Wizards Confirms Two Future MTG Sets, Angering Fans
Unfortunately for many players, Wizards of the Coast is very tight-lipped about the future of the MTG. Occasionally, details and tidbits will be leaked by Magic’s designers, however, major MTG set details aren’t so readily shared. Instead, these are often kept for the yearly announcement livestreams which bombard players with new information.
Typically taking place in August, this blockbuster livestream presentation typically reveals details surrounding at least four major MTG sets. Subsequently, as you might expect, this is typically an incredibly exciting time for many players. Somewhat miraculously, however, it appears that not every new set announcement is what fans want to hear.
In fact, following the confirmation of two more MTG sets in the works, many MTG players are outraged, rather than overjoyed!
New Explorer Sets Confirmed
Confirm Suspicions | Shadows over Innistrad
Last week, following on from Explorer Anthology 3 spoilers finishing, WotC’s Senior Digital Products Manager, Lee Sharpe, dropped an absolutely massive bombshell reveal. Hold onto your hats, everyone… There’s going to be an Explorer Anthology 4 in the future! As if that wasn’t enough, 2024 is going to have even more products featuring Explorer-focused cards. Mind-blowing, right?!
“While we don’t have anything to announce yet, we can say that we are planning to have more older cards added to Explorer this year and into early next year.” u/LeeSharpe
Technically, thanks to how much Wizards hides information, this is a brand-new reveal about the future of MTG. As you may have gathered thanks to the powers of sarcasm, however, this isn’t exactly a world-shattering revelation. Instead, the majority of MTG players already knew this future set would be in the works. You could even make a good guess at when it will be released!
Judging by the past precedent of Explorer Anthology 1 and 2, we’ll be getting two of these sets each year. Released in June and December, it’s highly likely these sets will appear like clockwork every six-ish months. After all, Explorer is far from being one-to-one with Pioneer just yet. Until it is, MTG Arena players can understandably expect more Anthology sets.
Ever since Explorer Anthology 1 was first released, this has been the expectation of most MTG fans. Recently, however, following Explorer Anthology 3, this expected business model has been rubbing many MTG players the wrong way. Much to the dismay of many players, Explorer Anthology 3 was seriously lousy with Pioneer-focused reprints.
Arguably being unfit for purpose, many MTG players are understandably rather miffed at Wizards following Explorer Anthology 3. After all, to some, it feels like Wizards is needlessly dragging out the path to Pioneer. Regardless of whether this is the case or not, most MTG players aren’t happy about having to, likely, wait another six months.
Battle for Zendikar Remastered Confirmed?
Oath of Nissa | Oath of the Gatewatch
Alongside practically confirming Explorer Anthology 4, as you may have noticed, Sharpe also stated there was a product planned for “early next year.” Seemingly breaking from the Explorer Anthology release schedule, many MTG players were quick to suggest this is another Remastered Set. If this is the case, logic would suggest Wizards will remaster the Battle for Zendikar block.
In theory, should this indeed be Wizards’ plans, this set could be a great boon to MTG Arena. After all, both Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch include plenty of Pioneer playable cards. For instance, Oath of Nissa has been a long-requested addition to Explorer. So much so, in fact, that it seemed like a shoo-in for Explorer Anthology 3.
Unfortunately, Oath of Nissa or any of the Oath spells for that matter, have yet to be reprinted on MTG Arena. Should the Battle or Zendikar block be remastered, however, this persistent problem could finally be fixed at long last. While this would obviously be good news, for better or worse, there’s no guarantee, Battle for Zendikar is being remastered next.
Within their statement about the future of Explorer, Sharpe also rather stated the obvious that, “Development costs also affect which cards are included.” While this is ultimately unsurprising, there is some fear this conformation means new mechanics won’t appear in Anthology sets. As a result, MTG players may be wanting until Return to Ravnica Remastered for Hidden Strings .
Should Wizards of the Coast develop each Remastered set in order, this last set wouldn’t launch until 2027. Considering Lotus Field Combo is a hugely popular deck in Pioneer, this would understandably be an outrage. Subsequently, it’s entirely possible Return to Ravnica Remastered is bumped up the order and handled first.
We’ll Know More Soon
Showstopper | Dragon’s Maze
At the end of the day, while Lee Sharpe has confirmed the existence of two new, admittedly expected, sets, we don’t know much. Thankfully, however, that will all change fairly soon. When closing their recent Reddit post, Sharpe explained that more would be revealed soon. Specifically, “We are planning on speaking to this at our Gen Con panel.”
Scheduled to take place on August 5th, 2023, this 30th Anniversary-focused Gen Con panel will reportedly reveal a huge amount of information. According to Weekly MTG Host, Blake Rasmussen, Wizards will “look forward maybe for like three years. We’re gonna talk about sets, and we’ll walk about a little bit of that scaffolding.” From this statement, it appears details may be rather space, however, that’s not the end of the world.
To supplement the 30th Anniversary Gen Con panel, Wizards may also hose their usual Wizards Presents Livestream. During this, MTG players should hopefully get a much clearer picture of the sets releasing through 2023 and 2024. This should hopefully include more details about the next Remastered set if that is indeed in the works.
Ultimately, for the time being, MTG players will just have to sit and wait patiently for more information about the future of MTG. Thankfully, at least, it appears that wait shouldn’t be longer than a few weeks from this point.
Read More: Multiple Missing MTG Reprints Surge to $50!
Source: MTG Rocks
