Summary
- Magic: The Gathering fans anticipate a big 2025 with Aetherdrift and upcoming UB sets, but high prices for MTG x FF products are concerning.
- Some fans disapprove of WotC’s shift to Universes Beyond over in-universe sets, especially with UB sets becoming Standard-legal in 2025.
- Standard players face challenges due to high prices for MTG x FF products, potentially impacting the format’s accessibility and player base.
With Aetherdrift now in the stores and already being played in Standard and other formats, as well as five more Standard-legal sets coming out this year, 2025 is going to be big for Magic: The Gathering fans. Just recently, Magic: The Gathering‘s collab with Avatar: The Last Airbender was officially announced, coming as 2025’s third and last Universes Beyond set on November 21, but Wizards of the Coast is already working on reveals and pre-orders for earlier sets. This includes the upcoming Tarkir: Dragonstorms and the extremely popular UB set dedicated to Final Fantasy. As much as the hype is growing, MTG x FF products have a massive downside that could easily backfire.
It is no mystery that many fans and longtime players of the game are not pleased with Wizards of the Coast’s decision to reduce the number of Magic: The Gathering in-universe sets in favor of Universes Beyond. This was exacerbated at the end of 2024 when WotC announced that not only there would be 3 Magic Multiverse and 3 UB sets in 2025, but that UB sets would become Standard-legal for the first time. Now, this seems to be all the more problematic for the health of the game considering the ridiculous prices that the MTG x Final Fantasy products are going for.
Related
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How Magic: The Gathering is Making Standard Less Accessible With Final Fantasy
One of the reasons why Universes Beyond was initially popular is that the Lord of the Rings franchise is arguably one of the single best IPs that could cross over into Magic: The Gathering, so it made sense to many fans. Not only that, but its in-game legality didn’t raise concerns, and the fact that it was very expensive was fine considering this and also the fact that it was a premium set, meaning it had very strong and valuable cards that in turn increased the value of each pack. However, MTG x FF products seem to be priced much like LotR, if not with higher pricetags overall, for a set that is not premium and is supposed to be Standard-legal.
One could argue that if Commander is the face of Magic: The Gathering, Standard is one of its most played and iconic formats for two players and with 20 life per game. It can also be the hardest to keep up with because of its nature, as only a handful of sets are legal in Standard in MTG at a time, and some rotate out each year. As such, 2025 was already going to be stacked for fans due to six Standard-legal sets, but the prices of the Final Fantasy products may just kill the format for many.
As it stands, based on Amazon pre-orders and considering that most products are already sold out, the prices are some of the highest MTG has ever seen. They are as follows:
- $200 for one Play Booster Box (around 210 euros in Europe)
- $70 for one Commander deck (around 71 euros in Europe)
- $450-460 for one Collector Booster Box (around 510 euros in Europe)
Magic: The Gathering’s 2025 UB Sets Are Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
These prices are about to close off a lot of fans, as it’s unlikely that all Standard players will be able to afford these products if they can even manage to buy them before they are sold out. On top of that, the Play Booster Boxes will contain six fewer packs than before – something that was introduced with Magic: The Gathering‘s new Aetherdrift set. Now, players only get 30 packs as opposed to 36.
As such, players who don’t want to buy singles and would rather open a few booster packs of these products, be it newcomers who got into MTG thanks to the crossovers and Final Fantasy itself or veterans who have been around for a long time, have to pay more to get less than usual. This also sets a dangerous precedent for the game, as it could seem as if WotC was trying to make customers pay for the license.
Even if that is not the case, these prices don’t build goodwill with the community, and not only are they for a non-premium set, but for one of six Standard-legal sets and the first of three UB sets in Magic: The Gathering. These prices could easily be the new norm for UB sets, and with such a packed release schedule in a single year, they don’t seem to be here to favor the consumers at all.
Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
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August 5, 1993
- Designer
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Richard Garfield
- Player Count
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2+
- Age Recommendation
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13+