Un-Sets and cards have always had a special place in the hearts of many MTG players. Since their debut in 1998’s Unglued, these sets have always featured off-the-wall wackiness that gleefully broke Magic’s rules. Due to this, these MTG cards, unsurprisingly, weren’t tournament legal and had a special silver border to denote that.
Fast forward 25 years, and Wizards essentially got rid of the silver border in Unfinity. In place of that classic border, which had only been used in four sets, Wizards created the Acorn stamp. For better or worse, this unique security seal allowed Wizards to create black bordered Un-set cards for the first time.
Now, two years on from Unfinity, it seems MTG players want to go back. Judging by the results of a recent poll, MTG players miss the classic silver border treatment.
Bring Back the Border
Right now, the future of Un-sets in general is very uncertain. Despite this, MTG’s Head Designer, Mark Rosewater, is often more than happy to talk about them on Blogatog. As a lead designer of every Un-set, it’s safe to say Rosewater is a huge proponent for the product line. Due to this, it’s common for Rosewater to be asked questions about these sets and their potential future.
Most recently, Tumblr user Testamentsglock asked about the potential use of either the Acorn Stamp or Magic’s silver border. Sadly, Mark Rosewater didn’t give much in the way of a concrete answer ot this question. Instead, Rosewater turned this question around on his audience, setting up a poll to see what players want.
Receiving just shy of 1000 votes before the polls closed, the results are pretty clear-cut. 73.9% of MTG players wanted the silver border to return, while only 15.1% would prefer the Acorn stamp. Notably, 11% of players stated they weren’t a fan of Un-cards at all, which sort of means 89% of players want a new Un-set.
While these results seem to make the future of Un-sets clear, this poll is hardly all-encompassing. While 994 responses aren’t insignificant, Magic: The Gathering has millions of players worldwide. Through this lens, this poll is just a drop in the bucket that doesn’t hold a candle to Wizards’ usual player feedback forms.
That said, while this poll didn’t have universal reach, the readers of Blogatog are undoubtedly devoted to MTG. On top of this, many Blogatog readers are staunch Un-set fans, so it makes sense they’d potentially help guide development. We’ve seen before that Blogatog readers can influence Magic’s future, so that could easily be happening again now.
A Problem Solved
While this poll will be an aesthetic choice for a lot of players, the comments showed a lot more nuance. As much-maligned as the Acorn stamp was, it did allow Un-set cards to be legal in Eternal formats for the first time. Admittedly, this didn’t go well for Legacy and Vintage, as all Attraction and Sticker cards would ultimately be banned in these formats.
Still, outside of these problematic mechanics, there has always been a lot of demand for playable Un-set cards. Many past Un-set cards are rather tame by today’s standards, with cards like Chicken Egg entirely working within the rules. For this reason, many MTG players request a split set that uses the black border for playable cards, and the silver border for everything else.
While this may seem like a perfect solution, printing a set in this way may cause issues. On top of this, the pack opening experience may also be rather jarring for anyone not in the know. That said, thanks to some murmurings that are in the works at Wizards, black bordered cards might not be needed at all.
Announced back in 2024, the Silver Bordered Project aims to bring reasonable silver bordered cards to Commander. This plan was first talked about by the old Commander Rules Committee; however, Wizards has since taken over the format. Speaking about the project after taking over the format, Gavin Verhey revealed it is something Wizards wants to continue.
Notably, while this is good news for the Silver Bordered Project, Verhey didn’t give any timeline, and it was clear it wasn’t a top priority. Subsequently, it may be a while until we hear future developments. That said, another Un-set being released would be the perfect opportunity to complete and implement this project.
Don’t Hold Your Breath
Between the recent Blogatog poll and the Silver Bordered Project, you might think the future of Un-sets is bright. Sadly, it doesn’t seem we’re going to be getting another Un-set for a very long time. Despite being beloved by the community, financially, these sets have always seriously underperformed.
This has always been a problem in the creation of Un-sets, and Universes Beyond has only made this problem worse. Now, each slot on the MTG release calendar is worth a lot more potential money. This means Horizons and Masters sets, which print money like nobody’s business, will likely be the first choice going forward.
Even if demand for a new Un-set reaches new highs, there’s no guarantee there even is space on the release calendar. Looking at 2026, we do expect that Wizards has another secret release up their sleeves. With three in-universe sets and three Universes Beyond sets already looked in, however, things are chockablock.
Ultimately, while we don’t think it’s likely that we’ll get another Un-set anytime soon, nothing is impossible. Wizards could potentially incorporate new Un-cards into Commander precons, as was done with Archenemy in Duskmourn. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but I definitely wouldn’t hold your breath.
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