The Gathering’s Edge of Eternities Success Redefines Franchise Future

Magic: The Gathering has been in an odd place lately. From its plethora of Universes Beyond sets muddying its own lore and worldbuilding with its new move to the stars with the Edge of Eternities set, it is easy to understand why so many feel like it is losing its way somewhat. Indeed, I believed that, and while I thoroughly enjoyed every set that releases, I also appreciate good worldbuilding, and I want to see more of it from MTG.

However, as much as I was assured in my belief, MTG’s successful Edge of Eternities set has made me rethink everything. Edge of Eternities was a huge gamble for Magic: The Gathering, something many of us never thought would happen. It completely reshapes the future of the franchise and has made me, and I’m sure many others, feel like we’ve been wrong about MTG this whole time.

Edge Of Eternities Is Going Over Surprisingly Well

It Is Resonating With Players

Magic: The Gathering’s Edge of Eternities set is doing surprisingly well, both critically and financially. Despite being the franchise’s first sci-fi-themed set, Edge of Eternities’ glowing reviews and, perhaps more importantly, positive fan reception have proven that MTG can stretch beyond its fantasy confines. That is reassuring to those who were a tad worried and also expands the possibilities for MTG’s future, which is undeniably exciting.

Edge of Eternities had a lot riding on it, not least because of its distinct setting, but also because it sees the franchise return to its core worldbuilding and lore after a string of the somewhat controversial Universes Beyond sets. As much as I do enjoy those, it was nice to be back in MTG’s home territory, even if it is exploring the stars.

Wizards of the Coast really did this set proud with some of the best art we’ve seen in a long time and truly unique takes on tired tropes and settings. The commander decks, which is how I got into the set, are both extremely interesting and dynamic, and have made several game nights incredibly interesting – Kilo, Apogee Mind has given even my most MTG-enthused friends a run for their money.

MTG’s Sci-Fi Turn Maintains Its Identity

It Manages To Turn To The Stars Without Sacrificing Anything

What surprised me the most was how Magic: The Gathering’s exploration of the stars never really felt out of place, despite, quite literally, deviating from its original setting. Running the Counter Intelligence deck with all of its spacecraft never really felt at odds with, say, a deck from the recent Bloomburrow expansion – a personal favorite of mine – despite the two fundamentally being at odds with each other. It managed to make Star Wars meets Redfall work, and that’s an impressive feat.

It, at the very least, felt a lot more coherent than the Universes Beyond sets, which have proved to be an extremely divisive experience within the MTG community. I do love Universes Beyond, if only because it lets me have a deck full of Final Fantasy 15 cards, and not one else was going to let me do that, but I can appreciate how the disconnect between MTG’s impressive worldbuilding and JRPG characters can be frustrating to many.

That’s why I was so pleasantly surprised by Edge of Eternities. I figured we were in for another sense of disconnect, a random set at odds with the core experience that feels like Wizards of the Coast is just throwing whatever at the wall and seeing what sticks. Universes Beyond is financially lucrative, so it has to continue even if fans don’t want it to. However, Edge of Eternities could have been a failed experiment, and, after having played it extensively, I’m glad it isn’t.

Magic: The Gathering Is Still All Over The Place

It Needs To Focus On One Specific Facet Of Its World

Naturally, that means I would love to see more sci-fi-themed sets going forward. However, I’d also like to see a little more cohesion within future Magic: The Gathering sets. I’m all for MTG getting Avatar: The Last Airbender and Spider-Man cards as they look like well-designed and thoughtful adaptations, but I do question Wizards’ decision to blend Universes Beyond with regular MTG.

Perhaps an even more significant disconnect would help make matches feel less like trying to shove your favorite franchises into an established fantasy world. I don’t really want Magic: The Gathering to become Fortnite, even if that is the direction it is ultimately heading in. Fortnite’s complete abandonment of its original purpose and design is sad and unfortunate, and it would be a shame to give up the likes of Bloomburrow so we can get a SpongeBob SquarePants crossover.

Ultimately, Pandora’s box has been opened, and the flurry of future Universes Beyond expansions won’t stop. So long as it continues to be profitable for Wizards to print popular characters on MTG cards, it will do so. However, I do hope that MTG can start to feel a little less messy, even if it does begin to venture into the cosmos, as I rather enjoy its worldbuilding and lore and can’t wait to see more of it explored in future sets.

Release Date

August 5, 1993

Created by

Richard Garfield

Video Game(s)

Magic: The Gathering, Magic the Gathering Commander, Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014, Magic: The Gathering Arena

Character(s)

Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Liliana Vess, Garruk Wildspeaker, Nissa Revane, Ajani Goldmane, Nicol Bolas, Teferi, Gideon Jura, Sorin Markov, Ral Zarek