Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond sets have undergone a number of important changes over the last year. This makes sense, given that in order to maintain MTG's position as one of the best card games, it's within the interests of Wizards of the Coast to bolster Universes Beyond – likely one of the most attractive points of entry for new players.
Not only are Universes Beyond releases now legal in Standard format, but they also comprise half of the total release calendar for 2025. These changes should spell good things for attracting new audiences to Magic – in particular those who might not be interested in the game at all if it weren't for the IP crossover. However, this investment in tie-in sets does come at a cost.
No doubt licensing massive properties to create sets like MTG Final Fantasy and MTG Marvel's Spider-Man comes with additional expenses in production. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter appears to be that at least some of that extra cost is being passed to the player.
