When it was first announced, the Universes Beyond product line was almost universally despised. Things really didn’t get off to a good start as the initial The Walking Dead Secret Lair was fraught with issues and controversy. For better or worse, since then, Wizards has taken several strides since then and largely turned things around.
Nowadays, Universes Beyond MTG products and sets are immensely popular and successful. With Final Fantasy making $200,000,000 in a single day, there’s no question that Universes Beyond sets are here to stay. We already know we’re getting three more in 2026, and it’s unlikely Wizards will stop there.
Despite this immense success, Universes Beyond sets and cards aren’t entirely beloved. Due to this, we’ll occasionally see calls for the sets to cease and for Universes Beyond free formats to be created. Now that Universes Beyond is in Standard, the latter admittedly seems very unlikely. According to MTG’s Head Designer, however, it’s surprisingly not impossible.
A Universes Beyond Free Standard?
Ever since it was announced last October, the move to make Universes Beyond sets Standard legal has been controversial. If you really hated them, it was always possible to avoid Universes Beyond cards when playing Commander. Not only were you not forced to use them yourself, but you could always play with a different pod if you really wanted.
In Standard and Modern, however, players don’t really have a choice but to use and play against Universes Beyond cards. Right now in Standard, Vivi Cauldron decks are everywhere, so there’s literally no escaping Final Fantasy. For some players, this simply isn’t fun, as even though the vibes are close, they’re not classic in-universe MTG cards.
To make matters worse, Universes Beyond sets are also significantly more expensive than in-universe releases. Not only are the MSRP for these sets naturally higher, but there’s a massive scalping problem, too. While this largely affects Collector Boosters, sadly, Play Boosters are often a fair bit more expensive as a result.
Due to these reasons, it’s no wonder that some MTG players don’t like Universes Beyond cards being Standard legal. Curiously, these players might actually be able to manifest a genuine change to Magic with enough momentum. In a recent statement, Mark Rosewater revealed that removing Universes Beyond cards from Standard is totally possible.
“Obviously, we continue to collect data. If we learn that having Universes Beyond in Standard is making enough players unhappy, we would consider making a change.”
While this feels like a shocking statement, in reality, it just makes sense. Wizards of the Coast has been following the wants and desires of players for years now. This is what led to Universes Beyond becoming Standard legal in the first place, because the players wanted it. For better or worse, this latest statement is basically just an evolution of that methodology.
Don’t Hold Your Breath
Technically, Rosewater’s recent answer doesn’t really give anything away about Magic’s future. While a possibility has been noted, it’s unclear how close we are to this becoming reality. Potentially, player sentiment could be trending toward that way, but that does seem rather unlikely.
For better or worse, there’s no escaping just how successful Universes Beyond is right now. From the sheer volume that sets like Final Fantasy sell, it’s clear that players are enjoying this release. On top of that, Wizards of the Coast didn’t make this change on a whim in the first place.
Beyond just being successful upon release, Universes Beyond sets reportedly have impressive player retention. So long as this continues, it wouldn’t make sense for Wizards to reduce the number of places where Universes Beyond cards are playable. Instead, it feels more likely that Wizards could actually create and support a Universes Beyond free format to increase options.
Admittedly, even this happening does feel rather unlikely. As much as there is some anti-Universe Beyond sentiment, most players don’t hate it nowadays. Even if cards like Spider-Ham, Peter Porker look strange, they’re just a part of Magic, and that’s the way it is. For new players who have started playing due to Universes Beyond, these cards aren’t even out of place.
Ultimately, while Rosewater has identified the possibility is there, it really doesn’t seem like this will happen anytime soon. That said, clearly, Wizards is listening to player feedback and will make the decisions that make the most players happy. Ideally, this should mean the game continues to go from strength to strength in the coming years.
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