It’s impossible to ignore the fact that Magic: The Gathering has changed a lot in the past few years. Not only has the presence of Universes Beyond ramped up dramatically, but these crossover cards are now even in Standard. As if that wasn’t enough, we’re getting six Standard legal sets per year nowadays, or rather seven in 2026.
With all this in mind, it’s safe to say that it’s not all been sunshine and roses for MTG recently. The game has been beset by constant controversies, especially around the use of tropes and the size of sets. Unfortunately, these issues remain sore spots in the community, especially thanks to the overabundance of pizza in the TMNT MTG set.
Mercifully, it now appears that there might be some good news on the horizon. While it’s still early days, the ever-frustrating set size issue could be getting better in the future. That’ll be the case, at least, provided that Wizards of the Coast listens to the players.
A Long and Troubled History
Small sets have always had a bit of a sordid history in MTG. When blocks were still a thing, the middle small set often underperformed, as they weren’t as attractive as the others. While this partially led to the dissolution of blocks, Wizards tried small sets again in March of the Machine: The Aftermath.
While it had potential, calling this experiment a flop would have been an understatement. Terrible sales and reception all but killed the Epilogue Set concept, forcing Outlaws of Thunder Junction to adapt. The Assassin’s Creed set was also forced to adapt, being expanded dramatically into a weird hybrid small set.
All of this led to the Spider Man and TMNT MTG sets, which both contain just under 200 cards. While this latest attempt at small sets is better, it’s hard to call them anything close to perfect. Not only is the pack opening experience often worse, but the Limited gameplay of these sets is also rather weak.
Due to having fewer available Draft archetypes, small sets can end up being very difficult to Draft. This was especially problematic with the MTG Spider Man set, which was heavily criticized by players for being wildly imbalanced. Unfortunately, the newly introduced Pick Two format didn’t solve all the format’s issues, making it feel like a band-aid fix.
Currently, it’s unclear if the TMNT MTG set will suffer from the same problems, but hopes aren’t exactly high. Unfortunately, if things aren’t balanced, then we may be in for a rough future, as more small sets are on the way. Thanks to Standard only getting 120 more cards than usual, it’s believed we’re getting at least two, if not three, small sets in 2026.
The End of an Era?
While 2026 might be full of smaller sets, there’s a chance they may get phased out in the near-future. For better or worse, nothing is set in stone just yet, but MTG players are certainly making their opinions known. With Wizards taking notice, this could well mean a change is on the horizon.
“Thunderweb: What do you think is the *smallest* feasible number of cards in a premier set?
Mark Rosewater: Current player feedback seems to push against doing any small sets.”
Via: Blogatog
While set size has been a recurring topic on Blogatog recently, this response from Rosewater is especially telling. While feedback doesn’t always dictate the entire future of MTG, it can have a huge influence on things. Recently, in fact, it feels like Wizards of the Coast has been making more of an effort to keep players happy.
Not only has the number of sets actually been reduced following player feedback, but the size of spoiler seasons has been tweaked, too. On top of this, Wizards remarkably even pulled the recent Monster Hunter Secret Lair Superdrop following widespread complaints. If this trend continues, then there’s a very real chance that smaller sets could, once again, end up scrapped.
Let’s Be Realistic
Sadly, while MTG players may love the idea that smaller sets are on the way out, if it does happen, it won’t be soon. Since Universes Beyond sets spend three, if not four, years in the development pipeline, many smaller sets will already be in production. Potentially, some of these might be able to be expanded at the last minute, but that’s hardly guaranteed.
Even then, it’s hard to ignore the fact that smaller sets do serve a purpose in MTG thanks to Universes Beyond. Due to the source material available, some properties simply can’t stretch to being a full-sized MTG release. When you factor in Commander decks and supplemental products, too, the options for crossovers could be severely limited.
On top of potentially limiting options, making every MTG set full-sized would also dramatically increase the development work required. This could increase the chances of a broken card slipping through the cracks and ruining multiple metagames. Outside of that, there’s also the financial factor in all of this. If smaller Universes Beyond sets still sell well, then Wizards might not feel the need to change anything.
Due to all of these factors, personally, I can’t see smaller sets going away anytime soon. Their numbers might be reduced going forward, but having them entirely eradicated feels very unlikely. Even if this is to happen, it’ll take years to implement, so don’t expect a dramatic change in 2027.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage.