Magic: The Gathering is Shooting Itself in the Foot With One Final Fantasy Set Detail – GameRant

With Aetherdrift now in the stores and already being played in Standard and other formats, as well as five more Standard-legal sets coming out this year, 2025 is going to be big for Magic: The Gathering fans. Just recently, Magic: The Gathering’s collab with Avatar: The Last Airbender was officially announced, coming as 2025’s third and last Universes Beyond set on November 21, but Wizards of the Coast is already working on reveals and pre-orders for earlier sets. This includes the upcoming Tarkir: Dragonstorms and the extremely popular UB set dedicated to Final Fantasy. As much as the hype is growing, MTG x FF products have a massive downside that could easily backfire.It is no mystery that many fans and longtime players of the game are not pleased with Wizards of the Coast’s decision to reduce the number of Magic: The Gathering in-universe sets in favor of Universes Beyond. This was exacerbated at the end of 2024 when WotC announced that not only there would be 3 Magic Multiverse and 3 UB sets in 2025, but that UB sets would become Standard-legal for the first time. Now, this seems to be all the more problematic for the health of the game considering the ridiculous prices that the MTG x Final Fantasy products are going for.Magic: The Gathering revealed some cards from its upcoming Final Fantasy UB set, and one of them breaks one rule.One of the reasons why Universes Beyond was initially popular is that the Lord of the Rings franchise is arguably one of the single best IPs that could cross over into Magic: The Gathering, so it made sense to many fans. Not only that, but its in-game legality didn’t raise concerns, and the fact that it was very expensive was fine considering this and also the fact that it was a premium set, meaning it had very strong and valuable cards that in turn increased the value of each pack. However, MTG x FF products seem to be priced much like LotR, if not with higher pricetags overall, for a set that is not premium and is supposed to be Standard-legal.One could argue that if Commander is the face of Magic: The Gathering, Standard is one of its most played and iconic formats for two players and with 20 life per game. It can also be the hardest to keep up with because of its nature, as only a handful of sets are legal in Standard in MTG at a time, and some rotate out each year. As such, 2025 was already going to be stacked for fans due to six Standard-legal sets, but the prices of the Final Fantasy products may just kill the format for many.As it stands, based on Amazon pre-orders and considering that most products are already sold out, the prices are some of the highest MTG has ever seen. They are as follows:These prices are about to close off a lot of fans, as it’s unlikely that all Standard players will be able to afford these products if they can even manage to buy them before they are sold out. On top of that, the Play Booster Boxes will contain six fewer packs than before – something that was introduced with Magic: The Gathering’s new Aetherdrift set. Now, players only get 30 packs as opposed to 36.As such, players who don’t want to buy singles and would rather open a few booster packs of these products, be it newcomers who got into MTG thanks to the crossovers and Final Fantasy itself or veterans who have been around for a long time, have to pay more to get less than usual. This also sets a dangerous precedent for the game, as it could seem as if WotC was trying to make customers pay for the license.Even if that is not the case, these prices don’t build goodwill with the community, and not only are they for a non-premium set, but for one of six Standard-legal sets and the first of three UB sets in Magic: The Gathering. These prices could easily be the new norm for UB sets, and with such a packed release schedule in a single year, they don’t seem to be here to favor the consumers at all.We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.Your comment has not been savedHell, no. In fact, I’m getting rid of most of my collection. I’m sick of the way Hasbro/WOTC cares more about profits than it does about its players, or the local game stores that have traditionally been their new player pipeline.The prices have already climbed much higher than article lists for Collectors Booster packs and boxes. The Boxes are already at $700 a piece USD; and based on Reddit talks they are expected to hit $900 a box by launch day…Sounds like a mess. I am happy to see they kept Terra’s hair green though. Always bugged me when they change it to blonde. Yes, it wasn’t “supposed” to be green- but it was due to error in og and it’s what I’m used to. After the bait and switch with Hatsune Miku serial numbers, I’m done on opening sealed product. 805>806>807>804 is so sketchy.Magic: The Gathering has roots that go all the way back to the 90s or the 2000s, and one of these old staples may have to be axed in the future.Popular Kick streamer Adin Ross reveals plans to launch a Grand Theft Auto 6 roleplay server where players can earn real money.Abyssal Zenith is one of the hardest spots to reach in Fisch because of its long, tricky path and the anglerfish guarding it. 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Source: https://gamerant.com/magic-the-gathering-final-fantasy-mtg-ff-prices-cut-off-standard-bad-why/