Welcome back to yet another bargain hunt, friends. There’s no better way to recover from a weekend wallet blast than by diving headfirst into another one. I’ve been trawling through the digital bins again and, honestly, it’s a banger week if your console of choice begins with an N, S, X, or P. Below you’ll find a handful of my personal favourites across all platforms, cherry-picked for your backlog-growing pleasure.
This Day in Gaming 🎂
In retro news, I'm celebrating the 31st birthday of Earthworm Jim, a run 'n' gun platformer that's as iconic as it was bizarre. I can vividly recall being blown away by its slick character animations, as they were on par with the high [Agra]ba[h]r set by Disney's Aladdin from the year previous. Better yet, EJ oozed a unique weirdness that provided left field shifts in level-to-level gameplay and whip-worm-smart satire of tired gaming tropes. It was a crying shame when a half-arsed attempt to 3D-ify this franchise put Jim in the dirt for good.
On Switch, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a must-have if you like your ghost hunting equal parts charming and chaotic. I’ve always admired how it leans into environmental physics, especially the way curtains or cobwebs react to Luigi’s Poltergust G-00. Elsewhere, Sniper Elite 4 scratches that same sneaky-snipey itch with gruesome satisfaction. The X-ray kill cams are still some of the most wince-worthy shots in the genre.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (-14%) - A$69 – For my money, just a charming haunted-house puzzler with great physics and delightful ghostbustin'. A first-party must-have that rarely dips below RRP.
Sonic Forces (-46%) - A$32 – Not a must-own in my mind. But it’s fast, flashy, and features a create-your-own-hedgehog mode worth a chuckle.
FC 25 (-47%) - A$48 – EA’s soon to be updated sportsballer had tweaked physics and Ultimate Team enhancements. A decent update for career mode lovers.
Sniper Elite 4 (-18%) - A$49.20 – Cinematic slow-mo sniping and sandbox stealth in sunny Italy hasn't gotten old for me yet. Holds up well on Switch.
Everybody 1-2-Switch! (-24%) - A$37.90 – A party game that leans into absurdity. Fun in the right group, baffling in the wrong one. Cheap but not essential.
For Xbox Series X, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Del. is a steal at this discount. While I’m still riding the hype of its party-based RPG vibes, it’s clear BioWare hasn’t lost its knack for character chemistry. And if you love shooting and heresy, Warhammer 40K: Darktide lets you cleanse and purge across gloriously dank hive cities.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Del. (-73%) - A$38.10 – Massive discount on a sequel that, personally, didn't do it for me. Still, it's narrative-rich with a new squad of lovable misfits.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide (-28%) - A$43.30 – A grin-worthy co-op horde shooter in the grimdark future. Loud, bloody, and surprisingly deep in its loadouts.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Gold (-28%) - A$104.80 – Historically grounded RPG with brutal swordplay and a steep learning curve. For realism masochists like me.
Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy (-60%) - A$15.90 – Physics-based puzzling and platforming in gorgeous 2.5D. My two sons and I gladly co-op'd the hell out of this series.
One Piece Odyssey Del. (-55%) - A$38.20 – Turn-based RPG that's surprisingly faithful and visually stylish. Aforementioned sons: obsessed with.
Metro Saga Bndl. (-85%) - A$13.40 – I think, a value-packed 3-in-1 bundle. Atmospheric, story-driven shooters with crazy immersion. Would replay.
Xbox One
WWE 2K25 (-51%) - A$59 – Suplex city continues with improved animations, new match types, and robust creation tools.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (-20%) - A$88.10 – This annual juggernaut returned with bombastic set pieces and tried-and-true multiplayer.
Enter the Gungeon (-85%) - A$3.30 – Bullet hell dungeon-crawler packed with absurd weapons and tongue-in-cheek style. I was well addicted to.
PlayStation 5-wise, Elden Ring is a no-brainer. I can still remember the thrill of uncovering Nokron’s secret entrance long after I thought I’d seen everything. On the flipside, Star Wars Outlaws surprised me with how scrappy and sandboxy it feels, especially during speeder escapes gone wrong.
Elden Ring (-34%) - A$55.90 – Massive open-world Soulslike with legendary boss fights and eerie landscapes. An utter must-own for me.
Star Wars Outlaws (-64%) - A$40 – Scrappy third-person shooter with speeder chases and criminal underworld schmoozing. Underrated in my (post-Andor) opinion.
Ghost of Yōtei (-21%) - A$99 – Stunning visuals, stealth action, and mythic Japan vibes. I've made the quick-draw on a preorder already..
Lost Soul Aside (-19%) - A$89 – Devil May Cry-style combat with anime flair. Fast, flashy, and very pretty. Colour me enthused.
NBA 2K25 (-80%) - A$24 – Huge discount on this year’s baller sim. Still the most polished court game in town.
GT7 (-30%) - A$86.80 – A love letter to motorsport. Simulation fans will adore the depth and detail. I still play this in VR, daily.
PS4
Dark Souls Trilogy (-32%) - A$54 – Brutal, beautiful, and extremely replayable. All three Dark Souls entries in one ominous package. Buy and prepare to die.
WWE 2K25 (-70%) - A$59 – All the ring entrances, drama, and reversals at a heavyweight discount.
And on PC, Oblivion Remastered is the definition of comfort gaming. That opening prison escape still hits. But if you want fast hands and crossover chaos, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Col. lets you relive arcade days of yore with satisfying crunch and style.
