Wizards of the Coast has pushed back the release of the Unfinity set, for Magic: The Gathering, due to ongoing supply chain issues. Unfinity, the latest Un-set, was set to release on April 1, 2022 (see “‘Magic: The Gathering’ ‘D&D’ and ‘Masters’ Sets”). The supply chain problems were specific to the Unfinity product line, thus WotC opted to push the set’s release off till the second half of 2022. Additionally, Unfinity promos will no longer ship with retailers’ Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty marketing kits, and will be sent out closer to Unfinity’s actual release date.
Konami Digital Entertainment introduced Tactical Masters, a new booster set for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, which will release on June 10, 2022. The new 60-card booster set that adds three new strategies to the game. One of the themes of the set revolves around changing Pendulum Monster cards from spells to monsters on both sides of the tabletop. The set features 60 Ultra Rares, 15 Super Rares, and 35 Rares. Also, 15 cards from the set will also be available as Collector’s Rares.
Each pack comes with a foil card and 6 rare cards, and retail for $4.19.
Konami Digital Entertainment announced Dimension Force, a new booster set for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, which set to hit stores on May 20, 2022. This is a 100-card set that adds brand-new themes for decks plus cards for older decks. For older re-animate strategies, the new set has a “Red-Eyes” Zombie Synchro Monster that can Special Summon other Zombie monsters and itself from the Graveyard. It also features cards for Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V-themed deck strategies like “Performapal” cards and a new “Odd-Eyes” monster. There is also a Level 11 Psychic Synchro Monster that is unaffected by the opponent’s activated effects, and unleashes more powerful attacks as a player falls further behind in Life Points.
The booster set’s rarity breakdown is as follows: 50 Commons, 26 Super Rares, 14 Ultra Rares, 10 Secret Rares. Packs will retail for $4.19 each.
Wizards of the Coast announced a Magic: The Gathering brand collaboration with singer Post Malone to promote the Friday Night Magic program. The return of OP to gaming stores in 2021(see “U.S. In-Store Play Suspension for ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Will End Soon”) will be followed up by a year-long celebration of Magic’s return to stores involving a partnership with Magic celebrity super fan Post Malone. Although the full nature of the partnership has not been disclosed, it will involve promoting the FNM program as more stores return to OP as the pandemic winds down.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of Magic: The Gathering than Post Malone,” said Nathan Stewart, Head of Franchise Marketing for WotC. “As a fan for years, he knows just how much Friday Night Magic means to players. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Posty in ways that will allow his signature style, talent and love of the game to combine in ways fans will never forget.”
Malone’s relationship with Magic, to this point, has been as a player, a collector, and a social influencer. Earlier this year, Malone was reported to have spent thousands of dollars at a Frank & Son Collectible Show (see “Post Malone Spends Thousands on ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Singles”). With this announcement, WotC now appears to be looking to leverage Malone’s star influence in a more official capacity to promote the Magic: The Gathering brand.
Square Enix announced Final Fantasy TCG: Rebellion’s Call, a new booster expansion, which will release in August 2022. This new expansion introduces characters from Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis into the game. Also, the Crystal game mechanic that first appeared in Crystal Dominion (see “‘Final Fantasy TCG’ Booster Expansion”) is back again in this expansion. There will be more Legacy cards in this set, which include Firion [6-019L], Veritas of the Dark [8-136L], and Y’shtola [12-119L]. The set will feature artwork by Ryoma Ito, Akira Oguro, Yukihiro Kajimoto, Gen Kobayashi, Toshitaka Matsuda, Fumio Minagawa, and Miki Yamashita.
Alongside this set, Square Enix will release Two-Player Starter Set: Golbez vs. Cecil. It comes with two preconstructed decks to play with, and there will be 10 new starter exclusive cards in the decks. Each starter exclusive card will have three parallels.
Wizards of the Coast unveiled the Buy-a-Box promo for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. The foil Buy-a-Box promo is Satoru Umezawa, a legendary human ninja creature card. The card’s text is as follows:
Sarou Umezawa (Casting Cost: 1UB)
Legendary Creature – Human Ninja
Whenever you activate a ninjutsu ability, look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. This ability triggers only once each turn.
Each creature in your hand has ninjutsu 2UB. 2/4
This card offers card draw as well as an expedient way of putting Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Griselbrand into play in Modern matches. It will likely be a surefire hit with customers, and can be given with the purchase of a Set, Draft, or Collector Display or if they buy 6 Prerelease Packs.
Wizards of the Coast announced Secret Lair: The Astrology Lands, a new series of Magic: The Gathering drop sets, which will be released on April 29, 2022 with a preorder date staring January 4, 2022. The new drop sets will feature a basic land type coupled with art alluding to an astrological sign. Each month, WotC will offer a different land type for a different sign, which will be available till the end of 2022. This product is not a print-to-demand item, it will only be available while the printed stock lasts.
The first of these sets to market is The Astrology Lands: Capricorn drop, which comes with full-art Swamps by Jeanne D’Angelo. It is available in foil for $39.99 and non-foil for $29.99. There are also two bundles, a foil bundle for $159.99 and non-foil for $119.99, that come with five of these sets each.
Konami Digital Entertainment will release the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG – Structure Deck: Albaz Strike on March 11.
Albaz Strike centers on Fallen Albaz, which originally appearing in Rise of the Duelist. The monster uses Fusion Summoning effects that allows duelists to absorb enemy monsters and transform it into new forms. The structure deck includes new Tri-Brigade and Springan monsters as well as reprints from Phantom Rage and Blazing Vortex sets. The deck includes five Tokens that feature new art that tell the stories of ‘Fallen of Albaz’. Cards that offer additional support for the deck can be found in Burst of Destiny and the recently announced Battle of Chaos (see “Konami Announces First Core ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ TCG’ Set of 2022”).
Albaz Strike will contain 46 cards (a 40-card Main Deck and 6-card Extra Deck), including 5 Ultra Rares, 3 Super Rares, and 38 Commons; 5 special Token cards; and a double-sided deluxe game mat/dueling guide.
Wizards of the Coast unveiled Secret Lair: Extra Life 2021, a drop series set that benefits Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which will be on preorder November 5-8.
WotC continues their Extra Life annual fundraising event (see “‘Secret Lair: Extra Life 2020’“) where gamers come together to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals with a new Secret Lair set. This year, the set features two different copies of the three cards offered: one copy with art rendered by young artists from Seattle’s Children’s Autism Center and one copy with artwork that is a professional artist’s interpretation of the rendered card. The set includes the following cards: 1 Mulldrifter by Aliya, age 5 and a half;1 Mulldrifter by Magali Villeneuve, age 41; 1 Craterhoof Behemoth by Kira, age 5 and a half; 1 Craterhoof Behemoth by Lars Grant-West, age 52, 1 Metalwork Colossus by Hyan Tran, age 6; and 1 Metalwork Colossus by Chris Rahn, age 36.
These sets can be purchased in foil for $49.99 or non-foil for $39.99. 50% of the sales proceeds go towards the Extra Life fundraising event.
Brother Of Runes 