Magic The Gathering has been teasing its Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond set for some time now. As the name suggests, the upcoming collaboration will be inspired by Ubisoft’s popular franchise, Assassin’s Creed, which is slated to drop on July 5. During Summer Game Fest, I was able to get my hands on the two starter decks and see how they play in action. As someone who’s already invested more money than they’d like to admit in the franchise, I have to shamefully say that I can’t wait to buy more boosters of the Assassin’s Creed line when it drops.
A common joke in the MTG (Magic The Gathering) community is that some cards can often be overly complicated. But that wasn’t the case with the two starter kits. The wording on many of these cards was straightforward and easy to understand. And if you were looking to get someone into MTG, this would be the deck to do so.
For those unaware of how MTG works, in a 60-card game or Commander (another form of playing), you have one Legendary Creature to determine what colors you can use. The deck I had used was a Blue/Black deck, which, in a nutshell, prioritizes spells and killing. At the same time, my opponent used a Red/White, which is built around inflicting damage and healing.
The Legendary Creature for the Blue/Black deck was Ezio, Blade of Vengeance, a 5/5 card with Deathtouch. He cost one Blue/Black land plus three uncolored mana. What was nice about Ezio was this card encourages you to play aggressively because every time an Assassin deals damage, they can draw a card. The Legendary Creature for the Red/White was Eivor Battle-Ready, a 5/5 card with Vigilance and Haste. She cost one Red/White plus three uncolored mana. Eivor was a bit more tactical in the sense that she could do more damage, based on the number of equipment their opponent had on the field.
Even though I lost, I had a great time playing. It was nice that MTG introduced new mechanics to make it feel like you’re playing an Assassin’s Creed card game. For example, Freerunning was introduced, which essentially allows you to play another card for less than its original cost if another assassin attacked that turn. There was another card I used that gave it Disguise; this essentially allowed me to safely hide and keep my opponent guessing on what they just got hit with. These are just some examples of all the new features added for the latest Universes Beyond collab.
One thing that I did love about using the Blue/Black deck was the number of times I could set my opponent back. Because every other turn, I was lucky enough to draw a card that would either instantly kill one of his creatures or send it back to his hand. Which left him open for an attack. On the flip side, he could counter this by having multiple creatures out at once and being able to heal himself.
Even though playing the game was extremely enjoyable, looking at the art was half the fun. MTG is known for its breathtaking artwork, and the Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond was no different. Seeing the world of Assassin’s Creed translated into MTG was something I didn’t know I needed until I saw it in person. Some of my favorites included Become Anonymous, which has the iconic white cloak blending in with other people wearing similar clothing.
Another person’s favorite was Ezio, Brash Novice. This card recreated Ezio kissing Cristina as he hung out from a window. I could go on and on about which other cards stood out to me, but these are just two that really caught my eye.
That being said, the Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond set isn’t just tied to the Starter Deck. The upcoming collaboration will feature various full-art cards and boosters that are worth collecting, even if you’re not a fan of MTG. Some of these cards include the likes of Edward Kenway, Eivor, Wolf-Kissed, and Lydia Frye.
The Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond set is scheduled to drop early next month on July 5. This is a deck that I can’t recommend enough, even if you’ve never played MTG before. The wording on the cards is easy to understand, the art is beautiful, and it’s a great introduction to the game as a whole.