Oblivion Remastered (-33%) - A$56.90 – The cult classic reborn. Cheese wheels, strange Daedra, and dungeon crawling I loved re-finishing for the dozenth time.
SteelSeries Apex 3 (-43%) - A$84.70 – Water-resistant RGB keyboard with quiet switches and premium feel. Good gear upgrade.
Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater Del. (-25%) - A$98.90 – Emergent espionage action in a Cold War jungle setting. Peak Kojima that no reissuing could screw up. Surely?
Adam Mathew is a passionate connoisseur, a lifelong game critic, and an Aussie deals wrangler who genuinely wants to hook you up with stuff that's worth playing (but also cheap). He plays practically everything, sometimes on YouTube.
Lenovo's Back to School Sale ends soon, but new deals are still popping up. One of the best deals I've seen is on this Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 10 gaming laptop, equipped with an OLED display and RTX 5070 GPU, for just $1,270.90 after you apply two coupon codes "BUYMORE4SCHOOL" and "EXTRAFIVE". That's a total of $374 in savings. The Legion 5 is Lenovo's mid-range lineup in between the budget LOQ and high-end Legion 5 Pro and offers the best value for your dollar.
Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 10 RTX 5070 Gaming Laptop for $1,271
In order to get this exact configuration, you'll need to follow these steps below.
At cart, apply codes: "BUYMORE4SCHOOL" and "EXTRAFIVE"
Final price will come out to $1,270.99 with free shipping (not including taxes)
This particular configuration is equipped with a 15" 2560x1600 165Hz OLED display, AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, 16GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The highlight here is the gorgeous OLED display. Aside from the true OLED panel, it featuers enhanced 2.5K resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, HDR 600 True Black certification, and 100% DCI-P3 color space. The Ryzen AI 7 350 is one of AMD's newer mobile processors. It's not as powerful as the HX series of processors, but it is more energy efficient and still very capable in gaming performance when paired with a discrete GPU (like the RTX 5070 GPU).
The GeForce RTX 5070 is 5%-10% better than the RTX 4070
The mobile RTX 5070 GPU performs about 5%-10% better than the RTX 4070 that it replaces. That's not a very big generational improvement, but the RTX 5070 also supports multi-frame generation, which means the margin will widen in games that support DLSS 4.0. It should have enough power to run most games at a comfortable framerate on the display's enhanced 2560x1600 resolution. If you want a significantly better performing Nvidia GPU, the next step up is the RTX 5070 Ti GPU, which does offer a pretty reasonable performance upgrade. There's one on sale right now for $1,860, but a $600 upcharge might not be worth it for you depending on which games you play.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
The pre-load for the first Open Beta of Battlefield 6 has started. Since I have access, I downloaded it early to be ready. Even though the beta isn’t live yet, I tried to start the game, but I got an error message about Secure Boot. Basically, if you don’t have Secure Boot turned on in … Continue reading Battlefield 6 will NOT run unless Secure Boot is enabled in your BIOS→
As part of its Back to School Sale, Lenovo is offering the lowest price I've seen for one of its RTX 5070 Ti equipped gaming laptops. Right now you can get the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 gaming laptop, equipped with an OLED display and RTX 5070 Ti GPU, for just $1,859.99 after you apply two stackable coupon codes "BUYMORE4SCHOOL" and "EXTRAFIVE". That's a total of $625 off in combined savings. Lenovo Legion laptops are well-rated thanks to their excellent build quality, powerful components, and robust cooling.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro Gen 10 RTX 5070 Ti Laptop for $1,860
Apply both codes: "BUYMORE4SCHOOL" and "EXTRAFIVE"
This particular configuration is equipped with a 16" 2560x1600 165Hz OLED display, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 32GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Legion Pro features an aluminum top lid and a sturdy plastic bottom chassis. The display is an absolute stunner thanks to the true OLED panel with a razor sharp 2.5K 189ppi resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, HDR 1000 True Black certification, and 100%DCI-P3 color space. This new 2025 model has also been updated with the Wi-Fi 7 standard. Connectivity options include a Thunderbolt 4 port with DisplayPort 2.1, a USB Type-C port with up to 100W of Power Delivery, an RJ45 ethernet port, and an HDMI 2.1 port. The 80Whr battery can charge to 80% in just 30 minutes.
The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a top performing CPU
The Legion Pro 5 is equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX Arrow Lake-HX processor, which boasts a max turbo frequency of 5.4GHz with a whopping 24 cores and 40MB total L2 cache. According to Passmark, this is second most powerful Intel mobile CPU available right now and goes head to head with AMD's Ryzen 9 9955HX.
The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU is better than the RTX 4080 mobile
The Legion Pro 5 laptop offers a more substantial cooling design than the Legion 5 (non-Pro) and is able to accomodate more powerful GPUs like the RTX 5070 Ti. That's important if you want to be able to play games comfortably on the display's enhanced 2560x1600 resolution. The RTX 5070 Ti mobile GPU is a substantial upgrade over the 4070 Ti. In fact, it offers gaming performance on par with the RTX 4080 and takes the lead in any games that support DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation (the RTX 4080 only supports DLSS 3). You'd have to pay hundreds more to upgrade to an RTX 5080.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
If you're seeking the absolute best of the best in PC gaming performance, look no further. As part of a greater Back to School Sale, Alienware has just dropped the price of its flagship Alienware Area-51 prebuilt gaming PC equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card to $4,499.99 with free shipping. This is a competitive price for a prebuilt RTX 5090 gaming PC compared to similarly equipped systems from other boutique PC builders, which is impressive considering the fact that the Alienware brand usually commands a price premium.
Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 Gaming PC From $4,499.99
This least expensive Alienware Area-51 RTX 5090 gaming PC configuration is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K processor with 240mm liquid cooling, 32GB of DDR5-6400MHz RAM, and 2TB SSD storage. For an extra $250, you can upgrade to the Core Ultra 9 285K with 360mm liquid cooling. The Core Ultra 7 is already an excellent gaming CPU and you won't see any uplift in performance going with the Core Ultra 9. However, if you're a professional in need of the extra cores that the Core Ultra 9 offers (for example with AI generation), then the upgrade is worth it.
The RTX 5090 Is the Most Powerful Graphics Card Ever
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has emerged as the most powerful consumer GPU on the market. Although Nvidia has prioritized software updates, AI features, and DLSS 4 technology to improve gameplay performance, the 5090 still boasts an impressive 25%-30% uplift over the RTX 4090 in terms of pure hardware-based raster performance. The 5090 also has more (32GB vs. 24GB) and faster (GDDR7 vs. GDDR6) VRAM compared to the 4090. Although Nvidia GPU prices have been trending downwards, it's still difficult to find a 5090 card for below $2,500.
Check out more of the best Alienware deals
Check out our Best Alienware Deals article with all of Dell's currently ongoing deals on gaming laptops and desktop PCs. Not everyone is the DIY type. If you're in the market for a prebuilt gaming PC, Dell is one of the best brands we'd recommend. Alienware desktops and laptops feature solid build quality, top-of-the-line gaming performance, excellent cooling (further improved on the newer models), aggressive styling, and pricing that is very competitive with other pre-built options. Best of all, there are plenty of sales that happen throughout the year, so it's not difficult to grab one of these computers at considerably less than their retail price.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Netflix’s Castlevania series is getting the box set treatment. The Blu-ray collection of all four seasons comes packed with bonus features, including a ouija board, making it a solid home entertainment release as well as a great collectible for fans of the original Konami game series and its screen adaptation.
The Castlevania box set is currently available to preorder for $158.99 (see here at Amazon or the Crunchyroll Store) and is set to release on September 30.
A Special Edition Blu-ray Set of Castlevania Is Releasing September 30
The Blu-ray set from Viz Media includes all four seasons of the show, which originally aired (well, streamed) on Netflix from 2017 to 2021. The full set comes packaged in a rather luxurious looking box with golden rose decals. A painted “family” portrait of Alucard, Sypha, and Trevor is featured on the front.
Inside the box are six discs packaged in their own case with an artistic rendering of Dracula's Castle on the front. It’s all quite gothic and ,in my opinion, manages to capture the vibe of the medieval fantasy show. Since its announcement, the box set has zoomed to the top of Amazon’s bestselling anime list.
Unfortunately, the box set is only available as a rather pricey collector’s edition, currently going for $154.98 on both Amazon and the Crunchyroll Store (though Crunchyroll members can apply their membership discounts). If you’re looking for a more affordable option, you can also pick up individual seasons on Blu-ray.
On the plus side, that price gets you plenty of accessories and bonus features in addition to the series itself. Here’s the full list of what’s included:
72-page Color Booklet
Window Clings
Castlevania Themed Tarot Cards
Ouija Game Board and Game Piece
Art Galleries
Storyboards
Trailers
Production Animatics
Voice Actor Interviews
IGN's review of Castlevania's first season describes it as “a welcome reminder that video games actually can make for compelling TV when the right people are put in charge.” By the second season, we went so far as to call Castlevania the "king of video game adaptations."
While the original series closed with its fourth season, the spin-off Castlevania: Nocturne premiered in 2019. A second season arrived on Netflix this past January. As of now, we've yet to hear any updates about future renewals.
USB Type-C might be the new standard, but there's a good chance you still own PC peripherals that use the legacy USB Type-A to charge and connect, especially if you don't change out your mouse or keyboard or headset every year. Here's a simple and inexpensive solution to this problem. For a limited time, Amazon is offering a 3-pack of Basesailor USB Type-C to USB Type-A Adapters for only just $3.80 after you apply coupon code "NL43TTBJ". That comes out to only $1.27 per adapter. At this price you might as well have some to keep around just in case.
3-Pack USB Type-C to USB Type-A Adapters for $3.80
The package includes three pieces of the USB Type-A (female) to USB Type-C (male) dongles. These are USB 3.0 certified, meaning they support data transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps. These are perfect for connecting and charging your wireless headset, keyboard, mouse, card readers, or any other peripheral that still uses the older USB Type-A standard. They're also fine for connecting external storage drives although, depending on the type of drive, you may not be able to max out the drive's maximum speeds (especially if the drive uses an NVMe SSD).
The dongles don't support fast charging over Power Delivery, so they're not ideal for charging your iPhone or Nintendo Switch, although you can still charge them in an emergency albeit at a slower rate. These adapters are small so they won't protude much, and the casing is machined out of aluminum alloy. For just over $1 apiece, they're practically disposable.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
With cards that range from supernovas to spaceships, it’s peculiar that much of the community is most intrigued by a new lobster that can eat through artifacts to heal you and deal damage to rivals.
Let’s meet our new crustacean overlord, thanks to data from TCGPlayer.
