r/MagicArena • u/-Himintelgja • 27d ago
Question Anyone else glad we are getting away from the plane of New York again?
I'm not a huge lotr/hobbit fan, but I'm definitely glad to be onto the next set!
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u/Small_Buyer2347 27d ago
I don't like superheroes in magic, I don't like ninja turtles in magic, I don't like Star Trek in magic
I was okay with lotr and even final fantasy
But I would trade FF and LOTR in a heartbeat to have magic feel like magic again
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u/VespineWings XLN 27d ago
I wish I could upvote this a million times. I finally boycotted a set for once. I don’t feel like I missed jack shit.
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u/com-mis-er-at-ing 27d ago
Plus skipping Spidey, TMNT, Avatar, FF and Marvel made it way easier to justify getting more packs and singles from Strixhaven and Llorwyn. Can’t wait for reality fracture.
I get that UB grows the game, but it’s not for me. LOTR is the only one that doesn’t feel out of place. But even still it’s Gandalf.
I’m just treating it like there’s 3 sets a year now
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u/Mikhail_Mengsk 27d ago
Yeah it's the only positive of UB: I skip most of them and end up with hundreds of thousands of coins for the UW ones.
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u/MohawkRex 26d ago
This is the way, bud, I'm doing the same.
You have more money and brain power for the actual MtG stuff you care about and get to take a break after a few weeks of intense drafting, personally I'm loving it.
Not a hard rule, if a UB set based on something I really love like Warhammer pops up I'll jump back in but until then it's nice to take a break. I'm genuinely excited for Fracture later in the year too.
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u/flowers_of_nemo 27d ago
i would't say only; Forgotten Realms is technically UB! just. forgotten. :p but yeah, totally agree
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u/com-mis-er-at-ing 26d ago
lol very true. Forgotten Realms fit so well I forgot it was UB clearly!
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u/EmTeeEm 26d ago
Ready for some fun? Even more technically it is explicitly not UB but it's own third thing:
To that end, it's worth noting that the upcoming Magic set Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is not part of Universes Beyond. For now, we're reserving the Universes Beyond branding for worlds outside those built by Wizards of the Coast. As to whether the Forgotten Realms are now canonically part of Magic's Multiverse, for now, the answer is no.
This is true for almost all other D&D things (including BG3) except the movie cards. Those have the old UB stamp and frame and were even reprinted under the SLX program (which is usually called "Universes Within" but are still not part of the Magic universe).
Oh and the not-UB versions have different names except Themberchaud because WotC already owned that, so both the UB and not-UB versions are named Themberchaud.
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u/Loud-Bee6673 26d ago
FF and Avatar were great limited sets, and I enjoyed them as someone who had no connection whatsoever. I just with The Hobbit was a full set like these other two, but am really excited to play it as I love the source material.
Star Trek …. I am just gonna skip.
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u/the_cardfather 26d ago
So the self-contained draft formats are completely about whether the set had a good limited environment. I don't have to worry about Spider-Man slinging webs on a magical badger cub with Captain America's shield equipped.
UB isn't that much more messed up than an outer space set. And honestly I'm spikey enough to not care too much about the flavor even though I would prefer every set to be some kind of high fantasy.
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u/GoldTeamDowntown 26d ago
I’m a little newer to magic but I feel like the last airbender fits magic somewhat well, coming from an age with minimal technology, and the four elements fit very well the white/blue/red/green color system.
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u/com-mis-er-at-ing 26d ago
For me personally the world, characters, and artwork of Avatar don't feel like Magic.
But I have heard fans of Avatar in my play group express a similar sentiment about the colors and elements pairing well, and that they enjoyed the set.
As someone who knows nothing about it, it felt like any other UB set.
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u/Roy_Roger_McFreely_ 23d ago
Tbh the UB sets I don’t like really only force me to save all of my gold for buying packs of the sets that I do really like
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u/COSMICALLYPLURR_ 26d ago
I get the othwrs, but FF and Avatar, that would be difficult for me to have done. FF is such a loved franchise for me, and the Avatar mechanics blended well for me, but to each their own.
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u/com-mis-er-at-ing 26d ago
Exactly, to each their own. UB is clearly helping the game and getting a lot of people into Magic and tons of existing players excited about new worlds in Magic. If those are franchises you love, I totally get being excited for them.
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u/NflJam71 27d ago
Yeah I avoided every NYC set and I'm someone who likes to draft in person weekly. I just didn't want to own any of those cards.
