In the early days of Magic: The Gathering, no one would have ever thought of a mash-up between Dungeons & Dragons and MTG. The video game equivalent would have been Sega and Nintendo joining forces to release a Mario & Sonic game. It would never happen…

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A Tale Of Two Companies

In the gaming dungeons North of England, Wizards of the Coast held a volatile grasp on tabletop scene with Magic: The Gathering– the utterance of those three little words was the equivalent to saying Lord Voldemort "He who must not be named" in many of the hovels I frequented. It’s easy to understand why; Magic was riding high and giving the middle tentacle to the establishment. Tabletop game studios the world over were already struggling with the rise of video games and now they had an upstart company to deal with who was, in the eyes of many, land-grabbing everything in sight. Much of the establishment fell by the wayside, only to be remembered by the wisest of sages. But the Grandfather of gaming, TSR, couldn’t fall... Could it?

In 1999, the world changed. TSR was bankrupt and a new owner for Dungeons & Dragons had been found. Wizards added D&D to its collection like another Infinity Stone in its gauntlet. Roleplayers the world over had to get used to the idea that the company that they had derided for so long was now their salvation and so began a time of change. Thankfully, there we many gamers who enjoyed both Dungeons & Dragons as well as Magic, and many I have spoken to have had positive experiences where clubs allowed both RPGs and CCGs to be played side by side. If you were lucky, then the ultimate trifecta could be found, where clubs also allowed Warhammer.

Via WotC

D&D And Magic Meet

At first, the two IPs were kept separate, but this all changed with the release of D&D Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, a sourcebook for roleplay adventures using the fifth edition D&D rules, but in the Magic: The Gathering setting of Ravnica. It was released at the same time as the Guilds of Ravnica MTG block and provided all the background material to use Ravnica in your D&D adventures. No stone was left unturned, with much more than Ravnica's ten main guilds being covered. You could find information on the day to day running, the Church hierarchy, judicial system, and more. DMs could buy a map back that detailed the myriad of interlocking alleyways and streets and a prepainted set of miniatures was released by WizKids.

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Now, I should back-track a little here, as this wasn’t the first official exploration of MTG content. To coincide with the release of The Art of Magic: The Gathering, James Wyatt put together a set of Plane Shift guides that were set in the D&D multiverse (note, not MTG!) but were named and featured content found in the equivalent MTG lore. You can still find these today if you know where to look.

The second official crossover between the two giants came in the form of the ancient Greek mythology-inspired D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros. While Ravnica focused on a city, Theros gives us a whole world to play in, full of gods, heroes, and ways to make D&D into a mythical story. Players receive a supernatural ability and align themselves with one of the fifteen deities in order to become a legend in their own right. In the same vein as the previous, everything you need to flesh out a Theros themed campaign is included and the sourcebook is adorned with the art featured in the various Theros themed MTG blocks.

Via WotC

The future for crossovers is looking up with the first crossover of D&D lore coming to Magic: The Gathering in 2021. In a role reversal, the D&D team is working hand in hand with the Magic design team to ensure that The Forgotten Realms have been captured in all its glory. No details of cards yet, but we are sure to finally get our first true Beholder, something Magic fans have been asking for for years. There is much to choose from and we expect several sets with each focusing on a particular region. Fingers crossed for an Icewind Dale one.

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