Another unique MTG planeswalker card, Byode, Inverse Sun, has been awarded to Wizards of the Coast staff as part of the team’s Heroes of the Realm celebration. This one was given out for contributions to Universes Beyond – Magic’s growing collection of cross-promotional tie-in cards like the MTG Warhammer 40k commander decks and next years’ Lord of the Rings set.
Much like the Unicorn planeswalker card we saw previously, Byode is pretty clearly a joke card. Its name is an anagram of ‘Universes Beyond’, its mana cost is two colourless, and then blue and black (UB), and its dubbed a ‘Universewalker’ rather than a regular MTG planeswalker.
The mechanics of the card are pretty silly too. This (not a) planeswalker can serve as your commander, and it lets you put Universes Beyond cards of all MTG color combinations into your deck. After that it’s a straightforward value engine, but one that’s again themed around Universes Beyond. You can add UB cards to your hand with its +2 ability, and cheat them into play with its minus power.
Wizards has made no secret of the success of Universes Beyond, in particular touting the sales of crossover products during its recent ‘Fireside’ webinar, where it decried the idea that MTG is overprinted. The company’s projections put sales of MTG Lord of the Rings above premier MTG sets for 2023.