Cards to Pick Up to Prepare for Magic in 2025
MagicCon Vegas has just wrapped up, and while many of us couldn’t make it, we were still able to share the experience of some major announcements during Friday’s “Foundations of a New Era” panel, where much detail was revealed about upcoming sets, along with some clarity on how Wizards approaches the game from both a design and philosophical perspective in 2024 and onward.
Foundations
Watching the panel, the word “simplify” came up a lot, which can come off as startling to more established players - no one wants the game they have grown to love to be “dumbed down,” even for the sake of the admirable goal of bringing in as many players as possible. While I do not think that’s what’s happening, I can see why others might spot some red flags in trying to make the game have such a wide appeal, although to that I would say these announcements feel more like a continuation of the direction Wizards has already been taking the game instead of some big new approach. It’s just now more concentrated than ever, with next year being the first year with a roughly 50/50 Magic: the Gathering Universe vs Universes Beyond split between released sets. And with one of those UB sets being Spider-Man, it’s safe to say we should expect a healthy influx of new players.
All this being said, looking at the rest of the announcements from a more traditional approach as a player hungry for new cool features and mechanics, there’s a lot to be excited about. And from a more financial perspective there’s a good number of ways one might want to get ahead of future hype for these upcoming sets to avoid paying higher prices for certain singles in the future. In that regard, here are some quick picks for cards that both mechanically and thematically might work well with some upcoming sets detailed on Friday.
Aetherdrift
I’ve discussed this set before on here before it was publicly named, but now that some time has passed, and with a February release date looming ever closer, we finally have some more specifics regarding this multi-plane death race, and I for one am excited. Brightglass Gearhulk has some huge potential in my eyes, and in general the fully revealed cards so far are hinting at what will likely be an incredibly fun time. The one big card that piqued everyone’s interest wasn’t even a full reveal, however, as The Aetherspark contained little information beyond some blank planeswalker abilities, and the alluring card type of “Legendary Artifact Planeswalker - Equipment.”
Where to even begin with this? While we lack any concrete details on the card’s abilities, we do know that this will be the headliner card for this set, and as such will likely be fairly pushed - I personally anticipate this will have some incredibly strong abilities with a high Equip cost. With that in mind, there’s a few cards we can take a look at before the full hype for Aetherdrift sets in, that can take advantage of this.
The first and most prominent choice that comes to mind is
Another great pick is
| Sigarda's Aid | ||
| Auriok Windwalker |
Tarkir: Dragonstorm
Due in April, this is likely going to be an explosive set with many Dragons and lots of cool payoffs for convoluted, wedge-based mana values, and while I think there’ll be some cool new fixing due to this, the real power and appeal of the set comes from the Dragons. I’m not usually one to get excited about anything typal-based (I find it generally the least interesting archetype to build/pilot), but how can you not get excited about the potential behind what are bound to be devastating and bombastic effects on powerful creatures - especially considering such cards as
One way to ensure you can access these new creatures consistently is through
| Zirilan of the Claw |
Edge of Eternities
Finally, for the first time in a 100% tournament-legal Magic set, we are headed to outer space - something I have been begging for for a good while now. With this backdrop, the possibilities truly feel endless, and while speculating on any mechanics at this point in time is fruitless, who’s to say it’s too early to pick up on some thematic picks for such a set. Sure, there might be some neat creatures to pick from the
Put simply, the lands in Unfinity are beautiful, both Shocks and basics alike. Even though the Galaxy Foil treatment is obviously the most visually stunning, normal foils or just the standard version of the planet basics, which go for around $2, are easy on the eyes. For reference, the priciest normal foil Shockland from the set,
| Sacred Foundry (Borderless) | ||
| Watery Grave (Borderless) | ||
| Temple Garden (Borderless) | ||
| Blood Crypt (Borderless) | ||
| Breeding Pool (Borderless) | ||
| Godless Shrine (Borderless) | ||
| Hallowed Fountain (Borderless) | ||
| Overgrown Tomb (Borderless) | ||
| Steam Vents (Borderless) | ||
| Stomping Ground (Borderless) |
Spongebob Secret Lair
Lastly and quickly, it might also be wise to snag certain cards that players will undoubtedly want when the massively hyped Spongebob Secret Lair eventually drops. I personally predict it'll have a group-hug theme, and playing along with the vibrant, rainbow style often present in Spongebob, my top, hail mary pick for this would have to be
| Rainbow Vale |
In Conclusion
The future of Magic is ever-evolving, and while I can’t say if I think every new set or approach Wizards has is going to be beneficial for the game, to say there’s nothing to be excited about would be an outright lie. It may be unpredictable, especially lately, but one thing’s for sure, and that’s that Magic always has something to look forward to.
Further Reading:
Jason is a longtime lover of Magic, falling in love with the game at Seventh Edition, as well as an EDH enthusiast for both casual and competitive metas alike. He's also a screenwriter with a produced feature and plans to proceed with many more creative projects in and out of film. His favorite card is Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, but he firmly believes that Mana Drain is the best card.
