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List of Every Single Magic: the Gathering Product
Bold means that it is not originally a Magic: the Gathering IP.
Italicized means it is a secret lair drop.
* means they collaborated with a real-life personality but kept the designs within universe.
1993
- Alpha
- Beta
- Unlimited
- Collectors Edition
- Arabian Nights
1994
- Antiquities
- Revised
- Legends
- Summer Magic
- The Dark
- Fallen Empires
1995
- Fourth Edition
- Ice Age
- Chronicles
- Renaissance
- Homelands
1996
- Pro Tour Collector Set
- Alliances
- Rivals Quick Start Set
- Mirage
- Introductory Two Player Set
1997
- Visions
- Shandalar
- Fifth Edition
- Vanguard
- Portal
- Weatherlight
- World Championship Decks 97
- Tempest
1998
- Stronghold
- Exodus
- Portal Second Age
- Unglued
- World Championship Decks 98
- Urza’s Saga
- Anthologies
1999
- Urza’s Legacy
- Sixth Edition
- Urza’s Destiny
- Starter 1999
- Portal Three Kingdoms
- World Championship Decks 99
- Mercadian Masques
- Battle Royale Box Set
2000
- Nemesis
- Starter 2000
- Prophecy
- World Championship Decks 2000
- Beatdown Box Set
- Invasion
2001
- Planeshift
- Seventh Edition
- Apocalypse
- World Championship Deck 2001
- Odyssey
- Deckmasters
2002
- Torment
- Judgement
- Magic: The Gathering Online
- World Championship Decks 2002
- Onslaught
2003
- Onslaught
- Scourge
- 8th Edition
- World Championship Decks 2003
- Mirrodin
2004
- Darksteel
- Fifth Dawn
- World Championship Decks 2004
- Champions of Kamigawa
- Unhinged
2005
- Betrayers of Kamigawa
- Saviors of Kamigawa
- Ninth Edition
- Ravnica
2006
- Guildpact
- Dissension
- Coldsnap
- Time Spiral
2007
- Planar Chaos
- Future Sight
- Tenth Edition
- Lorwyn
- Duel Decks: Elves vs Goblins
2008
- Morningtide
- Shadowmoor
- Eventide
- From the Vault: Dragons
- Shards of Alara
- Duel Decks: Jace vs Chandra
2009
- Conflux
- Duel Decks: Angels vs Demons
- Alara Reborn
- M10
- From the Vault: Exiled
- Planechase
- Zendikar
- Duel Decks: Garruk vs Liliana
- Premium Deck Series: Slivers
2010
- Worldwake
- Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs the Coalition
- Rise of the Eldrazi
- Duels of the Planeswalkers
- Archenemy
- M11
- From the Vault: Relics
- Duel Decks: Elspeth vs Tezzeret
- Scars of Mirrodin
- Premium Deck Series: Fire and Lightning
2011
- Mirrodin Besieged
- Duel Decks: Knights vs Dragons
- New Phyrexia
- Duel Decks: Mirrodin vs New Phyrexia
- Commander 2011
- M12
- From the Vault: Legends
- Duel Decks: Ajani vs Nicol Bolas
- Innistrad
- Premium Deck Series: Graveborn
2012
- Dark Ascension
- Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth
- Avacyn Restored
- Planechase 2012
- M13
- From the Vault: Realms
- Duel Decks: Izzet vs Golgari
- Return to Ravnica
- Commander’s Arsenal
2013
- Gatecrash
- Duel Decks: Sorin vs Tibalt
- Dragon’s Maze
- Modern Masters
- M14
- From the Vault: Twenty
- Duel Decks: Heroes vs Monsters
- Theros
- Commander 2013
