Today marks one of the most significant news days in Magic history. Not only did we get a first look at Foundations, the set that will define Standard for at least five years, but we also got a peek into Magic’s broader future. Multiple new sets are obviously exciting, but the return of MSRP and the ramping-up of Universes Beyond products are much bigger deals. Particularly when you consider the fact that all Universes Beyond sets from now on will be Standard-legal. Yup, you heard that right.
A Major Plot Twist
This change was announced today during MagicCon: Las Vegas. Arguably, it’s the most significant announcement from a day full of significant announcements. Until now, Universes Beyond sets have been restricted to older formats. We’ve had multiple Commander precon sets, all of which were legal only in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. We’ve also had the Lord of the Rings and Assassin’s Creed expansions, which added Modern to that list.
For many players, this restrictive legality was a positive. Keeping Standard, Pioneer, etc. as ‘classic’ MTG formats, without cards from other IPs, gave players places to play without engaging with Universes Beyond at all. Given how controversial Universes Beyond still is to this day, that was undoubtedly a good thing. Now, however, future Universes Beyond sets will be fully Standard-legal. This means that players will, at some point, have to get involved with non-Magic IPs in order to play Magic’s flagship format.
This is a pretty major change. Doubly so since it comes alongside news that Wizards will be printing original Magic sets and Universes Beyond sets in a 50:50 ratio going forward. Half the sets each year will now be Universes Beyond, and they’ll all be legal in Standard. This will begin with the much-anticipated Final Fantasy set in June 2025. There will also be two other Universes Beyond sets next year, one of which is unannounced.
Gameplay Implications
It’s safe to say Universes Beyond sets being Standard-legal isn’t great for the overall flavor of Magic. It could well be a positive change in terms of gameplay, however. As with the likes of Modern Horizons, skipping Standard allowed Wizards to really push the power level of Lord of the Rings and Assassin’s Creed. This resulted in some now-notorious meta tyrants rising to the surface.
The One Ring is the most obvious example. While initially undervalued, the card is now one of the most widely played in the game, across pretty much every format. It also costs about $100; an unfortunate side-effect of being both powerful and difficult to reprint. If Lord of the Rings had been a Standard-legal set, a card this format-warping would likely not have been printed at all.
The same can be said of Orcish Bowmasters and to a lesser extent cards like Delighted Halfling and Rosie Cotton. Assassin’s Creed has had far less impact, but Basim Ibn Ishaq has seen some solid Modern success. Cards like this exist only because their respective sets skipped Standard. Now that Universes Beyond sets are all going to be Standard-legal, we should avoid potential One Ring scenarios in the future.
Of course, this isn’t a totally positive point. Powerful cards are exciting, and when handled well they make the formats they’re in better. The fact that Universes Beyond will no longer be able to dabble in designs like this may end up being to its detriment. The One Ring being a multi-format all-star is bad for gameplay and financial accessibility. On the other hand, it feels like a true realization of just how powerful such an item should be in Magic. With the Standard safety wheels on, iconic characters may fail to live up to their fearsome reputations.
Spider-Man In Standard
Speaking of iconic characters, the second set to be affected by this new policy is Marvel’s Spider-Man. While it was hinted at during the Secret Lair announcement last week, it’s now been confirmed that next year’s Marvel set will be entirely dedicated to good ol’ Spidey. This is an interesting development given how Marvel x MTG has been marketed so far.
Until now, many assumed that Marvel x MTG would be a single set featuring characters from multiple Marvel series. The Secret Lair Superdrop, which features five different Marvel heroes, supports this as well. Turns out the first major set in this collaboration will be all about Spider-Man, however.
Now, this is no bad thing. Spider-Man is a beloved character with a rich self-contained ecosystem of characters. You could easily fill a full Magic set with the heroes, villains, and key moments from said ecosystem alone. It’s also worth noting that while Spider-Man will be the first Marvel set, it won’t be the only one. Wizards has noted that it has a “Multi-year deal” with Marvel, with Spider-Man being just one part of it.
What that means is that we’ll likely see one or two additional Marvel sets in the future. There’s currently one ‘Unannounced Universes Beyond set’ on the 2025 calendar, so it could well be that. It’s more likely that these additional sets will come in 2026/27, however. These will undoubtedly cover other major Marvel series, such as The Avengers or The Fantastic Four.
Spider-Man doesn’t have a solid release date yet but it will be coming after Edge of Eternity in August, so likely Q4 2025. I’m personally very excited to see Wizards’ interpretations of these characters, and how they fit into MTG Standard.
To be perfectly clear, nothing is suggesting that Secret Lair crossovers will be Standard legal, only core MTG Universes Beyond sets like Final Fantasy and Spider-Man.
