The Gathering Format is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place in 2025

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 22, 2024 2 Views 6 Min Read
The Gathering Format is Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place in 2025

Summary

  • 2025 brings new Magic: The Gathering products like three Magic Universe sets and three Universes Beyond sets.
  • Universes Beyond sets, once not for Standard, are now legal in all formats starting in 2025.
  • Players may struggle to manage six Standard sets released closely each time, affecting gameplay and financial investment.

2025 is going to bring a lot of new products and cards for Magic: The Gathering fans to collect – from three Magic Universe sets (Aetherdrift, Tarkir Dragonstorm, and Edge of Eternities) to Innistrad Remastered, including three Universes Beyond sets. MTG‘s UB sets are polarizing from a design standpoint, as the crossovers don’t always fit seamlessly into the game’s setting. More importantly, Universes Beyond sets in Magic: The Gathering can be a bit controversial, as Wizards of the Coast initially promised that these releases wouldn’t affect the regular Standard rotation nor be playable in Standard, but this will no longer be the case in 2025.

A lot is changing in Magic: The Gathering at the moment, and this started in November with the launch of Foundations – the first set to enter Standard rotation for at least five years, if not in semi-perpetuity. Then, Wizards of the Coast announced its change from four Magic Universe sets and two UB sets to three and three, which was accompanied by the announcement that Universes Beyond will now be legal in all formats. This can throw a monkey wrench in some fans’ plans, though, as UB sets being Standard-legal means that to keep up-to-date with the format one needs to play through six sets in a year instead of four.

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There is an argument to be made that six Standard-legal sets are a bit hard on players both from a news cycle vs. fatigue standpoint and financially, as Magic: The Gathering has many expensive cards. This means that six Standard sets will be difficult to manage for collectors, who may be forced to choose which sets to open packs and displays of and which to skip or limit to a few drafts. On top of that, the new total of six Standard sets means that it may be harder to take breaks from the format if one wants to stay competitive.

This doesn’t even take into account the fact that Universes Beyond sets may not be for everyone, as Magic: The Gathering fans may want to stick to Magic Universe sets for setting, design, and lore reasons. Instead, Standard decks will inevitably have to include cards from Universes Beyond sets with the new release schedule and legalization rules, which can be frustrating if one doesn’t want to see Spider-Man or Final Fantasy cards in MTG. This is true for every UB set, but with them now being legal in every format and releasing more often, it’s going to be difficult to do.

Why Six Standard Sets May Be Difficult to Manage For New MTG UB Fans

On the other end of the spectrum, new players who are starting to collect Magic: The Gathering cards due to a favorite IP of theirs becoming part of the game and also intend to start playing Standard, collecting cards from all the previous expansions to catch up and make a deck is not exactly easy. Likewise, these new players may not like other IPs from Universes Beyond and lose interest in Standard or the game as a whole.

Aetherdrift will launch on February 14, 2025, then Tarkir Dragonstorms on April 11, Final Fantasy UB on June 13, and Edge of Eternities on August 1. The Spider-Man UB set and the unannounced UB set have yet to be assigned release dates, but they are likely to come out between September and October and between November and December, respectively.

Magic: The Gathering Release Schedule in 2025 May Be Too Tight

What follows is that, for new Standard players and veterans, the change to six sets in one year means that it may be best to purchase single cards over boosters or try and use decks with as few of the new cards from each set as possible. Still, six sets for Standard players can be hard to keep up with given the cadence, as there will be just a couple of months between each 2025 Magic: The Gathering release. Overall, 2025 will be rich in new products, but it may take a toll on players, especially in Standard.

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