Onslaught expansion will introduce "morph" mechanic and feature tribal cards with eight different creature types

September 26, 2002 (Renton, Wash.) - Two powerful, opposing quests - one for redemption, the other for revenge - collide in Wizards of the Coast's upcoming release of Onslaught(tm), the new Magic: The Gathering® game expansion. Wizards said today it is on track with plans to release Onslaught for Magic: The Gathering October 7, and the Onslaught expansion for Magic: The Gathering Online November 1. Onslaught will be previewed in pre-release tournaments September 28-29, throughout the world including Pro Tour®-Boston, the first stop on the 2002-2003 Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour circuit.

With the release of Onslaught comes a brand-new game mechanic - "Morph." To take advantage of this new ability, players play a card face-down. Then, whenever the player is ready, he or she pays the morph cost and flips the creature over, revealing it for what it really is. A morphed card cannot be countered or responded to, making it a powerful addition to a player's deck.

Onslaught also features tribal cards from eight different creature races, including goblins, elves, wizards, and zombies. The power of tribal cards increases as you put into play more creatures of a particular race.

Onslaught also marks the return of a long-time favorite - Clone, a card that lets players replicate a creature already in play - and the cycling mechanic. Cycling cards allow the player to discard a designated card, draw a card and can at the same time produce an effect, such as countering a target spell, tapping a target creature or dealing damage to each creature.

"Onslaught offers a lot for experienced and new players in tournament and casual play," explained Kyle Murray, Magic: The Gathering director of marketing. "Combining the tribal cards with the new morphing ability gives players more ways to play more creatures. The release of a new set like Onslaught, with 350 cards that are new to all players, also presents a great opportunity to check out Magic Online."

Story Overview

Key characters at odds in Onslaught are human males Kamahl (green) and Ixidor (blue), a new character. Kamahl is on a quest of redemption to save his sister, Jeska, who was captured and transformed to the evil Phage (black), a merciless pit fighter loyal to the Cabal. Blaming Kamahl for her creation, Phage possesses a warped hatred for her brother. Phage is also the source of Ixidor's rage. The master of illusion lost his battle partner and lover in a pit fight with Phage and has been driven mad by grief. In a tenuous alliance, Kamahl and Phage must battle Ixidor and the angelic Akroma (white), created by Ixidor to slay his enemies. The Onslaught action takes place in several settings, including: the Wirewood Forest, a vast birch forest claimed by refugee elves; the goblin-filled mountains of Shirk Ridge; Aphetto City, the primary headquarters of the Cabal; and, the Grand Coliseum, where all major pit fights take place, among other locations.

The Magic: The Gathering game, invented by Richard Garfield and first released in 1993, is the most widely played trading card game, with an active base of more than seven million players in 52 countries. Magic: The Gathering trading card games are available in nine languages. More than 100,000 official tournaments are held annually, hosted by the DCI(tm) players' organization, the governing authority for all officially sanctioned Magic tournaments.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games (TCGs).

Magic: The Gathering, Magic and Onslaught are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. ©2002 Wizards.