The first two Magic the Gathering products of 2022 have been given release dates, with Commander Collection: Black and Innistrad: Double Feature both launching in late January.
Innistrad: Double Feature is a made-for-draft compilation set combining cards from the two Innistrad sets of 2021, Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow. Inspired by classic monster movies, the set will feature special black-and-white treatments of some of its cards. These are different to the 'Eternal Night' Showcase style seen in Midnight Hunt, which used a sharper, higher contrast. The first card shown off for Double Feature's style is Endless Ranks of the Dead, from the original Innistrad set.
The second release is Commander Collection: Black. Commander Collections are collections of cards that are often considered staples for the Commander format, reprinted with exclusive new art. Following on from 2020's Commander Collection: Green, this Black-focused package includes Phyrexian Arena, Toxic Deluge, Reanimate, Ophiomancer, Ghoulcaller Gisa, Liliana, Heretical Healer, and black-themed Sol Ring and Commander Tower.
All of these see regular play in Commander, with Phyrexian Arena and Toxic Deluge in particular being seen as must-haves for many black decks due to their card advantage and board wipe capabilities.
The collection also comes with a Deathtouch Snake token. A token might sound underwhelming, but Snakes with Deathtouch are one of a list of creature tokens that, despite being part of the game, have never had their own printed token card. This is going to be particularly good news for people who play Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, a popular -1/-1 counter Commander.
Like the Innistrad: Double Feature, the Commander Collection: Black will be exclusive to partnered game stores. However, Commander Collection: Black will have two versions, with a non-foil one available from any participating store, and an exclusive foil "Premium" version for Wizards Play Network Premium stores, which are hand-picked by Wizards for their quality and participation in the Magic community.
Both Innistrad: Double Feature and Commander Collection will be launching on January 28, 2022. They're kicking off a packed year for Magic, with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Unfinity and Streets of New Capenna all launching in the first half of the year.