Magic’s Final Fantasy reveal heralds big changes for the beloved TCG

Wizards of the Coast has lifted the curtain on its 2025 Magic: The Gathering release calendar, including a preview of art from a highly anticipated crossover with Final Fantasy. But the publisher also revealed some big changes coming to the trading card game. A cascade of announcements, made live at the MagicCon Las Vegas fan convention, may even change the trajectory of the beloved TCG for all time.

By far the biggest announcement is the fact that beginning next year, all Universes Beyond releases produced going forward will be legal in all formats, including Standard. First introduced in 2021, Universes Beyond features intellectual property from outside the traditional Magic Multiverse, swapping characters like Jace Beleren and the Phyrexians for Stranger Things’ Eleven, Hatsune Miku, and Warhammer 40,000’s Space Marines. In the past, these crossovers have been segregated into alternative formats. Beginning in 2025 they will become a core part of the franchise’s play experience.

To make room in the next calendar year — and for the foreseeable future — there will be just three Magic Multiverse-themed set released each year. Wizards said it expects the new Foundations set to fill that perennial gap, serving up necessary cards until at least 2029. Otherwise fans should expect the “three-and-three” cadence to continue, with three Magic Multiverse offerings paired with three Universes Beyond sets.

That’s not the only change coming to Magic, and fans are encouraged to educate themselves at the official Magic website. Expect additional analysis here on Polygon in the days and weeks to come.

Meanwhile, here are all the new details on Magic: The Gathering’s 2025 release calendar, plus commentary from the Magic team delivered in a private press briefing ahead of today’s announcement.

Top billing goes to Magic: The Gathering – Final Fantasy, a Universes Beyond set that launches on June 13, 2025. Wizards describes the set as the largest collection of Final Fantasy art ever released in a single game.

“Drawing from across the franchise,” said head designer Mark Rosewater, “you’ll see artwork from Magic artists along with the classic illustrations from legendary Final Fantasy artists, as well as brand-new breathtaking pieces made specifically for this set.”

Magic: The Gathering – Innistrad Remastered brings together popular cards from multiple sets of gothic horror classics in a new and refined product. This Magic Multiverse set, launching on Jan. 24, 2025, will also include 500 serialized copies of Edgar Markov.

The set is available for pre-order now.

Magic: The Gathering – Aetherdrift skids to a halt on Feb. 14, 2025. The Magic Multiverse set depicts a wild race across three different planes of existence. It also tells a very personal story about the pyromancer, Chandra, and her quest to return the mystical Spark that her partner, Nissa, recently lost.

“The idea is we’re just making something [where] there’s 10 different teams for the different color combinations,” Rosewater said, “so it’s just a really fun, exciting race.”

On April 11, 2025, Magic: The Gathering – Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the second Magic Multiverse release of the year, brings back three-color decks and towering, deadly dragons in a plane that hasn’t been visited by designers in more than a decade.

After Final Fantasy in June, Magic: The Gathering – Edge of Eternities takes the Magic Multiverse to outer space in an all-new setting.

“Over the years, Magic has explored lots of different takes on fantasy and really stretched the definition of what fantasy can be,” Rosewater said. “[We’re] looking at taking a lot of tropes from space fantasy — planets and aliens and all that — and really making a brand-new, exciting Magic world unlike anything you’ve seen before.”

The second Universes Beyond of 2025 will be the previously announced Magic: The Gathering – Marvel Spider-Man, which draws inspiration from the Brooklyn-based webslinger’s rich history of comic storylines.

Unannounced Universes Beyond release

The year will conclude with the third Universes Beyond release, which has not yet been announced.