Magic: The Gathering entered 2025 with unprecedented changes. These changes impacted the overall game landscape and made this year the most transformative one for the trading card game. With all these changes, we can even consider 2025 as a year that divided the game community, while pushing the boundaries of what Magic could become. With that in mind, read on and let’s explore how MTG has changed so far within the year 2025 and what to expect next.
The Universe Beyond Revolution
Wizards of the Coast came up with the decision to make Universe Beyond set a legal Standard for the very first time. This is one of the most significant changes we experienced this year. Along with this change, the game took a dramatic departure from the traditional approach. That’s where the crossover sets remained confined to eternal formats.
Starting with the Final Fantasy set in June, 3 out of 7 major releases in 2025 are featuring characters and settings from outside the Magic multiverse. They alter the overall competitive landscape of the game.
The Final Fantasy set was launched on June 13. We can expect Marvel’s Spider Man to launch on September 26 and Avatar: The Last Airbender to launch on November 21. These releases will represent half of the standard legal content for the year 2025. At the end of the year, players will find themselves casting spells featuring Cloud Strife alongside traditional Magic planes walkers in tournament settings.
This integration can speak intense debate about the identity of Magic. Some could view it as an exciting expansion of possibilities. However, others may look at it as a dilution of the overall core fantasy aesthetics of the game.
Format Legality Simplification
Apart from Universe Beyond Integration, Wizards streamlined format legalities into two clear categories. They include:
• All Formats Legal (Standard-legal sets)
• Eternal Legal (Commander and supplementary products)
This simplification reduced the confusion around complex web of format legalities that developed throughout the past few years.
Veteran players had numerous concerns about “Straight-to-Modern” sets. As a result, we could experience excessive format churn. This change is addressing all those issues. Moreover, it provides new players who entered via Universes Beyond products a pathway to competitive formats.
It is also important to keep in mind that this solution came at the cost of altering character of Standard format. That’s because the format now regularly features on non-Magic intellectual properties.
The Transformation of Release Schedule
There are 7 major sets releases planned for the 2025 schedule. The first release was the Innistrad Remastered release on January 24. Then we could see the Aetherdrift release on February 14, and Tarkir: Dragonstorm release on April 11. This scattered release schedule represents a more manageable pace when compared to the 9 sets released in 2024. This year, we can also see the inclusion of multiple crossover properties. They eventually created many new complexities within the game.
One of the most notable things that are missing from the schedule is the return to Lorwyn. It got pushed to 2026, in order to accommodate the Universe Beyond Releases. This delay brought disappointment to numerous longtime players. That’s because they have been waiting for the return of their beloved fairy tale plane.
The Unprecedented Expansion of Standard
The combination of three-year Standard rotation and the inclusion of Universes Beyond sets created an unprecedented expansion of the format card pool. With six sets releasing annually over a three-year period, Standard would potentially contain up to 18 legal sets simultaneously. This has a range of 5 to 8 sets in the past.
This massive expansion created concerns around format complexity and power level as well. That’s because the availability of cards could create overwhelming deck-building challenges. It can also create potentially unstable competitive environments.
Community Response and Division
The response from Magic community to these changes are deeply divided. Only a limited number of players remained positive. Many were praising the continued quality of draft environments and the consistency of offerings they could experience during 2025. However, constructed players expressed more mixed feelings. Some of them embraced the expanded possibilities. However, others felt overwhelmed by the pace of change, as they noticed a departure from the traditional identity of Magic.
International players had to face even more challenges in 2025. For example, there was a discontinuation of the Portuguese language support. Similarly, we could see a limited tournament coverage in regions such as South America. This created a significant impact on the worldwide player base.
Shifts to Design Philosophy
The integration of Universes Beyond into Standard forced some significant changes in the design philosophy of Magic. Traditional Magic sets would feature legendary creatures to accommodate the influx of iconic characters from crossover properties. Moreover, Universes Beyond sets are notably lacking planeswalker cards. This created an interesting asymmetry in the distribution of card types.
These design constraints reflected the challenge of maintaining mechanical identity of Magic. It looks like things become more challenging when trying to incorporate vastly different source materials.
Economic and Competitive Implications
The 2025 changes created some significant economic ramifications as well. For example, Final Fantasy products are now generating controversy over pricing despite not being positioned as premium releases. On the other hand, the expanded Standard format created some new challenges to competitive players. As a result, they now need to track more cards and interactions significantly when compared to previous years.
The Spotlight Series tournaments provided some stability with their $50,000 prize pools and Pro Tour qualification opportunities. It offers the closest approximation to the beloved Grand Prix system that most players missed. However, the geographic limitations of these events highlight ongoing issues with organized play accessibility.
Final Words
As we progress through 2025, one thing is clear. Magic: The Gathering has now entered a new era, defined by unprecedented scope and complexity. The success or failure they experience with integrating Universe Beyond into Standard format would likely determine the direction of the game for years to come. Some players are embracing the expanded possibilities in the meantime, whereas others worry about the loss of Magic’s unique identity. While keeping this in mind, we can look forward to see how things would evolve for the rest of the year.
