Last Friday’s MagicCon announcements sure were something. The reveal of three different upcoming sets, big spoilers for Foundations and more, even a change to how Magic’s core combat system works. Perhaps the most significant of all the announcements, however, were those regarding Universes Beyond. Not only will Universes Beyond sets be Standard-legal starting next year, but they’ll also be making up half of all Magic sets in general. Naturally, these Universes Beyond changes have led to a lot of backlash from the MTG community. Things have gotten so heated, in fact, that Head Designer Mark Rosewater has had to step in to address the issue.
The MTG Universes Beyond Backlash
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to most of you. Universes Beyond has been controversial as long as it’s existed. Friday’s announcements, essentially, tripled down on the source of that controversy. Those who don’t enjoy Universes Beyond products are now going to have to deal with more of them and in more formats. While the increased number of Standard sets per year (six in total according to the schedule) will keep the number of original Magic sets about the same, there’s still a lot of external IP coming into the game.
“I kinda feel like Magic died this weekend. The game is going to be Universes Beyond, pop culture tropes, and an occasional traditional Magic set.”
Mara Rosewater, via Twitter
The above take may be hyperbolic, but there is some truth to it. Plenty of others voiced similar opinions over the weekend, too. “My biggest worry was that Magic would just become a GameStop Funkopop sale shelf of IP crap and over the years it’s become more and more that, exactly that,” said Cobaltplasma on Reddit. AUAIOMRN was even more direct than that: “There is not one announcement I’ve hated as much as this in the entire history of MTG.”
Some major community figures weighed in on the changes too. Saffron Olive, of MTG Goldfish fame, expressed his personal concerns on Twitter.
“Pretty sure we called Universes Beyond in Standard like a year ago on the podcast. A little scared for what this means for Pioneer and Standard.”
SaffronOlive
Others expressed concerns as well. Magic YouTuber Rhystic Studies released a lengthy Substack post on the subject, titled ‘Your Foundation is Rotten.’ This delved deep into the various facets of the issue, criticizing the new Universes Beyond policy and how it betrays the heart of what Magic is supposed to be.
These are just a few examples, but discourse around this subject has been blazing all weekend. The r/MagicTCG thread discussing the issue is up over 2,000 comments. Twitter and YouTube have been thick with takes too. Clearly, something had to give.
Rosewater Responds
Mark Rosewater, Head Designer for MTG, addressed the Universes Beyond backlash head-on in a number of Blogatog posts over the weekend. Responding to a question about how Universes Beyond will now be largely unavoidable, Rosewater gave an in-depth answer about how they arrived at the decision.
“Why are we making more Universes Beyond? Because the players are saying loudly that they want it to be part of the game. […] There are many metrics we look at to reflect the will of the people, and Universes Beyond is crushing it in (almost) every metric.”
Mark Rosewater
The crux of Rosewater’s argument here is a familiar one. The success of Universes Beyond has been well-known for a few years at this point. You can see it in the way Lord of the Rings was the most successful set of all time and the way Universes Beyond Secret Lairs sell out almost immediately. Despite constant protests from die-hard fans, Universes Beyond has been a major success for Magic.
It makes total sense for Wizards to follow the money here, and for Rosewater to defend that decision. It’s also fair for long-time players to mourn the loss of what Magic once was, too. Going from no Universes Beyond sets in Standard to three in Standard in just one year feels like a major shift. Possibly even an overextension, going by the early community reaction.
There have even been calls to create new Universes Beyond-free formats in response to this news. Matapantalaimon raised the issue on Blogatog, and Rosewater provided another in-depth response.
“My message is you can choose your own line. Magic adaptability allows you to play with what makes the game the most fun for you. You can choose to not cross your own line, but it does require you to prioritize that line over Spike-y decisions. […] And why not make an additional format? Because the data says there isn’t a large enough audience to support it. If there was, we’d make it. We’re very influenced by the desires of the players.”
Mark Rosewater
Doubling down on these data-driven arguments, while logical, has done little to assuage the high emotions among the community at present. The comments on these posts are still full of detractors, and social media is still full of creators speaking out against the changes. As the weekend wore on, Rosewater appeared to take this constant feedback on board.
No Takebacks?
Another Blogatog question, this time from dragongirlbunny, expressed concern about the sheer number of Universes Beyond sets coming next year. In response, Rosewater offered a relatively short response compared to those above.
“This cadence is not forever. It’s for now.”
Mark Rosewater
This answer is very much open to interpretation. Given the context, most would assume it means we’ll be seeing fewer than three UB sets a year once things adjust. As some pointed out in the comments, however, it could go the other way. If the new system is successful, current trends indicate that Universes Beyond content will actually eclipse core Magic content at some point. That former is much more likely, however.
While it’s hardly an admission of error, this post does at least indicate that Rosewater is aware of the backlash, and working to control it. Reassuring players that we won’t be getting this many UB sets in the future isn’t something Wizards would normally do right after a major UB announcement, after all. Further reinforcing this point, Rosewater put out another post seeking feedback from players concerned about last Friday’s announcements.
“It’s clear that for some, changes over the last few years represent the loss of something key to what makes Magic special to them. To them, the game is losing its heart.”
Mark Rosewater
This point, and the call for feedback in general, speaks to Rosewater’s desire to defuse the current situation. The community response this time around is clearly more significant than he expected.
Does this mean we’re likely to see a reversion of these changes? Probably not. Magic is designed so far in advance that even if Wizards wanted to do so they’d need a few years to wind it down. That said, the fact that Rosewater has spoken so much on the issue so soon after the announcement highlights how big a deal this is. If the community keeps it up, we may well see a very different announcement soon.
