Hazy HomunculusHazy Homunculus | Art by Anthony S. Waters

Magic: The Gathering has its share of absolutely amazing expansion sets. This year alone, Wizards of the Coast has released a few really good sets. Final Fantasy, Tarkir: Dragonstorm, and even Edge of Eternities are all bangers as far as new sets are concerned.

But for nearly every Tarkir: Dragonstorm we get, we also get the occasional Aetherdrift.

With that, let's look at the five worst Magic sets ever made. And for those of you concerned, Aetherdrift didn't even make the cut!

#5. Prophecy

This third set in the Mercadian Masques block, Prophecy, is the fifth-worst Magic set by my approximations. It doesn't help that Mercadian Masques followed one of the notoriously strongest blocks in the game's history. However, the Urza block being massively overpowered to this day meant that Wizards of the Coast had to balance the game's power creep in a big way.

The mechanic of paying mana to prevent an effect was a complete wash (save for maybe one strong card, in the form of Rhystic StudyRhystic Study).

Rhystic, as a mechanic, largely failed the game, and nobody utilized it to the extent that it mattered at all. Sure, a small handful of cards would later see play in extremely niche Commander situations (for instance, I kind of appreciate Gulf SquidGulf Squid... maybe?). But this set is extremely maligned for the bulk it provided players.

To be honest, Rhystic Study is its one saving grace that makes it a little better than my next entry.

#4. Saviors of Kamigawa

Our fourth-worst pick on this list is Saviors of Kamigawa. This may be a slightly controversial selection, especially when picked over Prophecy, but hear me out. Saviors was hot garbage compared to Champions of Kamigawa or Betrayers of Kamigawa.

There is a certain nuance to being a block that follows a strictly overpowered block. In this case, the Kamigawa block succeeded Mirrodin, much like how the Masques block followed the Urza block. To that end, Kamigawa was already doing worse than Mirrodin in terms of power balancing, as per Wizards' necessities.

However, where Kamigawa block got it worse was in the parasitic mechanics of spirit/arcane, soulshift, and the Zubera creatures.

Of all the mechanical failings of the Kamigawa block, however, none came close to the issues that Saviors of Kamigawa presented. For one, the mechanics were steaming and pungent, such that the sweep and epic mechanics are two that haven't seen any further printing since the set's release.

Plus, the hand-size matters theme was not as properly explored as it should have been. If anything, it should have actually been explored much less. Players like casting spells, and as such, they wouldn't be inclined to reserve their hands for these mediocre payoffs.

As such, I feel correct in putting Saviors of Kamigawa as my #4 pick for worst sets in all of Magic's history. What could be worse?

#3. Fallen Empires

Ah, Fallen Empires. Speaking candidly for a moment, I actually really like the lore behind this set. The conflicts of Sarpadia were more amazing and nuanced than a lot of the wars in other Magic stories. But here's the thing: lore doesn't matter if nobody is reading it. Fallen Empires is a terrible set and ranks #3 on my list.

Why is this, though? For starters, the packs were only eight cards, and they didn't guarantee anything to you. No definite guaranteed rares, and no guarantee of good cards.

I remember when my local stationery store sold Fallen Empires packs alongside Time Spiral and others, and poring through packs as I bought them, hoping to score a Spore FlowerSpore Flower or Fungal BloomFungal Bloom to upgrade my Fun With Fungus precon. Alas, only one of each! But I got a boatload of copies of Soul ExchangeSoul Exchange. That's gotta count for something, right? Right...?

Rest in peace, Rogoff's, you were massively overpriced, but at least your selection of Magic packs was pretty cool. And as for this set, with no guarantees and a small pack size to boot, I can't say much good about Fallen Empires. I liked the story behind it, as Thelon of HavenwoodThelon of Havenwood and Endrek Sahr, Master BreederEndrek Sahr, Master Breeder were top-notch characters. (Yes, I was an edge lord. Yes, I still kind of am.) But that doesn't stop Thelon and Endrek from being amazing figures in the Sarpadian wars.

So, this leaves me with two more sets worse than even Fallen Empires. What could they be?

#2. March of the Machine: Aftermath

Ranked at #2 on my list is March of the Machine: Aftermath. Honestly, I loathed how things coalesced with this microscopic 50-card set. Why was this Standard-legal? No amount of attempts can convince me that this set was any good.

The leaks were obviously a problem that hugely plagued the set, but in many respects, I'd say Aftermath almost deserved them. This set was crud. The only saving grace to a set like Aftermath could be that Nissa, Resurgent AnimistNissa, Resurgent Animist came out with it. However, it's a secondary Tireless ProvisionerTireless Provisioner (or, by extension, a tertiary Lotus CobraLotus Cobra).

It's such an unnecessary addition to Standard, to March of the Machine proper, or to Magic: The Gathering as a whole. Its most sought-after card is completely unneeded. I can't express enough how bad this set was.

And yet, even with March of the Machine: Aftermath being as bad as it is, there's one set that ranks even worse. This set is the absolute worst of them all, and it shows to this day. It has practically no redeeming qualities. What set could it possibly be? Newcomers to Magic may not know what's coming, but a lot of the old guard do.

The #1 Worst Magic Set of All Time Is...

The worst Magic set to ever disgrace the printers over at Wizards of the Coast's headquarters is Homelands. Hold your shock and awe; we'll get to why in a second.

Homelands completely sucked eggs. It wasn't good. In fact, it's one that I can safely call bad. There is no reason it should've been printed. This much is true. Homelands came out in the midst of the Ice Age block, though it shouldn't have come out at all.

For one thing, the story behind Homelands was lost on me, and still is, in a way. I get that Ulgrotha is a plane of existence lost to the Sengir clan of vampires. I understand that Baron SengirBaron Sengir rules over the plane with an iron fist and a thirsty tongue. Believe me, I get that. But that's just premise and background; there's no plot to care about whatsoever.

Mechanically, Homelands was a Nightmare

And the cards... Like Fallen Empires, packs of Homelands were eight cards, but unlike Fallen Empires, there was no good to come from them for years.

If you'll recall my story about Rogoff's and their eclectic Magic card selection, I also bought a lot of Homelands. I looked and looked, absolutely scoured the packs I opened, looking for one copy of Baron Sengir to fulfill my edgy, 15-year-old craving for powerful black cards. Instead, I was left with trash like Folk of An-HavvaFolk of An-Havva and Cemetery GateCemetery Gate. Ew.

Sure, nowadays cards like Merchant ScrollMerchant Scroll and Memory LapseMemory Lapse are fine. Sure. I'll abide by that fact. But if you ask me, I need a real-life Memory Lapse just to scrub the ill-favored memories of wasting $4.32 per pack of Homelands to try to get a card I never ended up acquiring.

Homelands is my shame, and I suppose I'll live with it, but that won't stop me from ranking it as the #1 worst Magic set of all time.

So now, let me open the floor to you, dear readers. What do you think is the worst Magic set ever to exist? Sound off below!

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