Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast

Magic's new expansion Hour of Devastation is almost here, and we have a new split card to show you ahead of the set's release. Take a look at Driven to Despair.

As an Aftermath card, Driven and Despair are played as separate spells—once from your hand, and then from your graveyard—but they can be chained together on the same turn to take advantage of their innate synergy. As both are sorceries—available only in your own turn—they can be used to build a crushing attack that leaves you ahead on cards as well as damage.

It’s a swingy card for sure, but watch out when evaluating cards like this: it’s powerful in certain situations, but not as strong if you’re on the back foot and finding it tough to attack. Overall, though, we’re looking forward to the return of Aftermath because it adds more options to the game, as we talked about in our Amonkhet review.

Overall, Hour of Devastation looks like it's shaping up to be an exciting expansion with the awful (and/or awe-inspiring) return of the elder dragon Nicol Bolas. Wizards of the Coast also recently announced some major changes to the future of Magic: the Gathering, which we will cover in our full Hour of Devastation review.

Hour of Devastation will be released worldwide on July 14, with prerelease events occurring the weekend before (July 8-9) at local game stores. Somewhat unusually, the set will be playable in Magic Online from July 10, a few days before the physical release date.

If you've not played Magic: the Gathering before, or you're a lapsed player from your teenage years, and you're interested in playing the game, our past coverage is a good place to start.

Listing image by Wizards of the Coast