MagicCon, the annual convention for all things Magic: The Gathering, is currently underway in Chicago and Wizards of the Coast has had a few key announcements to share. Among them was the reveal of the company’s next Universes Beyond set for MTG, the latest in a series of crossover event-style card sets that have brought the likes of Wolverine and Sephiroth into the game. Avatar: The Last Airbender will be the next pop culture darling to get adapted into its own set of MTG cards, as revealed in the above teaser video; the set will be available Nov. 21.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender set will be Standard legal, meaning you can use these elemental bending cards alongside other classic MTG cards in a regular game. The same is now also true for all of the Universes Beyond sets, although many of these cards were originally not marketed or released as Standard legal decks. This change is a relatively recent one, and it makes the landscape of MTG a bit more like Super Smash Bros. than it ever previously was. The decision has been somewhat controversial among those MTG fans who preferred the game as it was (with its own fantasy lore and world established), but Universes Beyond also clearly presents an opening for lapsed fans and total newcomers to pick up MTG based on their attachment to the various IPs on display.
When it comes to drawing in new fans, it makes sense to see Avatar: The Last Airbender as the next item on Wizards’ slate, following closely on the heels of the Final Fantasy MTG card reveals earlier this week. Fans already know that Wizards has more Universes Beyond crossovers coming in 2025, and they’re likely to be similarly huge IPs, if the previous examples are anything to go by.
