Wizards of the Coast has released a trailer for a new kaiju/giant monster-themed set of its popular trading card game Magic the Gathering called Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
The trailer debuted live on Twitch on April 2 alongside a handful of new cards. It features an already-established planeswalker, Vivien Reid, taking on a giant, monstrous spider alongside her own monster companion, a flying tiger/giant cat. This is fitting since she's a planeswalker whose identity is associated with hunting and beasts.
There's also a new planeswalker, Lukka, who's part of Ikoria's military and has a special bond with some of its monsters. Lukka and Vivien will also feature as a part of the upcoming Magic: The Gathering novel Sundered Bond.
With over 250 cards in the new set, what's perhaps most exciting for kaiju fans are the special alternate art versions of giant monsters named after Godzilla, Ghidorah and Mothra, in a partnership with their parent company Toho.
The announcement also included a sneak peek at several of the set's mechanics, including cycling (which lets you discard cards to draw more), mutate (a "build your own monster" mechanic that lets you combine creatures) and companion (which lets you build your deck around a certain restriction in order to cast a certain creature from outside your deck).
The Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths set will launch on Magic: The Gathering Arena on April 16, for tabletop play in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong on April 17, and for tabletop play everywhere else on May 15 (the one-month delay due to social distancing measures in effect because of COVID-19).