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A new Dungeons and Dragons starter set was just revealed by surprise via a Hasbro product lineup video for 2022. Although there hasn't been an official announcement, Wizards of the Coast has since confirmed to GamesRadar+ that the updated D&D starter set is real and is called "Dragons of Stormwreck Isle".
The new Dungeons and Dragons starter set can be glimpsed briefly in a YouTube sizzle reel amongst other Hasbro products that are due to land this year (it's visible in the upper right-hand corner of the screen at the 22-second mark, as well as later in the video). However, it's conspicuously absent from most of the written announcements and press material circulating from Hasbro right now, and developer Wizards of the Coast hadn't mentioned the product before. In fact, before we reached out to Wizards for comment, the only place we were able to find references to this new D&D Starter Set was in the Business Wire press release as a bullet-point under the gaming section.
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is listed there with a recommended price of $49.99, and even though this is in line with the majority of Dungeons and Dragons books, it's worth pointing out that the previous starter set costs roughly $20. Similarly, the Essentials Kit (a more recent pack from 2019 with rules, dice, and a pre-written adventure for new players) is only $25. This would suggest we're either seeing inflation at work or that the new D&D starter set will contain more content than usual. If the latter is the case, that extra material isn't visible in Hasbro's sizzle-reel.
No release date accompanied these details. But because the only other D&D product to be referenced in the video lineup was Critical Role Dungeons and Dragons adventure Call of the Netherdeep (which is due to hit shelves this March), it may not be too far away.
There's some educated guesswork we can do, though. If we had to bet on it, Dragons of Stormwreck Isle - visible as a separate booklet on the left of the box during Hasbro's video - is a pre-written adventure much like Lost Mine of Phandelver was for the previous version. You can bet on it accompanying basic rules, and character sheets (not to mention dice) are clearly visible in the footage.
No matter what, it's an interesting choice on the part of Wizards of the Coast. Releasing a new beginner's pack before the upcoming rules update - dubbed D&D 5.5E by some fans - may seem like a strange move, especially because these changes are officially due over the next few years. However, it's worth pointing out that there's a precedence for this. Wizards did something similar with the last Dungeons and Dragons starter set back in 2014, as it came out a few months ahead of the full Player's Handbook.
Speculation aside, this is just one of many Hasbro reveals in February (intentional or not). We were able to exclusively reveal the return of an infamous Fortnite gun as a Nerf blaster earlier in the month, for example.
Want to see how this new D&D starter set will compare to the competition? Be sure to check out our guide to the best tabletop RPGs. You can also take a look at the best WizKids miniatures for beginners if you want D&D minis to go with your games. As for other tabletop escapades, don't miss the best board games.
