTG) online:
While Tabletop Simulator can be used to play virtually any tabletop game, it doesn't mean that it's easy. MTG can be played in Tabletop Simulator but requires a tremendous amount of work for every player involved.
Players will need to create or find a table suitable for MTG on the Steam Workshop.
Decks must be created and imported into the game with assets for each card.
The process of finding games is left up to the player, mostly an option suitable for games between friends
When XMage works, it's one of the best clients for playing MTG online. Unfortunately, XMage is rife with issues both in and out of the game. Players frequently mention being unable to download the client due to website errors or experiencing other game-breaking bugs.
Modern interface, considered a successor to Cockatrice
Completely free
Infrequent updates - new sets are usually introduced within a month of release
If bugs are present, it could be months before they're addressed
During a good patch, XMage is considered a go-to platform, but those patches are becoming increasingly rare
Cockatrice launched in 2010 and was the community’s first attempt at digitizing Magic. Wizard of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering Online was the primary platform for players who wanted to play Magic over the internet. But for many paperplayers, paying for an additional digital collection of cards simply wasn’t affordable.
Cockatrice launched with the promise of a completely free-to-play Magic experience online, a promise that has held up to this day.
Screenshot by Destructoid
Pros:
Complete card library
Full control of the gameplay means it’s easy to undo or fix mistakes
In-game chat for communication
Can play every type of game mode
Free to use and doesn’t require paying for cards
Cons:
No automated actions - it’s important for all players to be well-versed in the rules and mechanics
Arguments over how to resolve cards are common
Complicated to set up, not a simple download and play process
Barebones, the quality of the experience is left entirely to the players
Smaller pool of players means games can be difficult to find
As time has passed, so too have the technology and capabilities of the internet. While Cockatrice still receives support and occasional updates, the interface is dated and the client feels like a chat room from the early 2000s. Setting up and playing on Cockatrice has gotten easier over the years, but can still be off-putting to some players.
In 2002, Wizards of the Coast launched Magic: The Gathering Online, which could be considered a pioneer of online card gaming. While heavily criticized for its in-game economy and numerous bugs, MTGO has managed to stay alive despite facing many competitors over its two-decade lifespan.
Unlike Cockatrice, MTGO provides gameplay automation, meaning instead of arguing with your opponents, you can blame the computer for everything (and you will). At any point in time, MTGO can be described as a buggy but complete experience. For those who don’t mind the costs associated with a digital collection, there isn’t a more comprehensive platform for playing Magic online.
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Pros:
Complete card library
Official Wizards of the Coast product
Players own their cards as digital assets, can trade and sell them
Can play every game mode
Automated actions simplify the gameplay process and takes the burden off of players
Cons:
Have to purchase or rent digital cards to use, can be very expensive
Client tends to lag in later stages of games
Many bugs with card interactions or with the client itself
Client feels very outdated
Only in English
Only for Windows
Unfortunately, MTGO is only available in English and on Windows PCs. This severely harms the accessibility factor which lowers our overall rating for MTGO.
Since its launch in 2018, Magic: The Gathering Arena has been the reigning champ when it comes to the most streamlined MTG experience on the market. Arena is a vast improvement over Wizards of the Coast’s first child, MTGO. The UI has been modernized and the game rules engine was built from the ground up and is written in a way that allows for endless development.
Screenshot by Destructoid
Pros:
By far the most streamlined gameplay experience - all phases, spells and triggers are automated
Free to play - cards can be earned with currency obtainable in-game, though can also be purchased with real money
The most polished of all options
Ranking system, matchmaking, automated events
Official Wizards of the Coast product
Translated into eight different languages
Easy to download and jump right into games
Tutorial and in-game guides
Cons:
Doesn’t contain the complete card library, only around 10,000 cards out of the 26,000+ (since Ixalan)
Game modes such as Commander and Two-Headed Giant aren’t available
Can’t trade or sell cards. Cards can only be obtained through purchasing packs or utilizing a Wildcard system.
Even though it has a smaller card library and only five game modes (four of which are similar to but not entirely identical to paper MTG game modes), Arena earns its place as #2. For people new to Magic, Arena is the place to be. While other options mostly cater to people already familiar with MTG, Arena provides a tutorial, helpful tooltips, and beginner decks to introduce beginners to various mechanics.
SpellTable is the new kid on the block (or at least on this list). During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the future of paper MTG was unclear. SpellTable, previously known as VirtualEDH, was quickly developed as a way to keep the Commander game mode alive (since Commander had limited online support at the time).
Within months of its inception, SpellTable joined Wizards of the Coast and was able to expand support to all formats. SpellTable maintains the authentic paper MTG experience by utilizing a mobile phone or webcam and a good ol’ tabletop surface. Over time, the developers have enhanced the app with features that create a sort of “paper Magic 2.0” feeling.
Image via Wizards of the Coast
Pros:
The most authentic paper Magic: The Gathering experience online
Use all physical cards that you own (including proxies)
Sort of an augmented reality experience since card images can be read by the client
Official Wizards of the Coast product
Supports all game modes
Easy-to-use interface
Free
Cons:
Requires a webcam or phone and space to set up a suitable playing area
No built-in matchmaking system. Finding games and play groups requires some work from the player
Some of the popular Discord groups require a subscription in order to use their matchmaking services
Gameplay done over a webcam can make it easier to cheat
Despite being created as a temporary solution for paper MTG due to social distancing, SpellTable has continued to be a popular choice for playing MTG online by players around the world. No other app captures the “dining room table with your buddies” aspect of Magic: The Gathering quite like SpellTable does.
As of 2024, there are over 27,000 unique cards in Magic: The Gathering. But despite the high number of cards, most formats such as Standard and Pauper include restrictions for the types of cards allowed. If you’ve found your parent’s old MTG cards or came across some at a garage sale, chances are the cards can’t be used in a majority of the game modes that local game stores (LGS) hold events for.
