Imagining What's Next For MTG: Universes Beyond

Forbes

11 hours ago

Since 2021 the Hasbro owned Wizards of the Coast has been inking very popular deals with known IPs to integrate into Magic: The Gathering sets, appearing first in Secret Lair drops, then as stand-alone expansions. MTG: Universes Beyond has brought us full expansions of Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Assassins' Creed, Doctor Who, Final Fantasy, and Spider-Man.
That's not including Warhammer 40,000 Commander, Jurassic World, Stranger Things, and others mixed in with new expansions and Secret Lair packs. Not to mention the recently announced Avatar: The Last Airbender expansion. So what's next? Let's take a walk down speculation lane and list five hopeful dream expansions we'd like to see.
MTG: Universes Beyond: Legend of Zelda
The first one that pops to mind is Legend of Zelda. Primarily the latest versions for the Nintendo Switch like Breath of the Wild. It was an expansive game, so it offers plenty of creatures, abilities, lands and artifacts for the taking. Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos would be fun to see as Magic cards, but think about all the wild animals. It's a laundry list. There are at least five different horses. This set could challenge Bloomburrow for adorable animals with weapons.
And all of these animals could be biome specific, with abilities mirroring their mana association. Naturally characters like Link and Zelda themselves would be Legendary mythic cards, leading commander decks, but it's the crafting that would set this expansion apart. So why not bring that mechanic to Magic: The Gathering? In Breath of the Wild it was crafting food items, Tears of the Kingdom added weapon crafting through the fuse and ultrahand abilities. I think we can integrate both.
Food related abilities that activate as sorcery, tied to artifacts or other creatures, offering regeneration or a poison-type response could be a possible mechanic. As well as artifacts that mutate into weirder, more powerful weapons. With such a depth of characters and a wildly robust crafting menu, integrating Legend of Zelda into Magic: The Gathering seems like a no-brainer.
MTG: Universes Beyond: Star Trek
To me, a lifelong Star Trek fan (yes, even Enterprise and Star Trek: Nemesis) this one is the most obvious expansion. Can you imagine a Kahless the Unforgettable, Warrior King as a Legendary Commander with the ability to inspire other Klingon warriors on the battlefield through some boosting mechanic? There's so many humanoid alien species to choose from, and some — like the Gorn — could mutate from their original series form to their Strange New Worlds form.
Piggybacking on the Aetherdrift expansion, this one would be full of vehicles. From the Enterprise itself, to smaller craft like those wasp-like Klingon shuttles, to that one time Picard drove an off-road golf cart looking for Data's head in the sand. And if there isn't a card to morph Janeway and Chakotay into slugs I'd be disappointed. And there could be a ton of spatial anomalies as enchantments that change the structure of the battlefield, just like they do in an episode of Star Trek. And don't even get me started on bringing back the room mechanic from Duskmorn for Holodeck simulations.
As a bonus, similar to the Nazgul cards from the Lord of the Rings expansion, there could be a dozen different Jeffrey Combs cards.
MTG: Universes Beyond: Sailor Moon
Arthur Collins of Comfy Cozy Gaming was fairly enthused about the possibility of a Sailor Moon expansion, even if it's just fantasy at this point and immediately suggested possible new mechanics such as upgrades for Commanders that give them better powers, using the cats like Luna or Artemis for enhancements and villains that can spawn more monsters each turn. He also suggested Power Rangers, but he only gets one mention here so Sailor Moon it is.
I don't know much else about Sailor Moon honestly, never got into it. Fun little tidbit when doing some searching; there was a Sailor Moon collectible card game that seemed to lift some mechanics from games like Magic: The Gathering. It had body, mind, and soul power cards (akin to mana), and temporary cards (instants) that affected the current gameplay. There were also location cards that offered a boost to villain cards. So there's no doubt that this franchise could be integrated into a Magic expansion.
MTG: Universes Beyond: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
How is this not already an expansion? Magic slipped in some Transformers cards a few years back with the Brothers War expansion, so there's surely a market for that kind of nostalgia. Even though both properties are still going strong, which is even more appealing. Aside from character cards for Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, this set could have an entire mechanic based around the ooze. Not just a mutate mechanic, but perhaps something similar to manifesting dread or something like that.
Even though there is depth to the TMNT universe, it's not as broad as some of the other options on this list. So perhaps these cards would be better as a Secret Lair drop or an addition to a future expansion. One thing that does stand out with TMNT, especially with the toy lines, is how many different variations of each character there are. A lot of opportunity for different creature cards there. Plus, we'd finally get a skateboard artifact. And pizza tokens.
MTG: Universes Beyond: Futurama
Someone suggested The Simpsons as a Magic: The Gathering expansion, and while that universe is full of unique characters and lore, it just doesn't feel right. Feels too much like a bad marketing idea. But that doesn't mean all Matt Groening properties aren't ripe for conversion into Magic cards. Enter Bender and the Planet Express ship. And Fry could be the least effective Commander card ever printed. Laziness could be an ability. And the rarest, most powerful card would be Seymour Asses.
A fun mechanic could be embracing the nonsensical. Like, nothing has to make much sense, just like on the show. From the Professor's wild inventions, to Bender showing off a new attachment or internal function that wasn't there previously, to the absolutely wild approach to physics and dimensional space. Like a black hole instant that reroutes damage somewhere else, or tap a mountain and Bender shoots fire for one damage. Again, this feels like a Secret Lair drop, but could certainly be its own expansion.
MTG: Universes Beyond: other possibilities
Finally, we have the mega-obvious ones that will surely be expansions at some point. If Hasbro can make deals with Disney/Marvel, then surely someone has already mentioned a Star Wars expansion. This is a are generational science-fiction pop culture property ripe for integration into the world of Magic: The Gathering. And if you are going to have a Zelda expansion, might as well go full Nintendo with Mario, Donkey Kong, and Kirby. For that matter, may as well go full Marvel with X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four and so on.
Really, at this point, anything is fair game for at least a Secret Lair drop. Borderlands, Halo, and Starcraft come to mind. Josh Knowles of KnowTechie suggested I at least mention the possibility of more Final Fantasy with Final Fantasy Tactics or Final Fantasy Mythic Quest. He also suggested Dark Souls/Elden Ring with persist mechanics but I quit Dark Souls 2 about 20 minutes in and never looked back, so it didn't get a fleshed out mention.
Frankly, if you can think of a popular franchise, so can the team at Wizards of the Coast, so there's a possibility any IP could translate to MTG: Universes Beyond. Even the Care Bears.