Everything We Know About D&D's Latest MTG Crossover Lorwyn-Shadowmoor

Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering are crossing over once again, with a new product focused on the idyllic plane of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor. Wizards of the Coast announced that an upcoming DnD product would focus on the plane of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, likely in conjunction with Magic: The Gathering's upcoming Q1 2026 set also returning to that plane. No further details were announced about the product, but it's likely a new campaign-setting book in a similar vein to Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica or Strixhaven: Cirriculum of Chaos.

While we don't know much about the actual DnD/Magic: The Gathering crossover product, we do know a bit about Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, a strange and idyllic world rooted in Celtic mythology. The plane underwent some seismic changes several years ago, but the aftermath of those changes haven't yet been explored in a full Magic: The Gathering set.A DnD campaign setting book could thus help fully flesh out the new status quo of the setting while also tying into a full MTG set.

Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, D&D's Next Setting Explained

Lorwyn Is A Plane Of Eternal Day, While Shadowmoor Is Shrouded In Eternal Dusk

Historically, Lorwyn-Shadowmoor was a single plane with two distinct aspects split by either eternal day or eternal dusk, with the plane switching forms every 300 years. Lorwyn was the aspect of eternal day,filled with peaceful plains and somewhat peaceful co-existence between the nine Tribes who populate the world. Shadowmoor is the nighttime aspect of the plane, with the entire plane covered in an eternal dusk. While in Shadowmoor, the plane becomes much more dangerous and filled with monsters that emerge from the shadows.

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As part of this day/night cycle, the creatures and inhabitants of the realm radically shift personalities and motivations based on what aspect the plane is in. The elves are vainglorious and feared in Lorwyn, but they are humble and focused on survival in Shadowmoor. The kithkin are friendly and hospitable to all in Lorwyn, but in Shadowmoor they become isolated and xenophobic. The flamekin, creatures made of flame and stone, become walking skeletons robbed of their flames, seeking revenge on those who wronged them.

The Lorwyn-Shadowmoor cycle was caused by the Great Aurora, a magical originating from Oona, queen of the faeries of that realm. Oona was one of the few creatures who remembers life in both planes. In a series of novels, a group of adventurers defeated Oona, essentially merging the two planes into one. However, the extent of these changes are still unclear and have yet to be explored in any Magic: The Gathering set.

Possible Mechanics Explored in New Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Book

The Day/Night Cycle Is A Particularly Intriguing Mechanic

Another notable aspect of the plane is that there are no humans that naturally live there. There are nine Tribes, each of which consists of a different race/species. In addition to the elves, kithkin, and flamekin, there are also merrows, changelings, boggarts, treefolk, giants and faeries. A new DnD setting book could contain rules on any of these species,with the kithkin, flamekin, and boggarts all likely candidates for new species rules. Faeries and changelings already have rules in other DnD books, but they could receive updates as well, since they haven't been translated for the revised fifth edition yet.

Another major possible mechanic to explore is the day/night cycle of the plane. We don't know how day and night affect Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, but if it occurs frequently, there could be some interesting mechanics to explore. Players might have certain feats or abilities that only activate during a specific part of the day/night cycle, which would create some cool new DnD mechanics to explore while in the plane. DnD doesn't have a ton of universal rules that cause players to be impacted by their environment, and it would be interesting to see how DnD tackles that kind of design work.

What Past D&D/MTG Crossovers Have Looked Like

New Species Rules, New Spells, & Adventure Content

D&D players who refuse to learn the rules may need to be kicked out of the group. — D&D-STRIXHAVEN-CURRICULUM-PEOPLE-OWL

While we obviously don't know that this new Lorwyn-Shadowmoor product will be a full campaign-setting book, the DnD design team has leaned into these products as a natural crossover product. The Ravnica, Theros, and Strixhaven DnD books were all campaign-setting books with adventure content, player content, and a general guide to the plane.

All three past campaign setting books contained at least one new subclass, a full bestiary of monsters to use in campaigns, adventure prompts, and some new spells, magic items, or mechanics for players. There will likely be at least a mini-campaign or the broad strokes of a campaign in this book as well.

The DnD/MTG crossover projects were generally well-written and didn't require any knowledge or understanding of Magic: The Gathering to enjoy. Because the lore of these planes tend to be fleshed out, the campaign-setting books felt alive in a very natural way that didn't make the books feel like a gimmick. I'm hoping that Lorwyn-Shadowmoor continues this trend, as the setting itself feels very different from any other Dungeons & Dragons setting currently available to explore in the multiverse.