It is remarkable that we haven’t gotten an official Game of Thrones Universes Beyond set for Magic: The Gathering. It feels like a match made in heaven, not least because Game of Thrones’ vaguely fantastical medieval setting pairs well with much of Magic: The Gathering’s largely grounded fantasy, a trait that fans enjoyed in the Lord of the Rings collaboration but felt was lacking in the Spider-Man one. It would also just be great to finally have some form of TCG for Game of Thrones that extends beyond the traditional baseball card-esque collectibles.

However, while we have gotten a lot of phenomenal MTG collaborations with popular IP in the past, thus far, there are no plans to make Game of Thrones one of them. Of course, that’s a shame, but it isn’t the end of the world, especially as there is an upcoming deckbuilder that promises to ostensibly be the Game of Thrones meets Magic: The Gathering crossover of our dreams. While it isn’t a 1:1 replication, this new game should absolutely be on your radar if you have any form of affinity for either MTG or George R.R. Martin’s epic.

This New Deckbuilder Blends MTG With Kingdom Management

As much as a Game of Thrones crossover with Magic: The Gathering would be great, this new deckbuilder promises to be more than merely familiar faces and a new mechanic or two. In fact, Project Zircon, the latest title from Konami, is set to take the kingdom management and impending doom elements of Game of Thrones and combine them with the deckbuilding and strategic use of cards of Magic: The Gathering to create a whole new experience.

In many ways, this may be preferable, at least for those looking for games like Magic: The Gathering to enjoy whenever their pod isn’t together. Project Zircon is set in a fantasy world in which the Calamity Dragon is set to destroy the world. Each year, you must muster your forces and reach a certain threshold in order to repel it and survive into the next year. Should you fail, it’s game over; succeed, and you’ll get a chance of reaching the fifth and final in-game year.

It’s a simple set-up that feels reminiscent of the people of Westeros’ frantic scramble to meet the forces of the Night King as he descended upon their land with an icy, undead fury. Of course, this is all bolstered by the aforementioned Magic: The Gathering-esque deckbuilding, in which players form decks of character cards that they must use strategically to reach the necessary point threshold by the end of the year. Combining rank and type between cards (as one would with colors in MTG) will garner you greater rewards and thus give you a better chance of survival.

Project Zircon Has The Potential To Be Great

It is this combination of gameplay that makes Project Zircon so unique and, thus, in with a chance of becoming one of the best deckbuilding games available. While there have been new takes on the familiar formula before, few tend to venture beyond the expected, putting the player in the role of a single character or squad with attack-focused cards that are designed to kill enemies. Project Zircon’s more grand strategy focus will help it stand apart from the rest of the flock, and that is potentially very exciting.

The downside is that Project Zircon is still very far away from release. The game was only announced at the start of September 2026, and still has the word Project in its name, something that tends to be ironed out closer to launch. Konami obviously hasn’t confirmed a release date, so that is also yet to be announced, meaning that this is all very much in the development stage.

Naturally, that leaves plenty of room for more features to be added or improved, which is exciting, but also indicates we won’t be seeing it for quite some time. Still, Project Zircon looks set to be the MTG meets Game of Thrones game we’ve always dreamed of, and that is a very tantalizing prospect worth waiting for.

Video Game(s)

Magic: The Gathering, Magic the Gathering Commander, Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014, Magic: The Gathering Arena

Created by

Richard Garfield

Main Genre

Fantasy

Release Date

August 5, 1993

Character(s)

Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Liliana Vess, Garruk Wildspeaker, Nissa Revane, Ajani Goldmane, Nicol Bolas, Teferi, Gideon Jura, Sorin Markov, Ral Zarek