Universes Beyond, Unhinged

Horn of Greed, a preview from the summer 2026 Marvel set

Last time, I mentioned two concerns about where Magic is heading. Today I address the first: the explosion of Universes Beyond (UB) sets, the incorporation of external Intellectual Property (IP) into the game. 

Five years ago (February 2021), Wizards announced its foray into UB. A paragraph from that article bears highlighting:

That said, Universes Beyond cards will not be Standard legal. We strive to make Magic cards that are widely useful, but Universes Beyond will be above and, well, beyond our normal Standard releases. So nothing much is changing with our normal cadence of releases for Standard. This is purely a cool thing we're doing in addition to all the other cool things we're already doing.

That statement is no longer true; Wizards announced in October 2024 that UB sets would now be Standard legal. As I mentioned the other day, four of the seven releases this coming year are UB sets, and all are Standard legal. The "in addition to all the other cool things" has become "the main cool thing." And that, to me, is not cool to all.

I wrote about UB sets in 2023, and I mentioned there a feeling of dread. It appears my fears are coming to pass. Things have ramped up considerably; here is the history of UB releases so far, with Standard legal releases in italics:

2021:

- Dungeons & Dragons* (Adventures in Forgotten Realms)

2022:
- Warhammer 40K (Commander decks only)

- Dungeons & Dragons (Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate; a set for Commander draft)

2023:
- The Lord of the Rings

- Dr. Who (Commander decks and collector booster packs only)

2024:
- Fallout (Commander decks and collector booster packs only)
- Assassin's Creed (small release; a starter deck, 7-card packs, and collector booster packs only)

2025:

- Final Fantasy
- Marvel's Spider-man

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

2026:

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- Marvel

- The Hobbit

- Star Trek

See what is happening? UB sets were initially what was intended: "one-offs" to be enjoyed in their own way. But now . . . we went from zero UB Standard legal sets (in 2022-24) to three (2025) to four (2026). It is taking over. 

What is driving the change? I think the answer is obvious: greed. Wizards wants to draw people in; that makes sense and is part of typical business practice. The way they're doing it is by selling out, in a sense: they're becoming less 'unique.' They had a strong in-world mythos; they are downplaying that. I think we're losing something along the way.

To be clear: I'm not wholly against UB sets. I think their D&D, Lord of the Rings, and Avatar sets were great. I'm against the dominance of UB sets at the expense of in-world releases. 

And I'm curious as to the nature of some UB releases, too: Avatar and TMNT are based on kids' cartoons, rated for ages 7+. Magic is inherently 13+. Younger kids can and do play, of course (mine have for years), but I'm wondering if the target is younger kids (trying to draw on the Pokemon market, I imagine) or adults who look nostalgically at those two properties. We'll see.

Another concern: some UB sets feel out of place due to their genre. Magic is inherently a fantasy game; sets like D&D, Lord of the Rings, and Final Fantasy mesh well. Avatar works. Spider-man feels strange to me, and Star Trek feels even weirder. These take the game away from a fantasy focus to more of a "can we absorb everything" feel, leading some online jokesters to speculate about what is coming in future years:

Time will tell if the UB focus is the future or a fad. Ultimately, the game will be driven by the dollars it brings in.

*the 2021 D&D set was Standard legal because it is owned by Wizards, so it is not an external IP.