‘Magic: The Gathering’ Head Designer Says In-Universe Lore “Getting More Attention Than Ever,” Just Not In Card Sets
In an attempt at ‘smoothing things over’ that’s likely to have the opposite effect, Magic: The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater has assured fans that although 2026 may feature an overwhelming focus on its Universes Beyond line of third-party crossovers, it’s in-universe lore is now receiving “more attention” from his team than ever before, albeit in other mediums rather than the actual card game itself.
RELATED: ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Releasing Seven Total Sets In 2026 – And Most Are ‘Universes Beyond’
While the game’s inclusion of franchises like Fallout, Marvel Comics, or Final Fantasy has been a regular point of contention ever since The Walking Dead first brought a modern firearm to a Sliver fight in 2019, the debate reached new heights with the reveal of MTG‘s 2026 release schedule.
Revealed during the recent MagicCon Atlanta, said schedule confirmed that not only would next year see Wizards of the Coast publishing seven full sets instead of their usual six, but also that most of them would be Universes Beyond-themed, its subjects including The Hobbit, Marvel Super Heroes, Star Trek, and a yet-to-be-revealed Nickelodeon IP (currently speculated to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
A few days after this news was announced, Rosewater received a message through his personal Tumblr blog, as used by the designer to invite and regularly respond to fan feedback, from a player thanking him for all his hard work in designing MTG, but also informing him that 2026’s Universes Beyond takeover had prompted them to officially hang up their deck boxes:
“Hey Mark! Thanks to you and everyone at Wizards for making this game a reality. I just wanted to let you know that after over 15 years of active play, I am stepping back from the game due to the frequency of Universes Beyond sets. As much as I can appreciate that other people might like these IP’s, the IP I care about is Magic (in universe). Feel free to take this as a statistic, but I am sad to see Magic taking a back seat to crossover stuff, especially in the upcoming year.”
Seeking to both acknowledge the fan’s dilemma and offer a bit of clarification to the situation, Rosewater responded by pointing to a number of different print and screen projects through which WotC was expanding MTG‘s lore – all of which notably fail to satisfy the base issue regarding the core TCG product’s continuing Fortnite-ification:
“While we are obviously doing a lot with Universes Beyond, I need to stress that in-Multiverse Magic is getting more attention from us than ever.”
“At the preview panel, for example, we announced we are doing a novel associated with the release of Secrets of Strixhaven (Note: It’s telling a larger story and not the story about what’s specifically happening in the cards – that will still be told through online stories).
“The Netflix animated series is in full production. We signed a movie deal with Legendary. A comics series (Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories) just began at Dark Horse. And that’s just the stuff I can talk about.
“We have never been more dedicated to expanding the world of Magic beyond just the card set. And the success of Universes Beyond is bringing in more players, raising awareness of the brand, and providing us with resources to do it in ways never before possible.
“Magic is in a huge growth cycle, and a big part of that is growing the Magic in-Multiverse brand. I think the next bunch of years is going to be the best ever for the Vorthoses [a colloquial term for players who primarily enjoy the game from a creative perspective, both in regards to design and playstyle], like yourself, that love Magic for its own story and creative. It is not going to take a back seat.”
With Marvel’s Spider-Man having just swung onto shelves, MTG‘s next full Universes Beyond set, as based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, is on track to officially release on November 21st.
