Marvel: Darkhold Destiny Overview and Important Dates

The Darkhold | Illustration by Yohann Schepacz

Marvel: Darkhold Destiny has been announced for April 2027. Yes, this is another Universes Beyond (UB) Marvel MTG set, but there’s a lot of new and interesting stuff that maybe even UB haters will enjoy.

MDD is the perfect set for the fans of Thor, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Dormammu, and all that weird arcane stuff in the Marvel universe. The official WotC description for the set says:

“Get ready to open Hel! When Dormammu and Hela combine a page of the Darkhold to rip open the walls between realities, they unleash arcane nightmares across the Multiverse. Look for cards that tell the all-new Magic: The Gathering | Marvel: Darkhold Destiny story.”

So let’s see what makes this set tick, and if WotC can deliver on the arcane hype!

Marvel: Darkhold Destiny Basic Information

Set Details

Set Symbol
Set Code	MDD / MDC (Commander)
Hashtag	#MTGxDarkhold
Number of Cards	TBA
Rarities	Mythic, Rare, Uncommon, Common
Mechanics	Dimensions, Vengenace, Arcane

Important Dates

About the Set: The Story

MTG has had two Marvel-based sets before: Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel Super Heroes, as well as related Commander sets and Secret Lair products. Marvel: Darkhold Destiny is the third offering.

MDD is quite interesting because it’s a Marvel Universes Beyond set with magic, arcane, and fantasy as its subtheme, in a clear attempt to exit the dreaded plane of New York City. We’ll explore things like dimensions, witches, sorcerers, Doctor Strange, Agatha Harkness, the Darkhold, and more.

But at the same time, WotC announced that MDD will tell some kind of MTG + Marvel story. It’s not your typical Universes Beyond set based on just the IP’s lore, adapting the characters, locations, and relevant events. As for how this will take place, we don’t know anything yet; it’s not like MTG and WotC have done anything remotely close before. We can only guarantee it’s a novel take on Universes Beyond sets.

Darkhold Destiny Mechanics

Although the set hasn’t even been previewed yet, we have some information straight from WotC on Marvel: Darkhold Destiny mechanics based on the cards we know.

Vengeance

Vengeance looks like a riff on adventure, but it’s actually a totally different mechanic, as seen on Hela, Mistress of Darkness. First, it only works in the graveyard, and once you cast a vengeance spell, the card is exiled. You can get revenge on your opponent by casting the vengeance spell from a creature that’s died. It also has synergies with draw and discard mechanics like connive. We’ve only seen one vengeance card so far, so it’s not clear if it’ll be only on creatures.

Relevant Card Types

Sorcerer will be a relevant creature type in Marvel: Darkhold Destiny, as will gods. Arcane magic will also make a strong comeback. This is the set that could make books a relevant artifact type as well, considering that The Darkhold is a book and basically the theme of the set.

Dimensions

WotC told us they’re doing something novel with enchantments, Temple of Khonshu is a land that references dimensions, so there’s probably a correlation there.

Reality Fracture has something similar with the empower Jace mechanic and lands that enter untapped if you control a planeswalker. Also, the previous Marvel Super Heroes set had plans as an enchantment type, so dimensions could be something similar.

Runic Modal Spells

Hela's Arcanum brings back “pawprints”, a cool mechanic from Bloomburrow in the mythic season cycle (Season of the Burrow, Season of Weaving). This time, they take the form of these “snowprints”, which look like runes. I’d expect at least a cycle of these cards.

Speculation

When Marvel Super Heroes was released, people noticed that the more mystic and arcane aspects of the Marvel Universe were missing. Like, where’s Doctor Strange? X-Men were also absent, which makes me think we’re getting a Marvel’s X-Men set in 2028. In this set, we’ll get more heroes and villains if your decks need more variety; that’s for sure.

As for characters, I’m thinking Shuma-Gorath, Stephen Strange, Mephisto, Wong, and the Scarlet Witch. There’ll also be Asgardian characters: Heimdall, Lady Sif, Hela, Surtur, Odin, Frost Giants. We also have a Khonshu land, so Moon Knight and the Gods of Egypt aren’t that far-fetched. I also expect characters that the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t covered yet, like Ghost Rider, not to mention the return of Doctor Doom, his witch coven, and more. And if Dormammu is an important part of this set, I fully expect a reference to the “Dormammu – I’ve come to bargain” sequence in the first Doctor Strange movie.

The Darkhold is an artifact with the book subtype, and many artifacts have been errata’d to be considered books now. Is this the set that will make books an important artifact type? Maybe some cards will interact with books, pages, or page counters.

I don’t have the faintest idea what dimensions could be, though I suspect they’ll be an enchantment subtype. It can’t be that easy to put them into play; otherwise those common lands would be pretty powerful if they enter untapped most of the time. But they need to be relevant for Limited, so I expect to have at least uncommon cards that are dimensions, become dimensions, or make dimensions.