Climbers: I’ll Have the Lobster
Kicking our climbers off with our Boros boss, Ragost, Deft Gastronaut is going for a couple of bucks in the showcase treatment.
He’s nowhere near the most valuable cards in Edge of Eternities, and dovetails nicely with Jumpstart’s Tempting Witch, a card that creates food tokens and also triggers damage. It’s ‘jumped’, but only to 13 cents, and might be worth a look for a Mardu deck.
As we noted recently, The Gaffer is a popular card, and we’re including it again as it’s hit new heights of over $12. For context, it was under $4 just a few weeks ago.
For additional synergies, why not chuck in the Nuka-Cola Vending Machine? It’s hardly a cheap card at around $18 for the non-foil, but it gives you more food tokens and turns them into Treasure tokens for ramp. You could build quite a powerful engine from these cards.
Finally, Academy Manufactor is an obvious pick for synergies here, since it gives you three (different) tokens for the price of one. It’s up to $6.
Bonus: The Most Valuable EoE Cards This Week
Edge of Eternities is packed with cool cards, and since it just launched last week, I thought I'd take a moment during this week's article to look at the priciest cards in the set so you can keep an eye out when you’re cracking packs (or any you want to eye up as standalone purchases, saucy).
Some of other the highest-value cards in the set include Icetill Explorer (Showcase – Fracture Foil) at $382.16, followed by Exalted Sunborn at $320, and Starfield Vocalist at $287.55, both in the same Showcase – Fracture Foil treatment.
Anticausal Vestige is priced at $198.68, just ahead of The Endstone at $198.40 and an alternate version of Sothera, the Supervoid at $197.99, all in the Showcase – Fracture Foil style.
Devastating Onslaught comes in at $159.85, while The Dominion Bracelet is listed at $121.82. Rounding out the group is Uthros, Titanic Godcore (Borderless – Galaxy Foil), which currently sits at $92.52.
It's worth noting that these prices are taken around launch weekend, so they’ll fluctuate considerably as more product floods the market. We’ll be keeping an eye on things in the weeks to come, but expect big swings either way.
Crashers: Songs and Spellcraft
If you’ve got a landfall deck, The Wandering Minstrel from the Final Fantasy set is under a dollar and means your tap-lands come in nice and untapped. It’s not a big drop, but it’s an easy recommendation because that utility is super helpful at a nice low cost in Simic colors.
If you want to get some Legendary Creatures on the board quickly, Serah Farron can help. This Final Fantasy card lowers the cost of Legendary Creatures, then transforms into an artifact that powers them up, all for under $1.
Baloth Woodcrasher could be a lot of fun in an upgraded version of the World Shaper Commander deck, getting extra power and trample with land drops. Considering how many lands are included, plus Szarel, Genesis Shepherd’s ability to play them from your graveyard, you can keep hitting opponents for big numbers each turn for 8 cents.
If you don’t mind mixing up your Final Fantasy titles, Noctis, Prince of Lucis could be a really neat addition to the Scions and Spellcraft Commander precon. He can pay life to get artifact spells from the graveyard, while Y’Shtola, Night’s Blessed can help you get some of that life back.
From spaceships to planets, this new sci-fi universe is a stark departure even in a year that’s included Aetherdrift, Tarkir, and Final Fantasy, and early impressions seem to be positive.
To clarify, these are the best-selling Edge of Eternities cards so far, thanks to data from TCGPlayer, and it's changed a fair amount from our initial coverage during pre-release.
Here are the best-selling Magic: The Gathering cards of Edge of Eternities so far.
Where to Buy MTG Edge of Eternities Sealed Boosters
Play Boosters are now the standard way to crack open Magic packs, having replaced both Set and Draft Boosters. But if you're on the hunt for rare cards, Collector Boosters are the best option.
These packs are more expensive, but are much more likely to include various foil treatments, extended arts, and all sorts. There are usually 5 Commons, 4 Uncommons, 5 Rare or Mythic Rare cards, a Land and a Token, but the rub here is that 6 of the included cards have a 'booster Fun frame' and 12-13 of them are foil.
Surprisingly, stock is already running low on Amazon for most Edge of Eternities boosters. That said, sites like TCGPlayer still have a solid supply, and in some cases, better prices too.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He's a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife's dismay.
From soaring with dragons to facing off against Sephiroth and Aang, Magic: The Gathering has a packed year ahead. 2025 marks the first full cycle under Wizards of the Coast’s new release strategy, which splits the calendar evenly between the more classic Magic-original sets and the wildly popular "Universes Beyond" crossovers.
Most of the year’s main sets (aside from Avatar: The Last Airbender) are already available to preorder or buy on Amazon. That said, please also consult your local game store to find out when they're accepting preorders as well.
MTG: 2025 Release Calendar - At a Glance
Here’s your set-by-set guide to what’s dropping in 2025, breaking down release dates, when you can get your hands on everything, where you can preorder, and even includes a running list of every Secret Lair drop so far this year. We're starting off with a quick glance over the 2025 release calendar, but let's jump into a more in-depth look as well.
The debut set of the Marvel and Wizards of the Coast partnership features Spider-Man and will be swinging onto shelves this fall!
Players can expect to see cards based around not only Spidey himself but also members of his rogues gallery, including the Green Goblin, Doc Oc, and even the winner of 1988’s “Best Tongue Award," Venom. Unfortunately, this set won’t see any preconstructed decks.
