Magic: The Gathering recently sent out some preview cards for its Secret Lair Commander deck to influencers, and one of the previews revealed the surprising return of Universes Within. Originally, Universes Within was promised to be a more widespread way for Magic: The Gathering to handle some of the issues players had with the game's Universes Beyond sets. However, as Universes Beyond expanded, its counterpart seemingly got swept under the rug, and I assumed it was going to die there.

Universes Beyond started out small with a few promo cards like the Ponies: The Galloping crossover with My Little Pony, and Secret Lairs like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things. This started to ramp up with the full Lord of the Rings set, and last October, it was revealed that three full Universes Beyond sets were planned for 2025. The state of Universes Within wasn't mentioned at all during the announcement, but it has now made a subtle return in the form of a single card.

Universes Within Was Supposed To Cover All Universes Beyond Cards

Universes Beyond Cards Were Supposed To Be Reworked Into Cards Fitting Magic's IP

Initially, Universes Within was planned to be a way for Magic: The Gathering to convert its Universes Beyond cards (AKA cards featuring characters from other IPs) into cards set in the Magic: The Gathering universe. For example, Eleven from Stranger Things became Cecily, Haunted Mage in her Universes Within conversion, and the card featured artwork of a character who seemed more in line with Magic's existing world. This way, players who wanted to use Universes Beyond cards for their functionality, but weren't fans of their IP invading Magic, had an alternative version of the card to play.

There were four printings of Universes Within cards, remaking the Secret Lairs for Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Street Fighter, and D&D: Honor Among Thieves. However, players became skeptical once the full Lord of the Rings set was announced that Magic: The Gathering would continue to print in-universe versions of all its cards. As Universes Beyond continued to make up a larger percentage of Magic's releases, it became increasingly unrealistic to expect a Universes Within version of every new card. While I thought this meant Universes Within was done for good, that apparently isn't the case.

Magic's Secret Lair Commander Deck Is Printing A Universes Within Card

The Lord Of The Rings Card Raise The Palisade Is Getting Reprinted

Magic: The Gathering has begun teasing an Secret Lair Commander deck called Everyone's Invited. As part of the promotion for it, they sent out several preview cards, one of which immediately caught my attention. Magic: The Gathering streamer CovertGoBlue posted an image on Twitter of the card Raise the Palisade's new art treatment from Everyone's Invited. While Jordan Speer's art on the card is beautiful, and the card itself is decent, I was much more excited for another reason. Raise the Palisade is a card that has only been printed once before, in the Lord of the Rings set.

This is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it means that Magic: The Gathering is allowed to reprint cards from the Lord of the Rings set (though it's unclear how long they have license to print Lord of the Rings imagery or characters on them). Second, it means that Universes Within might not be as dead as I had assumed. While this wasn't a rework of a specific Lord of the Rings character into a Magic character, it is still a Universes Beyond card being reworked into something that feels more at home aesthetically with Magic's IP.

There's Still Hope Universes Within Could Return For Some Cards

Universes Within Reprints Can Help Keep Prices Reasonable

Now, I'm not trying to make any sweeping claims that all Universes Beyond cards will eventually be reprinted in a Universes Beyond style. I honestly don't think it would be feasible at this point, and some cards, like Final Fantasy's Cactuar, feel so rooted in their original IP that it would be weird to see a Magic version. Still, this does at least mean that we could see Universes Within versions of cards from Universes Beyond sets printed in one-off products like this. This may not fulfill the initial promise of Universes Within, but I do think it's better than nothing.

What's exciting about this revelation is that it means Universes Beyond cards aren't destined to grow prohibitively expensive the further we get from their initial printing. A competitive card like Orcish Bowmasters, originally from the Lord of the Rings set, could therefore be reprinted at some point, and hopefully fall from its current $40 price point. Such reprints are integral to keeping Magic: The Gathering cards within an affordable price range, so it's good to know that Universes Beyond cards are not exempt from getting reprinted with new in-universe art treatments.

Source: CovertGoBlue/Twitter