Marvel Is Coming to Magic: The Gathering

The Marvel Universe is joining the Magic: The Gathering multiverse. On Monday, Hasbro announced that it expanded its partnership with Marvel Entertainment -- under which Hasbro releases the long-running Marvel Legends line of action figures -- to allow Marvel characters and concepts to appear in Magic: The Gathering trading card game. As with other sets that involve established intellectual properties – which thus far has included the likes of The Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, and Fallout – Magic: The Gathering's Marvel products will fall under the game's Universes Beyond banner, and yes, that's "products" with an "s."

The first Magic: The Gathering release featuring Marvel will be released in 2025 and is touted as a "tentpole Magic set." Wizards of the Coast didn't provide any further details. That description likely means fans can expect a full-on Marvel Magic: The Gathering set comparable to The Lord of the Rings: Tales from Middle-earth rather than something akin to Commander-focused releases for Doctor Who, Fallout, and Warhammer 40,000.

Marvel comes to Magic: The Gathering

"We are extremely proud to collaborate with Marvel to bring its iconic characters to fans around the world in new ways," said Cynthia Williams, President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Gaming in a press release. "These tentpole sets will build on the tradition of incorporating beloved fan-favorite characters and elements from world-class brands into Magic: The Gathering."

"Trading cards have always been a part of Marvel's DNA, so this collaboration takes that experience to a whole new level," said Dan Buckley, President of Marvel Comics and Franchise. "With the depth that our storytelling and characters bring to the table, we can't wait for fans to see how the Marvel Universe translates seamlessly into gameplay within these Magic: The Gathering products and sets for years to come."

Magic: The Gathering Universe Beyond Expands

Magic: The Gathering's foray into cross-property releases can be seen as a reflection of the times, with the company applying Fortnite's incredibly successful playbook to the tabletop space (Ironically, Magic: The Gathering already released a Secret Lair set of Fortnite-themed cards). The strategy seems to work. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is the second bestselling set in Magic: The Gathering's 30-year history, behind only Modern Horizons 2.

It's unclear what, if anything, this means for the existing Marvel tabletop card games such as Fantasy Flight Game's Marvel Champions LCG, Upper Deck's deckbuilding game Legendary, and Upper Deck's Marvel Vs. System LCG. It may mean nothing since these games are not collectible card games and since Wizards of the Coast isn't building a Marvel card game from the ground up but simply applying Marvel's intellectual property to the already existing Magic: The Gathering ruleset. Magic's Lord of the Rings set had seemingly no effect on FFG's Lord of the Rings LCG.

With Magic: The Gathering's first Marvel release a ways away, fans can look forward to other upcoming sets like The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, which brings Jurassic Park to the Magic: The Gathering. There are also plans for Final Fantasy and Assassin's Creed to come to Magic: The Gathering.