Access Magic: Eldritch Moon

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

With previews of the next new Magic: the Gathering set, Eldritch Moon, not starting until next Monday (27th June), it kinda feels like a trekking across a barren desert, devoid of any life.  Mind you, there had been some comfort in this wasteland, an oasis, if you will - in the form of two stories from Eldritch Moon -

Episode 01: The Archmage of Goldnight
A werewolf howls in the night. A mad angel cackles. Without its protector, Avacyn, Innistrad is falling to monsters and madness. But not all monsters are what they seem. In the dark of night, the howl of a werewolf might just be the answer to your prayers

Episode 02: Stone and Blood

Over a thousand years ago, Nahiri arrived on Innistrad to find her old friend Sorin Markov. That meeting set Nahiri on her course of vengeance, but the reasons for her anger have remained shrouded in mystery.

With our thirst somewhat slaked with the continuation of the Shadows Over Innistrad storyline, we were rather prepared for more doldrums.  Then an unexpected surprise - this brief video posted today by the mothersite on their YouTube channel -

The video description - 

Watch here June 20 as host Jimmy Wong takes you inside Eldritch Moon with Mark Rosewater, revealing the ancient horror behind the madness on Innistrad, new cards from the set, and more!

This purported new series called 'Access Magic', has us intrigued.  Next week we are being promised this -

On Episode 1 of Access Magic, Jimmy Wong sits down with Mark Rosewater to set the scene for Eldritch Moon and preview an exciting new card. Take on the darkness at Prerelease on July 16 and 17, 2016.

We do not often pop onto YouTube but it is with great certainty that we'll be anxiously awaiting to when this goes live on the 27th.  Jimmy Wong (you may likely know him from the Command Zone) promises to be a very well suited host.  Let's hope that Wizards of the Coast doesn't go Noah's Arcade on this.
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MTG Story Wednesday

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

As it seems to have become our habit each Wednesday, we here at MTG Realm turn our attention from the regular round-up of Magic: the Gathering news and other frivolities to the new Magic Story posted on the mothersite.  Last week's story was 'The Archmage of Goldnight' and a intriguing background on Arlinn Kord, the newest double-sided Planeswalker.  We will sheepishly admit that we are still uncertain as to how this human actually became a lycan.

Anywhoos, today's story by kelly Digges' article 'Stone and Blood', details the falling out of Nahiri, the Zendikar Kor Planeswalker with Sorin Markov, the Vampire Planeswalker of Innistrad.  

The story was pretty damn awesome.  Very tense reunion of the two (former) friends, resulting confrontation and the consequences.  Long story short, Sorin is a moody elitist, Zendikar suffered in Nahiri's absence and now the stage is set for the devastation of Markov Manor and it's vampire residents which was shown to us when the Shadows Over Innistrad teasers started.

Kelly Digges delivered big in his description of Nahiri's imprisonment within the Helvault.  We were sort of expecting a tea room crammed with demons and other devilry all moaning how much it sucks that there were stuck, made even more awkward when Griselbrand and Avacyn join the party.  Instead, Kelly perfectly describes a void of infinite blackness where one's somatic presence appears to be absent.  A horrifying confinement of a mind or essence until the Helvault is destroyed by Thalia, tricked into this by the Planeswalker Liana Vess who had business with one of the imprisoned demons.

Scooch on over to the Wizards of the Coast Magic Story installment and catch the latest game flavour.

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Werewolf Wednesday

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Over on the mothersite, Kim Kreines has another installment in Magic Story, titled 'The Archmage of Goldnight' continuing with the Shadows Over Innistrad story line after a short break where we were treated to two stories themed to time with Eternal Masters ('The Prodigal Sorcerers' and 'All That Came Before').  

Today's narrative transitions several times from past to present and back again, allowing further insight as to how the Planeswalker Arlinn Kord came to be both a lycanthrope and an Archmage.  The story closes with a faint hope of Innistrad's besieged human population cooperating with Cursemuted Wolfir (maybe) - or at the very least, Arlinn and her former mentor Archmage Rembert.  This is the second story involving the Human / Werewolf Planeswalker - the previous story, 'Under the Silver Moon' which introduced this character may be found at this linky.

One item of interest in today's Magic: the Gathering fiction is the use of a previously unknown illustration, attributed to artist Filip Burburan.

The art shows six devils, one of which appears to be brandishing a lighted torch.  The background is unclear but was used in today's story to illustrate a devil horde attacking the city of Havengul, province of Nephalia.  This may be an unused art - or - perhaps one we may yet see on a card in the next set, Eldritch Moon, releasing on 22 July, 2016.

