Magic: the Gathering’s announcement day, 2023

So Magic had an announcement day where they laid out their plans for the next three years. I’ve sorted everything that they announced by how much I’m into it, and a short thought on each.

So this is not the order they’re gonna come out in. Instead, I’ve placed them from “aww yeah” gradually down to “Not into it”. For me personally. And not having seen the sets.

Codename Volleyball. Space opera. Yes and yes. I love space opera. One concern is that I have a hard time seeing how they can scale back Magic’s story again, after it, so we care about one-town–level stuff again.

Caverns of Ixalan. Looks amazing! After our Grendleroot / Veins of the Earth D&D campaign, I got a bit tired of the underground but this has me re-hyped. A fantastic blend between classic pulp tropes and Mesoamerican vibes.

Bloomburrow. I like it. Seems to be most people’s fave. I hate the Hepcats / Beastars / Blacksad style (which soured me on Capenna and on the leonins and loxodons of other Magic worlds) but I love Mouse Guard and Watership Down, and this seems more like that.♥︎

Codename Tennis. Three-plane death race. Into it!

Murders at Karlov Manor. Great! These kinds of more zoomed-in sets really make the planes come alive.

Wilds of Eldraine. Conflicted! I love fairy tales but I hate food.

Codename Wrestling. Lorwyn / Shadowmoore. I loved the original Lorwyn but they didn’t stick the landing with Shadowmoore. That’s more on the art direction than the card designs.

Duskmourn: House of Horror. A little too scary? I hated the Meathook Massacre and I’m hesitant about this. But maybe.

Codename Ultimate. Tarkir set. I need to see more. Jeskai, Sultai, Mardu, Abzan and Temur are the best flavored factions they’ve ever made but then the morph and the time travel stuff was not so fun.

Codename Yachting. Arcavios (world of Strixhaven). I like Quandrix but not Zimone, Dina but not Witherbloom, lesson-learn made the games feel samey, overall a positive experience and maybe, like with Ravnica, it’ll click on the return more than the original.

Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Not sure they can pull of Western in an OK way. I like Vraska, so maybe.

Codename Zipline. Event set. The previous two have been too bomby for me, gameplay-wise, while I’ve enjoyed the stories and lore. And by bomby I mean powerful cards that run away with the game, something most Magic players seem to like but I hate.

Final Fantasy UB. My fave of the UB’s announced—I’ve only played some of the games so I’m familiar enough to be hyped but not enough that it feels stale. Spoilers are a concern, but otherwise I’m happy about this.

Fallout UB. I don’t know a lot about Fallout, but that’s kind of a plus since it’ll make the cards feel fresh.

Assassin’s Creed UB. Dammit! Having LotR on Arena has meant getting the books spoiled over and over again at every loading screen, but I’ve already seen the movies so it’s not so bad. But getting spoiled on Doctor Who has been less fun, and I don’t want that to happen with Assassin’s Creed, which I haven’t gotten to at all yet.

Remastered sets. I don’t draft fresh boosters as much these days. It’s bad for the environment. Cube & digital FTW. Reprints are great, I’ve just soured on the entire booster experience.

Modern Horizons III. MH2 was a disaster. Some people say the game “needed” the elementals and Ragavan. I don’t know about Ragavan, but the elementals have made the games more interactive and interesting. (I prefered Legacy to Modern because of how Force of Will policed the meta.) But why did they need to be mythic in an already overcosted set?

Jurassic World UB. I hate this franchise so much.

The Meathook Massacre

Universes Beyond

Ragavan

Force of Will