Typically, much about the future of MTG is shrouded in mystery to ease the congestion of the dense release calendar. Recently, however, that has changed, as it appears we’ve entered into announcement season. With Comic Cons, Gen Cons, MagicCons, and 30th Anniversary presentations aplenty, Wizards has been revealing oodles of news. In fact, recently, there was a massive eight MTG set reveal, with many sets being shown off for the first time!
Unfortunately for MTG fans looking forward to Magic’s big 30th Anniversary announcement, this hasn’t arrived just yet. Instead, this recent MTG set reveal came courtesy of MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, during San Diego Comic-Con. Here, Rosewater did a spectacular “Visual Teaser” that debuted eight images of eight upcoming products.
Disappointingly, during their Comic-Con panel, Rosewater stated they will “answer no questions about them.” Subsequently, we can’t tell exactly what is going on in any of these images with complete certainty. That being said, however, there is a silver lining, as “all eight [images] will be previewed in the next two weeks.” Thanks to this statement, we shouldn’t be waiting long for official confirmation about what’s what!
Now that we’ve covered the when and where it’s finally time to dive into the what! So, without any further ado, here are eight images from eight upcoming MTG products, alongside plenty of hopefully maybe accurate speculation!
Goose Hydra. GOOSE HYDRA
To kick things off, Rosewater gave players a look at, what appears to be, the next premier MTG set. Judging by the art style, golden eggs, and love for geese, this art appears to be from the Wilds of Eldraine. Currently, this MTG set is due to be released on September 8th, with spoilers kicking off on August 15th.
From the art, it’s difficult to muse too much about what this card may be. After all, there’s no denying that’s a goose hydra right there. Ultimately, the only question lies in whether or not this will be a seven-headed version of Gilded Goose. For better or worse, considering this hydra isn’t literal gold, it may just be a bog-standard and fearsome creature. Whether or not it is, however, remains to be seen.
Old Rutstein Returns
Up next, we have what appears to be a slightly scrubbed-up version of Old Rutstein. That’s the expectation of many MTG players on Reddit, at least, who highlighted the notable similarities. Last seen on Innistrad: Crimson Vow, this art appears to indicate we’re returning to Innistrad for the third time!
Considering there are already two Innistrad sets in Standard, which aren’t rotating out, another return would definitely be a lot. Thankfully, however, this art of Old Rutstein, if it is indeed them, doesn’t necessarily confirm another Innistrad set. This is all thanks to the new Omenpaths, which have opened up multiversal travel to the masses.
Subsequently, due to the new Omenpaths, this known character could be appearing on any MTG plane, new or old. Unfortunately, this is the case for any of the characters in art that we’re seeing today. As a result of this, there’s a nonzero chance that many of the assumptions and predictions may only be half right.
Murder on the Mysterious Plane Express
Moving on from the familiar, we have something completely different: a murder mystery plane… maybe. Speculated and hoped for by many MTG players on social media, there’s undoubtedly a strong desire for this themed world. With more modern technology and someone hiding in the bushes, it certainly seems that this hope could be accurately placed.
While there’s no telling for sure right now, a murder mystery plane has long been requested by MTG players. It’s even one of the plane ideas on Blogatog’s ages-old FAQ, showing how long players have been asking for this. Due to this, if this really is a “Murder Mystery/Noir World” many MTG players should be thoroughly delighted.
Unfortunately, from this single image, it’s rather hard to tell everything about this new or old plane. What we do know, however, is that it doesn’t appear to be Ikoria, Fiora, or Ravnica thanks to the little architecture we can see. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to wait and see for more information about this rather mysterious plane.
Creature Type: All of Them
Jumping back to the known, the above appears to be a somewhat Dinosaur-y demon, presumably from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Fitting the expected Mesoamerican style, this demon definitely has all the hallmarks of being from the upcoming Ixalan set. Thanks to their striking headwear, they may even look good as one of those unusual Booster Fun coin cards!
