During an investor call on Thursday, Wizards of the Coast’s parent company Hasbro announced a new initiative to Magic: The Gathering. Called Universes Beyond, this new product line will include other licensed properties, including Warhammer 40,000 and JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth. In a blog post published later on Thursday, Wizards provided more details on what the new product line will look like.
“Universes Beyond came about thanks to a simple thought,” said Wizards in the blog post, “if we can expand our story beyond the game system to things like comics, novels and other games, then we can certainly expand the game system to let the players explore worlds outside the worlds of Magic. “
Universes Beyond items will be marked with the same holofoil seal that appeared on The Walking Dead crossover that appeared in a Secret Lair print-on-demand offering in 2020, according to Wizards. But this new product line will not just be a set of alternative art cards available online.
“Universes Beyond products will generally be sold in all Magic channels – these will not be strictly Secret Lair products, ”said Wizards, referring to direct online sales, online retail and physical stores. “THE Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks, for example, will be available everywhere we sell Commander decks, as well as Lord of the Rings products. We may occasionally make products associated with Secret Lair related to the main launch, such as Secret Lair Godzilla lands when Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths it went out. There will also be the occasional standalone product, such as Living Dead, but the intention is usually to Universes Beyond as available as any other Magic products.”
Wizards also specified that the next Dungeons & Dragons theme Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set is not part of the Universes Beyond initiative. This appears to have been stated incorrectly during the previous investor’s call. But the company gave up saying that Universes Beyond will not just be a new cover of existing cards. Some products in the line will contain completely new cards with new rules and mechanics. The legality of the Universes beyond the letters in MagicThe many formats remain an open question and are likely to change from one set to another.