I wasn’t sure where to begin this article. While I’m something of a nerd when it comes to Magic: The Gathering, I’ve never really delved into the gaming universe of Assassin’s Creed. Fortunately, my editor and friend Luke Mitchell has so we’ll be writing this together; each of us giving a slightly different take on the latest product from Wizards of the Coast.
Ric: I haven’t seen a lot of buzz online for this set. In the ever-increasing throb of M:tG releases, this one has felt muted, and subdued. I’m guessing that’s mostly to do with the sites and forums I spend most of my time online reading through; there seems to be significantly less crossover in the fandoms of the two respective IPs than a lot of the previous Universes Beyond products. And possibly due to the timing of the set releases as well; the last few weeks have seen a flurry of information being released for the next two Universes Within sets, Bloomburrow and Duskmourne.
From a design standpoint, Assassin’s Creed has some rather unique production attributes that set it apart from other Magic: The Gathering set releases.
There was plenty of source material from all of the games in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but the game material heavily lends itself to certain colours.
After trying to fit it into a framework similar to the other Universes Beyond products, WotC ended up trying a new approach – a set with randomised boosters, but not designed for limited play. This approach allowed them to focus on evoking the characters and mechanics of the game without needing to worry about balancing things like colour or mana values.
Nothing is true, everything is permitted
The resulting set feels… weird. The only commons in the set are found in the Starter Decks (which are intended to serve as an introduction to M:tG for new players trying the game because they like the franchise. The booster size is quite small – each of the new “Beyond Boosters” contains 7 cards, while the Collector Boosters contain 10. This is reminiscent of the rather disastrous “March of the Machines: The Epilogue”, which ended up being fairly disastrous from a sales perspective.
It’s surprising that, unlike the majority of the past Universes Beyond products, Assassin’s Creed doesn’t have commander decks. All the new legendary creatures feel like they’d fit right into that mold, and apparently, set testing during the design phase was mostly done in Modern or Commander frameworks. It’s not clear though where the set’s niche is. The appeal for the average Magic player is in the occasional card that might fit into one of their existing decks. But while some die-hard Assassin’s Creed gamers might buy cards representing their favourite moments in the IP, the set feels more aimed at collectors than players.
Cards come in the now usual variants – standard, etched and textured foils, extended art, borderless and showcase frames. One odd exclusion is the use of surge foils, which has been an option for many of the Universes Beyond products over the last few years.
Luke: As a recent Magic convert but a long-time Assassin’s Creed fan, this set feels perfect for me. One thing that I’ve found difficult as a newcomer in this epic TCG is that often times new sets introduce new rules, and those rules stack on top of other rules, and it becomes a bit of a blur. While I’m thankful for Ric giving me on-the-fly tutorials at events, I always feel a little silly asking 20 questions about card terminology. With the Assassin’s Creed set focusing more on a 1v1 style of “old school” M:tG, it feels scaled back, with the ability to equip weapons or use “Freerunning” to pay a smaller cost for cards when chained together with Assassin attacks.
It’s also just delightful to see a franchise with as much history and lore as Assassin’s Creed represented in M:tG. From assassins to pirates to Vikings and everything in between, the artwork is wonderfully detailed; I love that I can have a deck of cards that includes characters and references from the last 17 years, whether it’s the stunning Kassandra wielding The Spear of Leonidas, the badass Bayek or Altair and Ezio repping the early titles in the series.
References from the game universe also tie in really nicely with the gameplay that hits the table. A Haystack gives you the ability to phase out a card (essentially hiding it for a turn), while a Smoke Bomb gives creatures shroud so that they avoid spells and abilities. The Phantom Blade provides the opportunity to destroy a target instantly, echoing its one-hit-kill nature, and Chain Assassination gives you a bonus for destroying multiple creatures in the same turn. As a fan, it means it requires less explanation, as I can just use my gamer common sense to piece together what role each card played within my hand, and I love that. With all of these Universes Beyond collaborations, I’ve been impressed with how the IP meshes with the rules of Magic, and Assassin’s Creed is one of the most naturally fitting mashups I’ve seen.
Ric: Luke and I attended a media release event and got to play with the new cards for the first time and to be completely honest, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The starter decks felt quite basic, but robust. And while I’m only passingly familiar with the IP, I felt the cards and the art evoked the feel of what I know of the game world quite well.
I’m curious to see how well Assassin’s Creed does in sales results though. It’s a product that doesn’t seem to have a home, so I hope it finds one.
Magic: The Gathering: Assassins Creed is available now.
About the Author
Ric Bullock
he/him
Ric is a board game afficiando who has been playing Magic: The Gathering for way too many years.
