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Got Mirrorform in Magic: The Gathering’s Lorwyn Eclipsed? Here Are The Most Fun Cards To Use With It

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

Before I get into the list, let’s break down a couple of important things about Mirrorform:

It doesn’t say “until the end of the turn” anywhere on the card: Your cards won’t be changing back at the end of your turn, so take care when you drop Mirrorform, and just as important, make sure your hand is set up so you aren’t leaving yourself too restricted after playing it. You don’t want to put yourself in a rough spot after getting all your copies out.

Legendary cards are out (mostly): Because Mirrorform is changing all nonland permanent cards, artifacts like Mirror Box that remove the legend rule will get overwritten, so making copies of legendary cards will be tough, though not impossible. If this is the route you want to take, you will need to find a way to remove the “Legendary” aspect of the creature in question; otherwise, all but one of your copies will be destroyed.

Tokens are okay to copy: Nothing in the card stipulates that your target has to be a nontoken, so just make sure you are aware that if you manage to make a really cool token of something, it is just as viable as anything else.

It’s an instant: While Mirrorform may feel like it should be a sorcery, being an instant means you can cast it outside of your turn or in response to something else. This can be a big help and a great answer to a threat on the board or when you’re the target of an attack.

The Best Cards To Use With Mirrorform

Giggling Skitterspike

Growing up, the spider-doll creature in the original Toy Story terrified me, and thanks to Duskmourn, that critter was turned into a nasty Magic card in the form of the Giggling Skitterspike.

Turning a pool of dull random tokens or boring creatures into indestructible spider dolls that can dish out damage equal to its power to ALL opponents whenever it is targeted is especially scary. The fact that you can boost them to 6/6 with its Monstrosity 5 ability makes the Skitterspike a prime option to use with Mirrorform. Just be prepared for nightmares…

Ouroboroid

Feel like getting some +1/+1 counters? Then Mirrorform some Ouroboroids onto the field, and you will have more counters to hand out than you will know what to do with. Throw in a card like Doubling Season to really up those numbers, and all of these giant space plants will be swarming the battlefield in no time.

Your opponents may give up, so they don’t have to wait for you to tally up all the counters each turn.

Mother of Runes

An army of moms that can give each other protection of whatever colors you want? Sounds good to me! As each creature can be activated separately, this means that you can save their protection and use them on a case-by-case basis, depending on what your opponents do.

If you manage to power up one Mother of Runes and make it stronger, that protection will also let them hit directly at your opponents, too, circumventing their blockers altogether.

Ruin Crab

Honestly, this list could have been all Landfall, but I wanted to restrain myself a bit; Ruin Crab is just too good not to include.

If you are running a deck with some solid token generation, which would be preferred if you are running a copy of Mirrorform period, having a ton of Ruin Crabs on the field will make every single land you drop an immense pain for every one of your opponents, thanks to each trigger of them having to mill on each land drop.

Consuming Aberration

My friends and I still can’t believe that Consuming Aberation isn’t a legendary, but seeing as it matches a color with Mirrorform, this is one of the easiest recommendations on this list.

Similar to Ruin Crab, as it deals with Mill, an army of this horror will not only terrify your opponents from a mill risk, but the massive amount of power and toughness they will all have, due to their strength coming from the number of cards in your opponents’ graveyards. Every little spell you cast will spell terror for your enemies.

Battletide Alchemist

Who needs blockers when you can just prevent all the damage that you get hit with? The Battletide Alchemist Kithkin Cleric has a compounding ability, as each card will be able to prevent more damage on its own from each copy Mirrorform creates, while also multiplying prevention by the number of copies you have.

Even if you only have 5 copies after Mirrorform resolves, that will still mean that each source (not total damage) will need to exceed 25 damage to deal any damage to you.

Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm

Now, before you go into the comments to explain to me how the Legend rule works and how all but a single copy would be destroyed, let me stop you and tell you that yes, you are right.

But we aren’t using Mirrorform on the Miirym; we are using it on a token of Miirym that it itself creates. A token, mind you, that specifically reads (thanks to Miirym’s ability) “Except the Token isn’t legendary”, and as I specifically pointed out earlier, Mirrorform doesn’t stipulate your target has to be nontoken.

So yes, there is a bit of a setup that you will need to do to get this to work, but once you have that non-legendary token out, having multiple copies of each dragon you cast is just far too tempting a proposition to deny.

