Today kicked off the first round of previews coming out of MagicCon Amsterdam.

First, we got to take a trip and see what future releases were cooking up in the Secret Lair. While that was extremely fun, all eyes were on the main Preview Panel being held later in the day.

This panel was our First Look at what to expect from Reality Fracture, coming this October. Additionally, we got intel on every in-universe release for 2027 as well as a few surprises along the way.

Let's get straight to it.

A First Look at Reality Fracture

The most exciting news was our First Look at the next in-universe set: Reality Fracture. This marks the end of years-long story arc as Jace attempts to rewrite the Multiverse to save it from the evils within.

The Lorwyn Five

For the first time ever, all five of the Planeswalkers who originally appeared in Lorwyn come together for the story of Reality Fracture.

The first of these is Jace Beleren, going by his new name of The Theorist. Jace is in a rush to rewrite the Multiverse in the wake of the Phyrexian War and multiple other catastrophes. This led to the creation of the Echoverse, and its instability throws a wrench in Jace's plans.

The remainder of the Lorwyn Five were each represented with a Multiverse version and an Echoverse alternative.

The first of these is Ajani Goldmane. Known for his kind heart and mentoring of others, Ajani was not always this way. He was rejected by his clan on the Alaran shard of Naya for not looking like the others and found acceptance only from his brother, Jazal Goldmane. It took a while for him to find peace after Jazal's death.

Ajani's Echoverse version - Ajani Unrelenting - explores what might've happened if he never stopped raging after the loss of his brother. Here, we see a few alternate takes on this beloved Leonin Planeswalker.

We also got another glimpse at Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Chandra, Chill of Compliance.

Chandra is well known for her fiery passion, with her flames having led to an intense spark ignition in the wake of her father's death at the hands of the Consulate. This alternate Echoverse take sees Chandra's father never having died, as he was a part of the Consulate himself. Because of this, this version of Chandra followed in his footsteps.

Next up is Liliana, the famous necromancer who sparked as a planeswalker after losing her brother Josu on Dominaria. This Liliana has been de-sparked and shows up as an alternate White version from the Echoverse.

This version asks us what if Liliana's brother had never died, her spark never ignited, and she instead stayed on Dominaria as a healer of New Benalia?

Last but not least is the wild hunter Garruk, a Planeswalker who always chases the thrill of the hunt and the wild beasts it brings.

In the earlier Planeswalker-era stories, Garruk was cursed by The Chain Veil, making him a monstrous killer until the curse was broken in Throne of Eldraine. In this release, we'll meet Garruk, Veiled Butcher, who he fully embraced the curse and took The Chain Veil for his own.

Hexhaven Schools

First revealed at MagicCon Las Vegas, this set will take place in Hexhaven. We got some more details on the plane today.

This is the Echoverse version of the beloved Strixhaven school, featuring all the allied color pairs, something players have been asking about for quite a while.

We got to see our look at one card from each of these schools and the return of the Prepare mechanic from Secrets of Strixhaven. Woodwork Prodigy is especially interesting, bringing with it a new Artifact token that generates mana and doesn't require sacrificing to do so.

Alternate Takes on Famous Cards

The Lorwyn Five aren't the only ones to see alternate treatments of classic cards and characters, though. We'll also get to enjoy several classic cards repurposed into a different color but without breaking the color pie in the process.

Two of these were shown off at this Preview Panel.

The first of these was Enlightened Confidant, which is an alternate version of the classically powerful Dark Confidant. Rather than losing life to draw additional cards, Enlightened Confidant allows you to "draw" the card you Surveil away, provided you gained enough life.

It's a fun new take on a strong classic that's sure to see play with all the lifegain abilities in Standard right now.

The other of these cards is a new take on Craterhoof Behemoth called Craterclaw Colossus.

Rather than caring about Creatures the way Craterhoof does, this new card cares about the number of Artifacts you control. Additionally, it only grants a power boost as opposed to both power and toughness, but that shouldn't matter too much if you're dealing very lethal damage to your opponents with it.

Variant Frames for Variant Cards

As has become routine, Reality Fracture brings with it a series of new variants.

Previously, we'd seen the Serialized headliner card Bloodline Recollector, as well as two versions of the Shattered Mirror cards. These reflections of previously existing cards showcase the fracturing of reality. Here, we got to see a few more of these with additional takes on Enlightened Confidant and Craterclaw Colossus.

We're also slated to get a handful of new treatments. For example, each of the paired Planeswalkers have special borderless versions that depicts the main Multiverse character on the right with the Echoverse version on the left.

We also got a few new looks at a few more variants of The Theorist, Jace Beleren. The fan favorite Japan Showcase treatment and the accompanying Fracture Foils are back.

Brand new to this set is the Braintwister Series art, depicting some mind-bendingly abstract visuals fitting for this set.

Last but not least was a look into the Secret Lair Bundle. This was previously announced for the set during the MagicCon Las Vegas Preview Panel but now we get to see some of the contents. This includes two Collector Boosters, six Play Boosters, a bunch of basic lands, a fancy Spindown Die, and specialty box to put it all in.

Most excitingly, it also includes a special Booster Pack featuring two of 10 possible Secret Lair Bundle cards. These include cards like Enlightened Confidant, Craterclaw Colossus, Stingcaster Mage, and - of course - The Theorist, Jace Beleren.

An Early Look from Commander

There's just one more thing to look at for Reality Fracture.

Right before MagicCon Amsterdam, the special Black Lotus VIP event happened to show off the first of Reality Fracture's Commander set and it's a doozy.

Darksteel Angel takes the classic and beloved card Platinum Angel and remakes it as though it were made of darksteel. In typical Magic fashion, this means it's indestructible. It also comes with the neat ability to prevent your Creatures from having -1/-1 counters on them.

