Magic The Gathering Assassin's Creed Starter Set review: Build the Brotherhood

The upshot of so many new Magic The Gathering products every year is that there are more starter kits than ever, making it easier to find an entry point.

That's ideal for existing players looking to get friends into the long-running card game, but I do wish there was a little more consistency. We last got a new starter set with Wilds of Eldraine last year, but now we're getting them in consecutive sets - Assassin's Creed and Bloomburrow.

Nonetheless, starter decks are an important piece of building confidence playing Magic, and the Assassin's Creed one does a great job of introducing players via recognisable characters from one of gaming's biggest franchises.

What's in the box?

As with any Magic The Gathering starter set, inside the box, you'll find a play guide, a pair of deck boxes, and two ready-to-play 60-card decks.

One nitpick is that there's no Magic Arena redemption code in the box, but since Assassin's Creed isn't coming to the digital version of the game, that makes sense. It's still a shame, though, since most sets (including Bloomburrow) include a pair of codes to get the starter decks in the game for two players.

Aside from that, it's business as usual - the play guide is solid, offering a clear rundown of turn order, mana usage, and key points that new players can stumble with.

I took a relative newcomer to TCGs through a handful of matches through a combination of my own knowledge and the play guide, and we had fun - but it'll naturally be a much easier process if you've got some experience of playing Magic beforehand.

Under the hood

Each of the decks in the Assassin's Creed Starter Set is helmed by a Legendary Assassin. Eivor, Battle-Ready helms the Ancient Arsenal deck, and the star of Assassin's Creed Valhalla can be powered up by Equipment cards.

That's a fun way of acknowledging Valhalla’s place in the RPG side of the Assassin's Creed Pantheon, and as you’d expect from a Viking warrior there's plenty of attacking to be done.

The Red and White deck has two copies of Raven Clan War-Axe, Headsplitter, and Hookblade for equipment, so there’s plenty of opportunity to get some on the board - particularly when paired with aggressive cards like Ezio, Brash Novice, which grows in power as it attacks.

The deck also leans into the fantastical elements of Valhalla, offering cards like Surtr, Fiery Jotun for a big 5/5 that can do some real damage in conjunction with spells.

The other deck included is a little more grounded, starring Ezio, Blade of Vengeance. He's appropriately got Deathtouch, and draws cards when you deal damage, helping you build up an army of Assassins relatively quickly thanks to their pretty low mana costs.

This Blue/Black deck skips Equipment altogether for more Instant and Sorcery options, including removals like Murder. This means there's less to keep track of for newcomers, and actually, makes it a slightly easier deck to pilot - at least based on my testing.

The key thing is that both show genuine reverence for the source material while offering different styles of play, and I can't help but wonder how good some Assassin's Creed Commander Decks would have been.

The Verdict

The Assassin's Creed Magic The Gathering Starter Kit offers a pair of well-balanced, fun decks that are ideal for Assassin's Creed fans playing the game for the first time.

At under $20/£20, they're also a fantastic value for collectors who have no interest in playing and just want a card version of Ezio or Eivor, but I'd implore anyone to give it a try.

4.5/5

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