MagicCon: Atlanta has come and gone, and while the gameplay was excellent (for those of you who love Modern, a format I checked out of once the Horizons sets became the feature), it was the announcements that took center stage for the weekend. Some of it was exciting, some of it was frustrating, but either way, it had the entire Magic community talking. So, with all of the discussion flying around about the game, I decided to take a moment to look at some of the hot button issues in Magic at the moment and give my take.

Marvel's Spider-Man

I can't put my finger on what's wrong with this set, but there is definitely something missing. It feels like Wizards presented everything we need for a cake, mixed the eggs and flour, whisked it out smooth, tossed in the oven at the correct heat setting and for the appropriate time, and it collapsed the moment it was taken out of the oven. The art is... fine. The power level is a bit low. There's no coherent storyline to the set, it's just, "Here's that thing you like in another medium ported into ours!" It feels a bit like a Spider-Man shampoo. You might buy it if you're already in the market for shampoo, but you're not beating down the door to be the first in line to get it.

It also feels like this is a set that can't be carried by the Universes Beyond branding. I get why Final Fantasy sold so well. If you're a huge fan of the game series, or even just a particular game in the series, you don't have a lot of outlets for the branding. You can play the game, but there's not a lot else to get excited about. I can't run down to the local Wal-Mart and buy Final Fantasy merch when I want to scratch that itch.

But, Spider-Man... I have three different generations of movies, I have multiple versions of an animated series, I have video games, I can but the comics, the action figures, etc. I have a lot of choices for Spider-Man merch, so something new arriving is just another note in the cacophony of noise.

The State of Standard

Honestly, I'm one of the few fans of three-year Standard at this point. I like being able to play with the cards I love longer. I think three-year Standard is great, I think it can strengthen consumer confidence when buying cards, and it can create more interesting gameplay. But, that all comes with a cost, and that cost is that Wizards has to be more decisive in curating the format. I hate it when cards are banned, sure, but I also recognize that, when it is necessary, it must be done sooner rather than later. I give WOTC designers credit, pumping out this many cards a year has got to stretch every muscle they have, and I'm willing to look past overly powerful cards that slip through the process. But, you gotta be willing to shoot them down before they ruin an entire RCQ season (or two).

I'm also a big, big fan of the Universes Beyond cards entering through Standard. I have a feeling that Final Fantasy will eventually go down as a top 5 Magic set of all time, and having the cards entering the game through the most accessible point will be long-term beneficial for Standard and the game itself.

Universes Beyond

When the screen shot of. "Secret Lair: the Office" blasted its way across my social media feed, my knee jerk reaction was to be a bit angry. It felt like the line had finally been crossed.

But then, I saw the cards.

If we're going to do non-fantasy/sci-fi Universes Beyond sets, I think, "The Office" set is an example of how to do it right. It isn't just a reproduction of the other IP on a Magic card (something that really hurts some of the cards in Spider-Man). They tried to bring Dwight Schrute into Magic in a way that makes him part of the existing game. Most of these card/art combinations could work on their own without any knowledge of "the office" itself.

Pioneer

The most disappointing part of the weekend for me was the lack of Pioneer on next year's tournament schedule. There is still a small glimmer of hope that one of the two remaining RCQ seasons could be Pioneer focused, but it's looking grim. If you haven't been playing it (and since WOTC isn't giving us much reason to, you probably haven't), Pioneer is a lot of fun, with a deep card pool ripe for exploration. It could use a bit of cultivation (the usual suspects from the red decks are still a tad too powerful), but the format is begging for innovation, and would shine at a Pro Tour where the world's best brewers could cut lose. Mark Rosewater insists that Pioneer isn't dead, but they haven't given us any reason to believe him.

Set Releases

If the lack of Pioneer was the most disappointing development from the announcements, the set release schedule for 2026 was the most frustrating. 2025 saw a ton of complaints about the pacing of set releases, with many, many players complaining that it was getting to be very difficult to keep up with the set releases. Couple that with the increased cost of Universes Beyond product and players were feeling the pinch. Players voiced their concern, and most seemed in agreement that six sets a year with a competitive focus was too many. And I agree. The last year has been hard on the ole wallet, and I still have cards I want to collect from Final Fantasy that I've put on the back burner while chasing Edge of Eternities and Marvel's Spider-Man.

So, it looks like they've responded by giving us seven sets next year.

Look, Magic: the Gathering is the greatest game ever created. I truly believe that. Are some of these things I've talked about complaints? Sure. But, I, like many of us who are vocal about the game, complain out of a sense of love, passion, and devotion for the game. We're afraid that each change signals an intention to leave the past that we love behind to chase new players (and higher dollars) and that this could leave what we love about the game out in the cold. It might take some time for us to adjust to the new way Magic is being marketed and promoted, but the core of the game still exists.

It's just that the most terrifying thing in the game is no longer a demon from the depths of hell. It's a Furby.

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456 and on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/anakinsdad.bsky.social