Universes Beyond has kept Magic alive, and the numbers prove this.

I like to think I understand why people don't like Universes Beyond, but at some point you have to look at what’s actually happening instead of what you wish was happening.

Magic just had its biggest year ever, $1.7 billion in revenue, and a huge part of that came from UB. The Final Fantasy set alone was the best-selling set launch in the game’s history. Not a Standard set. Not a throwback to another successful set. Universes Beyond.

It’s not just one hit. By Wizards’ own metrics, Universes Beyond products are outperforming traditional Magic products in ways that don’t even come close to original sets when it comes to attracting new players. That’s not a fluke, that’s a pattern.

If this stuff was actually “killing the game,” you wouldn’t see record-breaking sales and continued growth. You definitely wouldn’t see Wizards shifting toward making a massive chunk of future releases UB. Companies don’t double down on something that’s failing - Hasbro isn't stupid.

Clearly there’s a loud group of longtime players who hate this direction, but there is a much larger group of players (especially newer ones who can more reliably be relied upon to continue buying product) who are actually buying and playing. That’s where I think the disconnect lies. New players coming in through crossovers aren’t as attached to what Magic “used to be,” and that’s okay. They just care that the game is fun and accessible, and they’re showing up in numbers that the veteran players never did.

You can dislike Universes Beyond, but saying it’s ruining Magic is a lot harder to defend when it lines up almost perfectly with the most successful period this game has ever had.