Universes Beyond is set to take over Magic: the Gathering. Universes Beyond is Wizards of the Coast’s term for Magic cards and products that feature characters from different intellectual properties. As the controversy over Universes Beyond grows, the role of Universes Within becomes increasingly important. However, while Universes Beyond thrives, it’s counterpart, Universes Within, languishes in obscurity.
I am not the first to say that Universes Beyond has gotten out of hand, and I certainly won’t be the last. What started as an experiment with one Secret Lair product creating Magic cards for The Walking Dead has ballooned into a massive industry. Just last week, Wizards of the Coast announced Secret Lair: Marvel, Secret Lair: SpongeBob, and a new collaboration with Final Fantasy.
As much as Universes Beyond has snowballed out of control, the cards clearly allow WotC to experiment with novel card designs. That’s not necessarily a bad thing! Using Universes Within, Wizards of the Coast might be able to have its cake and eat it, too.
Universes Within is the answer to Universes Beyond and is a product that has promise. Much of the concern about Universes Beyond cards like “Chun-Li, Countless Kicks” or “Aragorn, the Uniter” is that they don’t fit into MtG. Universes Within lets WotC canonize these cards into MtG while they use Universes Beyond to experiment with designs that might otherwise never have been made in a normal set. Conceptually, Universes Within has promise, but WotC might not be able to see it.
What is Universes Within?
Universes Within is a product that transfers Universes Beyond cards into existing Magic settings. “Chun-Li, Countless Kicks” became “Zethi, Arcane Blademaster.” “Mind Flayer, the Shadow” became “Arvinox, the Mind Flail.” These cards prove that the mechanics from the Universes Beyond cards can fit in MtG.
Universes Within was announced in response to the backlash WotC initially received from Universes Beyond. When Secret Lair announced the unique “Walking Dead” cards, WotC eventually agreed to move them into MtG-themed cards.
So far, Universes Within has adapted the secret lair cards for Street Fighter, Stranger Things, and The Walking Dead. However, most Universes Beyond products do not have a Universes Within counterpart.
When the Commander decks for Warhammer 40K were announced, it was made clear there would be no MtG versions of the cards. The same was true for Universes Beyond products like Lord of the Rings, Fallout, Doctor Who, and Assassin’s Creed. With increasing frequency, Wizards of the Coast has announced that Universes Beyond cards will not have a MtG equivalent.
The Case For Universes Within
I like Universes Within. While I am reluctant to bring Chun-Li or Ken to a game of MtG, I might be happy to bring Zethi or “Aisha of Sparks and Smoke.” A game of Magic: the Gathering has a unique feeling and aesthetic that is different from other games. Universes Within allows WotC to capitalize on the innovations from Universes Beyond while preserving what’s special about a game of Magic.
Universes Within can be more than it is. Currently, Universes Within is an attempt to transfer cards without making big moves or changing settings. Universes Within is designed so it doesn’t make waves or complicate other stories. This might be the reason that two of the three converted sets of cards were ported into the same setting. However, if Wizards of the Coast committed to making Universes Within the best it could be, there could be more room to grow.
Using Universes Within, Wizards of the Coast could return to other planes more frequently without the strain of making a full set. Universes Within could give us fascinating characters operating at the edges of lore that we never get to see. It could even develop stories happening on different planes or show past events within settings.
Aragorn Within Magic: the Gathering.
“Aragorn, the Uniter” is just one card that I think could be translated into an awesome Universes Within card. This card cares about the colors of spells being cast, so his counterpart must be a character that cares about the same thing. This could easily be Jared Carthelion, a fellow king from Dominaria who mastered all of the colors of magic. The Universes Within version of this card could show Jared Carthalion on the cusp of his full power but not quite there. This might even bridge the gap in time between “Jared Cathelion, True Heir,” and “Jared Carthalion,” where he’s an older man.
If WotC didn’t want to convert Aragorn into an important character from MtG’s lore, there is still potential for a Universes Within version. WotC could imagine this card as a character from Alara, affected by the merging of planes together after the Conflux, similar to “Breya, Etherium Shaper.” Aragorn could even be converted to Universes Within as a Ravnican, channeling magic from another guild as depicted in “Bond of Flourishing.”
Even if WotC continues to make Universes Within characters that don’t affect setting, they can still enhance existing Magic properties. Magic: the Gathering doesn’t always have time to explore the ramifications of a set on a plane as a whole. Universes Within could be used as a bridge to show the impact of events on past planes. The conversions could help show the lingering impact of important stories. This could help show that the MtG stories, and the choices the heroes made, actually mattered.
Transformers Were Perfect For The Brothers War
When Wizards of the Coast brought The Brothers War back to Magic, they also announced that Transformer cards would be found in these packs. Hearing these would not get a Universes Within conversion was a huge blow. This set seemed perfect for it!
The Brothers War is a story about two artificers going to war against each other. In this context, new and terrifying legendary artifact creatures make perfect sense. Universes Within Transformers cards could have been imagined as creatures that Urza and Mishra made to fight each other. The same concept is already depicted in cards like “Skitterbeam Cannon” and “Phyrexian Battalion.”
It’s possible WotC decided not to stick Transformers in as new characters into the historic Brothers War to preserve its lore. However, there was more than one option for transforming Transformers creatures into Magic: the Gathering Cards.
