At this point, pretty much nothing is off limits for Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond initiative. While crossovers like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things seemed odd at first, now that we’ve had SpongeBob SquarePants and Hatsune Miku they all sound eminently reasonable. We’re very much in the era of ‘Anything Goes,’ as the old song says. At MagicCon: Las Vegas over the weekend, a new Unknown event card actually hinted at a full-on Dragon Ball set for MTG.
While this would likely have been taken as a mere joke a year or so ago, times have very much changed. It’s not only possible that Dragon Ball is the subject of a future Universes Beyond project, but actually quite likely. Given how successful Final Fantasy has been, pulling in another beloved Japanese franchise would be a smart move.
Dragon Ball is an absolute behemoth, too, with more than enough material to fill a set and then some. Whether this amounts to anything is, of course, up in the air for now. In the meantime, however, it’s hard to resist a bit of rabid speculation.
A Dragon Ball Set For MTG?!
The reason MTG players are speculating about a potential Dragon Ball set comes from MagicCon: Las Vegas. At one of the convention’s Unknown Events, a player who goes by 3scher on Reddit received the card above in their pool.
For those familiar with Dragon Ball, this is one of the most clear-cut references possible. Shenron is a powerful Dragon from the series, capable of granting wishes if all seven Dragon Balls are gathered. He appears across many different story arcs in both the anime and manga, making him a fairly iconic part of the series all told.
The card’s name itself is an obvious Shenron reference, but the mechanics play into it too. On entry, it essentially Conjures seven Dragonstorm Globe tokens into your deck. If you can gather all seven in play, your wish is granted and you win the game immediately. Shenron’s status as a ‘neutral’ figure in the Dragon Ball world is reflected in his Defender ability here, as well.
“A Dragon Ball UB would get me to buy cards again.”
Thecheat420, via r/MagicTCG
After 3scher shared the card in a Reddit post, many in the comments took it as a hint that a Dragon Ball Universes Beyond set could be coming. Based purely off of this, the theory is undeniably a bit of a long shot. Unknown Event cards reference all sorts of properties, but are generally seen more as jokes than legitimate hints or teasers.
What sets this one apart more than anything is its tone. Where most Unknown Event cards employ puns, or make fun of their reference targets in some way, Shen plays it very straight. From the name to the abilities, this seems like a reasonable representation of the character in Magic. Heck, its ‘Conjure seven Dragonstorm Globes’ ability would work as-is on Arena right now.
Reference Or Reality?
“I feel like if WotC had secured a Dragon Ball UB license they would not be announcing it via a teaser in a convention promo card.”
Kyleometers, via r/MagicTCG
That said, chances are still very high that this is a fun reference and nothing more. Unknown Event cards have been part of MagicCons since 2023, and they’e covered a lot of ground since then. Many are references to prominent community members, like The Nitpicking Nerds or CovertGoBlue. Others are deep-cut Magic: The Gathering references, like Fear of Unsleeved Decks or The Zonian Brawler.
The last major category of Unknown Event cards, and the one that Shen falls into, is pop culture references. These are cards like Seer of the Bright Side, referencing the iconic Killers song, or The Cobra King, referencing the Cobra Kai dojo from the Karate Kid films and its own subsequent series. We’ve seen a good number of these in the past, and none have ended up getting Universes Beyond sets down the line.
While the functionality of the card is surprising, and Dragon Ball would be a great fit for MTG, it’s still unlikely that this is a genuine tease from Wizards. There are literally hundreds of Unknown Event cards out there. If we read into all of them this much, we’d have a Universes Beyond wishlist a mile long.
“Is that really any more absurd than announcing it via an Arena daily deal like for ATLA?”
g1ng3rk1d5, via r/MagicTCG
On the other hand, Wizards has gotten particularly cheeky with its Universes Beyond teasers in recent times. Back in January, an MTG Arena daily deal teased an Avatar: The Last Airbender set. Just over a month later, this was revealed to be real. If a method like that is acceptable, then an Unknown Event card isn’t much of a stretch. There’s an easy counter-argument that few players are likely to see the latter compared to the former, but the online discussion around the Shen card dispels that somewhat.
A Treasure Trove Of Material
The Unknown Event Shen card may be the first seed of a full-on collaboration, or one of the designers at Wizards may just be a big fan of Dragon Ball. For now, all we can do is wait and see. What’s not up for debate, however, is how well such a crossover would work if it came to fruition.
Much like Final Fantasy, Dragon Ball is a colossal, generation-spanning series. Beginning way back in 1984, the original Dragon Ball manga ran for 11 years. It was adapted into two anime series’, Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. Once the manga story was done, Toei Animation spun off on its own and continued the story with Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Dragon Ball Super.
To this day, the series is effectively still ongoing. Dragon Ball Daima premiered in October 2024, and ended back in February of this year. Dragon Ball still receives regular video game releases as well, with the last one, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, releasing last October. Altogether, this gives the designers at Wizards over 40 years of history to draw from.
That material is top-tier, to boot. Even non-anime fans are likely aware of Goku as a character, and the legendary ‘over 9000’ line from the series. It’s a hugely influential work, and one that, like Lord of the Rings and Final Fantasy, has more than enough iconic elements to power a full expansion. Wizards is fighting hard to win the Japanese market right now. Landing a Dragon Ball set could be the move that finally seals the deal.
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