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Another year of Magic has passed. We travelled back to Zendikar to watch it retake itself from the forces of the Eldrazi. Visited the peaks of Bretagard in a quest to save the gods in Kaldheim. Discovered a secret plot to destroy the prestigious Strixhaven Academy and even managed to squeeze in an Adventure in the The Forgotten Realms. Heroes and Villains, both new and old, rose again in Modern Horizons 2. We travelled back in time (and got lost) in Time Spiral Remastered, and discovered new champions in Commander Legends. But what’s next for the multiverse?
A Whole New World, Or Is It?
First off, let’s start with the Standard sets this year. In January, we are whisked off to a plane 2000 years after we last saw it. Kamigawa has changed, but this neon dystopia still contains magic.
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty will be the 91st Magic set released. Expect to see faces new and old as you traverse this familiar but different city. Mechanically, the set was described as taking everything good from old Kamigawa, and fixing everything else on top of that. Splice, Bushido, flip cards and Channel were all major sore points in the same block that gave us Ninjutsu, after all. Rats are also expected to make a return, in some sort of futuristic way. The set, for a lot of people, was their start in Magic and hopefully the return settles some past problems!
Next up, we’re going to go and pick up a new pair of shoes. Concrete shoes, because these gangsters don’t play by anyone’s rules! Streets of New Capenna is a brand new plane for Magic, with demonic crime families vying for control of a 1930’s world. Ob Nixilis makes a return, and apparently Elspeth has links to this place too. The set will feature shards making their return for the first time since Shards of Alara in 2008, meaning that it will target 3-colour sets that make up a “shard” of the colour wheel, with one enemy colour to two allied colours.
Heading Home for Magic
For Magic’s 30th Anniversary, we’re going back to where it started. Dominaria United is a visit to modern-day Dominaria to see what has happened to the plane since the events of 2018’s Dominaria. That’s a lot of Dominaria in one sentence, but it’s required. As of right now, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the set storywise, but it’s likely to see old favourites like the Weatherlight, Karn and Urzatron pop up somehow.
Finally, the furthest away set is The Brother’s War, timehopping us back to when mages fought for control of Dominaria. It’s expected to retell the original story of Urza and Mishra’s discovery in Koilos, Mishra turning to the Phyrexians and Urza’s apparent killing of his brother. Sorry for spoiling a 20 year old story. The Brothers’ War is expected to lead directly into a Phyrexian arc of Magic, if not tell it itself! The main antagonist of this arc, Yawgmoth, is still yet to get a card of himself after becoming a Phyrexian God. This card could appear in The Brother’s War, and considering his other apperances as either an all-conquering being, a false human made of flesh or a towering metallic skeleton, no-one can guess what it would look like this time.
In A Hole In The Ground...
Taking a break from the sets for a while, let’s talk about the other stuff announced. The crossovers, officially called Universes Beyond, were further expanded upon. The Warhammer 40,000 decks are the first major release for it, featuring 4 commander decks with new cards and reprints all set in the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war. The decks come out at some point in 2022, and the mechanically unique cards will be reprinted into magic-themed characters a few months down the line.
The next major release for Universes Beyond is The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth. Set to release in 2023, the set looks like it will stick closer to the book’s character descriptions instead of their appearances in other media. The only revealed card right now is Gandalf, Friend of the Shire, but lots of other Lord of the Rings characters will of course appear. The biggest question for me is will we get characters from other Middle-Earth set books, like The Hobbit or the Silmarillion? Only time will tell.
The final non-set thing that was announced was Commander Collection: Black. Following up on Commander Collection: Green from 2020, it contains some of the best Commander Black cards as well as suitably themed Sol Ring and Command Tower variants!
Nostalgia Bombs
Lastly, it’s on to the Supplemental Sets for 2022! Coming out in early 2022 is Innistrad: Double Feature. This horror-movie inspired box will take cards from both Innistrad: Crimson Vow and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt for a new draft experience, with new art on EVERY card! This spooky Magic set will be exclusive to WPN stores, so make sure to check it out when it’s here!
Q2 brings two new surprises. We return to the Forgotten Realms with the uncomfortably-long titled Dungeons & Dragons Battle for Baldur’s Gate Commander Legends. This designed-to-be-drafted set is another Commander oriented release, with cards once again themed around Dungeons and Dragons. Expect to see some fantastic and fun commanders, as well as another version of The Prismatic Piper!
The Class Favourites
Secondly, we’re going to a space carnival! Unfinity is either the 4th, 5th or 6th entry in the joke set series called the Un-Sets. Starting back in 1998 with Unglued, and even having a complete set never released (Unglued 2: The Obligatory Sequel), the series has history. Unsanctioned was a box set released in 2020, but the last time any Un-cards were seen in boosters was 2017’s Unstable. Every Un set has a different mechanic, ranging from CRANK! counters, to dice rolling, to printing 6 versions of a card with slightly different rules texts. We don’t know what’s going to happen in Unfinity yet, but we are getting full-art Shocklands in space!
Q3 brings us the sequel to one of Magic’s best reprint sets ever - Double Masters 2022! Guaranteed to have 2 foils and 2 rares, the set was loved by players and collectors and they’re doing it again! So far two cards are confirmed - Wrenn and Six and Aminatou, the Fateshifter! These two planeswalkers are some of the most loved from previous sets, Modern Horizons and Commander 2018 respectively. It doesn’t help that Wrenn and Six currently fetches around $100! The fact that two planeswalkers were revealed may mean that more are on the way, too. I’m personally hoping for my favourite troublemaking fairy Oko, Thief of Crowns!
The final release for 2022 will be Jumpstart 2022! This fantastic set allows you to shuffle two packs together to make a playable 40-card deck, letting you jump straight into Magic. The two announced themes so far, Eldrazi and Multi-Headed Creatures, look incredibly interesting! On top of that, the showcase art this time is anime style!
Any Magic For Any More?
This is all that was announced on Tuesday’s Magic Showcase 2021 stream. But there's almost definitely more coming! Magic’s 30th anniversary is approaching, and a Netflix series about Gideon and the Gatewatch is coming soon. These will obviously have tie-ins! We are also still yet to hear about the Commander decks for these sets, or the characters, and we’re overdue for a new Signature Spellbook as 2021 was skipped due to Coronavirus. I’m personally hoping for a Signature Spellbook: Kaya or Dack Fayden!
So there you have it. All the stuff that (we know) will be available in 2022 and beyond! Of course, expect updates throughout the year! Don’t forget to check out the final sets of 2021, Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow!