Author: Game Infliction

Magic: The Gathering has a busy year in 2026, particularly when it pertains to Universes Beyond.

June 2026 will see a Marvel Super Heroes set arrive, and unlike Spider-Man, it’s bringing Commander precons. We’re still waiting for more information about what’s in each, but we’ll update this page as we hear more. Any you’ve got your eye on? Let us know in the comments!

There are four Commander Decks for the Marvel Super Heroes set, following in the footsteps of other Universes Beyond sets like The Lord of the Rings, Warhammer 40,000, and last year’s Final Fantasy.

Here’s the lineup, including the brief description on the box of each precon, as well as their color identity.

• Avengers Assemble (Captain America and Nick Fury – Red/White/Blue)
  • ‘Grow your ranks, equipment and counters’
• Wakanda Forever (Black Panther – Green/White)
  • ‘Power up with artifacts, reign as the Monarch’
• The Fantastic Four (The titular team – Red/Green/White/Blue)
  • ‘Noncreature spells, protection fields’
• Doom Prevails (Doctor Doom and Loki – Blue/Black/Red)
  • ‘Connive for power, drain life’

It’s worth noting that Marvel’s Spider-Man, which launched in 2025, didn’t get the Commander Deck treatment. Given it’s Magic’s most popular format, we’re unsure if this is Wizards of the Coast correcting that oversight, or if it was always planned this way.

What’s in the Collector’s Edition Commander Decks?

This morning Wizards of the Coast put a new Magic: The Gathering product up for sale with an unexpected twist. The “Prints Charming” Secret Lair drop contains four reprinted cards with pretty excellent new art – but rather than simply telling us how much it costs, it was given five different non-foil store listings and five more for the foil version, each with a different price ranging from $10 all the way up to $50. The product description on all of them is careful to point out the following: “The only difference between listings is the price. Higher-priced listings do not include anything extra.”

This, by my estimation as someone who has been playing Magic since the 90s and literally wrote the announcement for the very first Secret Lair, is pretty lame. Taken graciously, it’s a goofy marketing stunt meant to do something silly and get folk talking about it, but it nevertheless leaves those who arrived too late with a very sour taste in their mouth. A more pessimistic reading would be that WOTC is price testing what people are willing to pay for a Secret Lair drop in broad daylight, shedding even the thinnest veneer that may be hiding the capitalist hunger a lawsuit recently alleged is designed specifically to hide shortfalls in other parts of Hasbro’s business.

The reaction amongst the Magic community has been muddled. Some were confused. Some very generously assumed the higher price points were to bait automated scalper bots into spending more while real people could snag a more affordable version – an argument that doesn’t exactly hold water when you consider that they could just make them all cheaper if that was the desire. And some were just angry, either because the cheapest versions sold out so fast, or because they similarly see this as bold-faced market research in cardboard form.

I actually really love the idea of Wizards of the Coast’s Secret Lair line overall. Directly selling small drops of thematically linked cards with cool and unique art treatments is quite fun, and often comes at little-to-no cost for those who just want to ignore it. Being able to give Kratos or Aloy their own cards without the production lift a larger product would require is a neat tool in WOTC’s toolbelt. The “Chaos Vault” moniker this latest one was released under intentionally pushes the envelope even further with weird, off-schedule ideas and one-offs that are explicitly meant to experiment. I dig that!

But that does not mean Secret Lair is free from criticism. Most pressing here, folk (myself included) were already displeased by WOTC’s 2024 decision to move these drops from a “print to demand” model to one with limited and undisclosed quantities. The former system meant anyone who wanted a certain drop could get it within a specific timeframe, while the latter has historically meant you need to get in line right when a popular drop arrives in order to have a chance at purchasing it – something you can’t do if you, say, have work or school at the same time.

So, given there is already anxiety around the availability of Secret Lairs, one that got almost no pre-promotion offering an early bird discount (alongside the option to pay WOTC more money) is understandably frustrating. It’s the sort of thing that independent creators admittedly do with their products from time to time without drawing any ire, rewarding their most dedicated fans while also providing a way to support them even further for those who want to. But for a multibillion-dollar corporation to do it is not endearing in the same way – it comes across more like profit analysis wearing a sign around its neck that reads “it’s just a prank, bro.”