This set will be getting a special type of product, however, with the Scene Box. Along with three play boosters, this set will give you six special borderless art cards that can be positioned to form a single action-packed scene that looks like it was pulled straight from the comics, featuring Spidey fending off villains, which can be displayed on the included paper easel.
Players on Wizards’ digital MTG client, Magic Arena and Magic Online, will also see the Spider-Man set, albeit without Spider-Man. Wizards has opted to create a duplicate Marvel-free set that is functionally identical but without any of the characters or imagery, referred to as “Through the Omenpaths” as a digital-only release.
Universes Beyond Avatar: The Last Airbender - Nov. 21
Closing out the year will be Aang and company with Universes Beyond - Avatar: The Last Airbender. Currently, outside of its existence, very little is known about this set, including what products will be released for it.
All we know is that we players can expect their favorite characters to show up, beautiful artwork, and an elemental showdown. But, if Wizards of the Coast nails the artwork and card mechanics, this could be one of the coolest Universes Beyond sets we have ever seen. Stay tuned for more news.
Every MTG Set Released So Far in 2025
Here's every Magic: The Gathering set released in 2025 so far, ordered from most recent release (Edge of Eternities), all the way to the first release of the year (Innistrad Remastered).
Edge of Eternities - Aug. 1, 2025 (Out Now)
Space, the final frontier. This is the theme for Edge of Eternities, the Summertime Magic set. Its mission, to introduce space-fantasy into the realm of Magic: The Gathering, explore strange new worlds, and to seek out new planeswalkers and combos.
This will mark the first time that Wizards is taking players into a more space-fantasy landscape, including slinging spells against aliens. It remains to be seen if there will be space wizards with swords made of light, however.
Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy - Jun. 13, 2025 (Out Now)
Already revealed to be the best-selling Magic set in the game's almost 35-year history, the Universes Beyond Final Fantasy set is a love letter designed by fans for fans. Featuring a larger set than normal, the cards here will showcase each of the 16 core Final Fantasy games' iconic heroes, villains, creatures, and locations.
The four preconstructed Commander decks are based around specific games, including VI, VII, X, and the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, each of which is available as both standard and collector versions.
While most of the commander decks and various other bundles are currently out of stock at major retailers, here's the pages to bookmark in case of restocks. It's also worth bookmarking this page, and following @IGNDeals on Twitter/X and Bluesky for further updates.
Tarkir Dragonstorm - Apr. 11, 2025 (Out Now)
Tarkir Dragonstorm returns players to the plane of Tarkir, which was last seen back in 2014, and once again features not only a ton of powerful dragons but also the various clans that rule this land.
The five clans, the Abzan Houses, the Jeskai Way, the Sultai Brood, Mardu Horde, and the Temur Froniter, each are built around different slices of the color pie, and this uniqueness is further expanded on with Dragonstor, with each clan, along with the dragons themselves, featuring new specialty mechanics tailored to their playstyle.
Big creatures, cool abilities, and more dragons to cram into your Ur Dragon EDH deck are here for fans, and on the topic of Commander, this set also features five different precon decks, with each one made for each clan.
Aetherdrift - Feb. 14, 2025 (Out Now)
If you were to summarize Aetherdrift as “Magic with racecars,” you would be a good 80% there. A large, multiversal race, known as the Ghirapur Grand Prix, is taking place in Avishkar, and racers from planes including Duskmourn and Amonket, among others are in attendance.
One of the special mechanics unique to Aetherdrift is “Speed,” where cards can get better, the more of these speed tokens they have, and along with the special showcase art cards, which resemble ’80s racing posters, really help the “professional racing” aesthetic land with this set. It also has Chandra the Planeswalker doing the Akira slide on a card.
Innistrad Remastered - Jan. 24, 2025 (Out Now)
Innistrad is Magic’s original Gothic Horror plane that first dropped back in 2011. These Remastered sets are special releases that include beloved card reprints and mechanics with some updates sprinkled in.
Innistrad Remastered started out the year giving players a new chance to get fan-favorite cards like Edgar Markov, Liliana of the Veil, and Archangel Avacyn. This set is a great way to introduce newer players to some of the game’s fabled history.
Secret Lair Releases - 2025 So Far
Animar and Friends - February 3
This five-card set includes art from Jack Teagle for Mulldrifter, All Will Be One, Benevolent Hydra, Forgotten Ancient and Animar, Soul of Elements.
Artist Series: Jesper Ejsing - February 10
This Secret Lair drop includes four cards with artwork from Danish illustrator Jesper Ejsing, including Sun Titan, Deflecting Swat, Llanowar Elves and Breeches, Eager Pillager.
Lorwyn Lightboxes - February 10
Still available from Wizards at the time of writing, Lorwyn Lightboxes are stylised versions of Ancient Ampitheater, Auntie’s Hovel, Gilt-Leaf Palace, Secluded Glen and Wanderwine Hub.
City Styles 2: Dressed to Kill - February 10
Giving an urban theme to Karmic Guide, Ninja of the Deep Hours, Captain Sisay, Selvala, Explorer Returned and Veyran, Voice of Duality, this Secret Lair is long gone.
Arcade Racers - February 10
With gorgeous pixel art, arcade theming, these versions of Big Score, Final Fortune, Heat Shimmer, Roiling Vortex, and Wheel of Misfortune are eye-catching and still in stock.
Aether Drifters - February 10
Aping the design of Hot Wheels packaging, these Aether Drifters include reversible cards for six vehicles including Mechtitan Core and Smuggler’s Copter.
