From the moment that Unfinity was first revealed to MTG players, the set was instantly controversial. For the first time, one of Magic’s novelty comedy-focused Un-Sets was ditching the iconic silver border. In its place, Wizards created a new Acorn symbol that would only be found on some of the set’s cards. This new symbol 140 of Unfinity’s cards to be legal in Eternal formats such as Commander, Legacy, and Pauper. As you can imagine, this caused quite a stir within the MTG community, as typically Un-Set cards have been too wacky for constructed play. As much as some players were outraged at Wizards jumping the Un-Set shark, there were those seriously excited to spice up their Commander games. Unfortunately for those MTG players, however, many of Unfinity’s enticing Eternal legal cards have been a complete letdown.
Alas, Poor Stickers! We Hardly Knew Thee
While Acorn cards were an innovation for Unfinity, it wasn’t the first Un-Set to feature almost Eternal legal cards. As we’ve previously highlighted, even Unglued had cards such as Denied!, which could be black-bordered if printed today. Despite this, however, Unfinity was still seen as a step too far for many players, thanks to bold new mechanics. For many players, the worst of these new mechanics was Stickers. As the name suggests, this mechanic uses literal stickers that could be placed on a card during a game. Immediately causing concerns about potentially damaging cards, Stickers were scrutinized and criticized extensively up to their release in October 2022.
Once Stickers were released, players quickly discovered that they struggled to actually stick to anything, nullifying the expected controversy. Following this disappointment, Stickers quickly faded into obscurity, with players uncaring beyond the occasional joke about playing Mind Goblin. This happened to such a degree that now months after release, some MTG players are wondering what happened to Unfinity. Reddit user u/estrusflask recently pitched this very question to players. “It’s been a few months. How has Unfinity been working out in Commander?”
Following up on their question, u/estrusflask explained their interest in off-beat mechanics, which both Stickers and Attractions undeniably are. After stating, “I’m not sure how fun any of the options actually are,” u/estrusflask went on to highlight the numerous options for Sticker and Attraction-based Commanders. Ambassador Blorpityblorpboop, for instance, was highlighted as an “obvious first choice [as] I think Stickers sound neat.” Despite the potential for fun and shenanigans, however, in responding to u/estrusflask’s post, Reddit users noted that Unfinity MTG cards are almost nowhere to be found.
O Unfinity, Where Art Thou?
Before Unfinity’s release, while Stickers were steeped in controversy, cards like Saw in Half enamored the community. So much so, in fact, that many players expected the card to be absolutely everywhere, even breaching formats like Legacy. In reality, however, the majority of Unfinity’s remarkably Eternal legal cards have failed to make waves as players were expecting. According to some players, such as u/Ackbar90, Unfinity cards barely even exist in the wild at all! “Nobody in my pod was really interested in them, so I’m yet to see a card from that set being played.” Reiterating this sentiment, u/Nanosauromo shared their own Unfinity-less experiences. “I play EDH every week and have yet to see a single Unfinity card in the wild.”
Rebutting the complete absence of Unfinity cards, some players, such as u/PenguinWithGuns and u/HeyApples, noted that there are some cards that occasionally see play. Even with these cards in mind, there is undeniably a stigma around Unifinty cards that should theoretically be beloved. Without polling the entire MTG community, it’s unclear precisely what the reason behind this might be. However, Reddit user u/Pachydude does have a compelling explanation behind the unexpected absence of Unfinity MTG cards.
“I think people are hostile to unfinity as a whole because it’s legal in commander. a lot of people, me included I must admit, don’t like the idea of what should be joke cards with silver borders being legal in eternal formats. While I don’t think they should be banned […], I just don’t care for them. Even the ones that don’t really care about the mechanics of it. Although, I will say, those full art lands are pretty damn nice looking.”
u/Pachydude
Remarkably, outside of the undeniably flashy space-themed lands, Unfinity cards are most prevalent in the ultra-competitive Legacy format. Utilizing Attractions via cards such as Deadbeat Attendant and The Most Dangerous Gamer, Unfinity cards make for a surprisingly viable deck! Unfortunately, while these cards make the cut for Legacy, many of Unfinity’s wildest designs have been completely disregarded. For instance, the wonderfully named and absolutely wild Space Belerenonly appears in 359 decks, according to EDHrec.
Unfinity 2: Electric Boogaloo
Unfortunately for players like u/estrusflask, who’re excited by the weird and wonderful cards Un-Sets create, the future of the product line is currently unclear. Launching on the same day as the impressively successful Universes Beyond Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks, Unfinity was a tepid sales disappointment. Subsequently, since much of MTG’s future is governed by its success, the future of Un-Sets is currently in doubt. Thankfully, for Un-Set fans, at least, MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, has confirmed that Un-Sets tend to have longer tails than traditional premier or supplemental sets. Subsequently, should slow but steady sales continue, another Un-Set may well become a reality in a few years’ time. Even if sales slump, there’s still hope for Un-Sets in the future. After all, it appears that Planechase mechanics are returning in March of the Machine, despite the namesake sets not particularly selling well.
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