A huge slew of Magic: The Gathering products has been announced, with release dates ranging from later this year, through 2022, and even a bit into 2023. You can check out the full Magic Showcase 2021 announcement video on YouTube or the official “What Happened in Magic Showcase 2021?” article—or just scroll down and check out a rundown of Magic releases coming to game stores over the next year.
Premier Sets
2022’s Standard-legal sets include the return of fan-favorite planes Kamigawa and Dominaria, but expect some big twists from the formula. First up is Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty… That’s the Asian-inspired plane of Kamigawa, but 2,000 years later. We’ve seen hints of sci-fi trends on worlds like Mirrodin, but the neon lights are bringing a distinctly different vibe!
Up next are the Streets of New Capenna, a brand new world with a gangster theme and demon mob bosses. This is a modern-fantasy take on things—lower-tech than the Neon Dynasty, for sure, but seemingly more contemporary than the standard Magic: The Gathering fare.
Then in Q3, we’ll get Dominaria United, to celebrate 30 years of Magic. It will certainly be interesting to make another return to Magic‘s original classic plane and see which of the many previous sets this one’s most similar to. Will it be the multicolor themes of Invasion block, the history of 2018’s Dominaria, or something completely different?
Finally in Q4, The Brothers War will let us stick around in Dominaria a bit longer—but thousands of years in the past! Finally, we’ll be able to experience more of the story originally hinted at in Antiquities. The Brothers War tells the origin story of Urza and Mishra, including the first sundering of Dominaria at Argoth, which brought on the Ice Age. What glimpses will we see of Urza’s original ascent to Planeswalker status or of Mishra’s Phyrexian corruption? What other corners of the world during this era will we get to explore?
Supplementary Products
Alongside the Starndard-legal premier sets, there’s a lineup of supplementary sets as well as the coming of some Universes Beyond (see below). First up, though not exactly a set exactly, is a lineup of promos when Store Championships Arrive December 2021. This Arbor Elf, Collected Company, and Wurmcoil Engine are not only great cards, but they will be printed with the name of the WPN Premium store where they’ll be awarded!
Pioneer Challenger Decks are coming in October, Commander Collection: Black releases March 12, and Innistrad: Double Feature comes out in early 2022. Double Feature is a Draft Booster release that combines Midnight Hunt and Crimson Vow and features a classic monster-horror style.
And deeper into 2022, look forward to the return of several product lines with Unfinity (the next Un- set), the return of Commander drafting (Dungeons & Dragons: Battle for Baldur’s Gate), Double Masters 2022, and JumpStart 2022. Unfinity puts the focus on a sci-fi space carnival, Battle for Baldur’s Gate combines the hit Dungeons & Dragons theme with Commander, Double Masters 2022 is another reprint set that doubles rares and foils in each pack, and JumpStart 2022 brings back the popular Limited format with new themes like multi-headed creatures and Eldrazi—as well as anime-style Booster Fun card styles.
Universes Beyond
The Showcase stream also revealed a little bit more info about the previously announced Universes Beyond properties Warhammer 40K and The Lord of the Rings. Universes Beyond is a line featuring Magic: The Gathering cards with other intellectual properties, and the ones we know will be coming to game stores so far are Warhammer 40K Commander Decks in 2022 and a full The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth expansion, which will be Modern-legal, in 2023.
Stay tuned throughout the year as more details are revealed, and let your PHD Account Manager know which of these releases you’re most excited for!
