Secret Lair Universes Beyond Will Change in a Major Way to Appease MTG Players Criticisms

Earlier this year, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announced that they’re broadening the world of Magic: The Gathering with Universes Beyond— a series that combines the gameplay of Magic: The Gathering with worlds, stories, and characters that are adored by millions of fans around the globe.

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Wizards of the Coast Provide Secret Lair Universes Beyond Update

Earlier today, Wizards of the Coast announced an update to how they are approaching the crossover Secret Lair series. Their plan is to do the following:

• Create and print versions of the mechanically unique Secret Lair Universes Beyond cards that are set in Magic‘s Multiverse approximately six months (the exact time may vary) after their release in Secret Lair.
  
• The in-Magic versions will be available on The List, findable in Set Boosters for as long as players are still interested in opening them. To start, they’ll appear on The List more frequently than other cards to make them easier to find. In the future, we may reprint these cards in other products—we’ll have that flexibility.
  
• These cards will be considered equivalent game pieces—meaning you could only play four copies (or one copy) of either the Magic version or Universes Beyond version in your deck.

It’s already been confirmed that The Lord of the Rings and Warhammer 40,000 will be the first franchises to see the Universes Beyond treatment. To encourage accessibility of these cards, the Universes Beyond cards will feature in “The List” Set Boosters in future sets. However, these will have different Magic art and names compared to the Secret Lair Universe Beyond variants. This is to accommodate Magic players who aren’t fussed with the theme these Secret Lairs will offer.

Read More: Splinter Twin added to “The List”, Will it be Unbanned in Modern?

Magic Content Creators React to the Universe Beyond News

There are mixed reactions to the update provided by WotC from noted creators and personalities. While the concept seems good, there are a lot of cards from “The List” and it’s unsure whether it’s going to help accessibility for players.

"The List" version of Chulane is currently hundreds or even thousands of dollars (while the normal version is $6) since cards from "The List" are so rare. I like "The List" as a fun pack opening gimmick, but in its current form it's not a meaningful way to reprint cards.

— Saffron Olive (@SaffronOlive) June 7, 2021

Interestingly, WotC are ignoring the Secret Lair Walking Dead cards from “The List”. As a result, it’s caused kickback in the community since these cards are unique and could do with another viable reprint. Granted, WotC say this is a proof of concept, and want more data before they commit further.

Implementing something similar to this with The Walking Dead isn’t off the table in the future. We want to use this new Secret Lair drop as a way to gauge feedback, gather responses, listen, and see if that approach makes sense before diving in and making Magic-universe cards.

— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) June 7, 2021

Either way, it will be interesting to see what cards WotC create with the Universes Beyond line despite these changes. With that, WotC will be announcing the first Universe Beyond cards very soon. We will provide the news as it drops.

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