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‘MAGIC: THE GATHERING’ GEM MINT 10 ALPHA BLACK LOTUS HEADLINES ‘2026 SUMMER GOLDIN 100’ AUCTION

Source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/63194/magic-the-gathering-gem-mint-10-alpha-black-lotus-headlines-2026-summer-goldin-100-auction

Passes $550,000 in Early Bidding; Also, ‘Pokémon TCG’ Pikachu Illustrator Promo on the Block

Posted by Jeffrey Dohm-Sanchez on August 21, 2026 @ 1:00 pm CT

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A PSA Gem Mint 10 Alpha Black Lotus, for Magic: The Gathering, is currently on the block at the 2026 Summer Goldin 100 auction.

There is only a population of three PSA Gem Mint 10 Alpha Black Lotus cards ever graded, and rarely hit the auction block (this particular card was reholdered).  One of these three PSA 10 Black Lotus cards went for $511,100 in 2021 in a wild auction on eBay/PWCC, where several bids were disallowed (see “‘Magic: The Gathering’ Alpha Black Lotus Goes for $511.1K“); a CGC Pristine 10 Black Lotus was sold in a private sale in 2024 for $3 million (see “Sells for $3 Million“).  PSA-graded cards tend to carry a premium at auction (see “Prices Rebalance“), so with just under a month left for buyers to bid on this item, this card definitely has the potential for a record sale.

Also of note, Goldin is auctioning off a CGC 9 1998 Pokémon Japanese CoroCoro Comic Promo Holo Illustrator Pikachu card.  A PSA 8.5 version of this card recently hammered at $843,750 (see “Auction Block“).

Click on Gallery below for full-size images!

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ARCANE TINMEN WILL RELEASE NEW ‘DRAGON SHIELD: ART’ ACCESSORIES

Arcane Tinmen will release Fuka and The Empress, new Dragon Shield: Art accessories, into retail on November 13, 2026.

These accessories showcase artwork by Yumeko, who worked on the Japanese Mystical Archive cards for Magic: The Gathering’sSecrets of Strixhaven set (see “More Collector Information“).  The line consists of Matte Dual Art sleeves and a playmat.  The sleeves come 100 to a box; the playmat will has a silky top and rubber backing.  Both will retail for $24.99 each.

Click on Gallery below for full-size images! 

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WIZARDS OF THE COAST ANNOUNCES ‘REALITY FRACTURE’ PLAY BOOSTER SHORTAGES

Source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/63258/wizards-coast-announces-reality-fracture-play-booster-shortages

Wizards of the Coast announced Play Booster shortages for Reality Fracture, a new booster set for Magic: The Gathering, which is scheduled to hit stores on October 2, 2026.   

The shortages are due to low water levels in the Panama Canal because of a drought. The low water levels have caused a shipping jam up in the waterway. The canal issues will likely only affect the availability of Play Boosters; the displays will be available for the prerelease and release weekends, but the supply of displays may dry up fast. WotC hopes to replenish these supplies within a few weeks after release. 

For more information on 2026 Magic: The Gathering releases, click here to check out ICv2’s release calendar.

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SQUARE ENIX WILL RELEASE ‘FINAL FANTASY TCG’S’ FIRST REPRINT SET, AGAIN

Source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/63271/square-enix-will-release-final-fantasy-tcgs-first-reprint-set-again

Square Enix will release Legacy Collection, a restock of the first reprint booster set for Final Fantasy TCG (FFTCG), which will hit stores on March 31, 2027.

This set is the first FFTCG set comprised entirely of reprinted cards.  It contains 200 cards selected from the over 3,000 cards printed to date for the game.  These cards are all staples from the competitive tournament scene.  For collectors, the set also has rare full-art cards as well as two foil-stamped signature cards: Yuna [12-105L] with a foil-stamped signature of Tetsuya Nomura, and Warrior of Light [19-128L] with a foil-stamped signature of Miki Yamashita.

Display boxes also come with one of six different Crystal cards enclosed.  Each pack contains five cards; 20 packs come in a display box.

Square Enix also announced Final Fantasy TCG: Anniversary Collection Set 2027, which will hit retail (see “‘Final Fantasy TCG: Anniversary Collection Set 2027’“).