Featuring: Mitsuhiro Arita - February 10
This collection offers four Magic The Gathering cards from longtime Pokemon illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita. Murktide Regent, Lightning Bolt, Shorikai Genesis Machine and Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice look incredible.
Cats vs Dogs - March 17
This double drop pits canines against felines. Both include Escape to the Wilds, Titanic Ultimatum, Rip Apart, Arcane Signet and Basilisk Collar, but with art to signify your chosen species.
Spongebob: Squarepants - March 24
With Spongebob and pals taking cardboard forms, collectors can grab 7 individual pieces, including Plankton, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and, of course, Patrick Star and Spongebob SquarePants himself as part of the Legends of Bikini Bottom set.
There’s also a Lands bundle for the Nickelodeon favorite, and a meme-focused set of spells, too.
Twisted Toons - March 24
A little Spongebob-adjacent, these full-art, Toon-inspired cards give us Cuphead vibes.
Tragic Romance - March 24
Following a ‘Romantasy’ theme, these cards include Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, Master of Cruelties, Angel of Despair and Kaalia of the Vast.
They Grow Up So Fast - March 24
This Dragon-centric drop has five cards, each with two versions of Dragonlords like Atarka and Dromoka. Both versions are the same card, but with a young and mature version of each dragon.
Pick’em and Stick’em - March 24
This intriguing set is still in stock, and offers cards and accompanying stickers for players to customise them with. Clever Impersonator, Hedron Crab, Pitiless Plunderer, a Treasure Token and Thalia, Heretic Cathar are included.
Garden Buds - March 24
Billed as the last remnants of an Ashaya, Soul of the Wild Commander deck that was lost to time, these seed-style cards include Harrow, Elvish Reclaimer, World Shaper and Horn of Greed with art from Jordan Crane.
Oishi! Tokens - March 26
Inspired by Japanese food packaging, this set includes four Food Tokens, and is sold out.
Secret Lair x Marvel’s Deadpool - April 1
The Merc with a Mouth’s Secret Lair has sold out, but it’s well worth a look if you can find it on the secondhand market. Fourth Wall-breaking versions of Deadly Rollick, Saw in Half, Blasphemous Act and Vandalblast are here, as well as Deadpool, Trading Card.
Adventures of the Little Witch - April 22
This adorable set has Secret Rendezvous, Serenity, Esika’s Chariot and Realms Uncharted, all with Heikala’s inimitable artwork and use of color.
VROOOOOMMMMMM - April 28
Toru Terada lends his incredible art to Lava Dart, Monastery Swiftspear, Soul-Scar Mage, Underworld Breach, and Mishra’s Bauble. Still available, too.
Everything Is On Fire - April 28
This set is all about bringing the heat, with spicy new art for Chain Lightning, Dragon’s Rage Channeller, Lava Spike, Rift Bolt and Skewer the Critics.
Featuring: Jay Howell - April 28
Jay Howell’s Secret Lab set includes cartoonish versions of Marchesa, the Black Rose, Uncivil Unrest, Treasonous Ogre, Priest of Forgotten Gods and Agent of Treachery, all from the guy who designed the cast of Bob’s Burgers.
Secret Lair X KEXP: Where the Music Matters - April 28
This set of Land cards includes two of each basic land type for a total of 10 in the set, and is inspired by the independent radio station KEXP.
Secret Lair X KEXP: You Are Not Alone - April 28
Another KEXP collab, this one has a series of colorful card varients that lean into a “group-hug” deck theme. Cultural Exchange, Folio of Fancies, Concordant Crossroads, Rites of Flourishing and Font of Mythos are included.
Everyone’s Invited! - May 12
This double rainbow foil Secret Lair drop is still available (for $200, we might add) and includes Shapeshifters, Dryads, Elementals, Faeries, Slivers, Cats and more. Ten foil cards, four foil tokens, one foil display card and 90 reprints.
Slay the Day - May 19
The latest set at the time of writing includes Marwyn, the Nurturer as well as Liesa, Shroud of Dusk, Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, and Slythis, Harvest’s Hand.
MTG Product Key - What to Buy?
Here is a breakdown of the standard types of products that sets release with and what they include.
Play Boosters
These are standard bread-and-butter 15-card packs of random cards. Each pack is composed of 7 common cards, 3 uncommon cards, 1 rare or mythic rare card, 1 basic land, 1 non-foil wild car, 1 foil wild card, and 1 ad, token, helper, or art card.
Most booster boxes contain 30 of these 15-card packs, though some special sets may contain fewer (usually 24).
Collector Boosters
Much like the Play Boosters, Collector Boosters also have 15 random cards in the pack. Still, these special packs contain more cards of higher rarities, special foiling, unique art or bordered cards, double-sided tokens, and potentially other bonuses.
These packs are also far more expensive than a typical Play Booster, and Collector Booster Boxes also only contain 12 packs of these elusive cards.
Commander Decks
The Commander format may have started as a community-driven format, but Wizards of the Coast has adopted it and now releases its own preconstructed 100-card Commander decks.
Each deck comes with two possible cards that can serve as the deck’s commander (Commander creatures have to be a Legendary creature, and whose color identity dictates the color cards that can be included in the deck.)
Each deck contains any required tokens for the deck, a 2-card Collector Booster sample pack, a strategy insert explaining its respective deck, and a reference card.