The Time Stone will be included in this set. My bet is that it’s going to be the blue mana rock, to join our white and black ones (I know, the time stone is green, but time in MTG tends to be blue). Also, Mjölnir is clearly going to have another card in this set, so let’s see if it’s a reprint or another card entirely – I’m fully expecting more memes with equip worthy.

Where to Find Darkhold Destiny Spoilers

You can find spoilers for Marvel: Darkhold Destiny on Draftsim’s spoiler page. Check it out, and come back often to prepare for the set’s release!

Notable Cards

Gargantos, the Endbringer

A 3/3 deathtoucher for 4 mana is kind of weak, but after one turn it already turns into a 6/6, and then a 12/12? Now we’re talking. Gargantos, the Endbringer is a pure beatstick. It’s hard to double block profitably, it has synergies with +1/+1 counters, and like Saskia the Unyielding, it can hit more than one player. Opponents can easily answer it with cards like Lightning Strike, so I suspect it’ll see more play in +1/+1 counter synergy decks.

The Darkhold

The Darkhold is a card that has the The One Ring vibes. You’ll progressively draw more cards and lose more life, but it’s strong in decks with a lot of cheap cards, considering that you won’t have a full grip of cards that often. It’s a nice card to play against those pesky discard decks, because if they make you discard, you’ll keep drawing cards and lose less life.

Hela, Mistress of Darkness

Hela, Mistress of Darkness has a tutor in its vengeance ability, which is strong, but it only works from the graveyard. It’s cool that, as a commander, Hela can die, and you can tutor from your graveyard, exiling the card, and it goes back to the command zone. The creature side is pretty decent, making as many 2/2 zombie tokens as your opponents lost life, and it’ll be common for this card to create 3-5 zombies in a turn.

Hela’s Arcanum

Hela's Arcanum is a very strong instant-speed combat trick. Giving some creatures +1/+0 and deathtouch turns the tide of a battle, and you can also get some of your dead creatures back. It costs 5, but it’s impactful enough, and your zombies are always protected from “Hela’s Wrath”.

Magik, Illyana Rasputin / Darkchild, Demon Uncaged

Here we have a nice pair of threats in a transforming MDFC. You can either cast this as a 3- or a 5-mana creature, and you’ll have a strong threat either way.

Magik, Illyana Rasputin gives a free card every turn on the impulse draw, no questions asked. Darkchild, Demon Uncaged is the stronger version, and you can cast a lot of cards from exile this way, or protect it from certain doom by paying some life. Plus, transforming Magik isn’t hard when you can easily sacrifice Treasure tokens or fetch lands.

Available Products

Boosters

Marvel: Darkhold Destiny will have Booster Packs, Collector Boosters, and their respective boxes. No surprises here. Note that this set will not be affected by recent booster pack changes and will not contain god packs.

Bundles

• Each set has a traditional 9 Booster Pack Bundle, and this one is no exception;
• The Arcanum Bundle is a special box with exclusive comic book art, 8 Booster Packs, as well as special Bifrost lands, a Collector Booster, and a Spindown die;
• Draft Night has 12 Booster Packs and a Collector Booster. The idea is to run a special 4-player Pick-Two Draft and use the Collector Booster as a prize.

Scene Boxes

This set offers two Scene Boxes. Each one contains 6 cards that form a 2×3 grid:

• Skirmish at the Sanctum, with an emphasis on Doctor Strange.
• Assault on Asgard, showing Thor and the Asgardians vs Hela.

Commander Precons

We’ll also have four different Commander precons, and they’re pretty standard stuff:

• Lords of Hel is a Rakdos () sacrifice deck;
• Gods of Asgard is a Naya () equipment precon;
• Midnight Sons is an Orzhov () vampires and lifegain deck;
• Strange Academy is an Esper () blink deck with Doctor Strange as the main commander.

The Darkhold Destiny Commander decks have a regular edition and a Collector’s Edition full of surge foils.

Wrap Up

Darkhold Destiny | Illustration by Kieran Yanner

I got to say, I’m digging the vibe of Marvel: Darkhold Destiny so far, both in terms of flavor and Universes Beyond evolution. For me, this set feels like Kaldheim 2, and I’m all for it. If story-focused sets are an integral part of MTG going forward, I’d rather that than what we got with Spider-Man or Ninja Turtles. I’m also excited to know more about many of these characters I don’t know yet, something I appreciated about Warhammer 40k when it was released.

What are your thoughts on Marvel: Darkhold Destiny? Is it really cool, or just another UB cashgrab? Let me know in the comments section below. And for more on MTG’s next releases, make sure to check Draftsim’s YouTube Channel, The Daily Upkeep.

Until next time!

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