As the last hurrah of Core sets before they disappeared for a few years, Magic Origins was a welcome addition to 2015’s release calendar. This was no mean feat since 2015 featured Fate Reforged, Dragons of Tarkir, Modern Masters 2015, and Battle for Zendikar. Magic Origins garnered a lot of love from players, centered around Planeswalkers and utilizing Double-faced cards to show them off. Subsequently, despite Magic’s current lack of core sets, there have still been calls for another Origins set in Magic’s future. These calls have recently been thrust into the spotlight thanks to Magic: the Gathering’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater. Subsequently, it appears that Magic Origins 2 might be more likely than ever before.
Where Not When
Compared to the calls for a return trip to fan-favorite planes such as Lorwyn, the hubbub around another Origins set has been surprisingly quiet. While the idea is fairly supported, the lack of core sets within Magic’s current four-set model made it seemingly untenable. Despite that development hurdle, however, another Origins set appears to be on the cards. Responding to a recent question on Blogatog, Mark Rosewater revealed that the odds on a Magic Origins 2 type set is “more likely than not.”
After surprising many MTG players with this reveal, players quickly set about answering the remaining question that loomed over the future of Magic Origins 2. As Tumblr user piccadilly-blue noted, it appears that Magic Origins 2’s future is a question of where not when. Subsequently, this question was turned to Mark Rosewater. In a follow-up post, pccadilly-blue asked, “do you think a hypothetical Origins 2 product would be better as a premier set or as a supplementary product.” In response, Mark Rosewater pulled the clever tactic of turning this question around on the community. After asking, “what do you think,” Rosewater was inundated with solicited responses to fuel Magic Origins 2’s design efforts.
While there were arguments from either side of the Premier vs. Supplemental debate, most players settled for sitting on the face. While typically a shameful and uncomfortable place to sit during an argument, it made a lot of sense this time. As many MTG players pointed out, Magic Origins 2 could easily be designed as either a Premier or Supplemental set. Tumblr user tlblitz stated, “honestly both options are appealing. I’d love to see how that gets integrated into a standard format, but also, a supplemental set would have the opportunity to be waaaaay more ambitious with its aims.”
Whose Origin Gets Told
For many players, the question of where a second Origins Set may be printed wasn’t nearly as interesting as who may be included in it. In 2015’s Magic Origins, only five iconic characters from MTG’s history received the honor of having their stories told. These characters were Gideon Jura, Jace Beleren, Liliana Vess, Chandra Nalaar, and Nissa Revane. Should Magic Origins 2 have the same number of double-faced cards, choosing which Planeswalkers get selected is no easy feat.
Across social media, MTG players were quick to argue the point for their favorite characters who deserve one of the exclusive spots in the hypothetical set. Continuing the conversation on Reddit, u/HonorBasquiat suggested that “Tezzeret, Garruk, Davriel, and Tamiyo” are each deserving of a place. Additionally, u/HonorBasquiat suggested that Origins 2: Electric Boogaloo could also feature the origins of other cards, such as “legendary equipment [and] legendary lands.”
Expanding upon the possibilities of Origins 2, u/exploringdeathntaxes noted it could be used to explore or revisit planes. “We could see planes that have since been changed or lost,” u/exploringdeathntaxes stated before listing “Alara / Esper with Tezzeret, OG Tarkir with Sarkhan, even Skalla with Vivien” as potential options. Suggestions were also made for Planeswalkers from new planes, in order to tease those locations. These included “Jiang [Yanggu], Daretti, Ashiok, [and] Kaya.” These Planeswalkers were from the Plane of Mountains and Seas, Fiora, Unknown, and Tolvada, respectively.
Just as how 2015’s Magic Origins was focused on the good guys, many players suggested the sequel did the opposite. User u/Dizzy-Career-740 stated, for instance, that they “want another standard set, and I want it focused on 5 villain characters instead of 5 heroes.” Similarly, u/exploringdeathntaxes voiced this opinion and suggested, “Nahiri, Tezzeret, Ob Nixilis, Tibalt, and Garruk.”
A Long Time Coming
As we know from our past wild speculations about future MTG sets and mechanics, set development takes a long time. Mark Rosewater has previously stated in the past that, typically, the average development cycle is roughly two years. This means unless it’s already in the works, Magic Origins 2: Origins Harder wouldn’t likely release until mid-2025. Thankfully, until then, there’s still plenty for MTG players to look forward to. With The Brothers’ War on the horizon, we won’t even have to wait long before more origin stories are told.