Roil Elemental

Roil Elemental is another one of those fun Landfall trigger cards that will be great fun to have a ton of copies, but whereas Ruin Crab caused your foes to mill, Roil Elemental instead lets you steal their creatures instead for each land you drop.

The upkeep of keeping track of which copy stole which cards might be annoying, but that delightful feeling of taking that annoying creature of your friends from them will more than make up for it.

Admonition Angel

A bit like Roil Elemental, since it allows you to mess with the board states of your opponents, Admonition Angel has a nasty landfall trigger that allows you to exile any other nonland permanent for as long as the angel remains on the battlefield.

Having a bunch of copies courtesy of Mirrorform would mean a single land allows you to wipe out boards in an instant, and if you have a way to make your permanents indestructible, protecting your copies, then you will really be putting yourself in a solid spot.

The fact that the cards exiled this way have the chance to return should the angel leave the battlefield does give your opponents hope that things can turn around – hope that you can dash with that next land you play.

Relentless Rats

Whereas Battletide Alchemist had a compounding effect that prevents damage, Relentless Rats is a sort of antithesis. Each copy of rats that your Mirrorform makes will empower every other copy that is made, leaving you with a swarm of cute little murderous creatures to sic on your opponents. It’s simple, yet effective.

With tens of thousands of cards in the Magic: The Gathering library, there are hundreds, if not thousands, more cards that would be great options to use with Mirrorform. What are some cards you would want to use with Mirrorform? Sound off in the comments!

Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.

The Game Awards 2026 Sets December Premiere Date as Fans Expect Big Things from the New Year

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.”

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.

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).

Resident Evil Requiem Live-Action Trailer Provides a Fresh Look at Ruined Raccoon City

Capcom has published a live-action Resident Evil Requiem trailer that showcases our best look yet at the ruins of Raccoon City, a few weeks before players get to explore it for themselves.

The live-action short features Longlegs actress Maika Monroe, who plays a mother living in Raccoon City shortly before its infamous zombie outbreak. Things sadly do not end well for her (or her daughter) in this three-minute short film that is meant to set the scene ahead of Requiem’s arrival.

Fans can now find the short film by scanning QR codes found on viral marketing appearing in New York’s Time Square and around Hollywood. Alternatively, its YouTube link is now live and fans are sharing it around social media:

The trailer features cops, dogs, and numerous background actors as zombies. A wide shot shows the huge crater left by the missile strike at the end of Resident Evil 3, designed to ultimately neutralize the city’s undead outbreak. At street level, the city subsequently looks post-apocalyptic, with burnt out cars and part-collapsed skyscrapers as far as the eye can see.

Fans are already discussing the trailer’s end, which features two shadows moving past. Dialogue is then heard saying “That’s the last of them, facility secured,” and then “Copy that, Raccoon City is ours.” These voices certainly don’t sound like Requiem’s leading duo of Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft, so who are they? And who has claimed the city now — Umbrella?

Resident Evil fans have known for some time that they will finally get to return to Raccoon City in the series’ upcoming Requiem, which is set to tie-up long-gestating plot threads related to the location and to the shadowy Umbrella Corportation that have been dangling ever since the franchise’s origins. An early trailer for Requiem featured a glimpse at the ruined city, and Leon’s former Raccoon City Police Department headquarters.

How much more will we get to explore? With only a few weeks to go until launch, Capcom seems to have kept much of Resident Evil Requiem under wraps. That said, the game’s director recently made a point of clearing up fan speculation that the game will be open world.

“This year is the 30th anniversary of the Resident Evil series, so it feels like no coincidence that 2026’s Resident Evil Requiem is combining the best ideas of the saga into what appears to be a fantastically constructed tribute to everything that makes the series so great,” IGN wrote in our recent Resident Evil Requiem final preview. “Do you like tense survival horror? It’s here. Wanna go all guns blazing with intense action and a quip-obsessed hero? You get that too.”

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

The 10 Most Valuable Ascended Heroes Pokémon Cards That I’m Already Chasing

The Mega Evolution set’s Ascended Heroes expansion has quickly become yet another collector-driven Pokémon TCG release, with demand greatly outweighing the supply and maxing out the value of certain cards.

With Mega Evolutions returning in force and Special Illustration Rares pushing presentation to extravagant new heights, the set has created another sharp divide between playable staples and true luxury chase cards.