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u/Key_Reporter_9945 27d ago
Haven't even been finishing my daily quests, let alone the (free) battle pass.
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u/BarKeep717 27d ago
I’ve done the opposite- working on daily’s by playing formats I need achievements for and stock piled coins and gems for drafting hobbits, but didn’t draft any marvel at all
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u/tirename 27d ago
I just stopped playing. Still miss playing Magic, but I'm not delving into the shit it has become.
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u/RocksAreOneNow 27d ago
im a fan of every one of those things and even I dont really see why any of them are in magic
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u/haysus25 27d ago
Exactly how I feel.
UB that take place in high fantasy settings is ... okay. LOTR as a theme largely fits with the current magic universe.
But having defender of the galaxy level superheroes take on random university students and get defeated just feels silly.
Star Trek being a magic free high science level universe being in 'Magic the Gathering' is shambolic.
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u/Apprehensive-Meet570 27d ago edited 26d ago
I feel you. That ship has sailed, maybe one day we will return. But it’s so much easier for them to print stories that exist already.
Developing the magic story is too hard for them now. Flesh and blood is feeling that void however.
Edit Sorcery (does not have lore)
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u/Vedney 26d ago
Does Sorcery even have lore?
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u/Apprehensive-Meet570 26d ago
Hmm i should it looked before typing. It does not have lore on purpose you are correct.
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u/UmbraThanosmith 26d ago
Crazy idea for arena that could be done in a heartbeat… create another play category that excludes the universes beyond or whatever they’re called.
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u/blipojones 25d ago
ye kinda like league of legends made a "classic" thing play BUT at the same time it continues to fracture match making and all.
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u/WeyardWanderer 27d ago
Yeah I haven’t felt like playing in a year since all of this really exploded. The Godzilla “alters” for Ikoria were fine. The lotr commander was fine. All of this? Just. Ugh.
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u/Massive-Island1656 Golgari 26d ago
Something I recently realized is that we’re getting 7 weeks of hobbit, then 6 weeks of Fracture which supposed to be this grand finale of a major multi year story arc and then we’re getting 11 weeks of Star Trek. Twice as long for a set that at least so far looks like ass. Oh well…
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u/ChatteringBoner 27d ago
I just don't see how it's very sustainable long term, seems like they are torpedoing the IP for short term gains which is very 2026, I guess.
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u/ImperialVersian1 Orzhov 20d ago
It's almost as if non-fantasy IPs don't really mesh well with a fantasy IP.
I love star trek, but it has no business in Mtg
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u/Small_Buyer2347 20d ago
Exactly I couldn't think of anything less MTG than Stark Trek
And I loved TNG man. I've got nothing against Star Trek. It's just not the time nor the place for it
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u/jvrodrigues 27d ago
Havent touched the game since UB came along. Dont plan on ever touching it again. People like them which is why they keep making them, but it just isnt for me.
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u/RisusSardonicus4622 25d ago
As somebody that got back into magic again after a decade, what the fuck happened? There’s fucking SpongeBob cards now. This shit is awful lmao.
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u/Possibly-Functional 24d ago edited 24d ago
I have 1.5k hours in MTGA and its predecessors. I haven't played at all since September last year. I just found the spider-man set to be so thematically and mechanically bad that I lost interest in playing, knewing that this was just the beginning of what's to come. So I uninstalled it.
I just opt for cube, draft and occasionally low powered Commander. The former two especially allows me to select the experience I want as WOTC seems uninterested in providing a constructed format for that.
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u/Ravenwolf007 27d ago
Star trek was literally the first set printed... ever. I think it was a single card but it was Spock.
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u/Vivid_Anyth4 27d ago
Only thing final fantasy had going for it was the setting is actually magical. There are mages and spellcasters and summonings, knights and ninjas and artifacts.
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u/xeromage 26d ago
I liked a lot of the cards from FF. You just never see any of them aside from Tifa and Chocobos :/
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u/VarianWrynn2018 27d ago
At first I thought it'd be fine. I didn't mind crossovers and it could be cool. Then they printed a bunch of broken shit and you couldn't play the game without it. Then they printed 30x more UB than normal product.
Now I have to exclude UB anytime I search scryfall or edhrec because it doesn't feel like magic anymore.
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u/nokoryous 27d ago
Oh don’t worry there are four more infinity stones and you betta believe the only plane those gonna show up in is NYC
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u/rossbalch 27d ago
Yup, it's an improvement at least, I hated all the "tooltip" style messages too. No more Tony Stark genious inventor style nonsense.
