The Gathering Format is caught between a rock and a hard place in 2025

Summary

2025 brings new Magic: The Gathering products like three Magic Universe sets and three Universes Beyond sets.
Universes Beyond sets, once not for Standard, are now legal in all formats as of 2025.
Players may find it difficult to deal with six standard sets being released in close proximity every time, affecting playmaking and financial investment.

2025 will bring many new products and cards for Magic: The Gathering fans to collect – from three Magic Universe sets (Aetherdrift, Tarkir Dragonstorm and Edge of Eternities) for Innistrad Remastered, including three Universes Beyond sets. MTGThe UB sets are polarizing from a design standpoint, as the crossovers don't always fit seamlessly into the game's environment. More importantly, Universes Beyond deploys Magic: The Gathering may be somewhat controversial, as Wizards of the Coast initially promised that these releases would not affect the regular Standard rotation or be playable in Standard, but this will no longer be the case in 2025.

Much is changing Magic: The Gathering at the moment, and this began in November with the launch of Foundations – the first set to enter standard rotation for at least five years, if not in semi-perpetuity. Then Wizards of the Coast announced their change from four Magic Universe set and two UB sets to make it three and three, which was accompanied by the announcement that Universes Beyond will now be legal in all formats. However, this could throw a monkey wrench into some fans' plans, as UB sets being Standard-legal means that to stay up to date with the format, one has to play through six sets in a year instead of four.

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Two Magic: The Gathering Card types may never be printed again

Magic: The Gathering has many card types and subtypes, but two of them are problematic enough that they may never see reprints.

There's an argument to be made that six standard-legal sets are a bit harsh on players both from a news cycle vs. fatigue standpoint and financially, as Magic: The Gathering have many expensive cards. This means six standard sets will be difficult to manage for collectors, who may be forced to choose which sets to open packs and displays of and which to skip or limit to a few drafts. On top of that, the new total of six standard sets means that it may be more difficult to take breaks from the format if you want to remain competitive.

This doesn't even take into account that Universes Beyond sets might not be for everyone, like Magic: The Gathering fans might want to stick around Magic The universe sets for environment, design and lore reasons. Instead, standard decks inevitably have to include cards from Universes Beyond sets with the new release schedule and legalization rules, which can be frustrating if you don't want to see Spider-Man or Final Fantasy card in MTG. This is true for every UB set, but since they are now legal in all formats and released more often, it will be difficult to do.

Why six standard sets can be hard to handle for new MTG UB fans

At the other end of the spectrum, new players starting to gather Magic: The Gathering cards due to their favorite IP becoming part of the game and also intending to start playing Standard, collecting cards from all previous expansions to catch up and make a deck isn't exactly easy. Likewise, these new players may not like other Universes Beyond IPs and lose interest in Standard or the game as a whole.

Aetherdrift will launch on February 14, 2025, followed by Tarkir Dragonstorms on April 11, Final Fantasy UB on June 13, and Edge of Eternities on August 1. The Spider-Man UB set and the Unannounced UB set have yet to be assigned a release date, but they will likely come out between September and October and between November and December, respectively.

Magic: The Gathering 2025 release schedule may be too tight

What follows is that for new Standard players and veterans alike, the change to six sets in a year means it may be best to buy single cards over boosters or try to use decks with as few of the new cards from each set as possible. Still, six sets for standard players may be hard to keep up with given the cadence, as there will only be a couple of months between each in 2025 Magic: The Gathering drop. Overall, 2025 will be rich with new products, but it can take a toll on players, especially in Standard.