When Wizards of the Coast introduced the concept of Universes Beyond to Magic: The Gathering in 2021, there was a fair amount of skepticism and worry. Universes Beyond is the moniker used to label cards and sets printed for Magic: The Gathering that exist outside the canonical story of the planes and characters of Magic. Though Universes Beyond could be seen as a sort of creativity-fostering catch-all, more often than not it simply allows Magic: The Gathering to explore different IPs that exist outside of its universe, while adapting those characters and concepts into mechanics and gameplay that fit right into the 30-year-old trading card game. Essentially, it’s Magic’s way to cross over with beloved franchises, while also allowing those IPs to add trading card game adaptations to their portfolios without creating a separate, dedicated game.
When this experiment into licensed IP was announced, Magic’s head designer Mark Rosewater said that Universes Beyond would only exist in “eternal” formats and stay out of Magic’s more competitive Standard format. This decision would allow players to choose to engage with outside IP like The Walking Dead, Street Fighter, Fallout, or Assassin’s Creed in casual or less-sanctioned formats of play, or ignore it entirely if they so wished.
Fast forward to 2025, however, and Universes Beyond has evolved into a different beast. Not only does it make up half of Magic: The Gathering’s tentpole set releases for the year, but with the release of the Final Fantasy set in June, Universes Beyond is now legal in all competitive formats of the game, with Standard the last to include it. Herein lies the problem.
In Magic’s Standard format, it’s advantageous to learn the cardpool of legal cards to remain competitive. The format even employs a rotating system for released sets, meaning that newly released cards are only playable in Standard for a set number of years. While this system can be frustrating when one of your favorite cards gets the boot, it ensures the card pool is both easy to learn and easy to manage. Moreover, these limitations serve as guidelines for players, encouraging them to adapt and create competitive decks. Until now, those cards always stayed within the MTG universe, and for many players, Standard was the “purest” way to play their favorite game.
Now comes Magic’s latest set based on the wildly popular video game series Final Fantasy and for the first time ever characters and worlds from outside Magic are brought into its competitive Standard scene. This last season on Magic’s digital client, Magic: The Gathering Arena, I spent time climbing through the ranks of Standard using a deck inspired by and featuring Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. The deck was powerful, and felt on theme for the character it was centered on. However, many times during my journey through the ranks, I couldn’t help but wonder: if I wasn’t a big Final Fantasy VII fan, would I have even bothered with this deck? Sure, it was powerful and remained true to the character, but how would a non-fan feel? I wondered if there was an opponent I came across that had zero experience with Final Fantasy, perhaps struggling to engage with the set due to lack of interest, now being exposed to it in a competitive sense. That’s when it hit me: Soon, I will be that very player.
Remember, 50 percent of MTG sets released in 2025 are Universes Beyond. With only three more sets to go, two of them are Universes Beyond: Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender. These sets, like Final Fantasy, will go right into the competitive Standard card pool. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this per se, but why should I be forced to engage with cards based on IPs I have no interest in, in order to remain in the competitive scene? I have zero interest in using cards based on a Marvel comic and a Nickelodeon cartoon in my Sephiroth deck for the sake of the game’s competitive “meta,” but now I’m forced to, at the very least, learn what these cards do. This is where I start to empathize with players who don’t have any connection to Final Fantasy but are forced to pay attention to the set or be left behind.
When Magic focuses on its own original worlds, it’s easier to accept a change in tone and art style. The Outlaws of Thunder Junction set was Wild West themed, but it still featured characters and concepts that already existed in Magic. When an IP like Final Fantasy or Spider-Man is brought in, however, a level of outside influence and expectations come with it, and Magic loses a bit of its identity in the process.
When Universes Beyond was introduced, it was designed as an optional “fun” diversion for eternal formats and new players. Now, it’s quickly taking over the game, morphing it into an amalgamation of licensed characters and affecting competitive play. I love playing Magic, and I love playing it competitively. I’m happy that more people are playing this wonderful game because of Universes Beyond, but it can’t be the sole focus. When most newer players will never queue up for a ranked match or look up a meta deck list, there isn’t a need for Universes Beyond to have a presence in the competitive scene.
Sometimes it’s okay to let Magic be Magic.
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