One type of game mode that is an exception to this is considered the most popular game mode of
As of 2024, there are over 27,000 unique cards in Magic: The Gathering. But despite the high number of cards, most formats such as Standard and Pauper include restrictions for the types of cards allowed. If you’ve found your parent’s old MTG cards or came across some at a garage sale, chances are the cards can’t be used in a majority of the game modes that local game stores (LGS) hold events for.
One type of game mode that is an exception to this is considered the most popular game mode of Magic: The Gathering: Commander. It's a little different from your normal Magic duel.
How to play Commander in MTG
Commander, also known as Elder Dragon Highlander (EDH), is considered the most popular (and most fun) format in Magic: The Gathering. Walk into any LGS and if there are MTG players, they most likely have a Commander deck. So what separates this format from the rest?
Commander is a free-for-all format played with 2-6 players
For the best experience, it's recommended to play with at least three players. This is due to Commander-specific cards that introduce interactions with multiple opponents
Each player begins with 40 health as opposed to the standard 20 health.
Each player has a designated Commander card (more information on that below).
Commanders are played from a zone known simply as the Command Zone.
When destroyed or exiled, Commanders are returned to the Command Zone instead.
Each subsequent cast of the Commander will require an additional two colorless mana (there isn’t a cap to this additional cost).
An additional rule in Commander that helps players get home at a decent hour is the Commander Damage rule. If a Commander deals at least 21 combat damage to an opponent over the course of the game, that opponent loses the game. So don’t worry, if your former friend has a field of Lifelink Angels and their health is well over 300, you don’t have to swing on them until midnight.
Other than these rules, everything plays exactly how typical Magic: The Gathering modes do. So with these rules in mind, it’s time to move on to what my personal favorite part of Commander is: deckbuilding.
How to build a Commander deck in MTG
Commander decks have 40 more cards than their Standard counterparts. While that seems like it’d make for a more expensive game mode, the opposite is true. Since Commander has far fewer restrictions and banned cards, it means that the demand for the majority of cards is much lower than that of the Standard format.
Local game stores often have boxes with unsorted cards that are perfect for filling out a Commander deck, often priced under a dollar. Online, many of these cards go for as little as a penny each. With that in mind, here are the rules for building a Commander deck in Magic: The Gathering:
Your deck must be comprised of 99 cards plus your Commander.
Any Legendary creature can be used as a Commander.
One Legendary creature card is designated the Commander.
Two exceptions to this rule are:
Two Legendary creatures that have the Partner ability (this would allow 98 other cards in the deck)
Planeswalkers that contain the text, “this card can be your commander.”
The rest of the deck must be built around the Commander’s mana color identity.
This includes the mana colors used to cast the Commander card along with any mana costs associated with abilities that the card may have.
Ex. Ghired, Mirror of the Wilds has a mana cost of Red, Green and White. If used as a Commander, the deck can only contain cards that have Red, Green, White, or Colorless mana costs.
Besides basic land cards, each card must be unique.
Cards that have the same name but are from different sets are considered the same card.
Having access to nearly the entire library of MTG cards makes putting together a cheap, well-built deck much more accessible for players. It’s worth noting that your Commander or any other card in your deck doesn’t have to be in English. You can find great deals on MTG cards in various languages by using sites such as EDHREC or Scryfall which have many filter options that streamline your card search.
Wizards of the Coast makes it even easier to jump into Commander by selling preconstructed (pre-con) Commander decks. Wizards has begun to increase the number of Commander precon sets every year, with 2023 having 25 Commander precons, up from past years that saw only 4-5 decks being released. These preconstructed decks provide access to Commanders that are crafted specifically for the game mode and are a solid foundation for new players.
Image via Magic Madhouse
Many guides can be found in the MTG community that give ideas on how to take pre-con decks to a higher level with various budget options. However, it’s recommended that you learn how the Commander plays first so that you understand what synergies or directions that the deck can take before you begin spending money.
Why Commander over other MTG formats?
Unlike Standard, Commander decks truly feel like your own. Instead of chasing a meta where everybody plays Azorius Control and players know the exact decklist that their opponents have, Commander allows for endless possibilities. You can build around your favorite Legendary creature, your favorite tribe, or construct a deck entirely around a single win condition (such as this example from Commander Mechanic with the Luck Bobblehead from the Fallout Universes Beyond set).
With your first Commander deck in hand, you’re ready to join players of the most popular format in Magic: The Gathering. If you don’t have an LGS near you or you’re hesitant to put your friendships on the line with an absurd deck strategy, you’re in luck. Nowadays, MTG is easier than ever to play online, with options for every type of player. From official platforms such as Magic: The Gathering Online or SpellTable, to community-managed apps like Cockatrice and XMage, your cards won't ever have a chance to collect dust.
Shin Megami Tensei 5 is getting the Persona 5 Royal treatment, with an all-new Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance edition that's out in June. It features a new story path, an improved battle system, new areas, and more, as you'd expect from Atlus' history of definitive editions. What's more, while SMT 5 was a Switch exclusive when it came out in 2021, the new Vengeance edition will be heading to PC and other consoles, too. Do I have time for another enormous JRPG? Probably not, but I'll admit that
Shin Megami Tensei 5 is getting the Persona 5 Royal treatment, with an all-new Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance edition that's out in June. It features a new story path, an improved battle system, new areas, and more, as you'd expect from Atlus' history of definitive editions. What's more, while SMT 5 was a Switch exclusive when it came out in 2021, the new Vengeance edition will be heading to PC and other consoles, too. Do I have time for another enormous JRPG? Probably not, but I'll admit that it's got me very interested indeed.
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