Collector’s Edition Commander Decks
Similar to Collector Boosters, these special Commander decks are functionally identical to their standard version counterparts, except with some special art and foiling for collectors.
Their prices are also far higher, and their lower print runs make them tough to get.
Bundle
Bundle products are great options for gifts, or if you want some packs of cards but also some nifty extras, too. Each bundle comes with 9 Play Booster packs, a bunch of basic land cards (unique to the given set), a pretty dice (usually a d20), and a storage box.
If you and each friend get a bundle, it can make for a fun draft experience, too.
Gift Bundle
The Gift Bundle is nearly identical to the standard bundle except for two things—it comes with a Collector Booster in addition to the standard nine play boosters, and the storage box has a bit more flair and foiling.
Prerelease Packs
Prerelease packs are special releases that you can get at your local game store during a set’s Prerelease launch event, containing six play boosters, a special promo card, and a special life counter - everything you need to create a small 40-card deck to compete against other attendees.
There tend to be various themes of these packs for players to pick from, with some cards that are more tailored to that specific faction or color combination.
Starter Kit
The Starter Kit is a product designed to introduce the game to new players. It contains two 60-card decks, boxes to store them, and instructional aids to help walk the two players through their first games.
As an added bonus, these also tend to include redemption codes to unlock the decks on Magic Arena, the digital Magic: The Gathering platform.
Released Sets of 2024: A Look Back
Magic: The Gathering Foundations – November 15, 2024
Capping off the year, Foundations arrived as Magic’s new entry-level product aimed squarely at newcomers. With simplified cards, curated reprints, and a structure reminiscent of Jumpstart, it was designed to make onboarding smoother than ever.
It’s the clearest sign yet that Wizards wants to bolster Magic’s long-term future by making the game more accessible without sacrificing its core identity.
Duskmourn: House of Horror – October 2024
Halloween season brought with it Duskmourn: House of Horror, one of the boldest thematic swings Magic has taken in years. Set entirely within a haunted mansion, it channeled modern horror vibes through its claustrophobic design, disturbing card art, and jump scare flavor. Instead of the usual plane-spanning scope, this set kept things intimate and creepy — and it worked.
Bloomburrow – August 2, 2024
If Duskmourn was the year’s most terrifying set, Bloomburrow was its most adorable. Set on a plane with no humans, it introduced a cast of heroic woodland critters — squirrels, frogs, bats, and more — banding together to defend their home. With its storybook aesthetic and approachable mechanics, Bloomburrow offered a lighter, friendlier take on the game that still held plenty of strategic depth.
Secret Lair: Monty Python and the Holy Grail – July 29, 2024
A standout among this year’s Secret Lair drops, the Monty Python and the Holy Grail collaboration leaned fully into the absurd. Split across two releases, it packed classic Magic cards with deeply specific Python references — from coconuts-as-horses to the European vs. African swallow gag — making it a bizarre, quotable delight for fans of the 1975 film.
Universes Beyond: Assassin’s Creed – July 5, 2024
July also saw the release of Magic’s crossover with Assassin’s Creed, adding another chapter to the Universes Beyond initiative. Sold in Beyond Boosters rather than traditional draft packs, the set emphasized thematic resonance over gameplay structure. Featuring major characters like Ezio, Altair, and historical icons like Leonardo da Vinci, it managed to blend stealth and strategy while staying Modern-legal.
Modern Horizons 3 – June 14, 2024
The third Modern Horizons entry didn’t hold back. Released in June, it introduced powerful new cards, format-defining reprints, and returning mechanics like Energy. Double-faced planeswalkers made a triumphant comeback, echoing Magic Origins, and familiar worlds like Zendikar and Theros helped inject a nostalgic punch. The draft format, meanwhile, was one of the deepest of the year.
Outlaws of Thunder Junction – April 19, 2024
Magic went full Western in April with Outlaws of Thunder Junction, a stylish and surprisingly villain-centric set. This was a rootin’-tootin’ showcase of bandits, bounty hunters, and black hats, complete with new mechanics like Plot and Spree. It pushed flavor to the forefront, giving Magic one of its most cohesive and playful settings in recent memory.
Universes Beyond: Fallout – March 8, 2024
March gave Commander players a radioactive treat with Universes Beyond: Fallout. The set delivered four thematically distinct Commander decks, tapping into iconic factions and characters from the Fallout games — Brotherhood of Steel, Super Mutants, Vault Dwellers, and more. With its retro-futuristic flair and solid deck construction, it proved a strong crossover effort.
Murders at Karlov Manor – February 9, 2024
Murders at Karlov Manor reimagined Ravnica through the lens of a murder mystery, complete with suspects, disguises, and evidence to collect. It introduced new mechanics to match the whodunit theme and even crossed over with Clue for an extra meta twist. It was a narrative-forward set that let Magic flex some genre muscles outside of its usual fantasy fare.
Ravnica Remastered – January 12, 2024
The year opened with a love letter to one of Magic’s most beloved settings. Ravnica Remastered compiled highlights from the city-plane’s long history, featuring cards from across its three blocks with updated art and retro-frame treatments. From powerful shock lands to fan-favorite guild cards, it was a nostalgia-rich start to the year for both collectors and players alike.
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and guide coverage. Follow him on X/Twitter or Bluesky.
Includes contributions from Christian Wait and Robert Anderson.
