Wizards of the Coast have released new information about their upcoming Magic: The Gathering set, Dominaria United. As part of the popular TCG's 30th anniversary celebration, this set not only returns to the very first setting of Magic: The Gathering, but certain booster packs will allow players a chance to get a piece of the card game's very history: a card from the 1994 Legends set.
How Is Legends Connected To Dominaria United?
According to a news post on the official Magic website, Wizards of the Coast uncovered an unopened box of cards from the Legends set, discovered in a desert warehouse and completely unopened. Now, in celebration of Magic's 30th anniversary, the company has announced that cards from this 1994 set will be included in certain Dominaria United booster packs.
The Legends set is highly influential for a number of reasons. It was the first set to contain multicolored cards and was the first to be sold in 15-card booster packs. Also, as the name implies, this is the set that introduced legendary creatures to Magic: The Gathering, which has gone on to become a staple of the series. In fact, among those legendary creatures were the five Elder Dragons, which would eventually inspire the EDH format as well as the wildly popular Commander format.
Finally, Legends is set in the world of Dominaria, the original setting in the lore of Magic: The Gathering. While multiple sets have returned to this setting in the past such as Dominaria in 2018 and the Time Spiral block in 2006, combining the nostalgia of long-time fans with Dominaria United along with the chance to have a piece of one of the most influential sets is consistent with the franchise celebrating thirty years of success.
How Can I Get Legends Cards In Dominaria United?
According to an official preview post, every single Dominaria United Collector Booster will have a chance of you getting a card from the Legends set. These cards will replace a common foil card usually found in a Collector Booster. In addition, these Legends cards are in limited supply, so each Collector Booster has a 3% chance of containing a Legends card. These cards will not appear in Draft or Set Boosters.
In addition, Dominaria United will contain Legends Retold Box Toppers. These will be included with each Set, Booster, and Draft display. As the name implies, Legends Retold will contain one traditional foil card of a new design inspired by characters in the original Legends set. The new designs will be based on one of nineteen legendary creatures and one planeswalker for a grand total of 20 reimagined cards. These cards can also be obtained in Dominaria United Collector Boosters in both foil and non-foil variants.
As for which Legends cards will not be included in Dominaria United, Wizards of the Coast provided some comprehensive lists. The first list are of fifty cards that just weren't in the cases of booster packs the company opened and sorted through. This is due to some odd 1994 collation print runs. These include cards like Backdraft, Mana Drain, Cathedral of Serra, Cocoon, and Brine Hag. The second list was sixteen cards that were uncovered but would not be released. While a reason was not expressly given by Wizards of the Coast, the cards listed depict problematic and racist content in some form. Since Legends contained 310 cards total according to Magic's own online database, that still leaves 244 different cards that can potentially be yours.
What To Expect From Jumpstart Dominaria United?
Finally, Wizards of the Coast did confirm that Jumpstart Boosters will be returning for Dominaria United. These boosters will be sold alongside Set, Draft, and Collector Boosters. Jumpstart Boosters will contain 20 cards each, including two foil lands, two rares, a new kind of rare unique to this kind of Booster, and one rare or mythic rare. If you want to quickly put together a deck and start playing, simply pick up two Jumpstart Boosters and start playing. In addition, Jumpstart Dominaria United will be broken up into ten themes, two for each of the five main colors. Those themes are:
- White: Coalition Corps and Coalition Legions
- Blue: Mystic Mischief and Arcane Mischief
- Black: Totally Ruthless and Totally Merciless
- Red: Ready To Charge and Ready To Attack
- Green: Beast Territory and Monster Territory
Finally, each non-foil land in Jumpstart Dominaria United will contain alternate artwork basic lands called the Stained-Glass Treatment. As the name implies, these cards depict the various land cards in the style of stained glass.
When Will Dominaria United Be Available?
Prereleases for Dominaria United (including Jumpstart) will be September 2-8. The worldwide release, both physical and digital, will be on September 9.
