D&D Beyond is adding two complete Partnered Content classes in 2026: Sterling Vermin’s Magus on September 29, followed by Kibbles’ Warlord on December 1. We went past the announcement this time and dug into the class designs themselves — because “magic guy gets sparkly dice” was not going to cut it.
First, the important bit: these are Partnered Content classes, not two new core classes from Wizards of the Coast. They’re established third-party designs being brought onto D&D Beyond as full class options. Check with your DM before arriving at session zero with one already built and a suspiciously specific backstory.
The Magus: More Than a Wizard With a Sword
The basic Magus pitch is easy: spell and steel together. The interesting part is how Sterling Vermin actually builds around it.
The 5.5e Magus is a half-caster with considerably more magical staying power than that label suggests. The designer describes it as closer to a two-thirds caster thanks to features such as Magical Recovery and Sigil Surge recovering spell slots. Its Mystic Mark lets known spells feed directly into offense and defense, while Sword and Sorcery makes weapon attacks and spellcasting work together instead of forcing you to choose which half of the character gets to play this turn.
At 5th level, for example, taking the Attack action can include casting a cantrip. Cast a 1st-level-or-higher spell with your action and you can follow it with a weapon attack as a Bonus Action. That tells us much more about the class than “fighter plus wizard”: the Magus is meant to feel like one continuous fighting style.
The subclasses matter just as much. Sterling Vermin says each one substantially expands the Magus spell list and modifies its core features. The creator’s own examples range from an axe-wielding dark-magic warmage, to a gun-toting astrologer twisting fate, to a dagger-heavy assassin using shadow magic. So there really isn’t one correct Magus aesthetic.
Dice We’d Actually Pair With a Magus
Astral Current — the fate-twisting Magus
This pairing got stronger after the deeper dive. Sterling Vermin specifically uses a fate-twisting astrologer as an example of what the class can become, and Astral Current – Crystalspire is almost suspiciously on target. Deep sapphire and violet with flashes of blue, purple and emerald give it that celestial, shifting feel without looking like a generic wizard set.
Eclipse Dragon’s Gaze — the shadow Magus
The creator also calls out stealthy dagger users with shadow magic and axe-wielding dark warmages. That makes Eclipse Dragon’s Gaze a much better fit than simply calling it our “dark Magus” pick. The dragon eye suspended inside the moving core has the right threatening, watchful feel for a Magus whose magic is less starlight and more you probably shouldn’t turn your back on them.
Emerald Nexus — the Mystic Mark Magus
For the Magus built around the class’s broader spell-and-steel identity, Emerald Nexus – Crystalspire Liquid Core still earns its place. The cut Crystalspire shape gives it a harder martial edge while the moving core feels right for Mystic Marks, sigils and magic being carried directly into an attack.
If you’re building a Magus around your own colour palette, start with the Crystalspire Collection or our Liquid Core Dice. Both have enough range to cover the class without pretending every Magus has the same personality.
The Warlord: Your Party Is the Weapon
The Warlord is a very different beast. Its fantasy isn’t “martial character who also has support abilities.” The class is built around making the whole battlefield work differently because you’re standing on it.
D&D Beyond describes the eight incoming subclasses by what kind of leader each becomes: Tactician changes the odds, Paragon defies them, Chieftain meets enemies head-on, Dancer stays slippery and mobile, Noble leads through authority, Packleader works from the wilds and shadows, Commander acts as the party’s bulwark and helping hand, and Dreadlord breaks enemy morale.
That range lines up with the older public version of Kibbles’ Warlord, where the class revolves around Battlefield Presence and Leadership Dice. Those dice are spent to create openings, rally allies, help companions and manipulate positioning rather than simply adding another pile of personal damage. The public version has also used different mental abilities for different leaders: the Tactician leans Intelligence, Noble Charisma, Packleader Dexterity and Wisdom, Commander Strength and Wisdom, while Chieftain and Paragon lean Strength and Charisma.
The D&D Beyond release may revise individual mechanics from that public version, so we’re treating those rules as design context rather than promising the December build will be identical.
That deeper look changed how we approached the dice. “Warlord equals metal” is too simple. A Noble, Packleader and Dreadlord should not look like they raided the same dice bag.
Dice We’d Actually Pair With a Warlord
Clockwork Dominion — Tactician
Clockwork Dominion remains the cleanest Tactician match. This is the Warlord for the player watching positioning, resources and everyone else’s turn as closely as their own. The ordered mechanical look fits a character whose real weapon is having a plan before initiative is rolled.
Coral Sovereign — Noble or Paragon
Coral Sovereign makes more sense once you look at what separates these leaders. The Noble is explicitly the imperious, decree-issuing Warlord, while the Paragon is the bold figure who succeeds when the odds say otherwise. A metal set with a more regal presence fits both without turning either character into a generic armoured commander.
Abyssal Nightbraid – Gilded Maelstrom — Chieftain or Commander
The Chieftain is the Warlord D&D Beyond describes as confronting foes head-on. The Commander is the stalwart bulwark keeping allies in the fight. Those are the two builds where a weighty metal set feels earned rather than automatic, which is why Abyssal Nightbraid – Gilded Maelstrom stays on the list.
Blood Moon — Dreadlord
The Dreadlord isn’t just “the evil Warlord.” D&D Beyond specifically frames it around crushing enemy spirits, and fear has been part of the identity of Kibbles’ public Dreadlord design as well. Blood Moon is therefore the most literal pairing in the article: dark metal for the Warlord whose battlefield presence is supposed to feel like bad news before they even swing.
What about the Dancer and Packleader?
These two are exactly why we didn’t force one metal set onto every subclass. The Dancer is described as nimble and difficult to pin down, while the Packleader slips through the forest unseen. We’d build either of those characters around movement, natural tones or a lighter visual feel before reaching for heavy commander dice. Sometimes the right recommendation is admitting the character wants something different.
For the heavier battlefield leaders, browse our Metal Dice Collection. For the stranger Warlord builds, the broader Dice Sets collection gives you a lot more room to make the character yours.
Magus or Warlord: Which One Fits Your Table?
If your favourite turn is the one where your own weapon attack and spell feed into each other, the Magus is the easy answer. Mystic Mark, Sword and Sorcery and the subclass-expanded spell lists are all pushing toward that single-character spellblade rhythm.
If your favourite turn is the one where you look around the table and realize you can make everyone else more dangerous, the Warlord is doing something much rarer. Its identity is built around leadership, positioning, support and pressure without needing to turn that fantasy into spellcasting.
And that is probably the most interesting thing about these two releases. They’re not filling the same hole. One makes the weapon-and-magic character feel properly fused together. The other gives the martial battlefield leader enough room to be an entire class.
When Do the Magus and Warlord Release?
The Magus Class (5.5e) is scheduled to arrive on D&D Beyond on September 29, 2026, with six subclasses and more than thirty spells. The Warlord Player Pack (5e) follows on December 1, 2026 with eight subclasses.
You can see the Partnered Content release schedule directly on D&D Beyond, and Sterling Vermin has a deeper look at the 5.5e Magus.
We’ll be watching both releases. Mostly because we want to see what people build. Partly because deciding what a fate-twisting gun Magus rolls is exactly the kind of important research that happens around here.
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Dungeons & Dragons, D&D and D&D Beyond are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast. IceForge Dice is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. The Magus and Warlord discussed above are Partnered Content from their respective creators.