If you were waiting to return to the lands beyond the Dark Portal, the journey is almost over. On June 1, players can return to The Burning Crusade expansion in World of Warcraft Classic. If you already have a WoW account, you’re already all set to tread back into the lands that highlighted some of WoW’s best raids, characters, and more. The Burning Crusade introduced, among many other interesting things, the concept of 10-person raids with Karazhan. 

Are you prepared?

The Dark Portal reopens June 1st. #WoWClassic #BurningCrusadehttps://t.co/l8o0qE5Euo pic.twitter.com/AHpcChksT0

— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) May 6, 2021

While “raid nights” often tasked players with assembling a huge collection of classes and characters, the introduction of a more intimate raid setting let players get away from the point structures and politics of huge assemblies. Karazhan gave players a haunted-mansion style romp to explore with a variety of battles and discoveries, and even had one of the more memorable experiences with the rotating opera house encounter, which could be one of several different challenges each week.

The Burning Crusade also featured some of the more challenging raids from the era, including Tempest Keep and The Black Temple. Taking on Lady Vashj, Prince Kael’thas, and Illidan were absolutely epic undertakings back then, but I wonder with all the knowledge and organization tools that players have today if they’ll be as tough as we remember. Classic raids were also tough at the time, but current generation raiding encounters are often much more complex and challenging, with the legacy offerings now shown to be mainly challenges of gearing and organization. Let’s see how things go as players trek back into these raids, perhaps for the first time…

Even if you’re not set on raiding, The Burning Crusade also features some iconic zones to explore like the strange, somewhat serene themes of Zangamarsh and the desolate wasteland of Shadowmoon Valley. Collect mushrooms, grind rep, and go hunting in Nagrand.

Are you planning to head back into The Burning Crusade? When do you think the “classic” period of World of Warcraft ends? Let us know in the comments! 

The Yu-Gi-Oh series has its fair share of awesome collectibles. Whether you're talking about the broad range of collectible cards the series is centered on or the various figures and statues featuring the likes of Yugi, Kaiba, Blue Eyes White Dragon, and more, the devout Yu-Gi-Oh fan can easily show off their love for the property. However, perhaps one of the coolest (and surprisingly affordable) collectibles of Yu-Gi-Oh is now available for pre-order.

Often seen dangling around Yugi's neck, the Millennium Puzzle is a powerful artifact in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh. Announced earlier this year, the Millennium Puzzle model kit is available for pre-order now. Not only is this model kit life-sized at nearly three inches tall, but you actually have to assemble the pieces. While the kit includes an instruction manual on how to remove the pieces from the packaging and assemble the individual pieces, you have to rely on your puzzle-solving skills and intuition to actually assemble the Millennium Puzzle.

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If you're hoping to add the Millennium Puzzle to your bookshelf, display case, or everyday attire, you can pre-order the puzzle now at one of the links found below. The Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium Puzzle Ultimagear Model Kit is set to release sometime in the August, September time frame coming in at the $44 price point. If you're more interested in the game of Yu-Gi-Oh, Legacy of the Duelist lets you relive classic duels from the beloved animated series. If you're more of a mobile gamer, Duel Links can scratch that free-to-play CCG itch.

[Source: Big Bad Toy Store, Entertainment Earth via Cheap Ass Gamer on Twitter]

Any Yu-Gi-Oh fans out there excited enough for the franchise to nab one of these bad boys? What's your favorite part of the iconic franchise that makes you want to du-du-du-DUEL? Sound off in the comments below!