I might be being overdramatic here, but if Tarkir Dragonstorm is a flop, I feel like that could be it for Magic: The Gathering sets as we know it.
Let me explain. We know that Wizards of the Coast is making its Universes Beyond tie-ins a bigger and bigger part of its repertoire, creating just three MTG sets in original worlds. And there’s a good reason for that: they bring in more money. MTG Final Fantasy especially is going to make an absolute killing, and I can hardly imagine the Spider-Man or Avatar The Last Airbender sets being flops.
Universes Within releases, meanwhile, are a mixed bag – and this year they seem even mix-ier than usual. Aetherdrift especially, has its fans, but seems to have gone down like a lead balloon with a sizable portion of the community, who didn’t gel with its mechanics or theme. And while I personally think Edge of Eternities looks awesome, I can’t help but feel a little anxious about Wizards of the Coast stepping out of its comfort zone and going all in on another genre set – especially considering the lukewarm reaction to Thunder Junction and Karlov Manor.
And there’s another issue too. Standard sets are likely to have a tougher time selling than ever this year. See, there’s a problem with the MTG release schedule for 2025. Every single set (except for Innistrad Remastered, but that’s already been and gone) is Standard legal. So players are going to have to make tough choices about what they purchase.
Of course, they have to do that anyway. We can’t all be buying Magic cards every day to fill up our McMansions. But usually, there are natural partitions due to the way Magic sets are made and marketed.
Typically, Modern players can pick up packs of the Modern sets, and purchase everything else they need as singles. Commander players will crack a pack here or there, but will naturally be more drawn to Commander-specific products like precon decks and Commander Masters sets. Standard players can buy boosters from the four annual Standard-legal releases, and just about keep up (though everyone complains of product fatigue).
But now, everything is Standard legal, which means everything is equally geared towards all Magic fans. So this year, you’ll have to make more choices about what to buy for yourself, based on personal preference. And the evidence seems to suggest, so far, that Magic players – no matter how much they profess otherwise online – prefer Universes Beyond sets.
If UB sets start to consistently perform way, way better than Universes Within releases, the latter will start to be seen as dead weight. There’ll be many within Wizards who will of course want to preserve Magic’s own IP, but doing so will start to be a battle. Universes Within may become a lower and lower priority, causing its quality to drop, causing sales to dip even further.
So I really feel Universes Within needs a big win and soon, before the strategic decisions to deprioritize can get made. Aetherdrift wasn’t that win, I realistically don’t think Edge of Eternities is it, so that leaves Tarkir Dragonstorm.
But hey, I’m sure it’ll be fine. There’s nostalgia aplenty for this MTG plane, and everyone loves dragons, right? (Please buy Tarkir).
For more Magic: The Gathering stories, check out our guide to the best MTG Arena decks or all existing MTG Arena codes.