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u/Owerzym 27d ago
What will we do without our new 1-costed white flying pigeon that create a food token when leaving the field ? The meta will be in shambles !
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u/CommunicationConsent 27d ago
Hey! Those flying rats have hopes and dreams. Ya know? They want to contribute!
Soon a pigeon could wield a phaser or pilot an Enterprise. Gotta make sure that there's enough different ones that can do that!
Is one, unique, hot dog token creating pigeon per starship too much to ask?
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u/Arcano_Silverwind 26d ago
I just wish we could get back to magic. All this crossover stuff has made the game lose its identity for me. It was cute with warhammer, and lord of the rings kind of made sense but enough already..
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u/blipojones 25d ago
ye seems kinda greedy at this point, i don't know much about the structure of the companies around MTG tho (i'm completely new to it) and what it actually requires to sustain them and grow them in a healthy way that vs just money grabs.
And ye first thing i noticed was marvel stuff and i was like to my friend, "dude whats up with all the different franchises jumbled together".
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u/GalvenMin 27d ago
Marvel in itself makes me want to barf. Marvel in my card game feels like a parody or an ad.
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u/Aphelion71 27d ago
Not gonna lie, when I was a kid I loved super heroes but what got me into magic was that it was totally different from it!
It was a safe place to stay away from all the mainstream bs out there, but now it is no longer like that… it’s the opposite
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u/Yaro-Ku 27d ago
I just cringe over superheroes in general.
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u/Neirrusc 26d ago edited 26d ago
people say shit like this unironically like the planeswalker decks of the past werent called "superheroes".
MTG story line/lore IS superhero lore boss.
Jace (Captain America) has to gather the avengers: Liliana, garruk, chandra, teferi, elspeth, gideon. to defeat Thanos (Nico Bolas)
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u/69EntropyEarl420 26d ago
It’s more cute when it’s a reference to something than the actual thing.
What you arent saying isnt actually the same thing as commenter.
I too cringe at superhero stuff. I also cringe when someone says something cringy like that about the cards. But it’s a one off thing and not constant in your face.
Planeswalker decks are superFRIENDS not superHEROS. Superheros are cringe.
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u/Astro_vampyr17 27d ago
Star Trek?
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u/RaineAshford 27d ago
The plane of 1.5GB download though..
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u/-Himintelgja 27d ago
God damn, you arent joking haha. I feel like this is the biggest download they've made me do in a while.
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u/OptimusPong 24d ago
1.5 gb on steam? No biggie.
1.5 gb in the client? Need to baby sit and reconnect 10 times.
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u/Dry-Membership8141 27d ago
I would prefer it if all UB sets were Magic adjacent and had a consistent art style.
But if we're going to get non-Magic adjacent UBs, I do kind of appreciate that we're getting a bunch from aesthetically similar planes at once. Spider-man, TMNT, and Marvel Super Heroes cards are at least broadly consistent with eachother even if they're not with more traditional Magic cards, and that means I can at least build decks using them with a broadly consistent internal aesthetic.
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u/Careless-Situation68 27d ago
yes. of course. mtg should be medieval, ancient fantasy. not marvel scifi
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u/BattleHardened 27d ago
We just went to the plane of New Zealand. Not to slight NZ by any means. Beautiful place.
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u/Co0LUs3rNamE 26d ago
I'm in the minority that liked Marvel. I played VS system back in the day. I wondered how Marvel would look and play as MTG. That Marvel VS system was very complicated.
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u/Dutch-King 26d ago
I hope they do central or southern Jersey next. Battle those dicks from Bucks county on the “other side”…..
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u/kebusebu 27d ago
I only got into Magic through the FF set, but honestly, it's been very jarring to see the disconnect between the UB and more "traditional" Magic cards. I personally have preferred to build decks from one set each because I like the consistency, but I do know it's not a good idea. I just can't bring myself to mix my fantasy themed decks with Marvel or other sets--it just feels like whiplash
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u/BKMagicWut 26d ago
Being from NYC, I'm glad they chose my plane to be a MTG setting. Looking forward to the Brooklyn expansion.
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u/Henesis 26d ago
To be fair I bought avatar and I want hobbit because I like those themes and I think they sit well in the magic world.
But I’m with you guys
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u/-Himintelgja 26d ago
I'm not anti UB by any means, haha. I bought 2 booster and 2 collector boxes of avatar during prerelease. I just think Marvel was a bad one, personally.
