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Magic: The Gathering Rarities: Heroes Of The Realm 2018

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Welcome, players, collectors, and other fans of Magic: The Gathering, the premier trading card game created by Wizards of the Coast! Today, we will be continuing our overview of cards that are so rare that only Wizards employees ever receive them: The Heroes of the Realm series. However, today we will be looking at four cards. This is different from previous years as in the past only three cards were awarded per year. Are you ready? Let's dive in!

The full art for Kharis & the Beholder, a special Magic: The Gathering card awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees in 2018 as part of the Heroes of the Realm series.
The full art for Kharis & the Beholder, a special Magic: The Gathering card awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees in 2018 as part of the Heroes of the Realm series.

The first card we will look at is Kharis & the Beholder. This card was awarded to the team behind the Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons influencer projects. This card was also one of the first to use a d20, or 20-sided die, to determine the outcome of an ability, the very first if Sword of Dungeons & Dragons from the Unstable set for Magic doesn't count.

Kharis & the Beholder, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.
Kharis & the Beholder, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.

The next card in the 2018 Heroes of the Realm series is actually two cards: Optimus Prime, Inspiring Leader is a card that has two sides: one for Magic: The Gathering and another for the Transformers TCG. This card was awarded for achievements in the project that was the now-discontinued Transformers-based card game.

Optimus Prime, Inspiring Leader, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm. The back face of this card is playable (if you have it) in the Transformers TCG.
Optimus Prime, Inspiring Leader, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm. The back face of this card is playable (if you have it) in the Transformers TCG.

And here is that card's back face:

The "alt mode" back face of Optimus Prime, Inspiring Leader, a card for the Transformers TCG that was awarded as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.
The "alt mode" back face of Optimus Prime, Inspiring Leader, a card for the Transformers TCG that was awarded as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.

The next card on our list of Heroes of the Realm awards is Sol, Advocate Eternal. Sol was awarded to the Game Support and Customer Service teams for outstanding work in 2018.

Sol, Advocate Eternal, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.
Sol, Advocate Eternal, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.

Sol is interesting in that it's the first card with "legendary partner" as an ability. This ability is likely to be deemed too powerful for Commander, but it is a pretty cool idea in theory.

The final card we will be looking at in this overview is a big one for many players who frequent Bleeding Cool, as it was awarded to the team in charge of bringing Magic Arena to life: The Legend of Arena!

The Legend of Arena, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.
The Legend of Arena, a special card from Magic: The Gathering that was awarded to Wizards of the Coast employees as part of 2018's Heroes of the Realm.

What do you think about these extra-special Magic: The Gathering cards? Do you wish one or more of them were actually legal to play? Let us know your thoughts on the Heroes of the Realm cards in the comments below!

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Joshua NelsonAbout Joshua Nelson

Josh Nelson is a Magic: The Gathering deckbuilding savant, a self-proclaimed scholar of all things Sweeney Todd, and, of course, a writer for Bleeding Cool. In their downtime, Josh can be found painting models, playing Magic, or possibly preaching about the horrors and merits of anthropophagy. You can find them on Twitter at @Burning_Inquiry for all your burning inquiries.
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