Late last week, ASRock introduced its opening wave of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 graphics card models; in Taichi, Steel Legend and Challenger guises. Official press material only alluded to an intriguing "gray" spin-off of the Taiwanese manufacturer's (traditionally) white-hued mid-tier product family. ASRock's brand-new Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend Dark 16 GB model is listed on their website, but it has received little fanfare since February 28. Appropriately, this "Dark" variant rolls out with the familiar Steel Legend shroud and backplate designs—albeit, with a two-tone (black/gray) aesthetic.

As expected, the ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Steel Legend Dark card shares identical specifications with its standard white sibling—in both cases, we are looking at non-overclocked SKUs. The AMD board partner has not prepared a non-XT Steel Legend Dark card for launch (on March 6), but an expanded lineup could emerge in the near future. ASRock graphics card enthusiasts have noted a mildly disappointing absence of RDNA 4-based Phantom Gaming options—past Radeon product generations have hit global markets with this sub-brand. Looking at a typical past example—ASRock's Radeon RX 7800 XT Phantom Gaming OC card—we see a gray/black design with a smattering of RGB lighting zones. We could surmise that ASRock has created a similar-ish modernized equivalent—in the shape of Steel Legend Dark (non-OC)—to fill a (temporary?) Phantom Gaming-sized gap.