It’s official, GW has confirmed Warhammer 40k is coming to Magic the Gathering! Check out the details on this epic team up!
Warhammer Community, revealed the news to be true. The new expansion is going to be called Universes Beyond, and they explicitly say cards will not be Standard Legal. Just something to keep in mind.
They also mention the cards are still a ways off (sometime in 2022), but since the ink just dried on the deal, we sorta expected that. This isn’t the first major partnership GW has had recently, as they’ve paired up with McFarlane Toys, Bandai, and Marvel. This is a new kind of partnership though, and it may be a sign of more collaborations to come.
GW Confirms 40k Coming to Magic the Gathering
Warhammer is the world’s biggest name in tabletop gaming. Magic: The Gathering is the number one fantasy card game. So, what happens when you smush them both together?
The answer can be found in Universes Beyond, a new premium card set for Magic: The Gathering which sees the game’s creators teaming up with some of the world’s biggest storytelling brands – including Warhammer 40,000.
They didn’t release too many details about the partnership, but thanks to a Wizards of the Coast post, we know a little bit more about what to expect!
Universes Beyond
Among those worlds are the expansive universes of Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings, with others set to join as our Universes Beyond expands.
This expansion of the Magic game system to other universes is exciting and new, and certainly raises questions for many of our longstanding fans, so today we’re going to answer many of those questions as we look toward the Universes Beyond release in 2022 and further.
Universes Beyond will act as a brand within Magic: The Gathering—existing in addition to and alongside our existing line of products.
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Well, the first thing to unpack here, is this isn’t going to be out until 2022, so don’t get too excited about new cards too soon! Next, they mention the expansion will exist alongside and in addition to their current line, so that’s good to see. Again, they explicitly say cards will not be Standard Legal. So if you were hoping to add these to your deck, doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
Details on the Upcoming Cards
First, Universes Beyond will be branded slightly differently and will have a specific look as a result. These are still Magic cards, through and through, but the frame will be distinct and cards will have a holofoil stamp that denotes them as being from Universes Beyond. It will look like this:
If that stamp looks familiar, it’s because it already exists on Secret Lair X The Walking Dead cards, which will be grandfathered into Universes Beyond.
On that note, Universes Beyond products will generally be sold in all Magic channels—these will not be strictly Secret Lair products. The Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks, for example, will be available everywhere we currently sell Commander decks, as will The Lord of the Rings product. We may occasionally do associated Secret Lair products related to the main release, like the Secret Lair Godzilla lands when Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths came out. There will also be the occasional standalone product like The Walking Dead, but the intention is to typically make Universes Beyond as available as any other Magic product.
They also mention that they will stick to their normal release for standard cards, so no need to worry about this messing up any releases you’re waiting for. Being able to get the cards where you normally grab your Magic cards is also nice, you won’t have to make an extra trip just for those 40k or LotR cards.
Would you play a Warhammer 40k version of Magic? Or are you more excited about the LotR expansion?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