While not every premium pull is destined for competitive dominance, each of the top ten most expensive cards so far has earned a lofty market price with jaw-dropping artwork, gameplay relevance, pure scarcity, or a combination of the three.

Using the dedicated trading card marketplace TCGplayer, we’ve ranked the 10 most valuable Pokémon cards from Ascended Heroes by their current market price at the time of writing, how their artwork stands out, and why their gameplay impact has kept collectors and competitive players chasing them alike.

10. Mega Froslass ex (275/217)

Mega Froslass ex may sit at the bottom of this list, but its appeal is far from modest. The artwork leans into icy elegance, placing Froslass against a stark, wintry backdrop that feels painterly rather than action-packed. That sort of subdued aesthetic stands apart from the chaos of other Mega Evolutions, making it a sure favourite among collectors who value atmospheric art over spectacle.

In play, Mega Froslass ex has carved out a niche as a disruptive attacker. Its ability to punish large hands and inflict Sleep introduces awkward sequencing for opponents, particularly in slower, resource-heavy matchups. While not a format-defining threat, its control-oriented design has kept it relevant enough to justify its premium status.

9. N’s Zoroark ex (286/217)

Another of the most valuable Pokémon cards in Ascended Heroes, this Special Illustration Rare thrives on narrative as much as mechanics. The artwork places N alongside Zoroark in a richly detailed scene that echoes the duo’s moral ambiguity, rendered in muted tones that feel almost storybook-like.

Gameplay-wise, N’s Zoroark ex remains a utility powerhouse. Its Trade ability seems like one of the most efficient new draw engines in the game, while Night Joker’s attack-copying effect grants immense flexibility. That versatility should keep Zoroark shells relevant across multiple formats, making this version a collector favourite that still earns its keep at the table.

8. Iono’s Bellibolt ex (279/217)

Few Pokémon cards in Ascended Heroes feel as vibrant as Iono’s Bellibolt ex; bursting with neon colours and cartoony expressions, the artwork mirrors Iono’s on-screen energy perfectly — instantly giving the card the kind of big personality we know her for.

That personality translates cleanly into gameplay, too. Electric Streamer allows relentless Energy acceleration, enabling aggressive Lightning strategies to overwhelm opponents before they stabilise. While Bellibolt ex requires careful management to avoid overextending, as Thunderous Bolt stops it from attacking the next turn, its all-around explosiveness has made it a popular addition.

7. Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex (287/217)

Dark, brooding, and unapologetically stylish, Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex delivers one of the expansion’s particularly striking character moments — with Marnie’s defiant look pairing with Grimmsnarl’s looming presence, feeling like a thrilling anime snapshot.

Competitively, Grimmsnarl ex rewards evolution-based strategies with efficient Energy acceleration and reliable spread damage. Its consistency has made it a staple in Darkness archetypes, and the Trainer-Pokémon pairing adds enduring collector appeal beyond raw power.

6. Mega Feraligatr ex (274/217)

Another expensive Pokémon TCG entry from Ascended Heroes, this card feels like pure momentum, with Mega Feraligatr’s erupting from crashing water, all sharp angles and violent motion, perfectly communicating its role as a bruiser.

Mortal Crunch excels at punishing damaged Pokémon, allowing Mega Feraligatr ex to close games with alarming speed once pressure is applied. Its straightforward, punishing design should resonate with players who favour decisive turns and collectors who appreciate its unapologetic ferocity.

5. Lillie’s Clefairy ex (280/217)

Few cards in Ascended Heroes are as emotionally resonant as Lillie’s Clefairy ex. The artwork is soft, joyful, and intimate, capturing a tender moment that stands in deliberate contrast to the set’s more bombastic Megas.

Despite its gentle presentation, Clefairy ex carries surprising competitive weight. Fairy Zone’s Weakness manipulation can completely warp matchups, while Full Moon Rondo scales effectively in Bench-heavy formats. Its blend of charm and tactical impact is expected to keep pushing demand well beyond casual collectors.

4. Mega Diancie ex (282/217)

One of Ascended Heroes’ most bedazzling cards, Mega Diancie ex looks like a gemstone brought to life before going under a Sailor Moon transformation. Like Mega Gardevoir ex in the Mega Evolution base set, the pastel-heavy illustration gives off pure elegance and symmetry, creating one of the most visually refined cards in the set.