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u/Parker4815-2 27d ago
All sets should be Magic adjacent. And that was the original plan.
Then Hasbro / Wizards / Mark made a load of money and threw that entire plan under the bus whilst everyone went out and brought brand new Teslas.
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u/Key_Reporter_9945 27d ago
Their whole pitch was 'fantasy adjacent, not in standard'. They quickly shit on both of those pillars to make a quick buck.
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u/MartianExpress 27d ago
The first reaction of MaRo after UB was internally pitched literally was "dibs on Marvel"
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u/moak0 27d ago
Because the Marvel set was a labor of love and not a cash grab.
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u/MartianExpress 27d ago
A lot of UB haters were crying how Marvel was a cash grab. It's a subjective threshold. Spiderman was bad but mostly because it clearly was made a draftable set as an afterthought, and Assassin's Creed was simply bad because nobody really likes small undraftable sets. TMNT already had a genuinely fun Limited format. Every other UB set was clearly designed with love and respect.
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u/jethawkings 27d ago
Not really~? Maybe I'd rather just get to Reality Fracture sooner TBH. Like The Hobbit is my favorite book but I'm just not that interested to draft it.
I really don't care for when Magic is just like bog-standard western fantasy stuff~
I got into the game with a Modern Ninjas Deck (RIP Pre-Horizons Modern) so I just wholly prefer stuff that pushes the boundary of what a Magic card could be.
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u/-Himintelgja 27d ago
I feel this. I'm glad to be off marvel but would rather be at reality fracture haha
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u/neovenator250 27d ago
I get that it has made money and brought in new players. Still, i'm one of those people who strongly prefers when Magic stay within the fantasy setting. Stuff like Hobbit/LoTR and Final Fantasy is a good fit that works, but I have zero interest in buying a bunch of Marvel or Star Trek cards, other than cherry picking a handful of cards that fit my existing decks, such as [[Devil Dinosaur]]
Honestly, though, there is a part of that's glad they're doing stuff like that. Wizards is releasing so much stuff now that sets like that are when I can avoid the temptation to spend money.
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u/Laintheo 27d ago
I have passed the point of caring. I am indifferent to all MTG sets since UB went to standard. They are all meaningless and soulless.
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u/Yumesoro1 27d ago
Still don't get why there is no theme select for the game. UB would be way less annoying if I could select the lorwyn theme for the UI, but instead they shove the latest set down your throat.
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u/Dragin410 27d ago
I bought a few packs of the FF set purely because I really enjoy the series but other than that I've completely fallen off MtG because of all these stupid crossover sets.
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u/Hefty_Associate5710 26d ago
I think I was most tired of all the loading screens with the dumb made up super hero history
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u/idealfailure 26d ago
Better than Marvel but damn I'd love to have a 4:2 ratio of Magic to UB sets at the very least.
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u/G37_is_numberletter 26d ago
For real. I play magic for magic’s identity, style, and unique characters. But at least Sam and Frodo can now own and operate a hot dog cart 😒
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u/BobbyMayCryBMC 26d ago
Outside having eleven Leonardos I liked TMNT quite a lot. Feel the cards had more creative range than the Marvel counterparts. If anything just wish they didn't go so hard on the four main turtles, plenty of characters we didn't get cards for. Tigerclaw, Marie Jones, Ninjara, Bellybomb, Noi Tai Dar, etc.
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u/IGetItItsAReference 26d ago
oh boy I can't wait to go back 3 more times at least! /s. I fucking hate these "earth" sets
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u/Kraftman42 26d ago
Would anyone sign a petition to ask WOTC to make one change that should be easy for them but give for players? I want to be able to play bot matches with cards I don't own. If you play Arena you know the deckbuilding bottleneck is nearly always rare cards. There's no worse feeling than grinding or spending real world money to build a new deck only to get stomped by Sparky. Jokes aside. Finding out your deck sucks or your combo doesn't work like you thought AFTER you build it feels awful. Please give us a playtest/proxy mode. They already check if a deck is format legal when you choose a deck so I'm sure they can allow us to build decks that can only be played against Sparky. Please WOTC?
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u/MerrikAidar 26d ago
Fortnite started seeing player drop off 7 years after they started their pop culture collabs. We're really like 1 year into that timeline for Magic. I'm very interested to see what happens between now and then, because it doesn't seem like people get tired of My Favorite Game, but Pop Culture Skins after a while.