Much to my dismay, both the lowest and highest priced versions of Prints Charming sold out the quickest, either lending some credence to the “ha ha stupid bots” theory or offering evidence that “speaking with your wallet” is and will always be a doomed suggestion. The standard Secret Lair pricing of $30 for non-foil and $40 for foil lasted much longer than the others, so it seems likely the “stock” for those versions was intentionally the largest of all the options. But even if that does make this one big stunt, or even a cute way to subsidize a few discounted drops through folk who are willing to spend a little more, the ultimate result is still that a majority of players feel like they are the ones left holding the proverbial bag.

I don’t know, maybe I am yelling at the clouds. The card-selling company is experimenting with how much money it can sell its cards for. This should not be a shock, nor am I surprised to see Prints Charming sell out within hours (the art is really excellent, even if its total reprint value of around $5 is not). But the quiet part is being said louder than usual here. The teacher has handed us a test, and I fear what the results will be. The theme of this drop is cards that speed up your green resource production, and if that’s not as on the nose as naming your giant evil space station the Death Star, I don’t know what is.

Tom Marks is IGN’s Associate Reviews Director and local MTG Cube obssessive. He loves puzzles, platformers, puzzle-platformers, and lots more.

Check out this big price drop on a lightweight gaming mouse with no lack of flair. Starting today, Amazon has dropped the price of the SteelSeries Counter-Strike 2 Dragon Lore Limited Edition wireless gaming mouse to just $56.76 $52.93 after a massive 65% off discount. Historically speaking, the price of this mouse was fixed at $150 since it first released last July… until today. The Dragon Lore Edition gets points for its gorgeous design, but it also happens to be an excellent performer for any gamer looking for a lightweight mouse with top-of-the-line accuracy and precision.

Update: The price has dropped even further.

SteelSeries CS2 Dragon Lore Edition Mouse for $52.93

Fortnite fans are on the edge of their seats as rumors and leaks seem to suggest a potential Chappell Roan crossover coming to Fortnite in February.

The Femininomenon of the pop music world has been the talk of the Fortnite community since cosmetics related to some of her most iconic songs supposedly leaked late last month. Developer Epic Games hasn’t confirmed whether Chappell Roan or her famous pink pony mascot will actually show up in-game, but fans are still expecting an announcement as soon as this week.

CHAPPEL ROAN POTENTIALLY NEXT FESTIVAL ARTIST #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/Ut2jTrm6Ok

— Leaky (@itsmeleaky) January 22, 2026

X/Twitter user @itsmeleaky seems to have been the first to kick off rumors that the Midwest Princess was next to join Epic’s roster of Festival stars, sharing images of some very Chappell Roan-looking music cosmetics and what appears to be a llama sidekick dressed up as a pink, cowboy hat-wearing pony. Players were then able to find these same items in a special room in-game, with some other familiar visuals, including flashy pink stars and some knight armor, adding to the pile of alleged evidence.

All three items would certainly fit the occasion, especially the potential sidekick, which looks a lot like a reference to the star’s mega-hit song, Pink Pony Club. The knight armor, meanwhile, has been taken as a sign that at least one of what could be a few skins could pull from Chappell Roan’s medieval-themed Video Music Awards performance of Good Luck, Babe!. She’s known for her many, many memorable looks, though, so music fans are still guessing which direction Epic could take her cosmetics should she have a substantial presence in Fortnite this month.

👀| Fortnite appears to have begun teasing a possible collaboration with Chappell Roan pic.twitter.com/zUMRqjXlxx

— Chappell Roan Now (@ChappellRoanNow) January 23, 2026

Meanwhile, the studio confirmed plans to launch Fortnite version 39.40 this week on January 30, leaving fans to look out for new content in the days ahead. Again, Epic hasn’t confirmed whether the star will show up at all, but for some, it’s not a question of if, but when and how.