Diamond Coat grants meaningful damage reduction, while Garland Ray offers flexible scaling that rewards precise Energy management. Mega Diancie ex will likely find a comfortable role in defensive Psychic builds, and its graceful presentation ensures it remains highly desirable even outside tournament play.

3. Mega Dragonite ex (290/217)

The poster child of Ascended Heroes, it’s no surprise that Mega Dragonite ex is one of the most valuable Pokémon TCG newcomers in the expansions, as well as being a pure joy rendered in colour. The artwork is lively and whimsical in an almost magical tone, depicting Dragonite soaring through a dreamlike sky.

On the battlefield, though, Sky Transport introduces constant positional control, while Ryuno Glide delivers devastating damage with surprising efficiency. Dragonite’s popularity as a Pokémon in general, combined with genuine competitive utility, has made this one of the most sought-after pulls in Ascended Heroes.

2. Mega Charizard Y ex (294/217)

Gold cards rarely divide opinion, but Mega Charizard Y ex embraces the style choice’s excess unapologetically. Like those that came before, this Mega Hyper Rare treatment transforms Charizard into a glowing icon, stripped of detail yet radiating prestige.

Explosion Y hits brutally hard, too, with this singular move capable of swinging games in just one attack. That raw power, paired with Charizard’s evergreen popularity, is likely to keep this card a centrepiece of big collections.

1. Mega Gengar ex (284/217)

The most valuable card among the Pokémon TCG’s new Ascended Heroes expansion, Mega Gengar ex stands at the summit of this expensive top ten. Not only is the artwork grippingly chaotic with five menacing, swirling colours, but Gengar’s predatory grin feels alive within the frame, too.

Gameplay-wise, Mega Gengar ex offers both disruption and efficiency. Shadowy Concealment’s Prize manipulation subtly shifts tempo, while Void Gale enables smooth Energy redistribution. Combined with Ascended Heroes’ extreme scarcity at MSRP and iconic design, it’s little wonder this card commands a near four-figure market price.

Where to Buy Ascended Heroes Sealed Boosters

The Ascended Heroes expansion has officially kicked off Pokémon TCG’s 2026 run, but there are only a couple of places where you can reliably buy ETBs, booster packs, and collections right now. Note, outside of keeping up with deal trackers, you’ll likely have to pay above retail price for the time being.

That’s along with not every product even being launched on that 30 January release date. That said, we’ll give you a full breakdown of the best places to get your buy for Pokémon preorders for whichever Mega Evolution: Ascended Heroes products you’re looking out for.

For more Pokémon TCG, consider checking out our full roundup of the most valuable cards from 2025, alongside the pricest pulls from Mega Evolution’s other recent expansion, Phantasmal Flames.

Ben Williams – IGN freelance contributor with over 10 years of experience covering gaming, tech, film, TV, and anime. Follow him on Twitter/X @BenLevelTen.

This Incredible Super Mario Remix Just Beat Wicked Star Cynthia Erivo to a Grammy, and Nintendo Wasn’t Even Involved

A big band remix of Super Mario themes just won a Grammy Award, beating Wicked star Cynthia Erivo to win in the Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella category.

Super Mario Praise Break, a five-minute medley of toe-tapping Mario tunes, marks the second win for talented video game soundtrack outfit The 8-Bit Big Band, which previously won in the same category for a Kirby cover back in 2022.

Featuring tunes from throughout the Mario franchise, from its earliest days through Super Mario Galaxy and beyond, you can listen to the Grammy Award-winning composition below:

Once again, this is an entirely unofficial cover, meaning that Nintendo shares none of the glory (other than having created the original tunes in the first place). The tune beat three other tracks to the award, most notably including Cynthia Erivo, who was nominated for her arrangement of original song Be Okay.

“WE JUST WON OUR 2nd GRAMMY 🤯🤯🤯,” The 8-Bit Big Band wrote on social media. “Thank you to everyone who listened and supported to all of our new releases and huge congrats to my co-arrangers on the now Grammy winning Super Mario Praise Break.”

