March 19, 1997 (Renton, Wash.)--Wizards of the Coast, Inc. today announced that Weatherlight^TM, the latest expansion for its best-selling trading card game Magic: The Gathering®, will be released in June. Developed for intermediate to advanced Magic players, Weatherlight will be released on the same day as Magic: The Gathering--Portal^TM, an introductory set designed for game enthusiasts as well as those interested in learning to play Magic for the first time.

With more than 160 new cards, Weatherlight can be played with the basic Magic: The Gathering set, as well as with stand-alone expansions such as Mirage^TM and Ice Age^TM. Weatherlight introduces an advanced story line involving the journey of the flying ship Weatherlight. From the port of imperial Benalia to the mysterious forests of Llanowar to the volcanic heart of Bogardan, fantastic adventure awaits the crew and Magic players all over the world.

Weatherlight will also introduce several exciting new game concepts and rules, including expanded use of the discard pile, more cumulative upkeep, new versions of "cantrip" cards, and more flanking and phasing, originally introduced in Magic's most recent stand-alone expansion, Mirage.

"In the past, players could only tinker with effects that dealt with cards coming in and out of play," said Dan Cervelli, a designer of Weatherlight. "We [the designers] felt that the concept of using the discard pile as a resource had not yet been fully explored. The discard pile will no longer be looked upon as used resources with little value. Now it will be a fresh source of magic with which to cast powerful spells."

Magic players will have the opportunity to get an exclusive preview of Weatherlight during a special Prerelease tournament the weekend of May 31. The expansion set will be released simultaneously in more than 75 cities worldwide. Weatherlight is a limited-edition expansion and will be sold in fifteen-card booster packs that will retail for $2.95.

Considered by many to be the new intellectual sport of the '90s, Magic was developed by a math professor and contains elements similar to bridge and chess. The strategic card game is often played in tournament settings where amateur and professional players compete to receive rankings and win prizes.

Wizards of the Coast is a privately held game company best known for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering. Since Magic was released in 1993, more than two billion cards have sold worldwide, and the game is available in nine languages: French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and English. Wizards of the Coast has offices in Renton, Washington; Glasgow, United Kingdom; Antwerp, Belgium; and Paris, France. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website at <http://www.wizards.com>.