Magic: The Gatheringhas had an impressive slate of releases in 2025 so far, starting with Innistrad Remastered in January, then Aetherdrift in February, Tarkir: Dragonstorm in April,Final Fantasyin June, and soon Edge of Eternities on August 1. After Foundations in November 2024,Magic: The Gatheringhas undergone a few major changes to its release schedule and even how some formats operate, with one of the biggest being that Universes Beyond sets are now available in Standard and all formats. This was and still is a polarizing decision, with many fans calling it the death knell of the game and others agreeing with WotC because it allows more players to join the community.
Regardless of where each individual fan stands, it seems that Universes Beyond sets are not going anywhere, especially with the news that theFinal Fantasyset made $200 million in one day, further proving that there is a strong interest in this kind of product. The fact that UB sets are here to stay may not come as a surprise, but Wizards of the Coast’s own Mark Rosewater recently took to his blog to confirm that the controversial 50/50 split between in-multiverse sets and UB sets is staying for the near future.
Magic: The Gathering’s 50/50 Set Split for 2026 is a Controversy Waiting to Happen
Mark Rosewater’s wordingmakes it pretty clear that this is the plan for a while, not necessarily just 2026 now, but based on what is currently known, the release schedule for next year is going to be very similar to that of 2025. WithMagic: The Gathering’s Avatar setin November 2025, Wizards of the Coast will close the year with a bang and start 2026 with another, as the first set to come out is the hyped return to Lorwyn. There are three main sets confirmed for next year:
With Ziplining being the capstone of the current story arc, it’s likely to be a big release for the game, and it’s plausible that it will have a comparable release date to that of Edge of Eternities or Spider-Man in 2025. More importantly, these are three in-multiverse sets, which guarantees at least three more Universes Beyond sets in 2026 based on Mark Rosewater’s comment. This means that not only will players havethreeMagicsets and three UB sets, but that the total will be at least six sets for the entire year.
Predicting Magic: The Gathering’s 2026 Release Schedule
Wizards of the Coast also releasedMagic: The Gathering’s Innistrad Remastered setin January of 2025, so there’s a chance that 2026 will have a similar pattern. However, since Lorwyn Eclipsed is slated for a January launch, a seventh non-Standard legalMTGset may be released at a different time, if at all. Based on what is currently known, though, there is a possible schedule for 2026:
Things may change depending on whether a Remastered set is announced, but for example, it’s quite unlikely that Secrets of Strixhaven will come out immediately after Lorwyn Eclipsed if WotC wants to maintain a similar cadence to that of this year, as the former would be in February and the latter in January.Magic: The Gathering’s UB setscould be a great way to make these sets breathe a little, with the first UB set of 2026 coming in between. Still, the point stands: fans can and should expect three Universes Beyond releases next year.