Video game nominations remain a rare occurrence at the Grammys. Back in 2011, Civilization 4 theme song Baba Yetu scooped the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals. A year later, Austin Wintory’s soundtrack for Journey became the first video game soundtrack to receive a Grammy nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category, though that award was ultimately won by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Since 2023, the Grammy Awards have featured a dedicated video game soundtrack category, at least. This year’s award was another gong for Austin Wintory, who won for his work on Sword of the Sea. Losing out this year were Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora — Secrets of the Spires, Helldivers 2, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card & A Pirate’s Fortune.

Despite cover versions from two of its franchises now being Grammy winners, Nintendo has never officially been nominated itself, despite decades of soundtracks and tunes.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

Helldivers 2 Set to Celebrate Second Anniversary With Some ‘Surprises,’ Including This Fantastic BTS Look at How John Helldiver Was Born

As part of a “month of anniversary surprises,” Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has formally introduced us to the “face of Freedom, the voice of Victory, the light of Liberty… John Helldiver.”

In a fascinating deep dive into the writing and casting of the iconic character, actor Craig Lee Thomas and lead writer Russ Nickel discussed developing the face and voice of the game that the fandom has dubbed, quite rightly, John Helldiver.

“Casting was crazy,” said Russ Nickel, Helldivers 2’s lead writer between 2020 and 2022. “I did all the writing, and then the script went off sort of into the abyss, and I didn’t hear anything for a while. Then I found out that it was going to shoot in a week.

“They actually hadn’t really done any casting. They were just going to use this actor who’s based in Sweden, who was perfectly good, but I was like, ‘This is going to be John Helldiver!’ (I didn’t know that would be his name at the time). We can’t just get someone who’s good! Like, we need to get the funniest person we can possibly find!”

“From the initial audition, you read for what you can as an actor, and you get excited about so many things,” added Thomas, admitting: “But this in particular, as soon as I read it, I was like, ahh, I really, really, really want to do this.” So, with very little notice, he recorded a quick audition tape and sent it off. The video includes Thomas’ audition and even though his portrayal is a little less amusing than we’ve come to expect, there’s no doubting that it’s our John Helldiver.

“Within a couple days, I had gotten self tapes from Craig Lee Thomas, who plays John Helldiver,” Nickel explained. “He’s perfect. I love that man. He’s so good!”

For more, check out the 15-minute featurette on YouTube, complete with insights into the recording and mocap process, and some thoughts from the director of the opening cinematic.

Helldivers 2’s next Warbond ‘Siege Breakers’ will release tomorrow, February 3. As detailed in a recent post by Arrowhead’s social media and community manager, this Warbond is for players needing “something to smash through […] towering foe with impenetrable fortifications,“… which I’m pretty sure means it’s needed by all of us.

In September, the studio’s CEO confirmed Helldivers 3 is not in any plan developer Arrowhead has right now, saying that instead it wants Helldivers 2 to keep going for years and years, like veteran MMO RuneScape. The Helldivers 2 movie is also picking up steam, and in December, Helldivers 2 received its big 5.0.0 patch as well as its jungle-themed Python Commandos Warbond, which added a number of fan-requested weapons, including a minigun.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Nioh 3 Could be Coming to More Consoles Than Just PS5 Sooner Than You Think

Nioh 3 is slated to release on Friday, February 6, on PC via Steam and PS5, but the game’s latest trailer has revealed that Xbox and maybe even Nintendo Switch 2 owners may not have too long a wait for a version of their own.

According to the small print in the trailer, the PS5’s console exclusivity period looks set to run for just six months. This means Nioh 3 could debut on other consoles, such as Nintendo Switch 2 or Xbox Series X and S, as early as August 6, 2026, potentially marking the first time a Nioh title will be available on any console other than Sony’s PlayStation.

Though none of this is confirmed, of course — and publisher Koei Tecmo may hold off on porting to other consoles for technical and other reasons — it should be good news nonetheless for Team Ninja fans with an Xbox Series X and S looking to give it a go.

Nioh 3 was unveiled at Sony’s State of Play show in June 2025. Here’s the official blurb, as shared in the PlayStation Blog: “In Nioh 3, the protagonist is a young warrior poised to become the next Shogun. Why is he dedicated to battling against yokai? We’ll save those details for another day, but what we can tell you today is as the battles unfold, players will now be able to fight using two distinct combat styles: Samurai and Ninja.

