It’s the crossover you’ve been waiting for; magic and assassins. Magic: The Gathering (MTG) is one of the longest running trading card games, having been released in the early 90s. Every so often, MTG produces a set called Universes Beyond.These sets are collaborations, turning even the most standard of cards into cool alterations. Collaborations in the past have included Lord of the Rings, Street Fighter, Hatsune Miku , Dungeons & Dragons, and even celebrations for events such as Lunar new year, International Women’s Day, and more. This time, our favourite assassins from across time have joined the new set in a collaboration with Assassin’s Creed.Assassins featured in the new Assassin’s Creed packsThe new Assassin’s Creed collaboration brings many well known characters from Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series into Magic: The Gathering. Featuring protagonists from every major game, you can start collecting your lineup of assassins. If you started with the original trilogy like me, you’ll recognize figures such as Desmond Miles, Ezio, and even Leonardo da Vinci.Some of my favourite assassins in the set (Photo TechAU)If you’ve played the more recent Valhalla game, then you’ll probably recognise Eivor. There’s also Kassandra from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and many more human assassins to collect.Other beloved Assassin’s Creed elements are incorporated into Magic: The GatheringAssassins and human characters aren’t the only pieces of nostalgia to be found in this Magic: The Gathering set. Among the legendary cards and creatures, you’ll discover numerous artifacts and spells taken directly from the game. Some of my favorites include the Haystack, which phases out a creature you control, the Hookblade that grants +1/+0 and flying to a creature you control, and Eagle Vision, letting you draw three cards. There are plenty more, but I won’t spoil the surprises.The cards feature your favourite characters from the Assassin’s Creed games such as Ezio (Photo TechAU)Common mechanicsGiven it’s an Assassin’s Creed set, at a recent Magic meetup, we joked that ‘every assassin would have deathtouch,’ and we weren’t far off. Many of the assassins in the set have abilities you’d think are critical to an assassins’ line of work. Deathtouch is an ability that allows that create to destroy any creature it’s in combat with, regardless of its attack and defense. Many assassin cards in the set also have menace, which means they can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures.Other common mechanics that feature in the set are Trample and Flying, both great abilities for doing a lot of damage to your opponents’ life points. And if your assassins don’t have the effects you desire, there are lots of cards that grant effects such as deathtouch, lifelink, and many more. If you’re concerned about being targeted by these attacks, one of my favorite cards is Smoke Bomb, which helps mitigate effects.New mechanicsMany new Magic: The Gathering sets bring new mechanics to the game. The Assassin’s Creed set is no different, bringing a new dynamic to the table. This new mechanic is called Freerunning. This ability is a new alternative mana cost that lets you cast spells or abilities for a cheaper cost. You’ll need to control an assassin or commander, and they must have dealt combat damage to a player.Some of the cards shown here sch as Chain Assassination and Restart Sequence have the Freerunning ability (Photo TechAU)You can choose to ignore freerunning, but this new mechanic gives you more choices when it comes to fast paced games. Alongside this new mechanic sees the return of previous mechanics such as cloak, disguise, and historic. These are all very assassin-worthy mechanics that you can integrate into your play style.Get yours todayThe Assassin’s Creed Universes Beyond set is available now. You can get the Starter Kit, booster packs, and collector’s packs. The starter kit comes with everything you need to play against another person. This includes two decks (a Blue/Black and a White/Red deck), deck boxes, and a play guide. The guides are super helpful for explaining the main sequences to play Magic: The Gathering. As with many crossovers, the collaborations bring new players to the game and thus having a quick start game guide in the starter box is very helpful.Assassin’s Creed Collector Boosters that grant special art cards (Photo TechAU)If you’re an Assassin’s Creed fan who hasn’t tried Magic yet, now is the perfect time. The starter kit is around $20 AUD and each booster and collectors packs are usually priced around $10 AUD. Or go all out and get the bundle with 40 lands, nine booster packs, a special art, and a spin-down counter. You can buy them on Amazon or find a retailer closest to you. Good luck on your journey.
Almost everyone has DeathTouch in the new Assassin’s Creed × Magic: The Gathering set