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Avacyn Rekt

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Happy day indeed as we have the next Shadows Over Innistrad story installment from Doug Beyer.  When we last left off with 'Stories and Endings', things were looking pretty bleak for Jace and Tamiyo at Thraben Cathedral where the mad angel Avacyn was opening up a big can or whoop-arse on the pair.  Just as things looked worst, the story picks up with this . . .

Sorin's gonna do a superhero landing . . .
Wait for it . . .

WHOA !  SUPERHERO LANDING !! *clap**clap**clap*

Sorin appears to save bacon here for Jace and Tamiyo, then says this to Avacyn - "Listen to me. If you have some grievance with these two, you may kill them before we begin."

What.
A.
Dick.

But hey - Sorin is neither fully evil or fully good - he is after all a vampire who evolved a conscious.  Anywhoos, Sorin does save Jace and Tamiyo from the mad wrath of Avacyn.  

The Angel and the Vampire have the most epic of donnybrook resulting in the gainful employment of stonemasons and other artisans at the Cathedral for months to come.

Avacyn is deleted by Sorin in the Vault of the Archangel, where she was created.  Moments after this unmaking as Innistrad had lost its protector, an "extended, guttural bass rumble rolled across the sky, profound and booming".  This is followed by some ground tremors.  What exactly was this response from ?  We will have to wait until June 8 to find out.
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2016 MTG Gift Box Review

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,
Last night (Friday the 13th) at our local gaming store, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario was a blast.  About 40 players came out to Friday Night Magic to answer the Shadows Over Innistrad Triskaidekaphobia Challenge.  Quite specifically, about eight or so players were using the flavour-rich Triskaidekaphobia enchantment to be the one to accumulate the most Triskaidekaphobia kills (to opponent or self) to win 13 packs of Shadows Over Innistrad.  In addition to this MTG Realm provided some awesome Ultra PRO prizes (deck box, sleeves and playmat).

Anywhoos, moving on - we also picked up the recently-released Shadows Over Innistrad Gift Box, formerly known as the Holiday Gift Box.  We had not picked up the the previous year's Gift Box (Battle for Zendikar), because of the wide-spread complaints of the quality of the box itself.  When Wizards of the Coast WPN Community Manager, Michael Yichao and Global Brand Manager, Brian Trunk promised big changes last month, we listened and picked ours up - Here are our notes . . .

PRICE
• The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for the Shadows Over Innistrad Gift Box is $24.99 (USD).
• Here in Canada-Land, with the exchange rate, one could expect to pay about $32.30 (CDN).
• One should expect to pay a little more above this converted currency cost for various mysterious reasons including the application of Canadian Federal tariffs, transportation / supplier costs, and other reasons.
• In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), a number of stores are retailing the Gift Box for exactly the MRSP.
• Here in Central Ontario, we were able to pick up our box for $30, which in our opinion is still reasonable.

CONTENTS
• 5 Shadows over Innistrad booster packs - The BFZ Box had 5 while previous ones had 4 packs
• Storage Box with capacity for over 2,000 Magic cards
• 20 Shadows over Innistrad basic lands
• 6 illustrated plastic dividers
• Sticker sheet for customizing the dividers
• 1 Alternate art Ravenous Bloodseeker (Shadows over Innistrad)

NOTES
• The construction of the Box is solid !  We would go so far as to suggest that this robust box may even stop a rampaging Thoctar.
• The disposable inside supporting brace did its job well.
• Boxboard outer shell, inner stiffener and inner divider secured well very.
• Plastic card dividers as good as previous ones with six great cryptolith illustrations
• Sticker sheet with black sticker page looks good with crisp graphics
• Ravenous Bloodseeker art is great but we feel that the foil detracts from it.
• Pretty much any other uncommon in the set would have been a better choice for a promo here.
• SIX rates pulled from five packs (WotC has 'auto-included' one double-faced card of any rarity. 
• Our pulls - Hanweir Militia Captain // Westvale Cult Leader, Ever After, Markov Dreadkinght, Diregraf Colossus, Falkenrath Gorger, Inexorable Blob.

OVERALL
Greatly improved box quality, five Shadows Over Innistrad packs, and the other goodies make this a good purchase.  We would recommend.

