2010 MTG Developments

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If you had not read Aaron Forsythe's article today (titled 'From the Director's Chair: 2010') we suggest you make tracks over to WoTC. If you are not aware, Aaron is the Director of Wizard of the Coast's R&D department (and sometimes designer) for Magic the Gathering and when he writes an article about what is in store for our fav game, fans listen.

Here is a brief summary of some points he had made today . . .

* We'll be making a change to Intro Packs based on your feedback that will begin with Worldwake on Magic Online and the 2011 core set in paper. The intro decks will now be 60 cards rather than 41, the Intro Packs will still include a booster and a foil rare, and the MSRP of Intro Packs will go up less than a dollar, to $12.99. Enjoy!

* Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. The Coalition brings one of Magic's most famous conflicts to life this spring, and there's another classic "planeswalker vs. planeswalker" Duel Decks coming up this fall.

* We'll be rolling out some new products, such as the Deck Builder's Toolkit and a paper product based on Duels of the Planeswalkers.

* This year will feature a summer full of great multiplayer events and activities, headlined by a new format/product that rivals Planechase in sheer awesomeness.

* The popular From the Vault series continues this summer, with an additional dose of shiny available in the form of the Shards of Alara Block All-Foil Booster on shelves this Friday.

* The Legacy format will debut on Magic Online (albeit a few cards short, for the time being, of the paper format).

* And we'll be making sets, too! Worldwake, Rise of the Eldrazi, the 2011 core set, Masters Edition IV (for Magic Online), and the large fall set codenamed "Lights" will build on all that is right with Magic.

* One of the rules changes we made for Magic 2010 will be tweaked ever-so-slightly for the next core set.

* Some good blue cards will be printed!

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Speaking of things to expect in 2010, there was also an announcement of note in today's Magic Arcana . . .

From the Vault: Relics contains fifteen battle-tested artifacts, culled from throughout the history of Magic: The Gathering. This limited-edition set also contains an exclusive preview card, a mythic rare from the October Magic set code named "Lights."

Contents

* 15 Premium foil cards, including 9 with new art
* An exclusive spindown life counter
* A collector's guide
* Each card has been printed using a foil process unique to the "From the Vault" series.
* The 15 cards are all printed in the current card frame – for several, it is for the first time.
* From the Vault: Relics will be available world-wide in English only, and will have an extremely limited print run.
* All cards are black-bordered and tournament legal. This means that these cards are legal for use in any tournaments where the original printings are still legal.


Product Concept and Development Team: Mark Rosewater, Tom LaPille
Release Date: August 27th, 2010
MSRP: $34.99

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Looks like 2010 will be another very great year to be a Magic Player. Make sure you stay tuned here to MTG Realm as we start crusing into Worldwake spoilers.

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