“The Samurai style provides a gameplay experience similar to previous Nioh titles,” it adds. “New actions such as Arts Proficiency, which enhances the power of martial arts, and Deflect, which allows players to block enemy attacks at the last moment have been added, helping create a series of intense and deadly face-to-face confrontations.”

A demo is out now, progress for which carries over into the full game, plus players who complete the demo will receive the Twin-Snake helmet reward when Nioh 3 officially releases. IGN gave the original Nioh a 9.6/10, calling it “an epic, unforgettable adventure carried by a fierce combat system that cleverly balances style and strategy,” and we similarly praised Nioh 2 with a 9/10, too.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Silent Hill f Actors Appointed Tourism Ambassadors for Japanese City That Inspired the Game

Two actors from Silent Hill f revealed today that they have been appointed ambassadors of the real life location in Japan that inspired the survival horror game’s eerie setting.

Takeshi Masago, who plays Kanta Shimizu, the father of main character Hinako, and Tamami Hiraoka, who plays her mother, posted a YouTube short cryptically entitled ‘Important Announcement’ on February 2, 2026. The video begins like a solemn apology or serious announcement, with the two actors suddenly jumping for joy at the end of the video, while holding their tourism ambassador certificates.

The actors have both been made tourism ambassadors for Gero City in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture. Gero City, specifically the Kanayama-cho area with its quiet, narrow alleyways and old houses, served as inspiration for Silent Hill f’s fictional Ebisugaoka, a rural Japanese village in the 1960s.

Although Hinako’s father in the game is abusive, the actors who play her parents started uploading wholesome videos on YouTube last month of themselves going on “husband and wife dates.” The actors are not married in real life, but these videos have got some fans wishing they were. The solemn tone of the ‘important announcement’ video caught many viewers off guard, as did the ‘jump scare’ with the certificates. “I thought you were going to say ‘we’re getting married for real’ lol,” said one commenter about the tourism ambassador announcement video, with others echoing the same sentiment: “When they revealed the documents, I seriously thought for a moment that they were marriage certificates.”

As part of efforts to promote what Gero City has to offer, Masago recently visited the 300-year-old Okuhida Shuzo rice wine brewery in the area, as posted on X. Last month, the brewery released Silent Hill f themed sake and chocolates, the first batch of which quickly sold out.

Since Silent Hill f was released, many of the Japanese actors involved in the production have livestreamed all or parts of the game, while sharing behind-the-scenes stories about what filming was like. This kicked off when Hinako’s actress Konatsu Kato began livestreaming her playthrough of Silent Hill f back in October 2025, amassing over 5 million views. Shortly after, Yuuka Iijima (who plays Rinko Nishida) and Natsuki Osaki (who plays Shu Iwai) also set up YouTube Channels and did their own livestreams of the game.

Although Takeshi Masago and Tamami Hiraoka are the first game-related tourism ambassadors for Gero City, this is not the first time that video games have been used to attract visitors to lesser-known parts of Japan. Back in 2020, the Tsushima Tourist Board partnered with Sucker Punch’s hit PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima to promote the real life Japanese island. Not long after, fans banded together to raise funds to repair one of the island’s shrine gates, which was destroyed by a typhoon. The following year, Ghost of Tsushima lead developers Nate Fox and Jason Connell were made permanent tourism ambassadors to the island, for spreading its history to the world in “such a wonderful way,” according to Tsushima mayor Hiroki Hitakatsu.

Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.

Disney Lorcana Winterspell Expansion: First Hands-On With Darkwing Duck, Pocohontas, and More

Disney Lorcana kicks off the new year with its upcoming release of Winterspell, the latest expansion set for the popular card game. The eleventh set will have an early release on February 13 at your local game stores, followed by the wide release on February 20. The exciting bit for every card game and their new sets or expansions is the change in gameplay and what that means for the meta. There’s also, of course, the beautiful new cards for those collectors out there. In Winterspell, the game finally brings in characters like Pocahontas, Tod from The Fox and the Hound, and even Darkwing Duck. In addition, different versions of characters already here make an appearance, like Lilo and Stitch, alongside new friends who are prominently featured in this new set. With all these new cards and the expected power creep, players will have a good excuse to tweak some competitive decks or make new ones entirely.

