2025 is shaping up to be a monumental year for MTG. The year’s release calendar is jam-packed full of seven sets, three of which are Universes Beyond crossovers. Before those hugely anticipated releases, however, MTG players are getting a whirlwind tour of Magic’s multiverse in Aetherdrift.
Launching in February, Aetherdrift is the first Standard legal MTG set of 2025. Taking place across three planes, this unique set is unlike any other in Magic’s past. Dubbed a travelogue set by Head Designer Mark Rosewater, this set will certainly start 2025 off with a bang. If you’ve been wishing MTG was a bit more fast and furious, Aetherdrift is definitely the set for you.
MTG Aetherdrift Release Date
Thankfully, the official release date, along with plenty of key dates, for Aetherdrift has already been officially revealed. Subsequently, we can go ahead and mark our calendars to start getting hyped for what the set has to offer.
Here are all the preview, release, and event dates for Aetherdrift:
Preview Dates:
- The Magic Story Podcast: Racing into Aetherdrift: January 10th
- Aetherdrift Story: January 13th – 20th
- Debut and Previews Begin: January 21st
- Full Card Image Gallery: January 31st
Release Dates:
- Aetherdrift Prerelease Events: February 7th – 13th
- MTG Arena Release: February 11th
- Aetherdrift Tabletop Release Date: February 14th
Event Dates:
- Magic Academy Events: February 14th – April 3rd
- Standard Showdown: February 14th – April 3rd
- Commander Party, Round 1: February 21st – 27th
- Aetherdrift Store Championship: March 8th – 30th
- Commander Party, Round 2: March 14th – 20th
MTG Aetherdrift Spoilers
So far, Wizards of the Coast has only revealed three cards from the Aetherdrift set. While this doesn’t give us much to go off, unsurprisingly, Aetherdrift will heavily feature Vehicles. Alongside this core theme, we can also expect plenty of artifact synergies, with maybe a splash of energy too.
For now, details about every new and returning mechanic in Aetherdrift are under wraps. What we have seen, however, is still incredibly exciting. Brightglass Gearhulk in particular, seems like an incredibly powerful new card that could create its own archetype. While its mana cost might be a bit wonky, this card is definitely one to watch.
Similarly, Daretti, Rocketeer Engineer could prove to be a real menace in Commander. Scaling quickly in an artifact-focused deck, this Daretti can tutor up threats and threaten major Commander damage. Competitively they might be a bit lackluster, but they should shine with enough support.
Lastly, Earthrumbler looks just okay, potentially being a decent threat for a mono-green or Golgari deck. Able to avoid its Crew cost by exiling relevant cards from the bin, Earthrumbler could do serious work. Sure, it may be a touch expensive, but that’s what Llanowar Elves are for.
Obviously, there are still a lot of Aetherdrift spoilers yet to be revealed by Wizards of the Coast. As we mentioned earlier, more information is due to be revealed in 2025. The spoiler season for Aetherdrift is scheduled to begin on January 21st, although we may get a few teases before then.
MTG Aetherdrift Planes
The big selling point of Aetherdrift is that it uniquely takes place across three planes. This twice has been facilitated by the appearance of stable Omenpaths, which have allowed for new trade and cultural developments. These Omenpaths are also the perfect place for a death-defying racing series, apparently.
Within Aetherdrift, MTG players will travel to Avishkar, Amonkhet, and Muraganda. Two of these names may be unfamiliar to a lot of MTG players, however, only one of them is actually new. To address the filigree elephant in the room, Kaladesh has been renamed to Avishkar for the release of Aetherdrift.
According to Wizards of the Coast, this change was made for a variety of in-universe and real-world factors. The latter of these stems from the fact that “Kala” is a slur in some Hindi dialects. In an effort to make MTG as culturally sensitive as possible, Wizards worked with cultural consultants to rename the plane.
Outside of Avishkar, the other big talking point is Muraganda. While creatures from this plane have appeared in Magic before, this is the first time we’re visiting there properly. Thanks to a few teases from MTG designers, we knew we’d likely be heading here, but now it’s been officially confirmed. Muraganda is Magic’s “primordial plane” so expect a lot of Dinosaurs, Oozes, and prehistoric beasts.
Last but not least, Aetherdrift will also travel to Amonkhet as part of the Ghirapur Grand Prix. Most recently seen in 2017, this plane has been through great cultural and religious reform following Hour of Devastation and the Phyrexian Arc.
MTG Aetherdrift Set Information
In the Ghirapur Grand Prix, all of the racers are competing for The Aetherspark. While Wizards have been keeping details about this trophy close to their chest, we do know it houses a Planeswalker’s spark. Presumably, this will allow the owner of Aetherspark to planeswalk at will. Exactly whose spark is contained within this trophy is currently unknown.
Like all the racers, The Aetherspark is the McGuffin that Chandra Nalaar is competing for. From what we’ve been told, Chandra is hoping to win the Aetherspark to give it to her partner Nissa Revane. Following on from the end of March of the Machine: The Aftermath, these two are now an official couple, which has been a long time coming.
While the story for Aetherspark is still shrouded in mystery, we have been given a sneak peek at The Aetherspark. Uniquely, this MTG card is a “Legendary Artifact Planeswalker – Equipment” which sounds absolutely wild. Even without rules text, The Aetherspark looks like one of the most interesting MTG cards we’ve seen in a long while.
Aetherdrift Products
For the most part, Aetherdrift offers a fairly standard suite of products for MTG players to purchase. That said, there are a few notable differences that are well worth keeping in mind when looking at products. Most importantly, and controversially, out of these is the change to Play Booster Boxes.
For Aetherdrift, Wizards of the Coast is reducing the number of Play Boosters in a Booster Box. Unlike past Play Booster Boxes that contained 36 packs, Aetherdrift boxes will only contain 30 packs. This move was made to reduce the price of boxes, which Wizards was encouraged to do by distributors and LGSs.
On top of this substantial change, it’s also worth noting that Aetherdrift will only have two preconstructed Commander decks. Alongside these, there is also the Finish Line bundle for Aetherdrift which offers a slightly different suite of products. Included within the Finish Line bundle are Full-Art Driver’s Seat basic lands, which certainly sound exciting.
Here’s the full product lineup for Aetherdrift and their MSRP from Wizards.
- Play Booster | $5.49
- Play Booster Box | N/A ($164.70)
- Collector Booster | $24.99
- Collector Booster Box | N/A ($299.88)
- Prerelease Pack | Not yet announced
- Bundle | $53.99
- Finish Line Bundle | $79.99
- Commander Decks | $44.99
That’s All for Now
Sadly, that’s all we know about Aetherdrift for the time being. Thankfully it won’t be too long before we’re provided with more information to get excited about. The story for Aetherdrift will begin on January 13th, with the spoiler season following on January 21st. If you want to stay up to date with everything you need to know about the set, just watch this space.
Beyond Aetherdrift, there’s still a whole lot left to look forward to on the 2025 MTG release calendar. Between Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Edge of Eternities, and all the Universes Beyond sets, there’s something for everyone.