Today, in the middle of a rather boring, possibly mediocre news day, this author was surprised to find a new Wizards of the Coast product ad for his basically immortal Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Within this announcement there is a completely new way to play a new sealed environment: “Jumpstart” is here, or rather, it will be, in June, and we should all be ready!
You can find the product link over here -> https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/introducing-jumpstart-new-way-play-magic-2023-02-20
At its base, Jumpstart is simple. Grab two thrusters, mix them and you’ll be ready to start. But a closer look reveals an intricate gaming experience unlike anything in Magic.
It works like this. Each Jumpstart booster includes 20 cards. The 20 cards fit a theme, and most of the themes have multiple variations, enough to make 121 possible lists of 20 cards within any package.
The topics range from the familiar (“Garruk”) to the curious (“Doctor”), and two themes sometimes come together to form an unlikely hodgepodge (“Doctor Garruk”). If you’ve ever wanted to make a Pirate Cat deck, meow is the time. There are even special “Mythic Rare” packages that have no variations at all, just the list of a card, because there is only one true Unicorn deck.
Jumpstart is different from everything we’ve done before, so here are some key things you should know about the launch of this product on July 3.
Each reinforcement contains 20 cards centered on one topic. The theme contained in each reinforcement is random, but every 20 thematic letters will be sealed within the package and labeled.
One in three reinforcements includes a rare extra.
It is loaded with reprints, almost 500!
Jumpstart introduces 37 new cards to the game. These will not be standard, pioneer or modern legal cards. They are legal in Legacy, Vintage and Commander.
It is closely related to Core Set 2023: they share a lot of content and launch close to each other, but Jumpstart is an independent product.
All cards are legal in Eternal formats (Legacy, Vintage and Commander)
Each package includes a basic land with art that matches the theme of the package. Some of them use thematically appropriate M21 lands, but most of them use a new thematic ground art created for Jumpstart.
And because the previous releases are fun, we’re going to make a preliminary presentation for Jumpstart from June 20-21! Check with your local stores to see if you can sign up for a Jumpstart event.
Like Jumpstart, previous releases for this product will be a bit different.
Jumpstart pre-releases will run all day. Each player will get two Jumpstart thrusters to create a mallet and then they will simply play. Play enough games, get a promotional card. And if you want to jump again? Hey, go ahead. You can even win another promotion.
Jumpstart will launch on July 3, after the pre-launch events mentioned the previous week. Are you excited for this? I know who I am!
What do you think of this product? Wizards of the Coast has found the magic answer – * ahem *, Magic – to Keyforge? Do they bite more than they can, or even need, chew? Let us know your thoughts!
