It happened in 2021. Magic: The Gathering (MTG) finally officially shook hands with Dungeons & Dragons, and the result was the Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set. For decades, Wizards of the Coast kept these two massive pillars of geek culture in separate rooms. It was weird. They owned both, yet players had to rely on homebrew crossovers or imagination to bridge the gap. Then, the floodgates opened.
People were skeptical. Hardcore Magic players worried that the flavor of Faerûn wouldn't translate to the mechanics of a card game. D&D fans were nervous that their beloved lore would be watered down into a gimmick.
They were mostly wrong.
What Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Got Right (and Wrong)
The set didn't just dump a bunch of familiar names like Drizzt Do'Urden or Elminster onto cardboard and call it a day. It introduced mechanics that actually felt like playing a tabletop RPG. You weren't just casting spells; you were "Venturing into the Dungeon."
This was a polarizing mechanic. Some people loved the flavor of moving a marker through the Lost Mine of Phandelver or the Tomb of Annihilation. Others found it clunky. It required a separate "Dungeon" card that didn't go in your deck, which felt a little like carrying around extra homework. But honestly, it worked because it captured that specific feeling of progress and risk that defines D&D.
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The "Roll a d20" mechanic was even more controversial. Magic has traditionally been a game of controlled variance. You know what your cards do. Suddenly, you had cards like Lightfoot Rogue or Chaos Channeler where the outcome depended on a literal 20-sided die roll.
If you rolled a 1, you felt like a total failure. If you hit that natural 20, you felt like a god. It brought the chaos of the gaming table to the competitive tournament floor. Some pros hated it. Casual players? They couldn't get enough of it.
Flavor over function?
Actually, the most genius part of the set wasn't the big legendary creatures. It was the "Flavor Text" land cards. Instead of a boring description of a mountain or a forest, the basic lands had snippets of a Dungeon Master (DM) describing the scene.
"You see a shimmering pool at the base of the falls," one might say.
It was a small touch. Simple. But it grounded the entire experience in the act of storytelling, which is what the Forgotten Realms is actually about. It's not just a map; it's a shared narrative.
The Lore Impact: Why Faerûn Fits Magic
The Forgotten Realms is a massive place. We're talking about a setting created by Ed Greenwood back in the 60s that has grown into a behemoth of novels, video games like Baldur’s Gate 3, and thousands of sourcebooks.
When Adventures in the Forgotten Realms launched, it had to represent places like Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and the Underdark. It succeeded by leaning into the archetypes.
You had the "Class" cards. These were enchantments that you could "level up" by spending mana. It perfectly mirrored the progression of a Paladin or a Wizard. If you played a Monk class card, you started with a basic ability and eventually unlocked powerful martial arts moves. It was a mechanical translation of a character arc.
But let’s talk about the dragons. You can't have D&D without them.
The set gave us the legendary chromatic dragons like Tiamat. Seeing a five-headed dragon queen on a Magic card was a "pinch me" moment for fans who grew up in the 80s and 90s. Tiamat wasn't just a big flyer; she allowed you to search your library for five other dragons. It was an "all-in" card. You play Tiamat, you win the game, or you go out in a blaze of glory.
The Financial Reality of the Set
Look, Wizards of the Coast is a business. Adventures in the Forgotten Realms was the start of the "Universes Beyond" philosophy, even if it wasn't technically branded that way yet. It proved that Magic could absorb other IPs without breaking.
From a collector's standpoint, the "Rulebook" alternate art styles were a hit. They looked like the sketches from the original 1970s Monster Manuals.
- Old-school aesthetics: Hand-drawn ink style.
- Nostalgia bait: It worked perfectly.
- Market value: Certain foil etched versions still hold decent value today, especially the dragons.
However, the set wasn't the most powerful in Magic's history. Compared to Modern Horizons 2, which came out around the same time, the power level was relatively low. This was actually a good thing for the health of the Standard format at the time. It meant you could play with your favorite D&D characters without them completely breaking the game. Mostly.
The card Treasury Vault and Old Gnawbone became staples in Commander, the most popular way to play Magic. Gnawbone, in particular, creates Treasure tokens whenever your creatures deal combat damage. In a game where mana is everything, Gnawbone is a terrifying engine of wealth.
What People Still Get Wrong About Faerûn in Magic
A common misconception is that this was a "one and done" crossover. It wasn't. It paved the way for the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate set that followed.
People also assume the set is just for D&D nerds. Not true. The mechanics, specifically the "Treasures" and "Dungeons," added layers to Magic that didn't exist before. It forced players to track resources in a new way.
Some critics argued that it "diluted" the Magic: The Gathering brand. They felt that Jace Beleren shouldn't be standing next to Bruenor Battlehammer. But if you look at the history of fantasy, the lines have always been blurry. Magic was heavily inspired by D&D in the first place. This was just a homecoming.
The Practical Side: How to Play With These Cards Now
If you're looking to dive into Adventures in the Forgotten Realms today, you aren't going to find many people playing it in the Standard format. It has rotated out. However, it lives on in:
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- Commander (EDH): This is where the set shines. Building a deck around a legendary creature like Prosper, Tome-Bound is incredibly fun and surprisingly powerful.
- Cube Drafting: Many players have built "D&D Cubes" where they only use cards from the Forgotten Realms sets. It creates a self-contained RPG experience within a card game.
- Kitchen Table Magic: Honestly, this set is perfect for casual games with friends over a pizza. The d20 rolling adds a level of social excitement that "serious" Magic often lacks.
Actionable Insights for Players and Collectors
If you're hunting for cards or trying to build a deck, keep these specific points in mind:
- Focus on the Dragons: The "Ancient" dragon cycle from the follow-up set is more powerful, but the chromatic dragons from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (like Ebondeath or Iymrith) are solid mid-tier choices for any flying-heavy deck.
- The "Class" cards are sleepers: In long, grindy games, Level 3 Class abilities like Wizard Class (no maximum hand size plus card draw) can win you the game simply through resource advantage.
- Check the Rulebook variants: If you are buying for flavor, the rulebook art style is much more evocative of the "Adventures" theme than the standard art.
- Don't ignore the "Venturing" cards: While Dungeons aren't top-tier in competitive play, they provide a consistent stream of small advantages (Scry 1, making a token, drawing a card) that add up over a 10-turn game.
The crossover didn't ruin Magic. It didn't ruin D&D. It just made the world of Faerûn accessible to people who prefer shuffling cards to tracking hit points on a character sheet. It was an experiment that proved Magic is big enough to hold an entire multiverse, even one as messy and chaotic as the Forgotten Realms.
To get started, look for the "Aura of Courage" or "Draconic Rage" Preconstructed Commander decks. They are the easiest way to feel the flavor of the set without hunting down individual rares. Focus on learning the "Initiative" and "Venture" mechanics first, as they are the most unique aspects of this era of gaming history.