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mythic odysseys of theros 5E D&D campaign setting book

Speculating on Mythic Odysseys of Theros for 5E D&D

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During our weekly meeting this afternoon we worked on planning videos, including one discussing the most recent Unearthed Arcana 2020 — Subclasses, Part 3. While looking over the playtest material the most intriguing one for me is the Circle of the Stars for druids. One of the subclasses features in particular, Starry Form, caught my attention before I even got to the part with any game mechanics.

“While in your starry form, you retain your game statistics, but your body takes on a luminous, starlike quality; your joints glimmer like stars, and glowing lines connect them as on a star chart.”

This vivid description immediately conjured images from Magic: the Gathering Arena, the online version of the incredibly popular card game. The newest set, Theros Beyond Death highlights the Constellation keyword and there’s a strong starry element featured in artwork and graphics from the set. That’s when it struck me — maybe we’ll see these and other Unearthed Arcana content in an official fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons book inspired by Magic: the Gathering. And after a little bit of digging around I believe that’s definitely the case.

Mythic Odysseys of Theros 5E D&D magic: the gathering

Dungeons & Dragons Mythic Odysseys of Theros

My first thought was trying to find the working title for upcoming 5E D&D books. Sometimes these offer a clue to the theme or content of a future product. In the past these working titles could be found through the book publisher and poking around the Penguin Random House website I found a page listing the Wizards RPG Team titles. At the very top of the list I feel like my suspicions are confirmed, which is really exciting!

This screenshot from Penguin Random House’s website shows titles from Wizards RPG Team and the very top of the list is this one.

One of my favorite and most useful 5E D&D books is Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica so already I’m on board for another adaptation of Magic: the Gathering material for D&D. Even more thrilling, Mythic Odysseys of Theros likely draws on one of my favorite sets already. Theros Beyond Death added so many fun cards to the mix and I’ve been having a blast incorporating them into my decks.

Even more provocative is the possibility this Mythic Odysseys of Theros book might also encompass my second favorite M:tG set — Throne of Eldraine. Assuming the Wizards RPG team isn’t planning two M:tG inspired releases I wonder if 5E D&D content developed from the fairy tale themed set won’t be included in this book too. As evidence I’ll point to the previous Unearthed Arcana playtest packets. A bard who’s whimsical music can animate objects, a sorcerer with clockwork magic and a cleric focused on unity could certainly replicate the flavor of things like Animating Fairy, Clockwork Servant and The Royal Scions. Oath of the Watchers paladins might monitor the borders between planes and perhaps the realms of Eldraine and Theros spill over into one another?

Whatever Mythic Odysseys of Theros winds up being, I’m looking forward to discovering new official content for 5E D&D. Who knows? There could be two M:tG inspired books, or one, or none at all! There’s no guarantees. But we felt like it is worth sharing this discovery on the Penguin Random House site and some speculation.

What do you think? Will Mythic Odysseys of Theros provide the context for these Unearthed Arcana 2020 — Subclasses playtest documents we’re getting from the 5E D&D team? Will it focus only on Theros or include Throne of Eldraine? Will they be two individual books? If they’re as good as GGtR they’ll absolutely find a place in my games.

In the meantime you can get a taste for these two really fun M:tG sets online through Magic: the Gathering Arena and of course the tabletop card game itself. Check out cards from Throne of Eldraine and Theros Beyond Death and get started on some inspiration for your 5E D&D games.

Mythic Odysseys of Theros update

mythic odysseys of theros 5E D&D

Looks like somebody’s a pretty good guesser, huh? After publishing this post on Feb. 25, 2020 the Penguin Random House website showed the cover and release date for the upcoming 5E D&D book Mythic Odysseys of Theros. The book is slated for release on May 19, 2020 (my birthday!). As quickly as the website revealed the cover image and details it was removed.

I’m going to choose to believe our correct guess and “accidental leak” of the cover image and release date for Mythic Odysseys of Theros are related, because why not? Wizards of the Coast declined to comment when ComicBook.com reached out about the book, according to their article about this 5E D&D news. So there is no official announcement according to any of the other news sources who followed up on our story here after the details were discovered earlier today. Maybe someone read this post, thought “uh oh!” and “leaked” the cover image for a few hours?

You heard it here first!

Mythic Odysseys of Theros update 2

5E D&D mythic odysseys of theros alternate cover art

An alternative cover for Mythic Odysseys of Theros featuring a distinctive design by Kevin Tong will be available exclusively in game stores on June 2.

The book received an official announcement from Wizards of the Coast on Monday, March 2. The press release confirms Mythis Odysseys of Theros is scheduled for release on June 2, 2020. Characters in Theros choose supernatural gifts and align with the gods of Theros to begin their journey towards destiny. New races and subclasses like the College of Eloquence and Oath of Heroism serve characters well against mythic monsters and immortal schemes while they carve a tale of odysseys and ordeals. Mythic Odysseys of Theros will be available everywhere on June 2 and will retail for $49.95 and is available for preorder right now.

“Get ready to clash with the gods of Theros! Wizards of the Coast is combining the world’s greatest roleplaying game with the world’s greatest strategy game to create one amazing adventure! Mythic Odysseys of Theros is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign sourcebook set in the Magic: The Gathering world of Theros where players can wield god-weapons and select new races to indulge in a challenge fit for the gods.”

*Updated 2.28.20 at 10:33 p.m. EST

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Doug Vehovec

Nerditor-in-Chief Doug Vehovec is a proud native of Cleveland, Ohio, with D&D in his blood since the early 80s. Fast forward to today and he’s still rolling those polyhedral dice. When he’s not DMing, worldbuilding or working on endeavors for Nerdarchy he enjoys cryptozoology trips and eating awesome food.

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