2014
- Born of the Gods
- Duel Decks: Jace vs Vraska
- Journey into Nyx
- Modern Event Deck 2014
- Conspiracy
- M15
- From the Vault: Annihilation
- Duel Decks: Speed vs Cunning
- Khans of Tarkir
- Commander 2014
- Duel Decks: Anthology
2015
- Fate Reforged
- Duel Decks: Elspeth vs Kiora
- Dragons of Tarkir
- Modern Masters 2015
- Magic Origins
- From the Vault: Angels
- Duel Decks: Zendikar vs Eldrazi
- Battle for Zendikar
2016
- Oath of the Gatewatch
- Duel Decks: Blessed vs Cursed
- Shadows over Innistrad
- Eternal Masters
- Eldritch Moon
- From the Vault: Lore
- Conspiracy: Take the Crown
- Kaladesh
- Commander 2016
- Planechase Anthology
2017
- Aether Revolt
- Modern Masters 2017
- Duel Decks: Mind vs Might
- Amonkhet
- Commander Anthology
- Archenemy: Nicol Bolas
- Hour of Devastation
- Commander 2017
- Hascon 2017 Promos
- Ixalan
- Duel Decks: Merfolk vs Goblins
- Iconic Masters
- Explorers of Ixalan
- From the Vault: Transform
- Unstable
2018
- Rivals of Ixalan
- Masters 25
- Duel Decks: Elves vs Inventors
- Dominaria
- Battlebond
- Commander Anthology Volume II
- Signature Spellbook: Jace
- Global Series: Jiang Yanggu & Mu Yanling
- M19
- Commander 2018
- Magic: The Gathering Arena
- Mythic Edition
- Guilds of Ravnica
- Guild Kits
- Game Night
- Ultimate Masters
2019
- Ravnica Allegiance
- Ravnica Allegiance Guildkit
- War of the Spark
- Modern Horizons
- Signature Spellbook: Gideon
- M20
- Commander 2019
- Throne of Eldraine
- Ponies: the Galloping
- Mystery Booster Playtest Cards 2019
- Game Night 2019
- 7 Secret Lair Drops
- Bitterblossom Dreams
- Eldraine Wonderland
- Restless in Peace
- Seeing Visions
- <explosion sounds>
- Kaleidoscope Killers
- OMG KITTIES!
2020
- Theros Beyond Death
- Unsanctioned
- Ikoria
- Commander 2020
- Signature Spellbook: Chandra
- M21
- Jumpstart
- Double Masters
- Zendikar Rising (+ Commander)
- Commander Masters
- Commander Collection: Green
- 26 Secret Lair Drops
- Year of the Rat
- Theros Stargazing Volumes I-V
- International Women’s Day
- Thalia – Beyond the Helvault
- April Fools
- The Godzilla Lands
- Full Sleeves: The Tattoo Pack
- Can you Feel with a Heart of Steel?
- The Path not Traveled
- Mountain, Go
- Ornithological Studies
- Prime Slime
- Every Dog Has Its Day
- Happy Yargle Day!
- Showcase: Zendikar Revisited
- The Walking Dead
- Extra Life 2020
- Artist Series: Seb McKinnon
- Happy Little Gathering
- We Hope You Like Squirrels
- A Box of Rocks
- Party Hard, Shred Harder
2021
- Kaldheim (+ Commander)
- Time Spiral Remastered
- Strixhaven (+ Commander) 0.
- Modern Horizons 2
- Adventures in the Forgotten Realms (+ Commander)
- Midnight Hunt (+ Commander)
- Crimson Vow (+ Commander)
- Pioneer Challenger Decks 2021
- 46 Secret Lair
- Faerie Faerie Faerie Rad
- The Unfathomable Crushing Brutality of Basic Lands
- Valentine’s Day 2021
- Showcase: Kaldheim (Part 1 and 2)
- Black is Magic
- Our Show Is On Friday Can You Make It?
