While it had a very rocky start, over the years, many MTG players have come to tolerate Universes Beyond. Still, when it was announced that Universes Beyond cards would become Standard legal in 2024, controversy flared up once again. Thankfully, sets like MTG Final Fantasy have proved this isn’t all bad, but it’s by no means unquestionably perfect.
Right now, for instance, the TMNT MTG set is embroiled in controversy thanks to its aesthetics and mechanical design. Naturally, this has left many players feeling dissatisfied, especially since there’s no way to ignore these cards. While MTG players have previously been told to only play the sets they want to play with, this doesn’t work anymore. With Universes Beyond cards playing a role in almost every competitive format, there’s literally no escape from dubious design decisions anymore.
Trouble In Turtle Town
Despite it being a recurring element within all pieces of TMNT media, MTG players have still been shocked by the amount of pizza in the set. Things didn’t get off to a good start following the debut of the full-art pizza lands, and haven’t significantly improved since. With 54 pizza-themed cards in the set, it’s easy to see why players are put off.
To make matters worse, the TMNT MTG set even put a fourth-wall-breaking card into Standard. While this is technically nothing new for MTG, this is usually only found in Un-sets and promos. From this, many players have already voiced their desire to skip the set entirely, but that’s easier said than done.
Now that Universes Beyond cards are Standard legal, there’s no escape from the TMNT set’s pizza antics. Outside of locked formats, like Premodern, these cards are basically legal everywhere, and many have serious competitive applications. Thanks to this, many MTG players will have no choice but to stomach the pizza when TMNT becomes legal on Friday.
A Buffet Gone Bad
Frustratingly, Universes Beyond sets weren’t always this way, as they’ve only been made Standard playable recently. This allowed MTG Head Designer, Mark Rosewater, to utilize a buffet analogy when discussing crossover cards. Simply put, if you don’t like a specific dish (set), you can simply avoid it and continue eating (playing with) what you do like.
While opponents could still use Universes Beyond cards against you in formats like Commander and even Modern, it was possible to escape them. Now, however, it’s almost impossible to not interact with these cards if you want to remain competitive.
Naturally, this is upsetting to many MTG players who don’t want to see these tongue-in-cheek cards at all. While this is definitely a concern, Magic: The Gathering has no shortage of controversial or frustrating elements. ‘Hat sets’ like Murders at Karlov Manor equally made a mockery of Magic, yet those cards haven’t seen the same level of vitriol.
Even if they are garish, aesthetics are hardly the only problem with Universes Beyond MTG cards in Standard. Due to licensing fees, Universes Beyond packs and products are more expensive across the board. This, in turn, makes the cards inside more expensive, especially when they have multiformat potential.
Technically, expensive MTG cards are nothing new; however, Universes Beyond cards do make matters worse. Even ignoring the potential pushing of these cards to appease IP holders, Universes Beyond cards are just harder to reprint. Thanks to this, they often get more expensive faster, and hold their prices for longer.
Genie’s Out The Bottle
Unfortunately, while Universes Beyond MTG cards being Standard legal has clearly caused problems, there’s no easy solution. In theory, Universes Beyond sets could go back to being direct to Modern releases, but that equally causes problems. As Wizards noted in their original 2024 announcement, this not only increases complexity, but it also churns up the Modern metagame, which is meant to be more stable.
Ideally, Universes Beyond cards could be removed from competitive formats altogether, only being Commander legal. Given Commander is Magic’s most popular format, this seems like an ideal solution, especially with the density of legends in these sets. Realistically, though, it’s hard to ignore just how much money Universes Beyond sets are making right now.
With the Final Fantasy MTG set making $200,000,000 on day one of its release, there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. Since MTG is propping up Hasbro’s balance sheet, any loss in revenue simply to appease disgruntled players is incredibly risky. Even then, the disgruntled masses could easily turn out to be just a vocal minority.
Ultimately, for better or worse, it’s all a matter of opinion. While some MTG players absolutely hate all of the pizza-themed cards and Universes Beyond in general, others will love it. I’m sure there are fans of TMNT out there who adore these pizza cards, and they deserve to play with them. Hopefully, going forward, things can be a little less egregious, but evidently, we can’t always have what we want.
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