Universes Beyond: why the mashup machine makes me grumpy and why I’m still playing anyway

Last updated: September 9, 2025

I took a decade off, came back to Arena, and got greeted by Universes Beyond everywhere like a mall kiosk shoving cologne in my face. Cool, I guess, if the cologne is Final Fantasy or Spider-Man. Less cool when it seeps into Standard and my draft pod starts to look like Comic-Con in a blender. If you feel the same way, congratulations, you’re not broken. You’re noticing the seams. And yes, I’m going to rant about it like Maddox would while carving the word “lore” into a desk with a plastic spork. But I’ll also talk you down. Because I still play. And I still win without sleeving up every crossover toy that falls off Hasbro’s truck.

The promise and the bait: what Universes Beyond actually changed

Here’s the part we can’t hand-wave. Starting in 2025, Universes Beyond booster sets are legal in the same Constructed formats as normal Magic releases. That means Standard, not just Commander, eats the crossover stew. There are six booster sets this year, three multiverse Magic sets and three Universes Beyond sets, with identical legality. The end result is simple. You do not get to ignore these sets if you want to play competitive formats without handicapping yourself. You can hate the paint job. You still have to race the car.

If that sounds like the textbook definition of “deal with it,” it is. It also means the identity question is no longer a forum debate. It’s in your opening seven.

The hat problem was already here before the crossovers

People keep blaming Universes Beyond for every vibe fail. Half true. Look at the last few years of in-universe Magic: detectives with tiny fedoras on Ravnica, full cowboy cosplay on Thunder Junction, and then Aetherdrift where the multiverse runs a grand prix with hovercraft, bug-cars, and sponsorship energy. That is not a knock on gameplay. Those sets had sharp mechanics and plenty of fun cards. It is a knock on tone. Magic’s own house started wearing Halloween costumes in daylight. So when an outside IP walks in, of course it feels like it belonged there. We already rolled out the novelty carpet.

Universes Beyond didn’t kill the mood alone. It just made the mood profitable.

Why it sells anyway, and why that matters to you even if you roll your eyes

If you hate this trend, brace yourself. Lord of the Rings was a rocket. Final Fantasy was a bigger rocket. The sales are not a rounding error. They are the business case. Hasbro and Wizards see that new players will swipe a card faster if it shows Cloud’s sword or Aragorn’s jawline. The game you like benefits from that cash flow. The game you like also bends toward what sells. Both things can be true, and they are.

You can punch clouds and call it soulless. Or you can do what I do, which is accept that whales love crossover bait while I go draft the good commons and win on curve.

“But Arena will show me Spider-Men punching my goblins and I’ll cry”

Deep breath. Digital is weird this year. Marvel sets are not appearing on Arena or Magic Online with the licensed characters. Instead, you get mechanically equivalent, in-universe versions under the “Through the Omenpaths” banner. Same rate, different names and art. Is that elegant? No. Does it fix your immersion fear? Partly. You still play against the card, but you are not looking at Spider-Man’s face while you misplay your removal window.

I know, it’s silly. Paper has Peter. Digital has “Arachnid Hero Person” or whatever. Welcome to 2025 licensing.

“Am I just an old man yelling at a cloud?”

Maybe. And sometimes the old man is right. Part of Magic’s charm used to be that it was Magic. When flavor text slapped, it slapped because it spoke from a world that took itself seriously. When the modern game leans on memes, sitcom winks, and franchise cameos, it burns cultural calories fast. It trades depth for recognition. That is addictive. It is not nourishing.

Still, the core game remains the core game. Players win tournaments with good sequencing and tight deckbuilding, not with brand synergy. You are allowed to hate a skin and love the rules underneath it. That is basically every video game with a battle pass.

The dread is real, but the sky is not falling

Let me say the quiet part. Most Universes Beyond designs that hit Standard are not format warping. Some matter. Many do not. Draft formats around Universes Beyond can be fun, mid, or loud nonsense. You can pick your lanes. The game’s ceiling remains intact. Increasingly, the floor has brand logos printed on it. That is annoying. It is not the end times.

Also, no, you are not going to see Fortnite dance auras buffing the Aflac Duck on Arena. You will see a mechanically fair enchantment with an in-universe name buff a bird. You can live with that. You have lived through worse.

Coping strategies that actually work if Universes Beyond makes you twitch

1. Skip sets without guilt. Magic now assumes some products are not for you. That is fine. If a Universes Beyond set does not sing, sit it out. Your collection and your attention both have opportunity cost.
2. Build or join a curated league. Eternal format with house bans. Pioneer with a community banlist. Premodern. Cube. Commander pods that agree on what shows up. You are not obligated to play on the main highway.
3. Use in-universe treatments when possible. If the card exists with a normal frame or an Arena reskin, choose it. Call it the name you like. Your friends will understand. If they do not, find better friends.
4. Draft for gameplay, not for brand. Ignore the cross-promo mythic until the table hands it to you. Force the lane that is open. Most Universes Beyond limited environments are full of normal Magic decisions.
5. Vote with your wallet, but vote smart. Buying every non-UB product does more than boycotting UB alone. Tell the machine what you want by feeding the parts you like.
6. If you need a break, take it. Magic is better without resentment. Play the sets that feel like home. Walk past the ones that feel like a tie-in cereal.

The funny part no one wants to admit

The same players who swear off crossovers will still jam the best rate card if it pays rent in their deck. I have watched tables where the loudest anti-UB voice resolves a crossover bomb on turn four with that look, the one that says I will complain later but right now I want to win. Human nature is undefeated.

So stop pretending this is a moral referendum every time you shuffle. It is a hobby. Play the best cards you can stomach. Leave the rest on the shelf.

The identity test I use before I tilt

Ask two questions. Does this card play like Magic. Does this art and name distract me from the game state. If the first answer is yes and the second is no, I move on. If the second answer is yes, I proxy the in-universe version for my pod or run the Arena reskin, and I keep playing. I do not need to write a manifesto every time Sonic the Hedgehog shows up on a Secret Lair and my Twitter feed has a stroke.

Why I’m still here, and why you probably are too

Under the cosplay, Magic is still the tightest head-to-head strategy game most of us will ever play at a kitchen table. It is still resource puzzles, bluffing, deck craft, and that electric hit when your plan actually works. I like that more than I dislike an over-the-top showcase treatment. You probably do too. And if you do not, take a month off. When the next in-universe set lands with real worldbuilding, come back and enjoy it.

A short, honest pep talk for the “Toyota Camry – Skittles Edition” feeling

Yeah, the branding can feel cheap. I feel it. I look at a crossover mythic and I hear a cash register burp. But I also queue drafts, jam Standard, and enjoy myself. The game is bigger than the paint. If a couple of 14 year olds stroll by and yell that my Spider guy got countered by a pop star planeswalker, I will smile, say good game, and two-for-one them on the stack next round. Winning is a wonderful solvent.

Final answer: how to be mad, have taste, and keep playing

Be picky. Be loud if you want. Laugh at the corniest treatments. Refuse to buy what you do not like. But keep a grip on the part that matters. Universes Beyond is not going away. The core game is not going away either. You can keep your standards and still have fun. That is the grown-up move.

And if you need the full Maddox energy to get through it, here it is. I do not care what a brand manager wants me to want. I care about games that reward good decisions. Magic still does. So I will keep playing, keep choosing my cards, and keep telling the Skittles Edition to wait outside while I shuffle the real deck.

That is how I deal with it. You can too.