For reference, here are the previous gift box details and its promo card -
2012 Return to Ravnica, Dreg Mangler
2013 Theros, Karametra's Acolyte
2014 Khans of Tarkir, Sultai Charm
2015 Battle for Zendikar, Scythe Leopard
2016 Shadows over Innistrad, Ravenous Bloodseeker 

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End of Jace

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

As it is Wednesday, we dropped over to the mothersite to read the weekly offering of official Magic: the Gathering story.  This week was Episode 11, titled 'Stories and Endings', submitted by WotC staffer Nic Davidson - and DANG - was that a humdinger of a story.  We suggest that you pop on over to today's story linked here, to get yourself up-to-date.  You should probably do that now before we go on . .

Back ?

Wow - Just like that movie Inception which featured Leonardo DiCaprio - Nik had a story within a story within a story.  Well, sort of - Nik delved into Tamiyo's story scrolls and we were offered some shorts, namley - 'He Who Frightens the Sun', 'Original', and 'Winter's Howl' we very entertaining.  The big cliff-hanger at the end concerns Jace and we won't bother saying anything about that just right now.

For now though, here is a handy summary of the Shadows Over Innistrad stories to date -

Episode 01: Under the Silver Moon
Halana and Alena are protectors of the Ulvenwald, Innistrad’s ancient forest. They hunt the horrors of the woods so the townsfolk can live without fear. But when there’s a death in Gatstaf, the pair worries that one of the Ulvenwald’s werewolves has found a way past their defenses

Episode 02: A Gaze Blank and Pitiless
Humans are on the brink of a new golden age for Innistrad, ushered in with the loving guidance of the powerful angel Avacyn, who has for centuries been the protector of humans everywhere.

Episode 03: Unwelcome
Jace Beleren has come to Innistrad searching for the vampire lord Sorin Markov, who he hopes can help him unravel a puzzle. But Innistrad is unfamiliar territory, and the only person Jace knows who might be able to guide him is likely to be less than helpful…

Episode 04: Sacrifice
Miles from Stensia, in the Nephalian highlands, something crawls to the surface of dark Lake Zhava.

Episode 05: The Mystery of Markov Manor
Despite Liliana’s dire warnings, Jace searches Innistrad for the powerful vampire Planeswalker Sorin Markov. Looking for answers, he finds nothing but more mysteries in the twisted halls of Markov Manor.

Episode 06: The Drownyard Temple
Jace Beleren’s investigation brought him to the twisted remains of Markov Manor, where he discovered a journal amid the rubble. He pursued the journal’s description of the cryptoliths—twisted stones he had seen in Markov Manor—to other locations where they had appeared on the plane.

Episode 07: Promises Old and New
Sorin’s past has returned to haunt him. Though shunned by his own kind, he hopes to gather the aid of the vampires to confront the threat that has come to Innistrad. His search has brought him to the remote estate of the powerful Olivia Voldaren.

Episode 08: Liliana’s Indignation
When we last saw her, Liliana Vess was receiving an unwelcome guest: Jace Beleren. Jace tried to convince Liliana to come with him to Markov Manor. When she refused, he set out alone. Liliana, meanwhile, has problems of her own…

Episode 09: Games
The fierce rivalry between Innistrad’s two most infamous necromancers - Geralf the stitcher and his sister, Gisa the ghoulcaller will, like their monstrous creations, never die.

Episode 10: The Lunarch Inquisition
Thalia and Odric, the most devout members of the Church of Avacyn, find themselves on opposing sides of a conflict that threatens to tear apart the fabric of Innistrad’s society.

EPISODE 11: STORIES AND ENDINGS

Jace Beleren’s time on Innistrad has been spent chasing a mystery, with a bound collection of research notes as his guide. As it happens, the journal’s author, the moonfolk Planeswalker called Tamiyo, is several steps ahead of him….
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Standard Metagame

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Next Friday - Friday the 13th, promises to deliver a bunch of fun at our local gaming store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land.  Here's a quick look at what to expect if you are dropping by -

There is to be an appropriate Triskaidekaphobia Challenge, where the player with the most kills (oponent or self) with triskaidekaphobia at the end of the night will receive 13 Shadows over Innistrad Boosters.  Brilliant!  In addition to this, MTG Realm is also providing some very sharp looking gaming accessories from Ultra PRO - specifically, a Macabre Waltz Play Mat as well as matching Arlinn Kord / Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon deck sleeves and box.

If you are not opting to bring along a decklist to win the Triskaidekaphobia Challenge, then we will draw your attention to a good article today by Brandon Isleib over on Gathering Magic.  Off the top, this is a handy comparison table showing the popular standard decklists before and after the Pro Tour, based the breakdown of Magic Online League decklists.

