'Dungeons & Dragons' Reveals Epic Crossover with 'Magic: The Gathering'

Dungeons & Dragons has published an epic crossover with the world of Magic: The Gathering.

Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coast published the latest edition of the Digital Dragon+ magazine, filled with all sorts of great news and features about the world of D&D. One of the new articles featured a new "Plane Shift" article that allows D&D players to explore the world of Ixalan from Magic: The Gathering.

Ixalan is one of the many "planes" that make up the world of Magic: The Gathering and was the focus of the card game's two most recent expansions. While Magic: The Gathering typically pulls creatures out of worlds like Ixalan for battles between powerful magic users known as planeswalkers (a role filled by Magic: The Gathering players), this new "Plane Shift" document allows players to have epic adventures within Ixalan itself.

The world of Ixalan is loosely based off of Mesoamerican cultures and is filled with thick jungles, golden cities, and massive pyramids. However, there are a couple of key differences: swashbuckling pirates are a major force in Ixalan, and dinosaurs lurk in the jungle.

The "Plane Shift" article acts as a campaign setting of sorts, providing details on the world, races, and cultures of Ixalan. Notably, players can choose from a few monstrous races when making an Ixalan character, including goblins, orcs, sirens, and vampires. Each race has their own advantages and disadvantages. Vampires, for instance, get a boost of speed when they feast on blood, while orcs get to roll an extra damage dice when the score a critical hit.

Many of the monsters of Ixalan were also converted for D&D use in the "Plane Shift" publication. Players can battle everything from tiny frilled deathspitters (which are basically feathered versions of Jurassic Park's Dilophosaurus) to more epic monsters like the elder dinosaurs, god-like creatures with terrifying powers.

Even the five colors of Magic: The Gathering are translated into D&D, as players can choose certain colors to help guide their characters' personalities and alignments.

The full "Plane Shift" document is free to download and read here. Past "Plane Shift" articles have also fleshed out the worlds of Kaladesh and Amonkhet from Magic: The Gathering, which can also be found on MTG's website. The monsters and races are compatible with other D&D publications, so feel free to use some of these awesome monsters in your next campaign, even if it's not set in the world of Ixalan.