Speaking of the newly introduced characters to Lorcana, Pocahontas and friends have a slew of cards to play around with. Namely, the legendary Pocahontas Peacekeeper card, which has a fun shift-related ability. When you play her onto the field using shift (which is upgrading an already played version of Pocahontas in play), you can freeze out your opponent’s characters from challenging until the start of your next turn as long as none of your characters challenged the turn it’s played. This means your characters can quest freely without having to worry about your opponent defeating them through challenges or battles on their turn. It’s quite a strong ability that also lines up with Pocahontas’ character in avoiding battles and creating peace. Some of the other cards from Pocahontas also focus on questing versus challenging, like Wisdom of the Willow or Mother’s Necklace. In a game where questing for lore ultimately wins you the match, I can see Pocahontas decks potentially lore rushing, since there are so many positives to questing with these cards than trying to control your opponent’s characters individually.

Another legendary card showcasing a new character to Lorcana is Darkwing Duck Cool Under Pressure. This character also has the ability to shift, but his power comes from his passive synergy with item cards. During the player’s turn, they may pay 1 ink or mana to deal 2 damage to a chosen character whenever an item is banished or discarded. Being the Batman-like character that he is, this is a pretty cool way to emphasize Darkwing Duck’s use of gadgets. He also has a secondary ability that allows him to challenge or battle ready characters if they have the classification of Villain on their card. Normally, you can only challenge rested or tapped characters, so unlike Pocahontas, Darkwing Dark is all about fighting. Other Darkwing Duck-related cards fall into the Steel and Sapphire type categories, which lines up with that color combo’s style of play. Between the toughness of Steel cards, and the numerous items and control cards in Sapphire, this legendary Darkwing Duck can wreak havoc with the right build.

In addition to these strong character cards, there are some location-based ones that could make games a bit more interesting. For example, the Game Preserve Protected Land location can gain Evasive itself if there’s a character with Evasive on that location. The Tod Playful Kit card, for example, has the ability to give a character evasive each time he quests, so the Game Preserve location will ideally have evasive every turn as long as Tod is on it, giving himself evasive. Another The Fox and the Hound card, Education or Elimination, is a song card with a similar ability of giving evasive. There are other location-based characters, like the new legendary Elsa Ice Artisan, which allows the owner to exert or rest a character with 3 or less strength when that Elsa or a location is played. While she’s at a location, she also gains an additional 3 lore when questing, so you want her on locations at all times. These are just some examples of the fun stuff you can do with various aspects of the gameplay getting further support.

Now that rotating sets have affected Disney Lorcana as well, that leaves players with a smaller pool of cards to optimize their decks. With that said, some older cards do get reprints, but it’s all for the sake of balancing the game. In a recent big competitive event, the top cut saw a lot of control decks with 5 of the top 8 running Sapphire. Amethyst was also popular with 5 of the top 8 players representing the color as well. Ultimately, a Sapphire/Emerald deck took the top spot in a mirror match that focused on filtering the deck with card draw alongside some removal and hand manipulation. Unfortunately, some of the new rare Sapphire and Emerald Winterspell cards don’t really work on this champion deck like Darkwing Duck, since there are no items in that deck. Still, cards like the new Moana Curious Explorer could be a worthy addition to keep your hand size while building up ink or mana through a different source like the discard pile.

Another deck in the top cut is an Amethyst/Steel deck that revolves around playing many characters, and being able to draw more because of low hand sizes and a legendary Dumbo. A new Winterspell card that could fit very well in this competitive deck is Angel Experiment 624, who can gain resist +2 if the player has no cards in hand. A fairly easy feat for a deck that likes to have fewer than 3 cards in hand. Angel also has another ability to discard a card to deal 2 damage to a chosen character. Yet another option to keep that hand size low. The deck is already proven, and this Angel card just optimizes it a bit more.

The Darkwing Duck cards make him the hero he was made to be.

One color lacking in the competitive scene lately is Ruby, with no representation in the top 32 of that recent major event from late last year. It seems to be due to the card set rotations banning certain staple cards in the currently constructed meta, so hopefully the new Ruby cards can give the color a fighting chance. For instance, this new legendary Wreck-It Ralph Raging Wrecker card is a triple threat with his ability to get stronger, quest for 3 lore, and a potential board clear if given the support. It’s a bit expensive, but it’s nothing Sapphire can’t achieve with its ramping capabilities. With this and the location support Elsa Ice Artisan, there could be some meaningful Ruby decks in this upcoming meta.