- The Full-Text Lands
- Showcase: Strixhaven
- Culture Shocks: Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund, Naya
- Saturday Morning D&D
- Artist Series: Mark Poole
- Special Guest: Fiona Staples
- Special Guest: Jen Bartel
- Phyrexian Praetors: Compleat Edition
- Mother’s Day 2021
- Dan Frazier is Back: The Allied Signets and The Enemy Signets
- Kamigawa Ink
- Artist Series: Johannes Voss
- Artist Series: Thomas Baxa
- Math is for Blockers
- Teferi’s Time Trouble
- Stranger Things
- Mirrordinsanity
- Monster Anatomy 101
- Monster Movie Marathon
- Read the Fine Print
- Showcase: Midnight Hunt
- Thrilling Tales of the Undead
- Purrfection
- Extra Life 2021
- MSCHF *
- Arcane
- Arcane: Lands
- Welcome to Castle Dracula
- The Dracula Lands
- Fblthp: Completely Utterly Totally Lost
- Crocodile Jackson’s Monstrous Menagerie
- Far Out, Man
- PixelSnowLands.jpg Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
2022
- Innistrad Double Feature
- Commander Collection: Black
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (+ Commander)
- Streets of New Capenna (+ Commander)
- Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate
- Double Masters 2022 Dominaria United (+ Commander)
- Warhammer 40K
- Commander Unfinity
- Game Night: Free-for-All
- Challenger Decks 2022
- The Brothers’ War (+ Commander + Transformers bonus sheet)
- 30th Anniversary Edition
- Jumpstart 2022
- Starter Commander Decks
- 71 Secret Lair Drops
- The Astrology Lands (12)
- Street Fighter
- Introducing: Kaito Shizuki Kamigawa: The Manga: The Card
- Li’l Walkers
- Pictures of the Floating World
- Shades Not Included
- Showcase: Neon Dynasty
- Special Guest: Yuko Shimizu
- Showcase: Streets of New Capenna
- Special Guest: Matt Jukes
- Artist Series: Magali Villeneuve
- Artist Series: Sidharth Chaturvedi
- Artist Series: Wayne Reynolds
- Finally! Left-Handed Magic Cards
- Just Some Totally Normal Guys
- Pride Across the Multiverse
- Here Be Dragons
- The Tokyo Lands
- Special Guest: Kelogsloops
- Artist Series: Livia Prima
- Artist Series: Chris Rahn
- Rule the Room
- Artist Series: Volkan Baga
- Fortnite
- Fortnite: Landmarks and Locations
- Li’l Giri Saves the Day
- Artist Series: Victor Adame Minguez
- Imaginary Friends
- Dan Frazier is Back Again: The Allied and Enemy Talismans
- In Memoriam: Jaya Ballard
- Showcase: Dominaria United
- Artist Series: Nils Hamm
- Li’l’ler Walkers
- Totally Spaced Out
- Warhammer 40,000: Orks
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar
- Blood Bowl
- The Weirdest Pets in the Multiverse
- The Space Beyond the Stars
- If Looks Could Kill
- Special Guest: Yoji Shinkawa
- Special Guest: Junji Ito
- Post Malone: Backstage Pass
- Post Malone: The Lands
- Extra Life 2022
- Look at the Kitties
- Time Trouble Two
- Transformers: Optimus Prime vs Megatron
- Transformers: Roll Out or Rise Up
- Transformers: One Shall Stand One Shall Fall
- Just Add Milk
- Special Guest: Kozyndan – Another Story
- Special Guest: Kozyndan – The Lands
- Welcome to the Fungal
- Artist Series: Aleksi Briclot
- Wizards of the Street
- The Art of Frank Frazetta
- The Meaning of Life Maybe
2023
- Dominaria Remastered
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One (+ Commander)
- March of the Machine (+ Commander)
- March of the Machine: Aftermath
- Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth (+ Commander)
- Commander Masters
- Wilds of Eldraine (+ Commander)
- Doctor Who
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (+ Commander + Jurassic Park bonus sheet)
- 57 Secret Lair Drops
- Phyrexian Faves
- Showcase: All Will Be One
- Draw Your Hand!
- Sssssssssnakesssssss
- The ’90s Binder Experience
- City Styles
- Artist Series: Sam Burley
- Legendary Flyers (Not That Kind)
- More Borderless Planeswalkers
- D&D: Honor Among Thieves
- Artist Series: Rebecca Guay
- Showcase: March of the Machines Volumes 1-3
- Cool Ocean Breeze
- Nature is Adorable
- Artist Series: Randy Vargas
- Artist Series: Alayna Danner
- From Cute to Brute
- The Stars Gaze Back
- More Adventures in Middle-earth
- Death is Temporary Metal is Forever
- Artist Series: Ryan Alexander Lee
- Goblin & Squabblin’
- Featuring: The Mountain Goats *
- Bad to the Bones
- Angels: They’re Just Like Us but Cooler and Have Wings
- Artist Series: Kev Walker
- Keep Partying Hard, Shred Hader Than You Previously Thought Possible
- Now on VHS!
