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Dungeons and Dragons is Set to Crossover With Magic the Gathering AGAIN
A listing from Penguin Random House has revealed that Wizards of the Coast is planning a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting in the Magic the Gathering world of Theros. Wizards had success with its previous Magic campaign setting, Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica, in 2018. This is set to be the second campaign setting release this year, following Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, a setting based on the popular live-play podcast Critical Role.
Wizards of the Coast has been experimenting with Magic settings in D&D for some time now; in 2016, following the Magic set Battle for Zendikar, Wizards released an online document called Plane Shift: Zendikar, a free PDF with a smattering of new character options and guidelines for setting a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the world of Zendikar. This started a brief series of Plane Shift documents that ended in 2018 when Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica was released. This was a full-length printed campaign setting that offered a number of character options including new races, subclasses, and character backgrounds to fit the setting. Ravnica has been arguably the most popular Magic setting since its first appearance all the way back in 2005, so its honor as the first Magic setting to get its own D&D book is easy to justify.
The success of Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica seems to have spurred Wizards to keep the Magic settings coming. Earlier this week Penguin Random House preemptively listed a new D&D book called Mythic Odysseys of Theros, set to release sometime in May. Theros first appeared in a set of the same name released in 2013, and its popularity led to a return set called Theros Beyond Death, which released on January 24th of this year and is currently the most recent Magic set. Theros is a world heavily inspired by ancient Greek mythology, featuring mythical creatures and powerful heroes, as well as omnipresent gods who interfere frequently in the lives of their mortal supplicants. The setting is illustrated very well in the cover of Mythic Odysseys, which briefly appeared online before being removed along with the rest of the listing. The cover depicts a warrior decked out in Greek armor doing battle with a fearsome hydra.
As popular as the setting has been thanks to its Greek influences, the most recent set has experienced some controversy. Following the poor handling of the novel that accompanied the previous set War of the Spark, the story material for Theros Beyond Death was delayed indefinitely; no novel was released, and story updates were never posted on Magic's website. This has disappointed fans greatly, as some very popular characters appeared in Theros Beyond Death and players bemoaned missing the chance to learn more about them. The official statement from Wizards is that it is waiting for the proper time and channel to release the story materials. A return to prominence for the setting in the form of a Dungeons & Dragons book could be just the opportunity they're waiting for.
Mythic Odysseys of Theros has all the elements of a promising D&D supplement. Fans of Magic who enjoyed Guildmaster's Guide will surely enjoy the opportunity to broaden their Magic horizons in D&D, and even players who've never touched Magic will likely find Theros's easily recognizable source material to be an accessible way to bring some variety to their games, perhaps in the form of their own ancient Greek epic. Throughout the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, there's been a huge emphasis on the freedom of players to tell their own stories, and Mythic Odysseys of Theros is sure to be an invaluable addition to DMs' toolboxes when it comes out in May.
