Magic: The Gathering continues to suffer the effects of 2020’s ongoing pandemic, it would seem.
The popular CCG, which trades predominantly in physical products, has been hit with several substantial delays over the last several months due to COVID-19, and while Wizards of the Coast has done a tremendous job in keeping up with demand, setbacks at the production level are unavoidable. In a statement published last week, the company confirmed that, despite its best efforts, supply for the final Standard expansion of this year, Zendikar Rising, will be lower than desired, at least initially.
Initial allocations of the set, it says, will be distributed Stateside in two waves. The first will be available in stores in time for the originally scheduled release date of September 25th, with the second due to arrive roughly one week later. Naturally, this means that some local game stores will be unable to satisfy demand in the immediate short term, with shortages expected to be remedied with the arrival of wave 2.
Unfortunately, this only applies to booster boxes, as Bundles and other products have been delayed indefinitely in both North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Wizards says it hopes to remedy the situation as soon as possible, but warns they are “unlikely to be available at launch.”
Unsurprisingly, the setbacks outlined above have triggered a domino effect for product releases further afield, with Collector Boosters for the highly anticipated Commander Legends being pushed back to November 20th. Standard boxes, however, remain unaffected and will be on store shelves from the originally projected release window of November 6th.
Disappointing developments, then, but certainly not unexpected. For all the latest news regarding Magic: The Gathering‘s upcoming Zendikar Rising and Commander Legends sets, hit the respective links.