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‘MAGIC: THE GATHERING’ ‘SECRET LAIR’ DIRECTOR REVIEWS THE TALE OF THE TAPE

Source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/63276/magic-the-gathering-secret-lair-director-reviews-tale-tape

Matthew Hodgins, director of Secret Lair for Magic: The Gathering, reviewed the experimental ordering process that occurred with the recent Commander Deck: Hatsune Miku drop set offering.  

Wizards of the Coast had been having issues offering up Commander and special edition decks via Secret Lair recently. Hodgins noted the Dandan deck (see “‘Dandan Deck’“) and Goblin Storm deck as two drops that frustrated fans seeking to buy the decks. These decks sold out almost instantly, as flippers bombarded their ordering system using all sorts of tricks to acquire multiple decks (see “Goblin-storming Flippers“).

For the Hatsune Miku deck, WotC ran a little logistics experiment with their preorder process. Instead of a first come, first serve model, they extended the preorder to a 24-hour window, where everyone who ordered their deck within that window would receive one. For late comers to the drop, WotC implemented a backorder system (they would still get the deck, but it would be up to a year later). This system is similar to what Fanatics does with their Topps Now DTC products, which usually have longer limited ordering windows to mitigate a mad rush of orders for popular drops. 

Hodgins confirmed plans to run a DTC sale for Commander Deck: Odds and Ends, which had been recently leaked through the Hatsune Miku deck fulfillment process. The deck is rumored to contain all sorts of valuable reprints such as Sensei’s Diving Top, Esper Sentinel, and more. It will be sold via the same 24-hour limited window process in a few weeks. 

He also noted a few other points involving Secret Lair drops. They have been addressing the queue throttle that customers experience when first entering the line to purchase a drop set, and are trying to reduce the time people spend waiting in the queue as their projected wait time evolves by rebuilding their sales projections and scaling queue infrastructure. WotC has also revamped their shipping methods and rates for NA and have been working on reducing the time for backorder fulfillment.  

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‘CYBERPUNK TCG’ SMASHES TABLETOP KICKSTARTER FUNDING RECORD BY OVER $10 MILLION

Lands Third on the List of Most-Funded Kickstarters in Any Categories

Source

Weird Co.’s Cyberpunk TCG crowdfunding campaign has smashed the tabletop funding record on Kickstarter, and has ended up the third most-funded project all-time in any category on the Kickstarter platform.

The Cyberpunk TCG Kickstarter campaign sent fans, supporters, and edgerunners-at-heart on an epic fundraising ride for the ages.  On April 1, 2026, it passed Cosmere RPG to become the most-funded tabletop campaign of all-time (see “Most Funded Tabletop Game of All-Time“).  Today, Cyberpunk TCG hit third on the all-time most-funded Kickstarters list, in any category, raising $26,934,598 from 47,636 backers (about $565 per backer).  This beats Cosmere RPG’s end total by over $10 million.

The only two campaigns, in any category, that raised more money on Kickstarter than Cyberpunk TCG were the eufyMake UV Printer campaign, which raised $46,762,258 from 17,822 backers (about $2624 per backer), and the Surprise! Four Secret Novels by Brandon Sanderson, which raised $41,754,153 from 185,341 backers (about $225 per backer). 

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NEW ‘YU-GI-OH! TCG’ ‘LEGENDARY ARC-V DECKS’ ANNOUNCED

Featuring ‘Odd-Eyes,’ ‘Lunalight’ and ‘Speedroid’ Themes

Konami Digital Entertainment will release new Legendary Arc-V Decks Collector’s Set, for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, into retail on August 7, 2026.

This collector’s set features three 55-card Decks (each with a 40-card Main Deck and 15-card Extra Deck) that include a Secret Rare and 6 Ultra Rares per deck.  The decks also come with a bonus packet that contains a Secret Rare copy of 1 of 6 cards from that Deck.  These decks are similar to the Legendary Modern Decks 2026 (see “‘Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Legendary Modern Decks 2026’“) as they come with multiples of popular staple cards needed to play competitive decks.

