Wizards of the Coast has decided to shake up Magic: The Gathering with a new expansion aimed at fulfilling every fantasy geek's dream of having all their favorite fantasy franchises in one game. As part of Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond initiative, the strategy card game will be welcoming the Warhammer 40K and Lord of the Rings universes into its fold, along with others in the future. Universes Beyond will be a specific brand inside of Magic: The Gathering that will exist alongside the current Magic products.
Magic: The Gathering isn't new to crossovers. Some of the best Magic: The Gathering crossovers have been with other popular fantasy properties like Dungeons and Dragons, Godzilla, and The Walking Dead. But this time Wizards of the Coasts wants to go bigger and "expand the game system" to let players enjoy worlds outside of Magic. As with other crossover initiatives, Wizards of the Coast hopes that Universes Beyond will draw new players to the strategy card came in order to grow the community.
For existing Magic: The Gathering players, there are some things to know. While the Universes Beyond cards are still Magic cards, they will look a little different. Card frames will be different than other Magic cards and all Universes Beyond cards will have a unique holofoil stamp to identify them as such. This holofoil stamp is the same one already used on the Secret Lair X The Walking Dead cards, which will also be a part of Universes Beyond.
Wizards of the Coast also aims to make sure that the Universes Beyond sets will be sold through all the same channels used to sell already existing Magic: The Gathering cards. This means that cards in the Universes Beyond series will be available everywhere Commander decks are already sold, but there will also be some related releases to mainline Universes Beyond releases on Magic's online store, Secret Lair.
However, the Universes Beyond sets will not be Standard legal. These sets are simply additions to the current Magic sets for fantasy flavor and for fans to enjoy. Wizards of the Coast also specified that the Magic set Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is not a part of Universes Beyond, as Wizards aims to keep the new expansion to realms outside of those already built by the company.
The Universes Beyond set is a different spin on Magic: The Gathering that not all Magic enthusiasts may find enjoyable, but there is other exciting news for purists out there. As part of Magic: The Gathering's constant additions, a new expansion will release in a few months titled Strixhaven: School of Mages that introduces the new plane, Arcavios.
Magic: The Gathering is available now in game stores and digitally through Magic Arena.
Source: Wizards of the Coast