There was a time that the closest Magic the Gathering got to dice were those non-D20 rolldowns or in some UN-Set. But that has all changed! Dice rolling has come to standard with the first D&D crossover to the actual Magic card game; Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.
We’ve already seen cards in all colors that say ‘roll a d20’ and give you rewards and, sometimes, punishment for the results. The D20 is the dice in D&D that determines the success and failure of most actions in the game. So it would stand to reason that that particular dice would get a lot of play. But, in case you didn’t know, there are more than just d20s in D&D.
To quote Wotc on one of the announcement articles for the set:
“The other dice traditionally used in a game of D&D (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and percentile dice) don’t show up in the main set. Some of them may show up elsewhere. It’s hard to say; they’re unpredictable.”
And show up they have!
In fact, they factor prominently on some of the Forgotten Realms Commander cards that were recently spoiled. And it makes sense. Why clutter Standard up with a lot dice when the MTG old school aren’t use to dealing with dice in their game? So I think it was wise to keep all of the other dice listed above out of standard and let the uninitiated get use to the d20s.
But that means us lucky stiffs who play EDH are going to get the full spectrum of D&D flavor!
Making use of the smallest dice in D&D, Bucknard’s Everfull Purse can tap and roll a d4 and get Treasure tokens equal to the result. But this is the greatest of ‘group hug’ cards so be careful! When you tap it, it passes to the right. If you’re lucky, it will come back around!
The flavor here is deep! This magic item was listed in the 1st Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide!
Ebony Fly which happens to be one on of the Figurines of Wonderous Power listed in the Dungeon Masters Guide.
This card goes full on flavor as the figurine can become a giant fly and even can be ridden thus the artifact becoming an Insect artifact creature and bestowing flying onto another attacking creature!!
The card, Clay Golem, has a mana activated ability where you tap 6 mana and ‘Roll a d8’. Part of the ability is bringing back an oldie but goodie; Monstrosity! Basically, the result of the d8 is the number of +1/+1 counters it gets.
This is a one trick pony though, since it can only become MONSTROUS once!
Clay Golem is a monster that has made most edition’s monster manuals.
Underdark Rift is a land from the Commander set. If you pay 5 mana, tap it and exile it, you can put any artifact, creature or Planeswalker back into its owners library and by rolling a d10, you can determine how deep you bury it.
Couldn’t find a ‘Sword of Hours’ magic weapon in D&D history, but this card has a lot of potential! Gaining a +1/+1 for every attack is useful! But it utilizes the second biggest dice in D&D, the d12.
So it only has to attack to get the counters. But the next ability calls for combat damage. And when you deal it with this sword, you roll the d12 for a possibly doubling of aforementioned counters!
And, I believe all of these cards will end up in the Dragon Rage Commander Precon with Vrondiss, Rage of Ancients.
That last ability will make use of every roll!
So now you crossover D&D/MTG players have even more use for that uncontrollable dice addict…uh collection you have! So let’s grab the dice back, folks! It’s time to play Magic! Welcome to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms!
A few other cards spoiled so far with roll mechanics!
AoE Table Top 