Wizards of the Coast could have imagined Transformers as creatures from Kaladesh during the Aether Revolt. Aether Revolt introduced vehicle card types and was another civil war featuring metal creatures. Pairing the Aether Revolt with Transformer Universes Within cards would have been an awesome move.
Kaladesh would be a great fit for the Transformers designs, even outside the Aether Revolt. Kaladesh regularly experiments with making metal alive, as evidenced by one of MtG’s planeswalker, Saheeli. With a little effort, these Transformer cards could even be gifts Saheeli made for Huatli, or vice versa. Making Universes Within versions of Transformers on Kaladesh would honor Magic history and expand its lore in an interesting way.
Ixalan and Jurassic Park were Made for Each Other
Ixalan is the dino plane in Magic: the Gathering. In this setting, dinosaurs first got their first Elder creatures as well as creatures in all five colors. This is a huge move for a creature type, and Ixalan made the most of it, even giving fans a Dinosaur planeswalker, Huatuli.
When Wizards of the Coast returned to Ixalan, it pursued a different storyline that did not focus on dinosaurs. However, it also released Jurassic Park cards along with the set.
Using Universes Within to portray MtG creatures could have allowed WotC to tell a story about Huatli. As one of the planeswalkers who lost her spark during a recent MtG event, Universes Within could have told the story of her finding herself again. “Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer” could have become a Universes Within Huatli. “Blue, Loyal Raptor” could have been a new dinosaur she forged a bond with.
The Indoraptor and Indominus Rex could have been presented as new threats arising after the loss of an Elder Dinosaur. Universes Within versions of these cards might have depicted them as rivals, attempting to fill the space of Etali. Alternatively, Universes Within versions of these monsters might have been dinosaurs threatening the Sun Empire or challenges on Huatli’s road to recovering strength.
A Universes Within version of the Jurassic World collection is a perfect example of how this format could be used to tell parallel stories. Instead, a return to the plane known for its dinosaurs saw no Universes Within version of cards from Jurassic Park. This was a huge missed opportunity.
Assassin’s Creed Could Have Told Stories From Unsung Planes
Not every plane and setting within Magic: the Gathering gets a lot of attention. There are quite a few planes that have little to no details or are seldom visited. With the recent adaptation of Assassin’s Creed into MtG, there was ample opportunity to spotlight planes that don’t get much attention.
The biggest contender for Universes Within conversions of Assassin’s Creed cards involves expanding Saskia’s lore. The little we know about Saskia is that her village was destroyed, and it is theorized that “Licia, Sanguine Tribune” did it. Saskia is one of the only four color commanders we have and the first in her color combo. Using the cards depicting characters from Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla might have helped expand her story and flesh out her (potential) feud with Licia.
Instead of focusing on one plane, Universes Within: Assassin’s Creed could also have depicted assassins on multiple planes. Many planes have tyrannical rulers that need taking down, as well as histories of unrest. Fiora and Kamigawa are just two named planes among many where assassins would likely be at home. The Assassin’s Creed characters could even be imagined as failed assassins with Universes Within, allowing them to be examples that nobles used as a stepping stone to cement their power.
Universes Within is Dying
Universes Within has only converted three Universes Beyond products to MtG. The most recent addition was over a year ago. Meanwhile, the number of Universes Beyond products swells yearly and is now making its way to Standard format. It feels safe to say that Universes Within is dying, and it may have always been meant to.
Universes Within was initially a reaction to negative feedback from fan. It was meant to put a bandaid over the issues of Universes Beyond. Now, every new major Universes Beyond product comes with the announcement that there will be no Universes Within counterpart. Universes Beyond has flooded MtG, and WotC has switched to normalizing these products instead of trying to convert them.
Universes Beyond makes Wizards of the Coast money by featuring characters from “that thing you love.” Players who enter the hobby to buy cards featuring different series keep Universes Beyond going, even if the core fan base of Magic doesn’t buy them. Universes Within cards don’t feature the same iconic characters and don’t bring in the same audience as Universes Beyond.
Universes Beyond cards are also often kept from Universes Within versions due to copyright. Certain phrases and mechanics featured on the text of the card keep MtG from being able to use them outside of specified collaborations. Certain cards were never going to get a Universes Within version, and WotC knew that before they made the cards.
The End of an Era
Universes Within was a convenient response to fan outcry that was actually a solid idea. It managed to assuage some players with its potential. Sadly, now that the outcry has died down, so has Universes Within. The most recent Universes Within cards released were conversions of the very first Universes Beyond cards. These might very well be the last Universes Within cards.
Universes Within is likely already dead. That’s a shame. I haven’t bought any cards from the Jurassic World collaboration, or Transformers, or Assassin’s Creed. However, I would buy Magic: the Gathering versions in a heartbeat. I would happily build wild decks around Assassins from across Magic’s planes or a deck featuring legendary artifacts built by vengeful artificers. While Universes Beyond flourishes, I can only hope to one day see that same innovation transferred back into Magic: the Gathering.
Universes Beyond proves that Wizards of the Coast and Magic: the Gathering still has so much room left to innovate. However, there are interesting ideas that can still be explored within existing settings. Wizards of the Coast has even proven this by revisiting old ideas in new ways through Modern Horizons sets. In light of the success of Modern Horizons, I still see the potential of Universes Within. Until then, I can only sit back and watch as other franchises slowly lay claim to the hobby I love.
