Chromatic Lantern | Illustrated by David Alvarez
June is Pride Month, and people of many walks of life are celebrating LGBTQIA+ lives and legacies this month. Wizards of the Coast is no exception! All this month, they are showing their many ways to celebrate Pride. On Monday, June 9th, Wizards explained exactly how they're going about it!
Magic Presents: Pride
From June 27th-29th, participating Wizards Play Network stores will conduct Magic Presents: Pride, a Magic: The Gathering celebration of Pride Month. Commander is the name of the game here, but with a twist in that every commander-eligible legendary is treated as having the partner mechanic! Feel free to pair any two legendary creatures together (regardless of orientation or gender expression) and make a deck based around their unity and synergies. It will be a great time to get together and play some Commander with friends in an interesting format twist.
Furthermore, participating WPN stores may offer participants a promotional copy of Chromatic LanternChromatic Lantern (while supplies last). These promos feature Niko ArisNiko Aris and are illustrated by David Alvarez. They look like this!
Image credit: Wizards of the Coast
Beyond this, according to the article on DailyMTG:
The Chromatic Lantern promo card we're releasing with Magic Presents: Pride was a Studio X-wide effort, with members of Worldbuilding, WPN, Marketing, and Design working to create a card worthy of being our first WPN Pride promo.
To celebrate this and put a spotlight on the folks behind it, The Magic Story Podcast will be releasing a behind-the-scenes video with Senior Worldbuilding Game Designer Neale LaPlante Johnson and Wizards Pride ERG President Meredith Pendragon. Stay tuned!
More Magic Stories On Audiobook For Pride Month
Speaking of The Magic Story Podcast, Vorthos Magic enthusiasts should rejoice! Wizards of the Coast has announced that they'll be releasing four Magic short stories on audiobook that revolve around LGBTQIA+ characters of the Magic Multiverse:
Hosts Natalie Kreider and Harless Snyder will narrate four brand-new audiobooks for The Magic Story Podcast. Additionally, we'll republish these stories on DailyMTG for your reading and listening pleasure. Check back on these dates to listen to some stellar stories:
- June 10: "Note for a Stranger" by Alison Lührs
- June 12: "Know Which Way the Wind Is Blowing" by Setsu Uzumé
- June 16: "His Eyes, All of Them" by Margaret Killjoy
- June 17: "Aim Through the Target" by Setsu Uzumé
Pride At MagicCon
The fun doesn't stop there! At MagicCon: Las Vegas, Wizards of the Coast is collaborating with their Pride Employee Resource Group (or the Wizards ERG) and Birds of Paradise, a collective of Magic players, to introduce the Gathering Grounds, "a dedicated space for celebrating and uplifting marginalized [Magic] communities". They'll be hosting the Magic Presents event a week early at MagicCon!
Pride Dice, Shirts, and Playmats
Beyond MagicCon and your local game store, the Wizards of the Coast webstore is selling special t-shirts and playmats. Have a look!
(Image credits: Wizards of the Coast)
You'll be able to find the t-shirts and playmats at the MTG Pro Shop webstore from June 16th through July 31st! Plus, the dice and dice holder are evergreen products and there are many different avenues both online and off to purchase them. For every set of dice sold, $5 will go towards The Trevor Project, and for every dice holder, $28 will be donated there as well!
Wizards of the Coast at Seattle Pride
Finally, Wizards of the Coast will be parading at Seattle Pride! According to the article:
On Sunday, June 29, the Seattle Pride Parade kicks off at Westlake Park. Wizards of the Coast—as we have done in past years—will be joining the parade alongside thousands of others. We're excited to support Seattle Pride and their invaluable work toward promoting celebration and visibility.
Wizards of the Coast has been closely involved with our local Seattle community. From local gaming groups to larger charitable organizations, we believe in giving back to the place that we call home.
Are you excited about any of these Pride Month events? Sound off below!
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