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
To kick things off with what everyone wants to know, we have the release date for Aetherdrift. Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast has already revealed this juicy detail during their massive preview event at MagicCon: Las Vegas. Subsequently, we can already mark our calendars with the all-important date.
- Aetherdrift prerelease date: February 7th
- Aetherdrift release date: February 14th
Currently, Wizards has only confirmed these two dates when speaking about Aetherdrift, but we can presume more. Spoiler season, for instance, typically starts three and a bit weeks before a set’s final release. Should this past precedent continue, the spoiler season for Aetherdrift will begin on January 21st.
Before this, there’s a non-zero chance that Wizards will give players a slightly closer look at Aetherdrift during 2024. Technically, we’ve already seen the set once at MagicCon: Las Vegas, so this isn’t guaranteed. That said, past First Look events have provided significantly more information, so there may be more in store.
Looking at the WPN website, it’s possible the official First Look for Aetherdrift could happen before December 6th, 2024. This date is the cut-off for “Distributor Selection and Prerelease Allocation Increase Request.” While it makes sense this date would be shortly following a set’s proper first look, we may be reading into it too much.
For now, only the release date for Aetherdrift is set in stone, so we can look forward to that, at least.
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 may be revealed later in 2024, if we’re lucky. After that, MTG players can expect the spoiler season for Aetherdrift to begin in earnest around January 21st.
MTG Aetherdrift Set Information
Last but by no means least, it’s worth going over what Aetherdrift is, and what to expect from it. As the name somewhat implies Aetherdrift is Magic’s first racing-inspired. Thanks to Omenpaths popping up and connecting Magic’s multiverse, this set uniquely takes place over three planes. This is why Head Designer Mark Rosewater has called Aetherdrift Magic’s first travelogue set.
Currently, Wizards hasn’t officially confirmed exactly which planes we’ll be traveling to in February, but we have been given clues. Based on the art we’ve seen it appears we’ll be going to Kaladesh, Amonkhet, and a third mystery plane. According to Rosewater, this third and final plane is somewhere we know, but not somewhere we’ve been before.
As for the race itself, the racers are all competing for The Aetherspark, which appears to house a Planeswalker’s spark. The implications of this lore-wise are currently unclear, but The Aetherspark could be used to give a character a spark. This is the reason that Chandra Nalaar is competing in the Ghirapur Grand Prix, as she’s hoping to win the grand prize for Nissa Revane.
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.
That’s All for Now
Sadly, that’s all we know about Aetherdrift for the time being. As mentioned, however, we should hopefully be leaning more soon. By the end of 2024, there’s a good chance that Wizards will have revealed more cards, dates, and details. Failing that, it won’t be long until Aetherdrift’s spoiler season starts in 2025.
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.
