Throwing a snarling Blanka at your opponent seems like a joke someone might make while playing Magic the Gathering. Thanks to a new set of drop series cards from WotC’s Secret Lair imprint, you can now do just that.
To be clear:
Magic the Gathering is a collectible card game that recreates a fanciful duel between powerful spellcasters.
Street Fighter is a series of technical fighting video games in which two opponents with special abilities square off.
I suppose there’s a certain amount of overlap between the two properties. Both games require a technical understanding of their mechanics to succeed. They both feature characters capable of performing extraordinary feats of martial and magical prowess. Finally, both involve a fight to the death.
The Street Fighter cards feature eight playable fighters from Street Fighter II. These are E. Honda, Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim, and Chun-Li. Each card features special abilities constructed for that character. For instance, Chun-Li can perform a “multikicker” that emulates her Hyakuretsukyaku, or Lightning Kick, move.
I know, I know, I can hear you rolling your eyes from here. This is an obvious brand-recognition strategy. People see Street Fighter and it brings them in for a closer look. It’s crystal clear what Wizards is doing here, and they’ve been running crossovers like this for a while now.
However, I also can’t deny the meme potential of dropping Zangief on my friend in the middle of a wizard fight. That just sounds like a good time to me.
The Street Fighter drop is open for preorders until March 18. Each drop is available in traditional foil (US $49.99) and non-foil variants (US $39.99). The foils will cost you more, and will likely go first, so if you want them you’d better get in quick.
On top of the Street Fighter set, Wizards of the Cost is also releasing a Superdrop slate of Magic the Gathering cards around the recent Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty set. This Superdrop contains alternate art for Planeswalker Kaito Shizuki, manga cards by Riyou Kamei, chibi cards by Uta Natsume, and landscapes by Amayagido, Aoji Maiko, Nagano, Shie Nanahara, and Tomohito. There’s also some fun synthwave-inspired gear in the mix, and some neon ink foils that will no doubt wind up sought after.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the pricing on the traditional foil and non-foil variant packs due to an error in the information provided by WotC. This has since been corrected, and the article updated to reflect that.
Leave a Reply