Beyond giving a taste of Ixalan’s demonic forces, it’s safe to say this creature has an awful lot going on. With a flaming sword, dinosaur arm, feline legs, spiky tail, and skull face, this demon has it all. Whether or not all these unique appendages will translate to unique abilities, however, remains to be seen.
The More (Knives) The Merrier
Unfortunately for our efforts to divine the future, this knife-loving MTG character is rather hard to pin down. Judging by the face paint and amount of knives, it seems likely they’re a vampire of some kind. Beyond that, however, where exactly they might be is a mystery.
Judging by Bloodbond Vampire and Bloodthrone Vampire, it’s possible this character could be from Zendikar. Last seen in 2020, this plane could definitely support a revisit, especially following the Phyrexian invasion of the multiverse. Alternatively, however, this character could also be from Ravnica, which similarly hasn’t been seen in ages.
Ultimately, thanks to the existence of Omenpaths, it’s hard to emphatically say what this art reveals. After all, even if they are from Zendikar, this character could be anywhere else in the multiverse. Sadly, without much in the way of background detail to scrutinize, we’re just left waiting patiently for more details.
Hydras Can Be Friends Too
While the Goose Hydra is almost definitely from Eldraine, this more traditional hydra is almost certainly from Theros. Beyond the plane having a penchant for hydras, the background architecture effectively confirms this theory. With pillars aplenty and ancient Greek stylings, we’re confident that Theros is going to make an appearance.
Despite the character in this artwork being interesting, since there aren’t many hydra tamers in MTG, the plane itself is arguably the star of the show. During the Phyrexian invasion of the multiverse, Theros was absolutely ravaged, with multiple gods being corrupted and compleated. Thanks to this, the plane is undeniably worthy of a revisit, even if it was last seen in 2020.
Guess Who’s Back. Back Again
As if it wasn’t important enough already with its $2,000,000 card, The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is getting a second release. Launching on November 3rd, this Holiday Release will include new Collector Boosters and Bundle products for fans to enjoy. Within these products, there will be brand-new art for existing cards. There might even be some new cards too if we’re lucky!
As evidenced by the MEE (Middle-earth Enterprises) copyright tag, the above art is from this holiday release. Depicting more Riders of Rohan cutting down Orcs, it’s currently unknown if this is a new card or just a reprint from the main set. Currently, while we do know the release date, information about his Holiday product is fairly well-guarded. Subsequently, in a continuation of the running theme, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Redwall Plane Redwall Plane Redwall Plane
To immediately contradict the heading above, there is currently no confirmation that this art is from a Redwall Universes Beyond MTG set. That being said, however, it would certainly be fitting thanks to the humanoid mouse that can be seen. Unfortunately, however, since this potential crossover hasn’t been announced yet, it feels very unlikely, unless it’s not releasing until 2025.
While a full Redwall Universes Beyond set may be unlikely, a set based around anthropomorphic characters is a possibility. Some of these creatures could even be found on Lorywn, either naturally or thanks to Omenpaths. Ultimately, while a return to Lorwyn is highly requested by the MTG community, there’s no guarantee of this. Nevertheless, this set, like all the MTG sets revealed, looks thoroughly intriguing, and we can’t wait to see it revealed.
All Will Be Revealed
Unfortunately, as you might have been able to tell, we don’t have much more than speculation about these eight images. Thankfully, however, as we mentioned at the start, all will be revealed soon. According to Mark Rosewater, all eight products seen today will be officially spoiled over the next two weeks.
If you’re wondering when exactly, well, Wizards has a trio of upcoming major events to pay attention to. The first of these is MagicCon: Barcelona which will have a panel all about Universes Beyond products. Following this, on August 5th, Wizards will be at Gen Con, showing off their big plans for the future. Lastly, there’s also expected to be a Wizards Presents livestream, potentially on the 15th of August.
While each of these events should have plenty of interesting information, the 30th Anniversary Gen Con panel is definitely the biggest. After all, according to Blake Rasmussen, it will “look forward maybe for like three years.”
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