Chappell Roan’s status as a Grammy award-winning artist with millions of listeners has many expecting her to headline an upcoming Festival update as its new icon. It would mean potentially multiple skins to accompany the inclusion of more of her music, though how the star’s career could be represented is unclear. It’s possible she could have a more muted presence, but with the previous icon, Lisa, set to rotate out in just a few days, fans believe it could be the perfect time for Chappell to make her proper Fortnite debut.

FORTNITE VALENTINE’S DAY EVENT TEASER pic.twitter.com/ew7rxBrrzg

— Shiina (@ShiinaBR) February 1, 2026

As Chappell Roan rumors for Fortnite heat up without official confirmation, players are still looking forward to other updates for February. The game’s official account recently put out what appears to be a tease, saying, “In February, Fortnite wears pink.” It could be more evidence that Chappell Roan is on the way, but it’s also likely referencing its upcoming Valentine’s Day plans. Another post from today has music and movie fans looking forward to more KPop Demon Hunters content.

Fortnite leapt into Chapter 7 with an Avengers: Endgame-style event late last year. The months since have, of course, been filled with more crossover content, including a collaboration that brought South Park items into the fold and a few skins from The Office.

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).

The latest Magic: The Gathering set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, is here to kick off the game’s 2026 release schedule.

This release marks the return to the classic fae and elf-heavy realm of Lorywn, last visited back in 2008. Recently, as I was perusing Instagram, I came across a video by Daniel Powell (aka JollySaintClick), who brought to my attention the new “Mirrorform” card that is part of the latest set.

This card, costing four colorless and two blue mana, reads as follows: “Each nonland permanent you control becomes a copy of target non-aura permanent.” JollySaintClick pointed out how the card can get out of hand with something like Coveted Jewel, and it got me thinking: What other cards would be great to copy with Mirrorform?”

Mirrorform Explained

Geoff Keighley has already set Thursday, December 10, as the date for The Game Awards 2026.

The show’s creator and host announced the “save the date” news in a post on social media today. It’s early confirmation for this year’s show, securing its spot at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles nine months before viewers tune into what Keighley has previously referred to as “gaming’s biggest night.”

📅 Save The Date

🏆 @TheGameAwards

Live from @peacock_theater in Los Angeles

📍 Thursday, December 10, 2026

More details later this year ✨ pic.twitter.com/uKLVnw6gWU

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) February 2, 2026

Gaming fans often spend the months leading up to the award show predicting which titles will take home awards for major categories like Game of the Year, Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Performance. At just one month into 2026, you’d think there would be no reasonable predictions as far as the winners (and losers) go for this year’s Game Awards, but fans already have one game on their minds: Grand Theft Auto 6.

Rockstar Games has a history of big wins at shows like these (Red Dead Redemption 2 had the most awards at The Game Awards 2018), so the long-in-development sixth mainline GTA game is on everyone’s radar. Other highly anticipated titles, like Resident Evil Requiem, Saros, Fable, and Control Resonant have some expecting steep competition, especially when it comes to the Game of the Year award, but there are a few other issues to consider, too.

Like any other industry award show, The Game Awards has a cutoff date a few weeks before the event itself, keeping some games from being competing despite being released in the year the show is held. For The Game Awards 2025, the cutoff date was November 21, 2025, at 9 p.m. PT / 12 a.m. ET. GTA 6 has a release date of November 19, 2026 – and that’s if it can dodge yet another delay. Meanwhile, with so much time left in the year, there’s a high likelihood at some of the year’s best game may not have even been announced yet.

“And the most anticipated game award in 2026 goes to GTA 6” https://t.co/CoHBHJtN1W pic.twitter.com/GMslOQ90d8

— GTA 6 Countdown ⏳ (@GTAVI_Countdown) February 2, 2026

Today’s announcement arrives less than two months after Keighley hosted The Game Awards 2025 on December 11. The show brought a number of bombshell announcements and reveals, including Divinity, a first look at Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil Requiem, two Tomb Raider games, footage from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and more. The one-last-thing reveal of the night was a first look at Highguard.

While we wait to see what surprises Keighley will eventually have up his sleeves for The Game Awards 2026, you can see IGN’s list of the biggest games coming in 2026. You can also check out our breakdown of the projects we think are most likely to walk away with the Game of the Year prize, as well as our pick for the best game of 2025.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).