On October 23, Wizards of the Coast announced it is teaming up with Marvel to develop multiple MTG Marvel sets and products, with the first one coming out some time in 2025. And according to Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming President Cynthia Williams, these Universes Beyond releases are tentpole sets.
If we understand Magic: The Gathering marketing lingo correctly, that means the Marvel release will be one of the main MTG sets for 2025, a large batch of cards like MTG Lord of the Rings rather than the smaller Universes Beyond releases that we got with MTG Doctor Who (and are getting soon with MTG Fallout.)
Instead of just Commander decks, we’d expect a tentpole Marvel release to include new cards that will be legal in other formats like Modern, as well as feature its own Limited environment. But that’s strange, because we’re already getting one major Universes Beyond set in 2025, Final Fantasy – which is confirmed to be a booster-based release. It seems like the rate of Universes Beyond crossover products may be going up.
“Trading cards have always been a part of Marvel’s DNA, so this collaboration takes that experience to a whole new level,” said Dan Buckley, President of Marvel Comics and Franchise.
“With the depth that our storytelling and characters bring to the table, we can’t wait for fans to see how the Marvel Universe translates seamlessly into gameplay within these Magic: The Gathering products and sets for years to come.”
No concrete details about the upcoming Marvel sets and where they’ll fit in with the MTG release schedule have been shared.
While it seems like an obvious fit, we weren’t sure we’d ever see Magic: The Gathering crossover with Marvel, since it’s owned by Disney which just launched its own trading card game, Lorcana.
It begs the question: will this open the door to a Universes Beyond release with that other big Disney property, Star Wars? Of course, the sci-fi series has its own trading card game, Star Wars Unlimited, just around the corner, so perhaps not.
We love Marvel board games, Universes Beyond (here’s how we came around), and the best Marvel films, so we say bring it on!