Magic previews the first Nauctis cards and names four Commander decks

14th November 2026, 11:49 CET

Wizards of the Coast showed the first cards from Nauctis: The Sunken Realm at MagicCon: Atlanta on 13 November. The Magic: The Gathering expansion takes players to the game's first underwater plane. The preview also put names to four Commander decks and showed what buyers will get in their all-foil editions.

Wizards set the tabletop release for 5 February 2027 when it announced the expansion on 17 July. The Atlanta presentation and the accompanying store details now give players a clearer picture of what they can play during prerelease week and which products contain the cards they want. Star City Games' coverage of the preview

At a glance

• The Atlanta preview showed the first Nauctis cards and named all four Commander decks.
• Each deck comes in a regular version and a Premium Edition with all 100 cards in traditional foil.
• Tabletop prerelease runs from 29 January to 4 February 2027, ahead of general release on 5 February.

Two versions of each Commander deck

The four ready-to-play decks are Merfolk Regiment, Terrors of the Abyss, Blood in the Water and Seal the Deal. In each regular deck, the two featured commanders are traditional foil and the remaining 98 cards are non-foil. In the Premium Editions both commanders also get borderless art, and the other 98 cards are traditional foil as well. Wizards lists the same number of new cards for both editions. Wizards' first look and product breakdown

The set previews include Salinae, the Ocean Mother, a legendary Whale God, and Goramou the Coral-Taken, a legendary Shark that creates Blood tokens. The publisher's gallery collects the cards shown so far in one place. Nauctis card gallery

The extra card comes with a full display

Both the regular Booster Display and the Collector Booster Display include one Sunken Treasures box topper. The 20 possible cards include 15 returning artifacts and five new artifacts. The topper has a pearlescent finish. Wizards lists a separate undersea foil treatment for versions found in Collector Boosters. Wizards' product breakdown

What to expect at prerelease

Players at prerelease build a deck from six Booster Packs and an extra foil rare or mythic rare. Participating Wizards Play Network stores can start selling the set during prerelease week. The window applies across the network, and individual stores choose when to run sessions. Wizards Play Network event schedule