Of course, this is all speculation, but that’s the fun part about getting into new cards and brewing new decks. Do you follow the meta and tweak decks to their optimized state, or do you build a spicy meta breaker to keep your friends and opponents on their toes? The Pocahontas cards seem to favor questing and the protection of that strategy. The Darkwing Duck cards make him the hero he was made to be while making opposing characters villains with negative effects. Plus, familiar characters like Moana get a new spin for an everchanging competitive scene. Players will have a fun go with these new Winterspell cards, and it’ll be interesting to see what people gravitate towards as the season progresses. For more on Disney Lorcana, check out our interview with the game designers about the Winterspell cards we exclusively revealed.

The Best Deals Today: Sailor Moon Manga Box Set, Octopath Traveler 0, Star Wars Outlaws, and More

We’ve rounded up the best deals for Sunday, February 1, below. Don’t miss your chance to save on these deals!

Save 41% Off This Sailor Moon Manga Box Set

Sailor Moon is an incredibly popular series, and if you’re a fan, this box set could be an excellent addition to your manga shelf. This set contains volumes 1-6, plus 16 exclusive art cards and a holographic box. It’s worth noting that there is a second box set, containing volumes 7-10, so you can grab both if you want to complete your collection.

Octopath Traveler 0 for $39.99

Octopath Traveler 0 was easily one of the most overlooked RPGs of 2025. This massive game packs in a huge amount of content, with over 100 hours required to 100% the game. In our 9/10 review, we wrote, “Octopath Traveler 0 asks you to stick with a 100-hour journey, and it rewards you with the kinds of moments only lengthy RPGs can pull off with its overarching story, an intricate turn-based combat system, and a soundtrack that’ll leave you absolutely floored.”

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake for $42.56

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is an overhaul of the first two Dragon Quest games, recreating them in the gorgeous HD-2D art style while adding modern features and still remaining true to the originals. Today, you can score this game for $42.56 on PS5 at Amazon. If you’re someone just jumping into Dragon Quest for the first time or a long-time fan, this is the ultimate way to experience two games that greatly inspired the whole genre.

Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles for $34.99

Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles is just $34.99 at Woot today. As one of the best Final Fantasy games ever, this remaster is the perfect way to experience the beloved classic with enhanced modern features like fast-forward, autosave, and more.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally for $489.99

Amazon has the Asus ROG Xbox Ally on sale for $489.99, which matches the all-time low price we’ve seen before. You can save $110 on this portable PC equipped with everything you need to play or stream your Xbox games.

Pre-Order Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Today

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is up for pre-order, with a release date of April 16 revealed earlier this week. This highly anticipated game is playable on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, so you can play this copy on either console without issue. It’s time to make your own island and build a paradise for your Miis!

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition for $64.99

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was only released in December, and today, you can save $5 off a physical copy of the Switch 2 Edition at Amazon. The latest adventure of Samus Aran takes place on the planet Viewros, and you’re given new psychic abilities to utilize in navigating the secrets of the planet. In our 8/10 review, we wrote, “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an excellent, if relatively uneven, revival that reaches heights worthy of the Metroid name in its best moments.”

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Out This Week

This week, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is finally set to release. This remake aims to streamline the experience of the original game, while offering a brand-new art style and modern gameplay features for players. If you’ve recently cleared through the HD-2D Erdrick Trilogy, this is a logical next game to jump to.

A Handheld History for $26.68

If you’re looking for a game-themed coffee table book, A Handheld History is a wonderful option. This 272-page book contains a deep dive into portable gaming, with handhelds like the Game Boy, PlayStation Portable, and more included.

Star Wars Outlaws for $29.99

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws is on sale this weekend for $29.99, which is a steal for one of the hybrid system’s best third-party games. This version of Star Wars Outlaws is the Gold Edition, packing in all the DLC and updates that released.

Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut for $29.99

The Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Yakuza 0 is available on sale for $29.99 this weekend. The Director’s Cut version adds new cutscenes among other features, and it supports 4K resolution at 60FPS. While you can start with most Yakuza games, this is arguably the best entry point.

LEGO Icons Poinsettia Building Set

This LEGO Icons set is perfect for any room in your home, recreating Poinsettia flowers. Normally priced at $49.99, you can save $10 off this set for a limited time at Amazon. At 608 pieces and 8 inches tall, this is a great choice for a gift or for an addition to your own collection.