Big changes coming to Magic: The Gathering in 2025

As MagicCon Las Vegas 2024  kicks off, Wizards of the Coast shared a lot of news about the next year of Magic: The Gathering. There are some big changes in their announcements, so let’s dive in and see what is changing. This is not an exhaustive list, but the highlights, I encourage you to keep an eye on Magic’s official website for more in-depth information. 

Simplifying Format Legalities

This is one of the big changes, in an effort to clean up the hodge-podge of set legalities, Wizards is pairing down to two types of set legalities. 

1. All Formats Legal – This is the Standard Legal format as we know it now and the major sets will enter the Magic ecosystem this way.
2. Eternal Legal – This is similar to Commander legal and will largely be made up of accompanying Commander products and supplementary products such as Special Guests.

This seems like a good change from the current system where set legality is all over the place, but this does mean this next change is quite impactful.

Universes Beyond Comes to Standard

This next announcement is sure to be a topic of discussion. Starting in 2025, Wizards announced that out of the six primary set releases, three of them will now be Universes Beyond sets and that these Universes Beyond sets will now be all format legal. This means that there will now be three Universes Beyond sets coming into Standard each year. This is a major shift in the landscape of Magic: The Gathering. Aaron Forsythe details some of their goals with these changes:

We achieve several goals with this change:

Newer players that come into Magic through Universes Beyond can be properly pathed into smaller formats where their decks have a chance to be competitive.

Veteran players should appreciate a reduction in “straight-to-Modern” sets that have created more churn in that format than typical sets do.

Our design team gets to do what they’re best at—we have decades of reps making sets built for this “default” use case.

This time next year players in tournament settings could be casting a Hero’s Downfall on Spider-Man. Does that seem like a fitting interaction? As the “Foundations Era” of Magic: The Gathering starts, we will have to see if the Universes Beyond sets help or hinder the identity of Magic: The Gathering.

Changing the Standard Rotation to a Calendar Year Rotation

Wizards is changing the timing of Standard set rotations to a calendar year instead of the current fall rotation. Starting in 2027, Standard will rotate with the first set of that calendar year.  This is just a timing change, but I do appreciate the announcement now as it gives Standard players an advanced warning.

Set Releases for 2025

2025 will have players return to some beloved planes and explore all new ones. From racing to victory, fighting dragons, and the deepest reaches of space, 2025 has an interesting lineup of sets. On the Universes Beyond side, we see Final Fantasy and Spider-Man swing into Magic. The last set for 2025 is still a curiously unannounced Universes Beyond set. I will leave an excerpt by Adam Styborski and Jubilee Finnegan:

Innistrad Remastered (INR)

Celebrate the beloved plane of Innistrad in all its Gothic grandeur with Innistrad Remastered, featuring familiar faces like Edgar Markov as the set’s headliner card.

Headliner cards are a new Booster Fun feature beginning with Innistrad Remastered. It’s a single card from the set that has been illustrated, crafted with foil treatment, and sometimes even serialized like Edgar Markov, all to be the most exciting card to collect in a release. You’ll see more headliner cards across 2025 and beyond.

Innistrad Remastered is available for preorder now. You can explore the set early with WPN Premium Preview Events from January 17–23, and House Markov cordially invites you to the set’s release on January 24, 2025.

Aetherdrift (DFT)

Take more than just a joyride with the first Standard-legal set of the year: Aetherdrift. Rev up your engines when the Ghirapur Grand Prix kicks off at your local game store’s Prerelease on February 7, 2025, with the full set releasing on February 14!

Follow Chandra Nalaar as she races through the Omenpaths and across three planes of the Multiverse, chasing victory for an incredible prize. Hang on tight through its release on February 14, because it’s only a death race if you die.

Tarkir: Dragonstorm (TDM)

Dragons take flight across the skies of Tarkir, each flap of their wings ripping through the Omenpaths. Join one of the five resurgent clans of Tarkir as they strike back against this threat to the Multiverse.