- Featuring Gary Baseman
- Buggin’ Out
- Absolute Annihilation
- Magic: the Baseballing
- Dan Frazier’s Mox Box
- Ponies: The Galloping 2
- Li’l’est Walkers
- Artist Series: John Avon
- Evil Dead
- Doctor Who: The Dalek Lands
- Doctor Who: The Weeping Angels
- Meditations on Nature
- The Princess Bride
- Creepshow
- PixelLands_v02.jpg
- Jurassic World: Life Breaks Free
- Jurassic World: Dr. Ian Malcolm
- Showcase: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Mycosynthwave
- Gift Wrapped
- Paradise Frost
- Through the Wormhole
- Tales of the Time Stoppers
- Tomb Raider
- Calling All Hydra Heads
- Doctor Who: Regeneration
2024
- Ravnica Remastered
- Murders at Karlov Manner (+ Commander)
- Ravnica Clue Edition
- Fallout, Outlaws of Thunder Junction (+ Commander)
- Modern Horizons 3 (+ Commander)
- Assassin’s Creed
- Bloomburrow (+ Commander)
- Mystery Booster 2
- Duskmourn (+ Commander)
- Foundations (+ Commander)
- Jumpstart
- 58 Secret Lair Drops
- Raining Cats and Dogs
- The Beauty of the Beasts
- Deceptive Divination
- Just Add Milk: Second Helpings
- Prismatic Nightmares
- Showcase: Murders at Karlov Manner
- Hard-Boiled Thrillers
- Burning Revelations
- Sheldon’s Spellbook
- Fallout: Vault Boy
- Fallout: Points of Interest
- Fallout: S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
- Featuring Phoebe Wahl
- Artist Series: Rovina Cai
- Diabolical Dioramas
- Hatsune Miku: Sakura Superstar
- Hatsune Miku: Digital Sensation
- Hatsune Miku: Electric Entourage
- Goblingram
- Outlaw Anthology Volumes 1-2
- Showcase: Outlaws of Thunder Junction
- Poker Faces
- sAnS mercy
- Assassin’s Creed: Lethal Legends
- Assassin’s Creed: Da Vinci’s Designs
- Featuring: NOT A WOLF
- Featuring: Julie Bell
- Prints of Darkness
- Featuring: Andrew MacLean
- Brain Dead: Lands *
- Brain Dead: Creatures *
- Brain Dead: Staples *
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail Volumes 1-2
- Showcase Bloomburrow
- Li’l Legends
- D&D: An Exhibition of Adventure
- D&D: Death is in the Eyes of the Beholder Volumes 1-2
- D&D: Astarion’s Thirst
- D&D: Karlach’s Rage
- Featuring Peach Momoko
- Tome of the Astral Sorceress
- Showcase: Duskmourn
- Monstrous Magazines
- The Real Ghostbusters
- Ghostbusters: Slimer
- Chucky
- Pixel Perfect
- Marvel’s Captain America
- Marvel’s Iron Man
- Marvel’s Wolverine
- Marvel’s Storm
- Marvel’s Black Panther
- 20 Ways to Win
- The Fairest Drop of All
2025
- Innistrad Remastered
- Aether Drift (+ Commander)
- Tarkir Dragonstorm (+ Commander)
- Final Fantasy (+ Commander)
- Edge of Eternities (+ Commander)
- Marvel’s: Spider-Man
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Eternal
- Through the Omenpaths (Digital Only)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Eternal
- 46 Secret Lair Drops as of 9/30/2025 including unreleased products
- The Strange Sands
- Animar & Friends
- Lorwyn Lightboxes
- Artist Series: Jesper Ejsing
- Featuring: Luke Pearson
- Featuring: Matsuhiro Arita
- City Styles II: Dressed to Kill
- Arcade Racers
- Aether Drifters
- A Devastation of Dragons
- Cats are Better than Dogs
- Dogs are Better than Cats
- Pick ’em & Stick ’em
- Tragic Romance
- Twisted Toons
- Secret Lair High: Class of ’87
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Legends of Bikini Bottom
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Internet Sensation
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Lands Under the Sea
- They Grow Up So Fast
- Garden Buds
- Oishii! Tokens
- Marvel’s Deadpool
- Adventures of the Little Witch
- Everyone’s Invited!
