Magic: The Gathering (MTG)  was created back in 1993 by Dr. Richard Garfield. The success of the first collectible card game spawned imitators and garnered a loyal fan base. But the game has recently alienated some fans with something called Universes Beyond.

A program launched by Wizards of the Coast in late 2021, it aims to bring outside intellectual properties into MTG. At first, it started with small Secret Lair drops — five-ish card batches that usually hold high prices due to their limited print and special art.

Many point to the Walking Dead Secret Lair as the first signs of Universes Beyond coming into MTG, with mechanically unique cards for characters like Rick Grimes and Negan being included. 

Later, they’d expand Secret Lair to other properties like Street Fighter and even Fortnite. These cross-overs resulted in mixed feelings by the fan base. On one hand, MTG was opening itself to more fans entering the game. On the other hand, it felt like MTG was losing its own story and intellectual property (IP).

The small batches later upgraded into full sets in 2021, as we got a crossover with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. The set only took seven months  to become the highest selling set. It signaled to higher-ups that cross-overs could satisfy both fans and investors. 

With the success that the “Lord of the Rings” set experienced, Wizards of the Coast announced that they’d split future set releases 50/50 between in-universe and universe beyond sets. For Wizards of the Coast, Universes Beyond sets are golden opportunities to rake in cash.

In some consumers’ eyes, these sets lessen the richness of MTG’s own IP along with making older in-universe cards mechanically obsolete. 

The next Universes Beyond set announced for MTG was a  Final Fantasy crossover. The set was released in April of 2023 to hype and acclaim from many who enjoyed the worlds of Final Fantasy. Players got an opportunity to use characters like Tidus and Cloud in cardboard form.

The set gained so much attention that it broke profit records, generating $200 million on the first day. It beat out the old leader Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth along with other in-universe sets like Modern Masters and Kwagamia: Neon Dynasty. Universes Beyond sets became both more coveted and hated by fans.

As it sits right now, the most recently released Universe Beyond set is Marvel’s Spider-Man, which I didn’t even know there was enough lore to make a set out of . Next to be released will be Avatar: The Last Airbender. Many players are already anticipating a fan-favorite show coming to MTG.

And way, way into the future are seven more sets to be released in 2026, with an uneven tilt toward Universes Beyond sets for the upcoming year. There will also be a journey back to a fan-favorite world with Lorwyn Eclipsed in late January

While public opinion on Universes Beyond is definitely split amongst fans, it’s clear that’ll stay for the near future. Just as long as the sets keep setting record profits for the company that makes MTG.

Baker can be reached at [email protected]