Magic: The Gathering Assassin’s Creed review ⏤ Good cards in bad boosters

This was a tough review to write. I am not giving the Assassin’s Creed set (ACR) a good score, which is sad because at its core, there are fun cards within. The reality is that this set is sold in a way that I fundamentally do not understand. I wholeheartedly dislike how this set is sold as the Assassin’s Creed set is the first Universes Beyond set to feature the new Beyond Booster. I am getting a little bit ahead of myself though. Let’s take a moment to explore what the Assassin’s Creed set is and why I dislike format.

What is a Beyond Booster? – Origin of the Hidden Ones

When it comes to Universes Beyond, there’s been different variations of how the cards are sold to a customer. This ranges from full draft sets (Tales of Middle-Earth), Commander sets (Doctor Who/Fallout), pack insert cards (Jurassic Park), and a lot of Secret Lairs. All of these various formats serve different purposes, but I favor the full draft set and the Commander set as you can play Magic with those products right away. Wizards of the Coast created a new “medium” sized set for Assassin’s Creed that contains 100 regular cards and is sold exclusively in the new Beyond Booster. A standard Beyond Booster contains seven cards and a Collector Booster for ACR contains ten cards. The idea of a 100 card set is that this is the middle ground between a full draft set and the smaller offerings such as a Secret Lair. This is why the Beyond Booster only has seven cards, there simply isn’t enough card variety to support a Play Booster. Assassin’s Creed does also feature a Starter Kit of two preconstructed decks.

Supposedly the Beyond Booster was supposed to mirror the Aftermath Boosters from March of the Machine. March of the Machine: Aftermath was a “micro” set that contained fifty cards and was sold in boosters that contained five cards. The five card boosters were famously panned by players as the Aftermath Booster didn’t have enough card variety. Players would open the same cards over and over. I have seen a little bit of how Magic sets are designed and I know they spend years in development. I do want to recognize that Wizards (theoretically) did take steps to change the Beyond Booster in response to that criticism. Whatever changes Wizards could make I do appreciate as it’s very likely contracts with Ubisoft were already signed and deadlines already set. I have seen speculation that reprints were added and the set size increased to 100 thus allowing the booster pack count upped from five to seven. Whatever changes were made I appreciate, but it is not enough.

Cons – What Must Be Done

The simple fact that kills Beyond Boosters for me is that you can not draft with them. I come from a drafter’s perspective and I am interested in playing Magic with the packs I buy. I don’t play much Constructed, so buying packs just to open them to build decks does not appeal to me. The ACR cards, while Modern format legal, don’t appear to be designed for Modern. The cards here seem like they will find homes in Commander which is fine, but that narrows the appeal of this set even further. I do not want more booster packs in Magic that you can not draft with. We already have Collector Boosters and serve their function perfectly fine. If ACR only had Collector Boosters I would be less mystified as I understand what a Collector Booster is for. I don’t understand the point to a seven card booster pack. I do not like the idea of Magic sets that you can’t actually play the game with. In 2025 we will be getting a Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set that will be fully draftable like Tales of Middle-Earth. Maybe the Beyond Booster will have a very short life and will be a one time outing for Wizards of the Coast. Only time will tell.

The other huge downside is that ACR packs cost just as much as other Magic packs. This may be a symptom of Assassin’s Creed being priced higher as it is Modern legal or the cost of Universes Beyond being a licensed product. If you compare the latest Magic set, Bloomburrow, with Assassin’s Creed you’ll see that a Play Booster of Bloomburrow is usually cheaper than a Beyond Booster of Assassin’s Creed. The ACR Beyond Booster contains fewer cards at a (generally) higher cost. As cool as Assassin’s Creed is, this is just bad value for a consumer. The cherry on top is that were you to buy a box of ACR, you then can’t even play Magic: The Gathering with that box.

Pros – Restart Sequence

Despite the serious shortcomings of the Beyond Booster there are still positives within the Assassin’s Creed set. I’m clearly not a fan of the “medium” sized set, but the card designs inside the set itself are the quality we’ve come to expect from Wizards. Freerunning is a new mechanic introduced that offers an alternate casting cost for a card if you’ve dealt damage to player this turn with an assassin or your commander. This mechanic is why I assume these cards are really meant for Commander despite being Modern legal. I like the mechanic and it feels flavorful for what little I know about Assassin’s Creed. Returning mechanics center around Historic, Disguise, and Cloak which all seem incredibly fitting for assassins. While it feels odd to now have actual historical figures in Magic, cards like Leonardo da Vinci are going to make fun commanders.

If you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed the card designs and artwork are sure to please. As always, the artwork within Magic is top notch. While I know basically nothing about the characters I really like the showcase frames which all feature specific characters from across the games. Getting Assassin’s Creed specific art on cards like Murder, Mortify, Terminate, Fatal Push, and Assassin’s Trophy is just plain cool. Though it does turn out to be a lot of “someone getting stabbed” in the artwork.

Lastly, I mentioned that there was also a starter deck for Assassin’s Creed. This is the highlight of the set for me as it has none of the problems the Beyond Boosters present. Should you want to play some Assassin’s Creed Magic I really like the starter set and this is what I would recommend.

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