- Featuring: Jay Howell
- VroooOOOMMMMMMMMM!
- Everything is On Fire
- KEXP: You Are Not Alone *
- KEXP: Where the Music Matters *
- Slay the Day
- Final Fantasy: Game Over
- Final Fantasy: Weapons
- Final Fantasy: Grimoire
- The Art of Frank Frazetta: The Second Exhibition
- Artist Series: Phil Foglio
- Featuring: Imiri Sakabashira
- Nuestra Magia
- Sonic: Friends & Foes
- Sonic: Chasing Adventure
- Sonic: Turbo Gear
- Featuring: Deathburger
- Alien Auroras
- MagicCon: The Gathering
- Flower Power
- Secret Lair x The Last of Us Part I and II
- God of War: Greek and Norse
- Uncharted
- Horizon: Into the Forbidden West
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Furby: the Gathering
- Furby: Doo-Ay Noo-Lah
- Furby: The Odd Bodies
- Squishful Thinking (Play-Dough) – Extra Life 2025
- Dwight Schrute from The Office (official secret lair title pending)
Sources: https://scryfall.com/sets, https://scryfall.com/sets/sld, https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Secret_Lair/Drop_Series
3 years ago I wrote an article titled “30 Years of Magic: the Gathering Products” in which I laid out my frustrations with Wizards of the Coast and the way they were handling Magic: the Gathering. I spent a week compiling every single release that Magic: the Gathering did since its creation in 1993 to show how many products were being printed now compared to before. That article went on to become the most popular piece I had ever written in my 7 years of writing for the game.
For 7 years I tried to publish an article every single Tuesday talking about my favorite card game. I loved Magic: the Gathering and wanted to talk about it constantly. I was diligently following spoilers to give me ideas for new decks or articles to write. But once the pandemic started I noticed a shift in the priorities of Wizards of the Coast. I published an article titled “This Article is Not For You: Worrying Trends in MtG” where I was responding to a comment from Mark Rosewater in which he said “this might just not be the product for you.”
Given the context what he’s saying makes sense. Unsanctioned is a niche product that only released 16 new cards in a joke format. It’s literally baked into the silver border of Un-Cards, that they are fundamentally not legal in any format you can play. But what he said echoed the players growing unease of how many products were starting to come out.
For the longest time Magic: the Gathering focused on designing sets that would have universal appeal. With only a couple of products coming out each year they had to make sure they resonated with large audiences. With the old 3 block structure that meant you could spend as much as a year on a single plane and they would suffer or succeed based on the universal appeal of that plane. Original Kamigawa in 2004 was one of the worst years for the company but Ravnica in 2005 would be one of their best.
Magic: the Gathering has almost always felt like an exclusive club. If you were part of the “in” group, you’d know that we call Sakura-Tribe Elder “Steve” and Dark Confidant “Bob”. You’d see the lore and worlds of these cards and since it was a nerdy hobby you felt special for knowing about it. Even though there were many different worlds ranging from Greek to Gothic Horror, the concept of the multiverse kept it all part of the same world. However, even during this time Magic: the Gathering had already featured Universes Beyond with one of it’s first sets ever made Arabian Nights.
This block was inspired by One Thousand and One Nights which is full of Middle-Eastern folktale. But this set wasn’t just inspired by it, they directly transcribed cards into the set that featured characters from the stories and had real world connotations. What made this set so different from a plane inspired by Nordic folktales is that it took the fantasy out of Magic: the Gathering. So for years Wizards of the Coast promised to never print anything like that again.
That is until 2017 there was an event called HasCon happening, and as a reward to people for showing up to the event Hasbro decided to make Magic: the Gathering cards featuring different intellectual properties that they owned. So we got cards depicting Grimlock, a Nerf War, and a Dungeons and Dragons sword that makes you roll a 20-sided dice. These cards were given the distinction of silver border which meant that you could only play them in formats where each player agrees to it aka a joke format. I love Dungeons and Dragons and have also written many articles about the subject, so when I saw the Sword of D&D I immediately sleeved it up and put it in my cube.