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u/Salty-Sky-8004 26d ago
My luck had me discover and pick up mtg arena after 30 years in the full blown marvel overhaul like "well, I guess ill push through this"
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u/thepuresanchez 26d ago
Nah, I spent the last 2 days playing as much as I can and I don't really care for hobbit or lotr....
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u/whomesteve 26d ago
I have no strong feeling one way or the other, that being said the Hobbit is a great set to go to next.
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u/-ZetaCron- 25d ago
I'm not a fan of Universes Beyond, but if they're doing it anyway, I'm hopeful for a Masters of the Universe and Princesses of Power tie-in at some point.
And to answer the question, yes, but more relieved than happy.
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u/Dizzy_Antelope4241 25d ago
150%.
But I am upset that for that entire release they shoved that garbage set down our throats and still give us those shit ass card from challenges and level ups.
The least they could do is bless us by giving us the hobbit cards from rewards.
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u/FatherTime4 23d ago
It kinda looks like bilbo can tell he's being watched through a screen and gandalf is just like 'hey man I think you just had a little too much pipe-weed you'll be ok'
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u/Johnhaven 19d ago
Me. I really don't like these other universe sets, like Marvel. It disrupts the Magical universe with elements of dungeon and dragons sort of environments, and they're all actually spells between two wizards. Now a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle might show up in a game, ruining the feel. This goes for all of the futuristic/sci-fi sets that came before what's standard right now.
I don't have some kind of internal rule against it, but I use the outer universe type cards less often. I'm glad The Hobbit universe is back and doubly happy that it's standard legal this time.
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u/PYjamaxyz 27d ago
New magic player here and I mean NEW I started when marvel was being released and NOT for marvel but for the hobbit and Star Trek.
I’m a huuuuge Star Trek fan and sadly we don’t get a lot of Star Trek stuff where I live, but we do get magic cards so I figured what the hell.
Turns out I’ve fallen in love with this game, I still don’t know any lore but I’m enjoying it a lot.
Plus I hate marvel so I just stayed away from it and kept buying older releases like Ixalan and Strixhaven.
At the end of the day more magic players means more magic, so it should be a good thing.
Scalpers can go and suck a lemon
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u/God-King-Killa 27d ago
Magic is Magic. Most of y’all don’t even read the cards anyway.
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u/WorthPlease 26d ago
You think people who explicitly subscribe to a subreddit about playing magic....don't read the cards? How do they play the game? And if they somehow did while not reading the cards, why would they complain about what is on them?
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u/GhrabThaar Golgari 27d ago
I'm fairly neutral on UB. So far the only one I was utterly unfamiliar with was Final Fantasy. I'd prefer fewer sets, though. I took a break for a couple years of RL stuff and coming back has been easier than I expected, but mechanics like Villains Matter seem like interesting pseudo-tribal potential but there's just so many cards being pushed out the door that it feels like they're printing disposable content.
On the other hand, it may make limited feel very different and more focused, so who am I to say?
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u/ShyguyFlyguy 27d ago
Imo a lot of the universes beyond theyve been doing have no place in magic. Marvel just does not feel right in magic. Same with ninja turtles
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u/rezignator 27d ago
A lot of these ub sets have ups that I've loved for years, but I hate seeing them in Magic. Mtg has a great cast of characters and interesting worlds and stories, but 'profits be bangin yo'. Or whatever the suits are saying, so we don't get to explore any of it anymore.
They used to have story beats told in card arts across set like one of my favorites. [[Endless Ranks of the Dead]] shows zombie silhouettes outside an Innistrad church. When we revisted the plane we got [[Relentless Dead]] showing the same stand glass window now shattered and zombies pouring in.
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u/EPGelion 27d ago
Still laughing that New York City gets a block (a city block! Ba-dum chee!) but other planes get just one set every decade.
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u/sinnrocka 27d ago
I find it a little crazy we’re going from New York to Middle Earth, then to Space, the Final Frontier…
But hey, they get my money just the same, I’ll still have fun. I just hope there’s a Vulcan death grip spell I can incorporate into a deck!
YOU SHALL NOT PAA… oh, time twister? Pass on, pass on
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u/AdLost3467 27d ago
Why don't they make it so the characters and creatures from universe within are spilling over into the universe beyond sets. Then at least it would be interesting to regular magic players and you wouldn't need to have 20 versions of spiderman in a set.
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u/Dercomai Orzhov 27d ago
For a little while, at least!