The three decks have the following themes: Odd-Eyes (used by Yuya, from the Standard Dimension), Lunalight (used by Celina, from the Fusion Dimension), and Speedroid (used by Yugo, from the Synchro Dimension).  The collector’s set contains 168 cards: 3 Secret Rares, 18 Ultra Rares, 144 Commons, and 3 bonus Secret Rares (that have a chance to upgrade to Starlight Rare). Decks will retail for $31.99.

For more information on 2026 Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG releases, click here to check out ICv2’s release calendar. 

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‘MY LITTLE PONY TCG: FRIENDSHIPS BEGIN’ STARTER DECKS ANNOUNCED

Source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/62205/my-little-pony-tcg-friendships-begin-starter-decks-announcedhttps://icv2.com/articles/news/view/62205/my-little-pony-tcg-friendships-begin-starter-decks-announced

For U.S. Retail Release

Kayou Limited announced six English Edition starter decks for My Little Pony TCG: Friendships Begin, which will hit retailers on May 1, 2026.

The starter decks allow players to choose their favorite Pony, and go head-to-head in a game where they will try to complete their Pony’s story before their opponent.  The starters to choose from are as follows: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy.  Each comes ready-to-play and consists of 70 cards.  The decks also include three 5-card booster packs.

Each deck will retail for $19.99.

Kayou Limited recently released Fantasy Wonderland, a booster set for My Little Pony CG, into retail on April 18, 2026 (see ” ‘My Little Pony CG’ Booster Set“).

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HASBRO Q1 RESULTS DELAYED DUE TO HACK

Source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/62237/hasbro-q1-results-delayed-due-hack

Hasbro’s Q1 results were delayed due to the hack discovered last month and reported on April 1 (see “Hasbro Gets Hacked“), the company announced.  The Q1 results will be reported on May 20, roughly a month later than they reported Q1 results last year (see “Blowout First Quarter“).

Hasbro outlined more impacts from the hack, which took place on March 28.  Most importantly, the unauthorized access has been contained and the company is bringing systems that had been taken offline back up sequentially.

The company’s most important products shipped as expected.  Shipments of Magic: The Gathering, including of Secrets of Strixhaven, are being made as planned, but shipments in Hasbro’s Consumer Products segment, which includes toys and non-WotC games, will be impacted in Q2 due to order processing, shipping, and invoicing delays, the company said.  The delays will affect Q2 sales and profits, Hasbro said, although the company hopes to pick up the majority of those sales in later quarters.

Hasbro revealed ranges for a few Q1 numbers: $970-985 million in revenue, which is 9-11% over last year, and operating profit of $235-$245 million, up 38-44% over Q1 2025.  The company expects no impact to its full year guidance.

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NEW TCG FROM WIZARDS OF THE COAST

source https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/62281/new-tcg-wizards-coast

Wizards of the Coast will launch a new TCG, Mood Swings, designed by Magic: The Gathering Lead Designer Mark Rosewater.  The new game will be launched via a direct-to-consumer Secret Lair drop on June 1.  Mood Swings is configured in randomized decks rather than booster packs and designed to offer a simpler experience than Magic: The Gathering.

“Mood Swings has all the things I love about trading card games—fun card interactions, adaptability, collecting, and trading—but in the style of a traditional card game, something you could buy off the shelf and play immediately,” Rosewater said in a post announcing the drop.  “I think it will excite longtime fans of trading card game and gamers who might have been too intimidated to play a traditional trading card game.”

The Secret Lair drop will offer 45-card decks, each of which will include 23 common, 14 uncommon, 6 rare, and 2 mythic rare cards, drawn from a 133-card set that includes 48 commons, 40 uncommons, 30 rares, and 15 mythic rares.  Cards are in the five Magic: The Gathering colors and each represents an emotion or mood.  Card art is drawn from sketches for published Magic art.

Mood Swings is a light strategy game for two to four players; the two-player version plays in five to ten minutes.  Every player plays a card each round; cards can have effects when played, and some cards can alter the rules.  Scores are totaled after the round and the highest score wins the round; three rounds wins the game.  The winner of each round plays first the next round, and the losing player(s) draw a card.  Cards stay in play unless another card removes it.