The Last Airbender Is MTG’s Worst-Kept Secret

2025 will see Magic: The Gathering go all-in on Universes Beyond, with crossover sets making up just under half of its releases this year. Final Fantasy and Spider-Man are leading the charge, but there’s one more release we still don’t know anything about: the Unannounced Universes Beyond set.

The problem is that we all know what it’s going to be, and Wizards of the Coast hasn’t exactly tried to hide it. It’s either throwing out more red herrings than a wasteful fishmonger, or we’re getting Avatar: The Last Airbender before the year is out. So why the secrecy?

It’s Almost Definitely Avatar: The Last Airbender

Evidence for the final set of 2025 being Avatar has been mounting since shortly after the Unannounced Universes Beyond set was revealed last October. Lead designer Chris Mooney said on Twitter that working on the set is a “lifelong dream come true”, is an outspoken The Last Airbender fan, and is also known for their DMing of the Avatar TTRPG.

The next ‘hint’ (read: big, blaring siren) came as part of Magic Arena’s daily deals, which often follow a theme, like a creature type or a word in the title. So far, this year’s sales have been inspired by this year’s sets. Final Fantasy’s day was full of crystals, Spider-Man’s had Spiders, Aetherdrift was vehicles, Edge of Eternities was stars, and Tarkir had its iconic Dragons.

Following them came a day where the daily deals are cards referencing the four elements, and two more with the word “bender” in their names.

While it’s easy to assume this is Wizards poking fun at a popular fan theory, Avatar: The Last Airbender wasn’t actually the top contender for a set in the first place. Lots of other properties have been suggested by the community , with everything from The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, and Game of Thrones, to more out-there things like Star Trek. A 20-year old cartoon wasn’t exactly on a lot of people’s minds, so why draw attention to it now?

Why Keep It Secret?

The slow announcement of Avatar’s potential set has been utterly confusing. To not reveal the set in October, only to practically confirm it through Arena deals two months later is bizarre, and isn’t the sort of slow reveal that is going to excite fans, more likely it will frustrate them.

Was it a licensing problem? That’s doubtful, because sets are designed years in advance, and Wizards wouldn’t put so much effort into making a set before it’s pinned down the rights. Was it branding, and Wizards hasn’t decided on a name or logos for the set yet? That’s possible, but Wizards isn’t afraid of showing off unfinalized sets; Innistrad: Werewolves and Innistrad: Vampires became Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow, for instance.

The most likely reason for keeping schtum about Avatar is simply hype. Having a secret thing to reveal a few months down the line keeps the promotional cycle going. Wizards likes to leave a set to announce later in the year, as it did with Foundations in 2024, and Commander Masters in 2023. But in this case, it’s the wrong move.

Universes Beyond was the big controversy of October’s reveals. Not only would it be taking up half of Magic’s releases going forward, it would be legal in Standard and Pioneer for the first time. Wizards knew this was going to go down badly with fans, but Avatar could have saved the day.

Avatar Is What Universes Beyond Should Be

A lot of the anxieties surrounding Magic’s last 12 months has been the erosion of its fantasy roots. Karlov Manor and Thunder Junction shone a spotlight on the trope-filled ‘hat set’, while Duskmourn played with more modern aesthetics than we’ve seen before.

2024 was very fantasy-lite, and for it to be capped off by an announcement that the coming years will mostly be crossovers with other, less traditional fantasy media like Spider-Man was never going to go down well.

Avatar is beloved for its worldbuilding and aesthetics, offering up a depth we didn’t often see from kids’ media at the time. Four nations vying for control of a society built around elemental bending is a unique premise, and pulling from various Asian cultures and mythologies helped give Avatar a depth that’s made it so enduring in the two decades since, and an incredibly deep well for Wizards to pull from.

Universes Beyond only catches flak when it goes against Magic’s existing sensibilities – Doctor Who, Assassin’s Creed, Transformers, and Jurassic World were all criticised, while Lord of the Rings, Warhammer, and Fallout were smash hits, because they ‘fit’ Magic. They’re expansive fantasy worlds, and I can’t think of anything that fits that better than Avatar.

Wizards should have led with Avatar, and had it be the central focus of its future for Universes Beyond, instead of this weird, open secret it’s teasing us with. Had it presented Avatar as the standard we can expect to come to Magic, rather than following up majorly controversial announcements with a SpongeBob Secret Lair, perhaps we’d be less worried about what the game will look like in a few years.

It’s a bit late for that, though, so the next best thing would just be announcing the damn thing.

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Magic: The Gathering

Created by Richard Garfield in 1993, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has become one of the biggest tabletop collectible card games in the world. Taking on the role of a Planeswalker, players build decks of cards and do battle with other players. In excess of 100 additional sets have added new cards to the library, while the brand has expanded into video games, comics, and more.

Franchise

Magic: The Gathering

Original Release Date

August 5, 1993

Player Count

2+

Age Recommendation

13+

Length per Game

Variable

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