The Guildpact Will See You Now - Thoughts on D&D's Upcoming Release

Article by Adam Ray

I make it no secret, readers, that I love two games more than the air I breathe. Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic: the Gathering. Despite being made by the same publishing company, Wizards of the Coast, they've made almost no crossed streams.

Until now.

The talk of Wizards wanting to publish a new setting for their supplemental campaigns left many wondering where we can go. This is no mere Plane Shift - like those of Zendikar or Kaladesh, leaving us with races and statistics, and prompts on where to go. This is a full, world guide. And it's RAVNICA!

Next to nothing is known about this supplement. It appeared on Brazilian Amazon then later on an American version of the site. The product description features very accurate portrait of the Acumenopolis in the heart of every Magic player. All we can do is speculate.

As an avid player of both games, I have exceedingly high expectations for this supplement. It needs to deliver new races seen on Ravnica. Goblins of Ravnica are a very common people, and it'd be great to see a possible update on the villain statistics from Volo's Guide to Monsters. The Vedalken, a race of blue-skinned people in pursuit of logic and order, will be entirely brand new to D&D and need appropriate statistics.

The biggest appeal for setting a game here in Ravnica is the thing that appeals to the players of Magic. The guilds themselves. It'd make a lot of sense for them to be flavourful bonuses, like character backgrounds. I would hope they'd have a bigger, mechanical impact on the game.

Obviously some classes and some guilds don't go quite hand in hand, but for those that do, there should be a real benefit to picking a certain guild. A Cleric to the Orzhov could benefit from aspects of the Grave or Death Domains with new powers that extort hit points from enemies, while a Cleric in the Selesnya would have almost Druidic powers to commune with nature, while also being of the Nature or Life domains.

Also NPC statistics for Rakdos the Defiler, Aurelia the Warleader, or even Jace himself is too tantalising to ignore.

The timing on both halves of Wizards of the Coast is absolutely genius to make this kind of release now. October 4th is the Prerelease for Magic's next major expansion, Guilds of Ravnica. It'll be such a welcome and easy way for MtG players to try their hands at Dungeons and Dragons, and established D&D roleplayers to tap some mana and play some Magic. I'd almost go as far to say that there may even be a Standard legal promo Magic card in the front page of this supplemental book. Hopefully this didn't give some Wizards exec' a sharp marketing idea. Shut up and take my money.

I understand D&D purists will argue that Spelljammer or Eberron needs revisiting (AND THEY DO), and that one world of the card game down the hall from their game doesn't need the look in. I understand that Magic purists will glance over this development then go back to looking up what would go well in their sideboard for the next GP. This shouldn't be ignored.

This is an unlikely merging of one of our favourite games with another game that's entirely different, but just as important to popular culture. This is something to be celebrated. It's exciting.

I love D&D and Magic because both games are the exact opposite types of games within the mathematics of game theory. D&D is an infinite game; the players are known and unknown, the rules are in flux, there's objective is to keep going. Players drop in and out of campaigns, homebrew and rule-of-cool become paramount often, we play until the campaign naturally ends - if ever. Magic is a finite game; the players are known, the rules are fixed, there's a clear outcome. We seek to defeat an established opponent and the stages of play are set. It's not likely for two games like this to come together.

All I've ever wanted was to play as Goblin Electromancer in a party with Boros Reckoner and Notion Thief and now that dream is coming. Don't let your dreams be dreams.