Magic: The Gathering is heading towards closing off a year that saw it receive some of its most popular and profitable sets to date, both for in-universe sets and especially the Universes Beyond collections. After the record-breaking Final Fantasy set earlier this summer came the new science-fiction-flavored Edge of Eternities expansion that was well-received. Fans will soon be able to get their hands on the next collection, Magic: The Gathering's highly anticipated Marvel's Spider-Man set, releasing on September 26. This will then be followed shortly by the Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover on November 21, which will be the final release in 2025.
Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender are incredibly popular IPs, with many excitedly welcoming their inclusion into the world of Magic: The Gathering's Universes Beyond. Rather, they do share one trait—or more specifically, a lack thereof—that threw some players for a loop, given that it has long been a tradition. Neither set will feature preconstructed Commander decks, which naturally came as a surprising disappointment to many who were understandably expecting it to be the case. Thankfully, according to MTG representative and head designer Mark Rosewater, fans may not have to worry about that being true for upcoming Marvel sets.
After Magic: The Gathering's Spider-Man Crossover Lacked Commander Decks, the Next Marvel Set Will Definitely Include Them
Magic: The Gathering's Spider-Man, Avatar Crossovers Lacking Commander Decks is a Major Sore Point
When Wizards of the Coast first announced Magic: The Gathering's Spider-Man crossover, the assumption was that, like the previous collaborations for Fallout and Final Fantasy, it would also contain four precon Commander decks. With it containing multiple versions of Spider-Man and his famous friends and foes, including Green Goblin, Venom, and Dr. Octopus, it seemed like they would've fit perfectly into the role of Commanders. However, this turned out not to be the case, to the dismay of many fans.
The reason for this, as stated by MTG designers, was that the collection underwent a redesign, as it was originally intended to be a generally more limited one to set the stage for larger collaborations to come, most likely Avengers and X-Men. And while the set itself looks impressive, it not having Commander prebuilts is still a bit of a sticking point. This was only exacerbated by Avatar: The Last Airbender also lacking them, since the four tribal nations would have similarly aligned well for Commander precons.
The Spider-Man set was also an interesting case, as Wizards of the Coast announced Through the Omenpaths, a digital-only version of it for Arena and MTG Online with entirely in-universe art and flavor text.
Predicting Magic: The Gathering's Future Marvel Collab Commander Decks
Magic: The Gathering's Commander format has become largely its most popular since its official adaptation and introduction in 2011. Since then, nearly every expansion, whether it be story-related or part of Universes Beyond, has usually had Commander precons, making it quite unusual for Avatar: The Last Airbender and Spider-Man to lack them.
In the wake of players expressing concerns that this might be setting a worrying precedent and future Universes Beyond sets would be moving away from them, Mark Rosewater took to social media to assure fans that they "will be doing Commander decks for Marvel in the future." This is surely welcome news, serving to put to rest any doubts on the matter.
While WotC has yet to reveal the next Marvel x MTG set or when it might release, going by current assumptions along with other previous statements made by Rosewater, it's a good bet that it will be an Avengers collection. If true, then there are already some good candidates for its Commanders:
- Nick Fury/SHIELD
- Iron Man/Captain America
- Thanos
- Dr. Strange
Though this is only speculation for now, the fact that it's been confirmed that fans can look forward to Commander decks for the next Magic: The Gathering Marvel crossover is a victory for all, and further adds to the anticipation of what the set may look like.
- Franchise
- Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
- 1993
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Age Recommendation
- 13+