One of the benefits of adding more Universes Beyond sets than ever to Magic: The Gathering and making them legal in Standard is that they also bring in hordes of new players, thanks to their beloved IPs getting a crossover. This can be a boon for many reasons, not only in terms of how it improves sales for Wizards of the Coast, but also in terms of how it can make the in-game economy get more traction, events get more entries, and so on. Magic: The Gathering's Sonic crossover was a Secret Lair drop rather than an UB set, but it's already picking up in the combo department thanks to a Warhammer 40K card.
Before this year, MTG's Warhammer 40K products were addressed as some of the most successful for Universes Beyond, and for good reason. The IP has a dedicated fanbase, and Magic: The Gathering's Commander decks were designed in a way to appeal to Warhammer 40K players of all kinds by focusing on the Imperium at large, the Necron, the Tyranids, and the forces of Chaos. Unlike this UB release, Sonic the Hedgehog's collab included just a handful of cards, some new and some reprints with new art, dedicated to the speedy hero. As strange as it may sound, Sonic himself and a Tyranid make for a fantastic combo in MTG.
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Magic: The Gathering Players Can Pair Sonic the Hedgehog With a Warhammer 40K Tyranid
Magic: The Gathering's Sonic the Hedgehog card is a 4-CMC creature (1 generic, 1 Blue, 1 Red, and 1 White) with haste, two power, four toughness, and two abilities. The first makes Sonic's owner put a +1/+1 counter on every creature with haste or flash under the player's control, and the second allows Sonic's owner to create a tapped Treasure token whenever a creature with haste or flash is dealt damage. This pairs perfectly with a Warhammer 40K card by the name of Winged Hive Tyrant.
How Sonic's Warhammer 40K Combo Works in MTG
This card is in Izzet colors (3 generic, 1 Blue, and 1 Red mana cost), so it fits perfectly fine in a Sonic Commander deck. For 5 mana total, this is a 4/4 creature with flying and haste, but what's relevant here is its The Will of the Hive Mind ability, which gives other creatures under the owner's control flying and haste if they have counters on them. A Sonic Commander deck in Magic: The Gathering can easily revolve around tokens thanks to its Jeskai color identity, and Winged Hive Tyrant gives all creatures powered up by Sonic haste, if they didn't have it already, and also flying.
Interestingly, Winged Hive Tyrant started spiking in price after the reveal of the Sonic Secret Lair drop, from about $0,50 to around $5.
Likewise, if players control creatures with different kinds of counters on them, Winged Hive Tyrant gives them flying and haste, meaning they can then get +1/+1 counters from Sonic. It's a loop of sorts that can be extremely rewarding under the right conditions, and it can get even nastier. MTG's Counter Intelligence Commander deck from Edge of Eternities is in Jeskai colors and does exactly what it says on the tin - focus on counters. There are a lot of great cards to pack in a Sonic deck with Winged Hive Tyrant, like:
- Cyberdrive Awakener: 6-mana 4/4 creature with flying that gives flying to all artifact creatures and turns artifacts into 4/4 creatures
- Kilo, Apogee Mind: A 3-mana 3/3 creature with haste and the ability to proliferate whenever it's tapped, doubling all counters on any number of creatures or players
- Thrummingbird: A 2-mana 1/1 creature with flying and the ability to proliferate whenever it deals damage to a player
- Tezzeret's Gambit: A 4-mana sorcery that can be cast for 3 mana and 2 life, instead, that draws 2 cards and proliferates
Magic: The Gathering's Commander decks often include powerful combos to win the game, and while Sonic the Hedgehog + Winged Hive Tyrant doesn't auto-win, it can set up one's board to do some heavy damage over the turns. Also, this combo works if players want to pair it with the other Sonic MTG cards, such as Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Miles 'Tails' Prower, and even Super State.
Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
- August 5, 1993
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- Richard Garfield
- Player Count
- 2+
- Age Recommendation
- 13+