This card is a fun callback to something that happened all the way back in 2011.

When New Phyrexia was first revealed, it was announced simply by its codename of "Action." This involved a marketing gimmick to play up the war between the Mirrans and the Phyrexians. If the Mirrans won, then we'd be given Mirrodin Pure, and artwork was done by Chippy to depict what this could look like.

Now, over 15 years later, Wizards brought back this concept to show what Mirrodin Pure might've looked like thanks to the Echoverse. It marks a great example of how while the main setting for this set is at Hexhaven, we get some glimpses of how things appear elsewhere in the Echoverse.

The 2027 MTG Release Schedule

We also got a glimpse of 2027's exciting release schedule. We'll get some new worlds to explore, and see some fun Universes Beyond collabs.

Nauctis: Sunken Realm

The first of these is Nauctis: Sunken Realm, a world that is entirely underwater.

The preview showcased tons of gorgeous visuals from the depths, including scores of Merfolk and even the surprising return of Homarids. Humans have found a way to live in this harsh environment, but there was very little elaboration for what to expect on this front.

There was one particularly interesting element at play with this set, though: it lacks Flying entirely. That makes this the first expansion ever without it, excluding ancillary releases like Portal: Three Kingdoms. A new evasive mechanic will be introduced instead.

Players can expect to go beneath the waves to Nauctis on February 5, 2027.

Kamigawa: Titanbreach

The second set shown off was the shocking return to the beloved world of Kamigawa with Kamigawa: Titanbreach.

Kamigawa is a plane famous for having a rabid fan base despite performing poorly at its release. Thanks to the tremendous response to Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty in 2022, we're back once again for an all-new set.

In Kamigawa: Titanbreach, the Omenpaths are causing the plane of Ikoria to crash into it, leading to an interplanar war between the two worlds. This Mechs vs. giant Kaiju monsters that this creates has already drawn comparisons to a myriad of properties like Pacific Rim.

You'll be able to engage in epic battles of your own on June 4, 2027.

Zhalfir

The last of the in-universe releases is the long-awaited return to the classic land of Zhalfir.

Zhalfir is a plane originally set as part of the continent of Jamuraa on Dominaria.

During the original Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria, Teferi phased Zhalfir out of existence and found himself having to seal it away after the events of Time Spiral.

At the end of March of the Machine, it swapped places in reality with New Phyrexia, with the former suns of Mirrodin now circling around the plane.

Now that Zhalfir is a plane all its own, it's finally getting an opportunity to shine as an epic capstone to an already stacked year. The preview video showed tons of early concept art and what to expect from the Afrofantasy setting and was notably discussed exclusively by people of color. It looks stellar and is sure to be one of the biggest releases of 2027.

Players will be able to return to this classic setting in an all-new way on October 1, 2027.

2027 Universes Beyond Set Dates

The Preview Panel also confirmed that 2027 would include only three Universes Beyond releases. While no information was given about what properties these sets would be based on, we did get the dates:

• April 9, 2027
• August 6, 2027
• November 19, 2027

Given how Universes Beyond sets have been previewed in the past, it's likely that we'll hear about them at other major press-related events. These may include the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con as well as various PAX events and New York Comic-Con.

Mystery Booster Commander Edition

In addition to the reveal of all these sweet in-universe sets came the announcement of a surprising Mystery Booster Commander Edition.

This set marks the latest release in the Mystery Booster line. As the name implies, the focus this time will be all about Commander. In addition to the reprinting of many beloved cards, there will be 59 brand-new designs in this set.

Some of these might look a little familiar. For example, Joven and Chandler have become fan favorites among Magic enthusiasts despite the poor reception of Homelands. This team-up design brings them together in one cool new card.

The more interesting of the two cards revealed this way is easily Tolabow, Loch Rascal. This playful little Eldraine Otter does something unique: break the very rules of Commander as you build your deck.

This new ability, titled "Rulebreaker," is already proving to be somewhat divisive among Commander players. It wasn't stated how many cards will feature a Rulebreaker ability, but it's likely we'll see more in the near future.

Players will be able to get their hands on this set and have their chance to play Limited events at major Magic events everywhere very soon. The very first of these events will be at GenCon in just a few weeks.

Four MagicCons in 2027

In addition to all of the sweet new cards and set reveals for 2027, we also got info for all four MagicCons. There's four next year, and fans can credit the expansion to the reported success of these events so far. We can only expect them to keep growing.

Below you'll find the dates, along with their respective Pro Tour formats.

The date and location for the 2027 Limited Championship was also revealed. Players who qualify for the event will face off in Minneapolis, MN on June 18-20. No further information was provided regarding the event, yet.

The Pro Tour Hall of Fame Returns

In the past, the Pro Tour Hall of Fame was a staple of competitive play. Players who consistently did well and achieved a high level of notoriety for their skill and success were celebrated through this Hall of Fame.

When the Covid-19 pandemic brought the competitive scene to a screeching halt, the Hall of Fame fell by the wayside. Now, though, Wizards has confirmed that it's officially back once again.

Conclusion

There are so many awesome things shown off for 2027. Genuinely, it looks like it will be one of the most exciting years for Magic in quite a long time, which is saying something given how many great sets we've seen in the last few years.

There are two more days left of MagicCon Amsterdam but only one more Preview Panel left to go.

June 18th will be the Debut Stream that kicks off the preview season for The Hobbit. It's going to be an exciting set centered around a journey to the Lonely Mountain and then back again.

Paige Smith

Follow me on BlueSky

Check out my streams: twitch.tv/themaverickgirl

Watch me on YouTube: TheMaverickGal