Shift Up has just released Title Update 1.3.0 for Stellar Blade and shares its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new patch brings to the table. Update 1.3.0 will improve the Photo Mode. Now, when you choose a logo, the game shows the logo control clearly. It also fixes how save times are … Continue reading Stellar Blade Title Update 1.3.0 Released – Full Patch Notes→
It’s August, so a new batch of LEGO sets is either now available or coming soon. And whoa boy are there a lot of new sets this month. The new LEGO releases include a bunch of One Piece sets based on the live-action Netflix show, plus new Fortnite, Star Wars, Marvel, Animal Crossing, and a whole lot more sets. Tons of new sets are out this month, so check out all of them on Amazon or the LEGO Store, or read on for our picks for the best below.
Featured in this article
If you want a loot at all the coolest new LEGO sets for August 2025, scroll through the catalog above. If you like having things segmented out into themes, keep reading.
There’s never a shortage of awesome Star Wars LEGO sets, and this month is yet another absolute banger. I absolutely love the AT-ST Walker from the Ultimate Collector Series. However, Wicket the Ewok is adorable as a brick-built character, and this take on Jango Fett’s Starship is much more affordable than the previous one. And since Andor is one my favorite Star Wars stories, that K-2SO Security Droid set is looking mighty tempting…
Some cool new LEGO Marvel sets are out this month. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I always loved the Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock subway train scene from Spider-Man 2, so I’ll run with that. But you really can’t go wrong this month. Also check out our We Build LEGO Iron Spider-Man Bust feature to see how that one comes together.
LEGO Icons Transformers: Soundwave
Soundwave is one of the coolest Decepticons in all of Transformers. He’s a robot that can transform into a boom box — I mean, come on, that’s just awesome. And now you can build him along with two cassettes, or “Recordicons,” which also transform. Check out our We Build LEGO Transformers Soundwave feature to for details on this set to see if you want to pick it up for yourself.
This is the first time the “manga/anime/live-action” series gotten any LEGO sets, and they decided to go all in. These seven One Piece sets are all based on the Netflix life-action show, but the show hews close to the anime, and with LEGO you can’t really tell the difference. The Baratie Floating Restaurant set is the only one aimed at adults in this bunch, but The Going Merry Pirate Ship is cheaper while also being impressive and excellent.
LEGO Disney & Pixar Wall-E & EVE Is Up for Preorder
Some of my favorite Pixar characters are getting the full LEGO treatment, with this new Wall-E and EVE set. Not only that, but even in brick-built form, they maintain all the personality they have in the movie. This one’s available for preorder now, with a September 1 release date.
LEGO Batman Forever Batmobile
Say what you will about the movie Batman Forever. I only watched it once, in the theater, and I recall being entertained. But the design of the Batmobile is one of the coolest of them all, IMO. It has a whole spiky, gilled thing on, with an absurdly oversized tail fin. It looks great. Check out our We Build LEGO Batman Forever Batmobile feature for details on how it comes together.
LEGO and Minecraft go together like sand and the beach. There are plenty of LEGO Minecraft sets to choose from, but maybe you like one of these new ones? The Enderman Tower is a standout.
The LEGO/Nintendo partnership continues to bear fruit, with dozens and dozens of sets to choose from. Along the way, the companies have been quietly been building up an impressive array of LEGO Animal Crossing sets. I particularly like Blather’s Museum Collection in this month’s new releases since digging up fossils was one of my favorite things to do in New Horizons.
LEGO Game Boy Is Up for Preorder
Speaking of LEGO and Nintendo, the LEGO Game Boy went up for preorder recently. It’s not out until October, but it’s already become IGN’s top-selling item of the year on Amazon. That’s probably because it’s a 1:1 size scale re-creation of the classic handheld gaming device, and it comes with two Game Paks, and it only costs $59.99.
LEGO Fortnite Mecha Team Leader
Speaking of video games, a new LEGO Fortnite set is out now, and it’s a doozy. Mecha Team Leader first appeared in Season 9 as part of the Final Showdown Set. The LEGO version is a huge build aimed at adults, consisting of 2,503 pieces. It looks super impressive.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Medieval Horse Knight Castle
For a lot of LEGO sets, it’s kind of a bummer that once you build them, you’re kind of done with them. Kids can play with their sets, and adults can put theirs on display, but that’s about the extent of it. With 3-in-1 sets, you can break them down and re-build them into another set entirely. That’s pretty rad. Check out our We Build LEGO 3-in-1 Medieval Horse Knight Castle for details on this new one.
LEGO Architecture Neuschwanstein Castle
LEGO architecture sets are all based on real-world buildings, and they’re often stunning re-creations. This one, of Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavaria region of southern Germany, at the base of the Alps, is just gorgeous. From the dozens of windows to the pointy spires and the many trees lining the base of the mountainous terrain, it’s a beautiful set.
LEGO Arcade Machine
LEGO has a handful of arcade machine builds already, including this great PAC-MAN one. But the newest arcade set is this nostalgic build based on a generic “Space” game. You can drop a LEGO coin into the slot and it’ll shoot out the coin return. Inside, it houses a retro gaming room, complete with a CRT TV. It even has a minifigure and a mini arcade cabinet you build to put in the room.
Ford Bronco - $64.99 Finally we have a new batch of LEGO Technic sets, the highlight of which is probably that massive excavator, but it's a pricy pickup. You might be better off grabbing one of the cars, an Aston Martin Valkyrie or Ford Bronco (not white, probably for obvious reasons for anyone old like me).
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
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