You may have already had conversations with your players about the latest video game set in the Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate 3. Developed and published by Larian Studios, the game celebrates its release on PlayStation 5 this week after enjoying a successful Steam launch, seeing periods with over 800,000 concurrent players.

Moments like this create an opportunity for you to transform your community's passion for the game into some in-store play using Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate. The set contains plenty of familiar faces for those wanting to engage with the characters from Baldur's Gate 3 even more.

Today, we'll discuss some characters you can use to cross-promote this set with the Baldur's Gate 3 fanbase in your community.

Gather the Party: Show Familiar Faces

In Baldur's Gate 3, the player character fights their way out of a treacherous situation and has the option to build a party of companions to help them as they quest through the Forgotten Realms. To entice fans to come play with the set in your store, show off some key story characters to get the conversation going.

As you discuss characters featured in both the Magic set and Baldur's Gate 3, be mindful of spoilers: as the game has just released on PlayStation 5, some interested gamers in your community may not have had the opportunity to meet everyone discussed below.

Lae'zel, Vlaakith's Champion

Lae'zel is the first companion the player meets when starting Baldur's Gate 3; in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, Lae'zel gives an additional boost to the player, their creatures, or a Planeswalker they control.

Karlach, Fury of Avernus

After making an escape by means of a planar-hopping Nautiloid ship, Baldur's Gate 3 players find Karlach injured and defenseless in the wilds some distance from where the Nautiloid crashes. She seeks to escape Hell's designs for her, and in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, her combat prowess really shines, giving players an additional combat phase after their first.

Jaheira, Friend of the Forest

Jaheira is a potential companion players may find when exploring shadow-cursed lands in Baldur's Gate 3. As a member of the Harpers, an organization of "everyday people" looking to support people like them, Jaheria’s motivation is largely altruistic wherever possible. This is plain even from the flavor text on her card: "The Harpers' movement grows, but it needs sunlight to blossom. We can be that light."

...And More!

These are just a few examples of characters your community may have encountered while playing Baldur's Gate 3, though many more can be found within Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate. Note that any Legendary Creatures that players discuss can be used as a commander during the Commander Draft event.

Run a Commander Draft Event

One benefit of cross-promotion is that players are already familiar with the lore surrounding characters or spells that show up in the set. This can help unfamiliar mechanics be easier to remember, as they're now attached with the additional memories players have of these characters and moments in Baldur's Gate 3.

Once you've gathered interested parties, run a Commander Draft event! Ensure the environment is new-player friendly if your interest comes from fans who have yet to dive into their first game of Magic. Commander can be a collaborative way to learn or a chaotic free-for-all: much like a Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party, it all depends on the whims of the players at the table.

In addition, you can advertise your event with new marketing materials—click the image below or head to our marketing materials page under the Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate section to download the images.

How to Run Commander Draft with Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate

When Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate first released, we shared a breakdown of how to run Commander Draft for your events. You may have run Commander Draft at your Commander Masters Launch Party; if you need a refresher, Commander Draft is quite simple:

1. Draft in pods of 8 (or as close to 8 players as you can).
2. Start each Draft player with 3 Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Draft Boosters.
3. For each draft pick, players select two cards. Players can select multiple copies of the same card, if desired.
4. Remind players that their picks should align with their chosen Commander or commander and Background—and if they are unable to find a commander, they may use a copy of Faceless One from outside the game.
5. Build a 60-card Commander Deck.
6. Battle in pods of 4 players.

That's it! Make sure you have staff available at your Commander Draft event night to answer questions players may have about how cards interact with one another. Cross-promoting Magic to the Dungeons & Dragons or Baldur's Gate 3 fans in your community may mean that those who show up are less familiar with how to play, so be sure to emphasize good sportsmanship practices, as well.

The release of Baldur's Gate 3 to PlayStation 5 may cause a fresh wave of excitement to wash over your community—and again once the game releases on Xbox and for Mac users on Steam. Take the opportunity and encourage players to gather for even more adventurous fun at your store with a Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate Commander Draft.

Use any available marketing materials to help promote after you've scheduled in Wizards EventLink.