Last updated on June 6, 2023
Dominaria United promo art | Illustration by Chris Rahn
Looking to get ready to play DMU? Check out our Limited set review, Ultimate Draft Guide, and Ultimate Sealed Guide!
Magic’s 30th anniversary is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than by returning to the plane where it all began, Dominaria! Magic’s next Standard set will be Dominaria United, which releases in early September of 2022.
Few details regarding the set and story are available but WotC has confirmed that the main story arch will take place over four sets and unravel all sorts of previously unknown info about the Multiverse and planes we all thought we knew so well.
There’s lots of key details and important dates you need to know, so let’s get started!
Dominaria United Set Information
Set Details
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | DMU |
| Number of Cards | 281 Cards |
| Rarities | 101 commons, 80 uncommons, 60 rares, 20 mythic rares |
| Mechanics | Kicker, Domain, Enlist, Stun Counters, Read Ahead |
Important Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Previews start | August 18, 2022 |
| Available on Draftsim's draft simulator | Available Now! |
| Available on Arena Tutor | Available Now! |
| Prerelease week | September 2 to 8, 2022 |
| Release date | September 9, 2022 |
| Store Championship | October 15-22 |
About the Set: The Story
Shanna, Sisay's Legacy | Illustration by Magali Villeneuve
Dominaria United’s story goes back to where Magic’s story began: the plane of Dominaria. Little is known with regards to the details or plot, but the main story arc is said to span across four sets, where the ultimate mysteries and the fate of the plane—as well as the Multiverse—will be uncovered.
In Dominaria United, the Phyrexians have returned, and an appropriate coalition of Magic’s greatest heroes has been formed to counter the assault. We’ve got everyone from Karn to Liliana ready to fight this common enemy in an Infinity-War-esque set.
Not everyone is who they seem, however. We already know multiple planeswalkers—and airships—have been compleated as part of the Phyrexian’s goal of taking over Dominaria. There even may be a few Eldrazi lurking around corners, but we’ll have to wait and find out!
Set Mechanics
Read Ahead
Read ahead is an interesting new twist coming to a saga card near you. The mechanic allows for you to choose what chapter the saga enters the battlefield in! So in the instance of The Phasing of Zhalfir, this card could act as a 4-mana sorcery-speed board wipe with no additional effects, or a board wipe that phases a creature for one or two turns! This gives these specific sagas additional flexibility, which may just prove to be quite powerful.
Domain
Next up we’ve got domain, which is actually a returning mechanic from Conflux! It’s a fairly straightforward mechanic which functions off you having multiple basic land types in play. In the case of Nishoba Brawler, one of the new cards, it gains power equal to your domain.
Kicker
Yep, it’s a kicker set. Kicker is an all-time classic, which one could argue all mechanics are derived from. It’s an additional cost that can be paid when you cast a spell with kicker to gain additional benefits if it was kicked. Some cards can be kicked multiple times, others just once or twice, but, regardless, you’ve probably seen this one before.
Stun Counters
Stun counters are a new type of counter coming in Dominaria United. They’re put on tapped permanents, mostly creatures, and prevent them from being untapped. If a creature with a stun counter would be untapped, instead, you remove a stun counter. Plain and simple.
Enlist
Enlist is a new attacking mechanic which allows an attacking creature to tap another non-attacking creature—without summoning sickness—and gain power equal to that creature’s power. Creatures with enlist gain some kind of temporary benefit in addition to the power buff, and in the instance of Guardian of New Benalia, that comes in the form of letting you scry 2.
Legends Cards Included
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale | Illustration by Nicola Leonard
You read that right. WotC claimed that in a warehouse “just far enough away”, there were cases upon cases of sealed Legends products. They cracked all of these packs themselves, and were greeted with, well, cards from Legends!
They’ve used this as an opportunity to promote Dominaria United, and have inserted these random Legends cards into DMU collector boosters. 3% of collector boosters will supposedly having these cards inserted, with roughly 75 cards being exempt because they simply weren’t opened. So while you can’t open a new Mana Drain, you can still possibly open up a fresh mint Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
Dominaria United Full Gallery
White Cards
Blue Cards
Black Cards
Red Cards
Green Cards
Multicolored Cards
Colorless Cards
Lands
Notable Cards
Special Frame Treatments
Textured Foils
Phyrexian
Reprints
Liliana of the Veil
Yes, you read that right! Liliana of the Veil is being printed into Standard and Pioneer! It’s been a long time since this old classic wrecked havoc in a constructed format—no thanks to Modern Horizons 2—but she’s coming back for more!
Pain Lands
While they’re certainly no Liliana of the Veil, the pain lands are back for more! These are some of the best fixing in Standard and Pioneer, and the allied ones haven’t been printed since Tenth Edition, which means some much needed mana fixing will be coming to Pioneer!
Available Products
Draft Boosters
Draft boosters are, well, made to be drafted with! They’re your classic booster pack. Dominaria United is obviously going to include these in their product line, and they won’t be anywhere near the last set to have them. The Dominaria United draft boosters feature art of Karn, Jodah, Archmage Eternal, and Shanna, Sisay's Legacy (in front of the Weatherlight?).