Those prevalent Mono-White and White-Blue humans are still making the list as before the PT, but we are witnessing a healthy diversification now.  Pop on over to Channel Fireball's Power Rankings to see and anticipate the shifting power of individual cards.  Bant Company and Green-White Tokens have taken top spots for now but can they hold on for the next several weeks?   For now, here are the normalised metagame lists from MTG Goldfish for the top dogs.

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Monday MTG Miscellaney

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

There are quite a few things to yatter about, so let's get straight down to it.

Off the top - This last weekend of Pro Tour Shadows Over Innistrad in Madrid showed a rapid evolution of of the mono-culture of human white-x decklists from StarCityGames Baltimore.  Good variety is an good indication of the health of standard constructed. Here is this varied array coming in at Top 8 -

1st     White-Green Tokens, Steve Rubin
2nd     Bant Company, Andrea Mengucci
3rd     Esper Control, Seth Manfield
4th     Esper Dragons, Shota Yasooka    
5th     Black-Green Control, Jon Finkel
6th     Goggles Ramp, Brad Nelson
7th     Black-Green Aristocrats, Luis Scott-vargas
8th     Red-White Goggles, Luis Salvatto

Some rather important announcements of note which was given during the weekend's tournament which we will direct you to the summary posted at this link by Helene Bergeot, WotC director of organized play and trade marketing.  The whole TL/DR is that there is significant changes on the wind which really boils down to money.  Specifically, what is generally earned by Pro players at events and prize pools - call it a re-distribution of wealth almost (quite grossly speaking), which may or may not be good for the game as a whole.  Some good discussions over here on Reddit by non-pro players (just like us) as well as a take by Brian Kibler (we highly respect that fella) over at this link.  We suggest you join in the conversation over a the Reddit TCG MTG group.

Next up - More than $55,000 US worth of Magic: The Gathering cards were stolen from a Sioux City man's home Friday 8th April.

The take-away message here is that although there is an insurance claim in progress, Mr. Burson Jr may only be getting up to $2,500 which may have been an appraisal some time ago and before the collection grew to its present size.  Please tell your local gaming store in South Dakota to be on the look out.   :(

There is a  Magic: the Gathering documentary called 'Enter the Battlefield' that follows seven Magic players.  This is coming to Netflix and Youtube on April 26, 2016. One amy also tune in to twitch.tv/magic on April 25, 2016 to see the full documentary before it goes up.  

Anywhoos - we are perhaps a bit ashamed to say that we are not at all interested in watching this (sorry).  :(

Lastly,

Did you see what took first place is the SCG Standard IQ Catskill on 4/09/2016 - AFTER Hardened Scales rotated out of standard format ??  Yeah - a scaless version - weird and cool - kudos to Dan Ward !

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MTG Tumblr Thursday

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

It was probably the first Innistrad block (Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Avacyn Restored) when we last played a truly mono-white decklist and not splashed any other colour.  The Standard constructed game looks great to have another run at a mono-white build with humans.  We are still contemplating scrapping together a list and have been spinning our wheels as to what to take to Friday Night Magic - mono-white humans or splashing blue (for Reflector Mage / Gerry Thompson style) or green for Tireless Tracker.  A wonderfully useful article out today by Steve Horton over at Gathering Magic, may just help solve our decklist dilemma.

Anywhoos, as our topic in today's MTG Realm post is 'Tumblr Thursday', we should get around to it now.  Here is a summary of what's been going on at our sister site, MTG Realm on Tumblr -
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Photoset April 21, 2016 

Magic: the Gathering - Of Crows and Ravens
There are just under 40 Bird creature cards in MTG which are specifically Crows (by far the most) or Ravens.  I personally loved being able to attach equipment to these evasive fliers.  Here is some appreciation for these feathered friends -

• Unamed Art (aka Raven Man) by Chris Rahn
• Crow of Dark Tidings, Art by Tianhua X
• Carrion Crow, Art by Aaron Miller
• Unamed Art by Adame Minguez

The Raven Man is a mysterious figure, who claimed to be a supporter of the father of Liliana Vess. He is able to transform in a flock of ravens.

When Liliana’s brother Josu was poisoned by her father’s enemies, the Raven Man offered his assistance, though he warned that her family would not want her to use his cure. LIliana returned to the castle and despite the warnings of Lady Ana, she used the cure. Truly, it cured Josu of his affliction, but only at the cost of driving him insane and poisoning him anew.