Then in 2019 Wizards of the Coast decided to print another Universes Beyond product (although it was not called this until 2021) with “Ponies: the Galloping” which were released as part of a charity drive for Extra Life which supported hospitals that have sick and injured kids. I made a “Princess Twilight Sparkle EDH Deck Tech” even though I’ve barely interacted with My Little Pony because I thought it was funny. This would go on to become one of the most popular articles I have ever written.
Then in 2020 they started to experiment to see what they could get away with. They printed basic lands that featured Godzilla, and these had black borders. For basic lands though it wasn’t that big of a deal and nobody was upset at the inclusion of these cards. If someone wanted to include these lands in their decks it’d be the kind of thing you could start a conversation about. But then they released the Walking Dead which had mechanically unique cards in the same vein as My Little Pony and before but they were given the distinction of black border, marking it legal for any format featuring Legacy cards including commander. This product was also framed in a way that introduced Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) by selling the product directly through Wizards of the Coast for only a few weeks, which harmed Local Game Stores (LGS’s) that were suffering during the pandemic. “The Walking Dead” would go on to become the most popular product Magic: the Gathering had ever made at the time.
There was massive outcry and Wizards of the Coast tried to appease us by telling us they would be printing in-universe editions of these cards. Then when Universes Beyond was officially announced in 2021 they promised that they would include in-universe cards for every Universes Beyond product moving forward. Then they kept releasing Secret Lairs and products that wouldn’t get their in-universe versions for years (Street Fighter) or still haven’t (Warhammer 40k). They forgot about this promise for years until they release Marvel’s Spider-Man as a full-fledged Standard product, legal in every format, but because of licensing issues none of these cards can appear digitally and they were forced to make Through the Omenpaths, a set that features a bunch of in-universe “Spider Human” characters.
Why does this matter? Since I last published my “30 Years of Magic: the Gathering Products” article I have more or less stopped playing the game. As someone who was creating weekly content for the game I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of products I was being asked to deal with. And instead of choosing which products were right or not for me I just decided to tune the whole thing out. I still played the game from time to time on MtG Arena but I stopped playing formats such as Modern because they were dominated by the One Ring, a card that Wizards was unlikely to ban because it featured an IP outside of Magic. I migrated to Pioneer, in large part because my pet deck Spirits was good there and not in Modern. But once Final Fantasy was added to Standard I decided to uninstall Arena. I was not given a choice to opt out and I hated that.
But here’s the thing. Since I’ve stopped making content for Magic: the Gathering I’ve instead started making YouTube content for Super Smash Bros a game that features crossovers from dozens of different intellectual properties. Why was I ok with creating Smash Bros content but was resentful of what was happening in Magic? Super Smash Bros started out similarly to Magic: the Gathering in that it had multiple characters from different universes all interacting with one another. But for the first two games on the N64 and GameCube Smash Bros only featured Nintendo characters. But then with the Wii they decided to include guest characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog. This would go on to become the best selling Smash Bros game to date.
I guess one of the big differences between Smash and Magic is that Smash Bros was one of the pioneers of Multiverses smashing together. It felt exciting and new because at the time in 2008 it was. And if I don’t like that I can still go back and play the older games to get a game that has a “pure” roster, except that roster is still a mish-mash of characters from multiple franchises. Super Smash Bros Brawl was the first Smash game I owned and it never bothered me that Sonic, Snake, Pit, and Mario were all in the same game. It even introduced me to games that I would have never heard of thanks to the crossovers. But when Magic: the Gathering decides to do a crossover with Post Malone or Dwight Schrute I feel different about it.
Spider-Man is one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time but I feel nothing seeing him in Magic: the Gathering.
Smash Bros still has rules about which characters can be added to the game. They have to be video game characters first and foremost, and if they originated in a different way they cannot be added to Smash (sorry Goku fans). And when a character is added to Smash Masahiro Sakurai is meticulous in making sure their unique art style doesn’t feel out of place in the world of Super Smash Bros. Magic: the Gathering can do crossovers well and has done so in the past. The Dungeons and Dragons set has a lot of cards I love the flavor of. But even though it doesn’t have an official classification as Universes Beyond it is still a separate universe from Magic: the Gathering and it is different from Magic.