Dominaria United draft boosters contain:
- 1 basic land
- 10 commons
- 3 uncommons
- 1 rare/mythic
- 1 marketing/token card
- 36 Dominaria United MTG Draft Boosters + 1 foil Box Topper card
- Best boosters for drafting Dominaria United
- 15 Magic cards per booster
- 1 Legendary Creature in every pack
- 1 Traditional Foil card in 33% of packs
Set Boosters
Set boosters are boosters that aren’t meant to be drafted with. They’re an alternative style of pack made to be cracked. They feature more rares and uncommons as well as cards with alternate arts and foil versions. Buying a set booster box also includes a foil box topper card, which is yet to be revealed. The Dominaria United set boosters feature art of Liliana Vess and Ajani Goldmane mid-battle.
Dominaria United set boosters contain:
- 1 art card
- 1 basic land
- 6 commons/uncommons
- 1 unique common/uncommon
- 2 “wild cards” (any rarity from common to mythic)
- 1 rare/mythic
- 1 foil card
- 1 marketing/token card
- 30 Dominaria United Set Boosters + 1 foil Box Topper card
- Best MTG boosters to open just for fun
- 12 Magic: The Gathering cards per booster
- 1–4 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- At least 1 Legendary Creature and 1 Traditional Foil card in every pack
Collector Boosters
Collector boosters return with another set. These are like set boosters on steroids. They include at least 10 foil cards and at least five rares. They’re super fun to open up because you’re always excited about the next card, even if it’s just an uncommon. The Dominaria United collector boosters featured stylized art of a nightmare version of Braids.
Dominaria United collector boosters contain:
- 1 extended art rare/mythic
- 1 foil rare/mythic
- 9 foil commons/uncommons
- 3 special-frame cards
- 1 basic land
- 1 foil token
- 12 Dominaria United Collector Boosters plus 1 foil Box Topper card
- 15 Magic cards plus 1 foil token in each booster
- Lost Legends—card from the 1994 set, Legends, in 3 percent of Collector Boosters
- 10–13 foil cards in every pack—including at least 2 foil Legendary Creatures
- 5–6 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
Jumpstart Boosters
One of the more interesting returns are Jumpstart boosters! Dominaria United Jumpstart boosters are theme-specific packs that are meant to be shuffled together and played with right away. They have a rare, some basic lands, two of which are foil, and plenty of filler to make a complete deck.
- 18 Dominaria United Jumpstart Boosters—20 Magic cards per booster
- 2 Traditional Foil Land cards in every pack
- 2 Rare cards in every pack—including 1 new card not found in the DMU main set
- Each pack contains cards with 1 of 10 possible themes—mix and match for wild mashups
- Grab 2 Jumpstart packs, shuffle, and you’re ready to rumble
Prerelease Packs
Prerelease packs are available during sealed prerelease events. The idea behind this product is to give new players a look at the set and what to expect from it along with some goodies to whet your appetite for the set. No products found.The Dominaria United prerelease packs feature art of a crowd gathering under Apocalypse’s Coalition Flag.
Dominaria United prerelease packs contain:
- 1 themed insert
- 6 booster packs
- 1 spindown life counter
- 1 premium rare/mythic promo card
Dominaria United Bundle
Set bundles are what you want if the set really speaks to you. This has everything you need to get started in a new format, add to your collection, or enjoy a new set with your friends! The Dominaria United bundles sport Liliana/Ajani art as the set boosters.
Dominaria United bundles contain:
- 8 set boosters
- 20 basic lands
- 20 foil basic lands
- 1 oversized spindown life counter
- 1 foil promo card
- 1 card storage box
- 8 Dominaria United Set Boosters
- 1 foil alt-art promo card
- 40 basic land cards (20 foil + 20 nonfoil)
- Spindown life counter + card storage box
- Return to Magic’s home plane in a set full of your favorite MTG legends and heroes
Commander Decks
The Dominaria United EDH decks are still shrouded in secrecy. All we know right now is that there will be two Commander precons with this set, and there will be a multicolor focus. That’s it, that’s all.
The Dominaria United Commander decks contain:
- 1 foil-etched display commander
- 2 foil legendaries
- 98 other cards
- 10 double-sided tokens
- 1 life wheel
- 1 deck box
- Includes 4 Dominaria United Commander Decks, with 2 of each deck
- 4 Collector Booster Sample Packs—1 with each deck
- Each ready-to-play deck contains 100 Magic cards (2 traditional foil + 98 nonfoil)
- 1 foil-etched Display Commander, 10 tokens, 1 life tracker + 1 deck box with each deck
- 10 MTG cards not found in the DMU main set in each deck
Wrap Up
Karn, Scion of Urza | Illustration by Chase Stone
There’s still plenty of details to learn about Dominaria United. WotC has barely given us a taste of the set, and there will be plenty more to come. I’m very excited to see the returning mechanics (and maybe even returning cards and characters) that we’ll get to open in just a few months.
What do you think about this new set? Are you excited about another return set coming up? Or do you think it’s a little too much, with the supplemental sets and all, coming out while Streets of New Capenna is barely three weeks old? Let me know what you think down in the comments, or head over to talk about it in the official Draftsim Discord. And if you’re planning on playing in the prerelease, check out our limited set review for DMU!
Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!
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5 Comments
Gj! This is a well-detailed article. I hope visual card spoilers coming soon 🙂
They’ll be here before you know it!
Good article, thank you!
Are any of the cards going to get added here?
Hey Kevin — not sure what you mean! We are updating this article every day with all the new spoilers.
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