The Raven Man also seemingly orchestrated Liliana’s discovery of the Chain Veil on Shandalar. Because he appeared on several planes, Liliana suspects he is a planeswalker.


When Jace Beleren, under the influence of the Cryptoliths on Innistrad, tried to mentally assault Liliana in her mansion, the Raven Man protected her and tried to convince her to kill him.
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Photo April 21, 2016

Magic: the Gathering - LAND SLIDEMischievous mutt Bannon (@bannon_the_mut) wants to help but is hindered by the absence of opposable digits.
Magic: the Gathering - LAND SLIDE

Mischievous mutt Bannon (@bannon_the_mut) wants to help but is hindered by the absence of opposable digits.
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Photoset April 20, 2016 

Magic: the Gathering - Shadows Over Innistrad Ultra PRO
Sweet looking playmat, deck box and deck protectors from Ultra PRO with Merciless Resolve art from Chase Stone.
Cushioned playmat is 23 7/8" x 13 ½" with awesome grippy back and silky / sensuous smooth face.
Deck Box fits your kick-butt deck of 80 sleeved cards (cards, sideboard, tokens), has a self-lock flip-back lid and a write-on stripe on top to put your street-name handle on.
Deck Protector Sleeves and standard 66-mm x 91-mm with super-crisp artwork and crystal-clear card front.

STORY TIME -
Full storyline over here - 

Upon his return from Zendikar, Sorin found Markov Manor in ruins, twisted into impossible shapes, its inhabitants embedded in the masonry. Nahiri had left this declaration in stone as a warning of her vengeance. Realising his past had come back to haunt him, he hoped to gather the aid of the other vampires to confront the threat to Innistrad. A diificult task, because he was shunned by his own kind. His search brought him to the remote estate of the powerful Olivia Voldaren, to entreat her aid in calling the bloodline.

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Photoset April 18, 2016 225 notes

Magic: The Gathering - Custom Wooden 720 Cube Box
Magic: The Gathering custom designed and fabricated wooden 720 cube box by MTGPayne. Laser engraved guild logos, gold leaf interior, custom mana dividers and sections to hold cards, tokens and dice.


DANG BEAUTIFUL !
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SOI Weenies

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We took along a Boros Allies equipment build for Friday Night Magic at our local gaming store, OMG! Games for Friday Night Magic and although the decklist was almost matching that of the W/R Weapons Trainer list by Daniel Riley who took 3rd Place at the StarCity Games Invitational Qualifier in Wilbraham the previous weekend, it just did not perform well against the local metagame.  To this end, we are eager to attempt to play something near and dear to our heart - the new post-Shadows Over Innistrad white weenies which is rather popular right now with Magic: the Gathering players.

If you have been reading MTG Realm for any lenght of time, then you will likely know that Craig Wescoe is our MTG Spirit Animal.  Craig has a wonderful article over at TCG Player titled 'How to Defeat the Humans' and we think it is worth a read to anyone wanting to take a humans decklist out to play or want to build against just such a list.

It may not have come as a surprise to some that this list was as popular as it was during the first large tournament after the official release of Shadows Over Innistrad at SCG Open in Baltimore.  It certainly was a surprise to us however just how much this archetype pushed into day two of the event capturing half of the Top 8 spots.

Wizards of the Coast was very smart in their planning to avoid having Hardened Scales (or functionally similar card) in the same standard constructed format as Thalia's Lieutenant - that may have broken the format, especially with a cheap bounce effect like Essence Flux to put the +1/+1 counter party over the top.  With choices of Knight of the White Orchid, Hanweir Militia Captain and Always Watching the list practically build itself.  Declaration in Stone is pretty sweet spot removal in white and even inclusions such as Bygone Bishop can be worked in to create clue tokens to feed into Angelic Purge to exile artifacts, creatures, or enchantments.

The core list is modified to include blue to be able to take advantage of the powerhouse that is Reflector Mage and the great utility offered by Ojutai's Command.  We dread the oncoming hate for the popular deck and suspect the mono-white crowd to begin adaptation towards the U/W Humans list and start packing a full bookset of Negate.  As Craig had indicated, one should expect more conditional board wipes like Languish to show up in non-human lists.  This may go tit-for-tat with human players now packing blinks like Eerie Interlude to sidestep wipes until such a time as the original mono-white or white-blue human list has lost its oritinal virility.  Anywhoos, we will want to grab this list by the horns and see where and how long this ride will take us.


