If my allusions haven't made it obvious, I'll come out and declare here that I'm generally a fan of Un-sets. While I do think they have a time and place and can sometimes be overdone, I appreciate the opportunity to play my favorite game with a little extra humor. Out of all the previous Un-sets, Unhinged would probably be my all-time favorite, mostly because I missed out on Unglued and it was the first Un-set to launch since the first.

Fast forward to today, and Magic's newest set just launched: Edge of Eternities. I haven't set aside time yet to try an online draft, but I've watched Paul Cheon (HAUMPH) play on YouTube a few times now, and I have a good feel for the flavor of the set. Its art and illustrations are outer spaced theme, with robots, aliens, planets and spacecraft abound.

I can't help but wonder...isn't Edge of Eternities similar to the Un-set Unfinity in that regard? I think Unfinity may have had some influence on the newest premier set. Allow me to make my case.

Exhibit A: Robots

The first overlap in flavor that I observed between Edge of Eternities and Unfinity is the presence of robots. Granted, these aren't the only two sets that contain this creature type. We've seen other premier sets with robots, such as Aetherdrift. My argument here is the prevalence of robots, combined with the broader environment in which they operate, is what overlaps so strongly between these two sets. While Impounding Lot-Bot is clearly illustrated to convey the humor of the set, Marco Gorlei's Dockworker Drone has a clever texture to the art that reminds me of a modern-day CGI movie.

While Unfinity had its share of Clown Robots, a clear typal theme in the set, we have some humorous, Un-set-worthy combinations in Edge of Eternities as well. There's a Robot Giant in Bygone Colossus, a Robot Soldier in Gene Pollinator, a Robot Pangolin in Oreplate Pangolin (what is a pangolin??) and my personal favorite, a Robot Jellyfish in Mechanozoa, illustrated by Daarken. A Robot Jellyfish with a punny name like Mechanozoa must hint at playful humor.

Exhibit B: Spacecraft

Edge of Eternities is Magic's first set to introduce Spacecraft, so naturally there aren't any in Unfinity. There are, however, vehicles in Unfinity that look an awful lot like a spacecraft from Edge of Eternities in terms of flavor. My hypothesis is that if Unfinity came out after Edge of Eternities rather than before, some of the set's vehicles would have been printed as spacecraft instead.

For example, doesn't _______ ______ Rocketship remind of you something like Uthros Research Craft, by Piotr Dura?

The Unfinity card may be illustrated to be more deliberately humorous, but the Edge of Eternities Commander card has plenty of overlap with the Rocketship. They both have appendages stemming from a central body. They both are flying through outer space with planets in the background. They both are even illustrated in the same orientation and direction! I'm convinced: Uthros Research Craft is really an Unfinity vehicle in disguise.

The only other vehicle in Unfinity is a bit more of a stretch to compare with Edge of Eternities, but I'm going to attempt to anyway. The card is Clown Car, and it kind of reminds me of Synthesizer Labship, illustrated by Adrian Rodriguez Perez.

No, I don't think Synthesizer Labship really resembles Clown Car. I just see all these creepy flying eyeballs coming out of the Labship, and it reminds me of a bunch of creepy clowns climbing out of a Clown Car. That's my analogy, and I'm sticking to it.

Exhibit C: Amusing Creature Type Theme

Un-sets have historically contained bizarre and humorous creature type themes. From Chickens in Unglued to Guests and Performers in Unfinity, Magic's parody sets tend to centralize around one or a handful of goofy creature types.

Did Edge of Eternities follow suit and centralize around a perplexing creature type? I'd argue that they did in the form of Jellyfish.

Don't get me wrong. Jellyfish have been a creature type in Magic almost since the beginning. They go back as far as Visions and the printing of Man-o'-War. There's nothing goofy or humorous about these creatures in a vacuum. What becomes a little silly is the fact that a) Edge of Eternities introduced nine new Jellyfish creatures, bringing Magic's total from 16 to 25, and b) some of these Jellyfish do a bit more than simply swim in the ocean as you'd expect.

In fact, there are no basic Jellyfish in the whole set. Instead, we have creatures that are Jellyfish Artificers, Jellyfish Rogues, Jellyfish Warriors, Jellyfish Scientists, and my personal favorite, Jellyfish Advisors.

After all, who wouldn't take sage advice from a jellyfish named Mm'menon, the Right Hand?

I don't think Joshua Raphael's art for the rare Jellyfish Advisor is meant to be humorous, and they do a fantastic job bringing to life what a creature of this type would look like. The art is very much on theme to the set (more floating eyeball things). I just think that the combination of the creature type and the creature's name reminds me more of Unfinity than it does a premier Magic set.

Don't forget, Unfinity has its own funny-sounding advisor. It's an Alien instead of a Jellyfish, but doesn't Mm'menon look like an alien anyway? I'm referring to the adorable Ambassador Blorpityblorpboop.

Who would you rather get your advice from? I wonder.

Exhibit D: Shock Lands and Planets, and Basic Lands

One of the major selling points of Unfinity is the fact that the set contained gorgeously illustrated versions of the Shock Lands. While 99% of the cards you open in an Unfinity pack is basically worthless, there was always that slight chance you'd open a $10+ copy of Watery Grave or the like.

Now we have Edge of Eternities, which also features a lineup of impressive, valuable Shock Lands.

They don't look exactly the same, but you have to admit there are similarities in lighting and tone. Also, at least in the case of Watery Grave, the same artist illustrated both the full-frame Unfinity version and the full-frame Edge of Eternities version of the card! Coincidence? Or subtle reference to the Un-set? Only Chris Ostrowski knows for sure if Unfinity had any influence on the Edge of Eternities version.

In addition to the inclusion of Shock Lands, I also find that the borderless (non-planet) versions of Unfinity's basic lands remind me a bit of those from Edge of Eternities.

Obviously they're uniquely different. If someone went back in time, however, and swapped one set for the other, would anyone blink an eye or question their fit within either set? I'd argue not. In fact, I'd argue that if Wizards of the Coast used the planet basic land artwork from Unfinity as the borderless basic lands in Edge of Eternities, no one would have questioned the decision. The overlap is that strong.

After all, don't forget Edge of Eternities contains actual Planet cards, so having additional lands with planets in their art would have fit seamlessly.

If you disagree with this comparison, I'd challenge you to ask Adam Paouette. They're the brilliant artist who illustrated both Unfinity's planet version of Swamp and Edge of Eternity's Susur Secundi, Void Altar. I really think Wizards of the Coast was going for a semi-serious twist on Unfinity's flavor when they created this set. The common artists illustrating similar cards supports this theory.

Wrapping It Up

No one is going to convince me that Edge of Eternities is really just the second set in Unfinity block. While the mechanics obviously differ, the flavor between the two sets is uncannily similar. Both have spacecraft, both have funny creature types, and both have planets. What's more, they both even have Shock Lands as chase rares to open from booster packs!

If that's not enough to convince you of the overlap, then just look at the artwork in Edge of Eternities and ask yourself if the card would have made sense to be included in Unfinity. Granted, to be in Unfinity the art may have needed a little something extra, such as a clown in the background. The argument remains, though, that the two sets have more commonalities in flavor than differences. Even the artists overlap between the two sets.

This just goes to show that inspiration for new worlds and sets in Magic can come from anywhere. Three years ago, the idea of a universe with robots, jellyfish advisors, and planets sounded like a whacky, humorous, parody of a Magic set. Now here we are in Summer 2025 and Edge of Eternities brings this all to life in a premier set for players to enjoy. Speaking of, maybe it's time I hop into some Arena drafts so I can experience the theme of this set firsthand while available!