Magic and Marvel unite in Darkhold Destiny, their most supernatural set yet

Wizards of the Coast has unveiled Darkhold Destiny, the third set in the collaboration between Magic: The Gathering and Marvel. The new collection will arrive in April 2027 and bets on a much more supernatural story than its predecessors, with Doctor Strange and Thor as protagonists facing off against Dormammu and Hela.

The big difference from the previous Spider-Man and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 sets is that Wizards has written an original story within the Magic multiverse. It is not about adapting a specific comic, but about integrating Marvel characters into the logic of the card game.

That also shows in the art. Wizards has given its illustrators more freedom to reinterpret the heroes. In the LEGO set, Scarlet Witch looked very much like her classic comic book version. In Darkhold Destiny, however, she looks like a character born directly for a Magic card, while still keeping her iconic mask.

A magical invasion of the multiverse

The premise of the set is simple: Dormammu and Hela use the Darkhold, the book of sins, to invade the entire multiverse. Doctor Strange, Thor, and other Marvel heroes have to stop them. With that starting point, magic is the central focus of the collection.

The set is organized around three magical schools: arcane, divine, and dark. Arcane magic revolves around Doctor Strange and his allies. Divine magic belongs to the Asgardians and other similar beings. Dark magic is mostly used by villains, although there are heroes like Ghost Rider who also tap into it.

One of the surprises is the return of the "arcane" card type on instants and sorceries. It is a category that has not been used since Saviors of Kamigawa in 2005. That said, Wizards has confirmed that the splice onto arcane ability will not return, the one that allowed combining different spells of this type.

Four Commander decks and more products

As with recent sets, Darkhold Destiny will have a wide product lineup: regular boosters, Collector Boosters, and gift boxes. On top of that, there are four Commander decks, each with its own fully foil Collector's Edition version.

There will also be two scenario boxes with six unique-mechanic cards each. The gift box and the special edition will include a promotional card with its own mechanic. It remains to be seen whether those cards end up spiking in price on the secondary market, something quite common with this type of exclusive.

Before the release, Wizards will publish a comic in February created together with Image Comics that will preview this original Marvel story. A second comic will follow closer to the set's launch in April 2027.