Familiar faces like Sarkhan Vol and Ugin have returned, their presence rippling across the set. We’re excited to share more from Tarkir: Dragonstorm with you when the set arrives on August 1, 2025.

Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ (FIN)

FINAL FANTASY represents a universe rich with iconic elements that are a natural fit for Magic’s gameplay. You’ll see your favorite characters—like Cloud, Terra, Lightning, and Noctis—alongside summons, monsters, and rivals from across the FINAL FANTASY series. From the iconic chocobo to the terrifying behemoth, these cards are going to bring the FINAL FANTASY universe into your hands.

Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY releases on June 13, 2025.

Edge of Eternities (EOE)

Magic ventures into science-fantasy with Edge of Eternities, exploring what lies beyond the known Multiverse. Harness the advanced technology of the Sothera system as forces vie for cosmic power.

Discover what lies at the heart of this turbulent galaxy when the set releases next year.

The Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Collaboration Arrives

We announced earlier this month that our collaboration with Marvel begins with the Marvel Superdrop, a series of Secret Lair drops that showcase five iconic Super Heroes from the Marvel Universe available soon from MagicSecretLair.com. Then, our team-up continues in late 2025 with Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Return to MSRP

One change likely to be lauded by everyone is the return to a clear MSRP. However, their announcement said “most sealed products.” Does that mean some products won’t have an MSRP?

Foundations products will have the following MSRPs:

Play Booster: $5.25
Collector Booster: $24.99
Starter Collection: $59.99
Jumpstart Booster: $5.49
Bundle: $49.99
Beginner Box: $29.99

Innistrad Remastered products will have these MSRPs:

Play Booster: $6.99
Collector Booster: $29.99

Additionally, MSRPs for Aetherdrift will be set as follows:

Play Booster: $5.49
Collector Booster: $24.99
Commander Deck: $44.99
Bundle: $53.99
Specialty Bundle: $79.99

Rules Change – Removal of Damage Assignment Order

Starting with Foundations, one change I (think) I am in favor of is a change to multi-blocking during combat. Wizards is removing the damage assignment order when an attacking creature is blocked by more than one creature. I hope that this might make combat more relevant and balance a bit more back to the aggressor’s side, but only time will tell. Here is an excerpt from their explanation by Matt Tabak:

For example, if I attacked with a 5/5 creature and you blocked with a 3/3 and a 4/4, I would put your creatures in one of the two possible orders. Let’s say I put the 3/3 first because I really want it gone. You’re holding a spell that can save one of your creatures, such as Giant Growth. After the order is set, knowing the 3/3 is first in line, you cast Giant Growth on the 3/3. During the combat damage step, I need to assign at least 3 damage to the 3/3-now-6/6 before I can assign any to the 4/4. My creature, simply put, is doomed.

Here’s the change: Damage assignment order no longer exists. If a creature is facing multiple opposing creatures in combat, that creature’s combat damage is assigned and dealt as its controller desires during the combat damage step. Other players won’t necessarily know what’s going to happen.

Revising the earlier example under the new rules, my 5/5 attacker gets blocked by your 3/3 and your 4/4. It’s now the declare blockers step, after blockers are declared, our last opportunity to do anything before combat damage is dealt. I pass priority. You have that Giant Growth in hand. You can still save the creature of your choice. We’ll say you want to save that 3/3, probably for the same reason I wanted it gone, so you pump it up to a 6/6. We move on to combat damage, and now I get to assign my creature’s 5 damage any way I want. Most likely, I’ll take out your 4/4, as it’s the best I can do. But maybe I have, you know… plans and would rather deal 3 damage to the 6/6 and 2 damage to the 4/4. That’s okay, too.

All of these announcements are a lot to unpack. There are structural changes in hopes of streamlining formats, but also huge changes to the world of Magic: The Gathering with Universes Beyond coming to Standard. This time next year we will have to see how the game has changed as we enter the next era of Magic: The Gathering.

See below for our list of partners and affiliates: