Wizards of the Coast recently unveiled upcoming Magic: The Gathering sets. While 2022 isn't over yet, the names of the four Standard-legal expansions in 2023 (and one in 2024) were announced via the Wizards of the Coast 2022 showcase. These sets look to conclude a long-running Magic storyline, and return players to a handful of planes not visited in several years.
Magic's next expansion, Dominaria United, is a return to the game's first ever plane, and the setting for most of the game's first decade. To call upon game's long history, Dominaria United will include MTG cards from the 1994 Legends set - not reprints, but repackaged product - and feature the return of characters from Magic's early days, as well as a terrifying villain. Phyrexia, one of Magic's earliest antagonists, is an inexorable force that seeks to unify all life through brainwashing, corrupt machinery and "Compleating" what they view as imperfect creations. Whispers of this evil have appeared several times in Magic's past decade, but until last year the forces of Phyrexia hadn't truly shown their faces since 2011. Now they've returned for a second invasion of Dominaria - setting up the final chapter in a long-running story that will conclude in 2023.
Not every expansion for Magic: The Gathering expands the story, however. Wizards of the Coast also announced a 2023 Magic Universes Beyond product for Doctor Who, in addition to the previously announced Lord of the Rings expansion. These join prior releases tied to Stranger Things, Fortnite, and other IP crossovers. Overall, Magic will have quite the busy year.
What's Coming To Magic: The Gathering In 2023?
Following the final Standard-legal set of 2022, titled The Brothers' War, next year's Magic storyline will mostly center around the fight against Phyrexia. Three sets will conclude this story, which has real stakes - already, beloved characters have been Compleated, joining the side of the Phyrexians. The final set of 2023, as well as the first set in 2024, are visits to well-liked Magic planes that have yet to see a return.
Additionally, 2023 opens with Dominaria Remastered - a reprint set featuring cards from over twenty different expansions set on Dominaria. This set isn't legal for the Standard format, but will offer a curated draft experience for players who enjoy Magic's Limited format. This should offer a nice contrast to the war-torn plane shown in the main sets, providing context for players less familiar with Magic's history.
2023's Magic sets are as follows:
- Dominaria Remastered
- Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the setup to the story's climax
- March of the Machine, the culmination of the Phyrexian arc
- The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle Earth, a Modern-legal draft set featuring Frodo, Gandalf, and tons of Tolkien's other characters
- March of the Machine: The Aftermath, described as an epilogue to tie up loose ends
- Wilds of Eldraine, a return to Magic's plane of fairy tales and Arthurian legends
Beyond these expansions, there's even more to be excited about in Magic's future. September's Dominaria United will reprint one of Magic's most powerful planeswalker cards, bringing it into the Standard and Pioneer formats. October brings Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks, as well as the whacky and controversial Unfinity expansion. The Brothers' War, set far back in Magic's past, will see players smashing giant war machines into each other and retell one of the game's earliest stories. Additionally, in early 2024, Magic is returning to Ixalan - a plane of dinosaurs, pirates, lost cities, and hidden treasures. Sprinkled amongst all of this is a selection of Secret Lair drops, the details of which will become available in the future. Magic: The Gathering just keeps growing, and 2023 may be its biggest year yet.