Happy Brewing!
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MTG Tumblr Friday

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

As it is Friday, many Magic: the Gathering players will be making tracks to their local gaming store to participate in a Friday Night Magic event.  We'll be heading out to our local shop, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario where both Standard and Commander are on tap.  

With the latest MTG set, Shadows Over Innistrad, now on tap, one can expect a lot of fresh new ideas for decklists in play.  A reminder as well as this month's FNM promo is the very lovely looking Blighted Fen with alternate artwork from Jason Felix.  We still have not yet put together a new list yet for Standard and expect to do some crazy building right after school today.  

Anywhoos, here is a round-up of MTG gaming miscellany borrowed from our sister site, MTG Realm on Tumblr -
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Photoset April 14, 2016 41 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Ultra PRO for SOI

Have you seen just how awesome the Ultra PRO goodies look for Shadows Over Innistrad ?  Here’s some gamer eye-candy.  :)
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Photoset April 14, 2016 65 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Power Rankings
I’m a fan of the nice summary that the Channel Fireball produces in their Power Rankings - you can catch these over here - http://www.channelfireball.com/power-rankings/
Anywhoos - Week One after Shadows Over Innistrad and the the standard constructed power rankings are quite decidedly in the suit of White.  :)
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Photoset April 13, 2016 126 notes

Magic: the Gathering - MTG Jewelry
Zsolt Székely, goldsmith and fellow Canadian (in fact, right here in my Province of Ontario), runs Precizió - Jewellery and Studio in Thorold and has some amazing pieces.

Drop by to check out some lovely works from just about any Fandom you can imagine including something themed from your fav digital game (think Deadpool to Zelda) -

http://www.facebook.com/precizio

http://www.zsoltszekely.com
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Photoset April 13, 2016 57 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Open that Armory
Artist Steve Prescot knocks this illustration right outta the park.

In other news, dude’s armory looks to be chock’d full ‘o’ badassery.


This Shadows Over Innistrad card did catch my attention as soon as it was previewed - sooo many possibilities - a red/white equip build, or a lovely tutor for Invocation of Saint Traft in a blue/white humans or spirits list - just tasty.
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2016 MTG Gift Box

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Wizards of the Coast have been producing a Holiday Gift Box since 2012, and while it was certainly a big hit with Magic: the Gathering fans when it was first released strategically just before the year end Holidays, the appeal did wane with the last two releases.  The most common complaint from consumers essentially distilled down to the durability of the box itself.  We've heard and / or seen damage to the card storage box through use as well as product shipping.  A number of fans had also registered irritation that last year's product, the Battle for Zendikar Holiday Gift Box included an image of highly desirable full-art lands whereas the product contained regular lands in the land pack.  In defense of WotC, there was a good measure of communication and apologies for this print error prior to the product's release.

It appears that Wizards of the Coast has addressed this now.  WotC has indicated in this Wizards Play Network video with WPN Community Manager, Michael Yichao and Global Brand Manager, Brian Trunk, that there are some siginificant changes coming to the design, as well as product release date.  

Firstly, the release date - the previous four Holiday Gift Boxes were released in November of each year and corresponded to the 'large' fall set.  This year, the product, now called 'The Magic: The Gathering Gift Box' is being released in May (just a month away from today's post).  

Secondly, the Gift Box design has changed to make it more robust than ever.  The supportive neck of the box has been made taller so that the lid sits on the neck, higher off the bottom lip. This prevents the lid from overlapping and causing potential splitting at the corners.  There is to be a disposable supporting brace designed to eliminate damage to the box and contents during shipping.  In addition to this, it is reported that with the taller box neck, design allowed an 'easy-access window' to allow one improved access to the three rows of cards.

Here is the video from Michael and Brian now - 


The Shadows over Innistrad Gift Box releases May 13, 2016 for a suggested retail price of $24.99 (USD).  Here is what you will find inside -

• 5 Shadows over Innistrad booster packs
• Storage Box with capacity for over 2,000 Magic cards
• 20 Shadows over Innistrad basic lands
• 6 illustrated plastic dividers
• Sticker sheet for customizing the dividers
• 1 Alternate art card from the Shadows over Innistrad set

For reference, here are the previous gift box details and its promo card -

2012 Return to Ravnica, Dreg Mangler
2013 Theros, Karametra's Acolyte
2014 Khans of Tarkir, Sultai Charm
2015 Battle for Zendikar, Scythe Leopard
2016 Shadows over Innistrad, Ravenous Bloodseeker (spring release)

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