When these cards were silver border it made a lot of sense. Magic: the Gathering could remain the way it was but there was still space for them to explore different designs. People opt-in to play with these cards by asking the group if it’s ok. And while some cards stretch the definitions of the rules (such as shooting a Nerf gun at a deck of cards), the majority were made with reasonable designs. But when Universe Beyond got the black border it meant that the company expected everyone to be ok with playing against these cards. And for many Magic: the Gathering players it felt weird to see Rick Grimes, a gritty realistic TV show character in the same universe as Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
There isn’t any rhyme or reason in-universe as to why we’re seeing all these cards. If Magic: the Gathering can get the IP they’ll do it, doesn’t matter if it’s Lord of the Rings, SpongeBob SquarePants, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or Fallout. Spider-Man is one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time but I feel nothing seeing him in Magic: the Gathering. I can’t deny the massive success and popularity that Universes Beyond has brought to Magic: the Gathering. Even though I felt like I was part of an exclusive club before sometimes it’s a good thing to let other people join the club. But the way in which Wizards of the Coast is going about Universes Beyond is beyond reason.
Universes Beyond claims to be expanding the Magic IP more than ever before, but Magic: the Gathering has never felt so small to me.
Whenever a new character gets added to Smash Bros there is always intense anticipation for who could be next. The possibilities are endless but are contained to a real possibility of video game characters only. Sets such as Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons don’t necessarily feel out of place next to a card from Lorwyn. But I love Lorwyn because it is the kind of world that only Magic: the Gathering can create, one inspired by mechanics and game design as much as it borrows from real-world fantasy and folklore to create something wholly unique. But next year we’re getting 7 standard legal sets, and only 3 of them are in-universe.
In July 2021 someone asked Mark Rosewater, the head designer for Magic: the Gathering if Universes Beyond would become standard legal and start replacing sets. He told them that would not be the case. When Mark Rosewater made this statement it was true, but within a year of writing this design would start working on Final Fantasy a set that would be made Standard legal meaning the cards could be used in every single format no exceptions. While we are still seeing 3 in-universe set releases in a year they are being crowded out by Universes Beyond product. Universes Beyond claims to be expanding the Magic IP more than ever before, but Magic: the Gathering has never felt so small to me.
Universes Beyond could have been handled in a way that didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth. But repeatedly we have been promised things regarding Universes Beyond and the integrity of Magic: the Gathering only to have them completely ignore their own words in less than a year. As someone who enjoys the flavor and universe of Magic: the Gathering I’m frustrated that there are now cards such as Vivi Ornitier being printed into Standard that will be the last to get banned because it could put a bad light on the accompanying IP. Cards that were printed as part of a “limited-time only!” may lead to future licensing issues creating a brand new type of reserved list. I’ve been completely checked out of Magic and now I’m priced out and have sold off most of my collection. I’m not mad that Universes Beyond is now a part of Magic, it was an inevitable conclusion. But there was a way to do this that still kept the IP that gathered us all here together in the first place as the main product, but why would they do that when there’s more money to be made off the demographic of people who have never heard of the game before?
I don’t want this article to come across as hatred towards Universes Beyond. I recognize that it has brought a lot of joy to many people who now learned to love the lore that comes with Magic because of a different IP bringing them in. But when the last few sets are just your favorite Magic: the Gathering characters hollowly cosplaying in different settings, the story left to languish by the wayside as Lord of the Rings and Final Fantasy get all the design attention. They can’t tie a story between these sets together the way they could with in-universe sets. Magic is a different game now because of Universes Beyond and direct-to-consumer Secret Lairs. Profits have never been higher but morale has never been lower for enfranchised players of the game. I may have stopped playing Magic in the last few years because I was moving a lot, needed money that my cards could give me, and wasn’t with my usual playgroup nearly as often. But I also stopped playing because it became impossible to keep up with the pace of products, and the products that were coming out didn’t feel like the product for me anymore. Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great Tuesday.
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“As someone who enjoys the flavor and universe of Magic: the Gathering I’m frustrated that there are now cards such as Vivi Ornitier being printed into Standard that will be the last to get banned because it could put a bad light on the accompanying IP.”
well that aged badly
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