TARDISTARDIS | Art by Chris Ostrowski

It's no secret to Magic players that Universes Beyond has become a huge part of our game. From Standard sets to Secret Lairs, outside IPs have become an ever growing part of Magic. This has certainly brought new players to the game, but has it actually made the game better?

First, though, some history. Outside IPs in Magic began back in 2020, with the introduction of a Walking Dead Secret Lair with mechanically unique cards. Some of these cards, like Rick, Steadfast LeaderRick, Steadfast Leader, went on to become powerful roleplayers in EDH decks.

This was the beginning of a much-derided pattern, though, and players were immediately critical of the exclusivity of these cards. They were, justifiably, frustrated that they couldn't get these interesting and unique cards without paying exorbitantly high prices.

But, the drop sold extremely well, and the Universes Beyond experiment continued.

Universes Beyond - The Good

Starting with The Walking Dead, Universes Beyond has long been a tool to bring new players into the game. While we don't have official player numbers from Wizards of the Coast, we can look to UB sales as a guideline. Magic's crossover with Lord of the Rings was wildly successful, leading to tons of news coverage and hype about the 1-of-1 The One RingThe One Ring, and $200,000,000 in sales over six months.

This crossover was widely considered a success from a flavor and a financial perspective, setting my personal standard for what a UB set can and should be. Chris Cocks, the CEO of Hasbro (the company that owns Wizards of the Coast), even said that this was about double the amount that their other "high-performing sets" had brought in. Lord of the Rings was, by all measures, a good UB set.

Then, after a few more external IP-focused sets, Wizards made yet another highly successful crossover with an outside property, and its sales blew Lord of the Rings' out of the water. Final Fantasy, a collaboration with the famous video game franchise, netted $200,000,000 in sales in just one day. That is, frankly, unbelievable. It shows not only the growth of Magic as a whole, but how good UB sets can be for the financial health of our game.

But, Universes Beyond sets aren't just good because they bring new players (and their cash) to MTG. They're also a fun way for new mechanics to make their way into the card pool. Rad counters from Fallout, freerunning from Assassin's Creed, and Summon creatures from Final Fantasy are all interesting, flavorful mechanics that likely wouldn't exist on Magic cardstock were it not for these crossover products.

Universes Beyond - The Bad

But sales and new card designs aren't everything for Magic players. What about the price tag of Universes Beyond sets? What about the strength of these external-IP based cards? What about the loss of what makes Magic... magic?

First, let's talk about the rising price associated with UB sets and individual UB cards. The price of booster packs has risen pretty dramatically recently, with a Final Fantasy Play Booster costing $9.81 and a Final Fantasy Collector Booster costing a whopping $122.17. That's already extremely high compared to a normal Standard set.

But, we've got MSRPs back now so we can see that these packs are meant to cost $6.99 and $37.99, respectively. That's just the "recommended" price, though. For many Magic: The Gathering players, these cards are only available at exorbitant markups.

With our most recent UB set, things are really getting out of hand. A Collector Booster Box of Spider-Man is currently selling for about $575, which is absurdly high. But, that's down about 20% from its high of $975.51 just a few weeks ago! How is anyone meant to buy packs at these prices? That's how much rent and utilities cost in my college town; I can't pay that amount for some cards.

But maybe I could build a fort out of all the draft chaff I pull from the packs...

Defenders of Universes Beyond often say that if the product isn't for you, just don't buy it! In theory, this makes sense. Magic players don't have to interact with every product that Wizards of the Coast releases, and they certainly don't have to support UB sets that they don't enjoy. But when cards that are included in these sets are powerful beyond belief, it becomes almost impossible to simply ignore their existence.

If you were a Standard player that really disliked the recent Final Fantasy cards, but still wanted to build a competitive deck in the format, you'd find it quite difficult to simply ignore Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier's existence. If you were a casual Commander player with a hatred for Warhammer trying to put together an X-spell deck, cards like NexosNexos would be tempting. And, if you were a cEDH player trying to take on your local tournament, it would be almost impossible to build a deck without Orcish BowmastersOrcish Bowmasters.

Universes Beyond cards are often too good to ignore, in a wide variety of formats and strategies, meaning that this argument has fallen flat.

Finally, the point that bothers me about Universes Beyond the most: It's taking the space of other, in-universe designs. I fell in love with this game because of the card designs. I loved the worlds of Theros and Tarkir, and was intrigued by the different colleges of Strixhaven and the creatures of Lorwyn.

We were even scheduled to return to Lorwyn this year, going back to a twee plane with adorable tribes and its sinister counterpart, but our trip back to this world, where we haven't been in nearly 20 years, was pushed to 2026 to make room for Avatar: The Last Airbender. Don't get me wrong; I like Avatar. I grew up watching the show, and have enjoyed some of the cards that we've seen previewed so far. But it's a story I've heard before.

I love the designs that Wizards' employees make, I love the worlds they craft, and I love the original characters they've created. Like many Magic players, I see the value in in-universe sets and don't want it to fade into the background just for the sake of sales.

Have We Jumped the Shark?

Now that we've got a sense of both sides of the argument, let's talk about where we are now. For years, players joked that we'd be getting SpongeBob cards next. Well... they were right. We got reskins of 11 popular cards as SpongeBob characters in a Secret Lair drop, and it just felt like another day as a Magic player. We even got mechanically-unique Sonic the Hedgehog cards, some of which are really strong!

Sadly, I think Universes Beyond has passed the point of ridiculousness. We're inundated with external IPs in our TCG, getting an even number of UB and in-universe sets for at least the foreseeable future. We have jumped the shark, and I think it happened the moment this year's set release schedule was modified to allow Avatar to replace Llorwyn. That, to me, felt like a turning point.

But we've got to ask: Is this a bad thing? On balance, is Universes Beyond doing more good or more bad for Magic. As much as it pains me to admit it, I think we're better off having Universes Beyond as a part of our game.

Magic is, quite possibly, the most complicated game on the planet. There's nearly 30,000 unique game pieces, hundreds of mechanics, and tons of decisions to be made over the course of any given match. Providing more players with an on-ramp to our complex system is always a good thing, and I firmly believe that our community is richer for having welcomed in Doctor Who nerds and Jurassic Park nerds alike.

And, for established players like me who don't love many of the IPs being introduced to our game, it's still fun for me to get my hands on some new cards once in a while.

Is it worth the crazy high prices attached to Universes Beyond cards? Is it worth being forced to engage with Universes Beyond sets, even if you don't like them? Is it worth the degradation of Magic's soul? I say yes, but barely.

I want Wizards to take steps to address UB pack prices, and I want them to stop pushing incredibly powerful cards in those sets. I feel strongly that there are meaningful steps they can take on those fronts. I'd also like to see a different balance of UB and in-universe sets per year - maybe a 2-4 split instead of an even 3-3 split. I know that's asking for a lot, but I also know that Magic's players are hungry for these changes.

That's all my thoughts on Universes Beyond, but I'd love to hear yours in the comments down below. Have we jumped the shark? Is the growth of UB in Magic worth all of the associated difficulty? Let me know what you think, and I'll see you all soon for another article.

Read More: