The Gathering’s New Cards Are Breaking A 25-Year Tradition

Summary

• Magic: The Gathering
  ‘s latest collaboration with
  Assassin’s Creed
  brings historical figures back to the game after over 20 years.
• Assassin’s Creed
  characters like Da Vinci and Blackbeard will feature in the set, a departure from previous fictional character tie-ins.
• Portal Three Kingdoms
  in 1999 was the last time Magic included real historical figures in a set, making this new tie-in a rare occurrence in the game’s history.

Magic: The Gathering has been branching out over the last few years and including outside IPs in their game, and their latest collaboration is set to bring back something the game hasn’t done since 1999. Magic’s Universes Beyond products have been met with mixed reception. However, most players are happy so long as Wizards of the Coast decides to include cards for an IP that the players are interested in.

Recently, Magic has dipped its toes into video game crossovers with games like Fortnite and Fallout. The next collaboration to be released is Magic’s crossover with the popular Assassin’s Creed franchise. This collaboration was likely planned to generate excitement for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Players have already gotten to see some of the set’s cards previewed, revealing a break with a long-standing Magic tradition.

Magic: The Gathering’s Assassin’s Creed Cards Feature Historical Figures

These Historical Figures Also Appear In Assassin’s Creed Games

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has always dabbled in historical fiction. That means including real-life characters like Leonardo Da Vinci, Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard), and Yusuke, who will be one of the playable protagonists of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. This use of historical figures has also been reflected in the Magic: The Gathering tie-in set for Assassin’s Creed, with figures like Da Vinci and the pirates Mary Read and Ann Bonny featuring on some of the new cards.

While other Universes Beyond products have featured the likenesses of real people, they typically feature actors in their roles, with the character represented on the card being fictional. For example, an artist’s rendition of Chris Pine appears on the card Edgin, Larcenous Lutenist, which was a tie-in with the Dungeons & Dragons movie. The Assassin’s Creed cards are the first time in a long time that Magic is making new cards featuring historical figures, but it is something the game used to do more in its earlier days.

Magic Hasn’t Featured New Historical Figures Since 1999

The Set Portal Three Kingdoms Was The Last Time Magic Featured Historical Figures

Early in Magic’s history, the game was still trying to find a strong identity. That meant there were cards based on legends like Aladdin, and historical figures like Nebuchadnezzar. While not a creature card, Albert Einstein also appeared in the art for the card Presence of the Master.

The time that Magic included the most references to real-world history was in its Portal Three Kingdoms set, which was based on the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Historical figures in the set included the likes of Sun Quan on the card Sun Quan, Lord of Wu, and Xiahou Dun. Portal Three Kingdoms was released back in May 1999, meaning it has been over 25 years since Magic released a set including new historical figures on their cards.

Now, with Magic’s Assassin’s Creed tie-in, players are getting a chance to play with some more interesting figures from across history. While it is unlikely players will ever see historical figures in a mainline Magic set again, it does appear as though Universes Beyond products like this one are fair game for real people to show up in. It will be interesting to see what other historical figures Magic: The Gathering prints in the new set as more of the cards continue to be spoiled.