Grab yourself a handful of Mana and cast your spells as we check out the upcoming MTG sets!
For nearly thirty years, Magic: The Gathering (or MTG) has enthralled players worldwide with its simple to learn, hard to master collectable card game format.
If you’re new to Magic, the premise is simple.
Players create a deck of 60 cards from a pool of the many, many thousands available – then take turns casting spells and summoning creatures in an attempt to do 20 points of damage to their opponent.
It’s a game that looks complex and overwhelming, but it’s genuinely straightforward to learn. The complexities come from the mind blowing array of cards available and the combos they can give you; much of the satisfaction of playing MTG is in putting together a deck that’ll obliterate your foes.
Magic the Gathering is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year and, as part of the celebrations, there will be lots of classic reprints appearing over the course of 2023 – it’s great to see that MTG is as strong, if not stronger, than ever after such a long time.
Publisher Wizards of the Coast always have a packed release schedule planned; 2023 is no different!
Though we don’t know for certain when every set is due for release – Wizards released an awful lot of Secret Lair cards and sets last year; special, limited edition cards that are released without prior announcement – we do have the schedule for the major sets.
So let’s take a look, shall we?
Come with us as we check out all of the MTG sets!
1. Dominaria Remastered (January 13th, 2023)
Already released, Dominaria Remastered takes players back to the plane of Dominaria – the setting for the first official MTG storyline, which originally emerged back in 1997.
It’s not the first time that Wizards of the Coast has tapped into the nostalgia among long term MTG players for the Dominaria setting, with a 25th anniversary set – released in 2018, simply titled Dominaria – having also taken players back to the lore rich, original setting of MTG.
With Dominaria being the nexus point connecting all of the different planes of the Multiverse in MTG, there’s even an in-built excuse to keep revisiting it!
Dominaria Remastered features reprints of cards from an astonishing 27 different Dominaria-related sets – do any of them reprint some old, costly classics?
Check out our rare Magic the Gathering cards list and find out!
2. Phyrexia: All Will Be One (February 10th, 2023)
Another set that has just hit store shelves, Phyrexia: All Will Be One heavily features the terrifying, Borg-esque Phyrexians.
A race of biomechanical beings, the Phyrexians invade and attempt to ‘compleat’ others; that is, to transform them into Phyrexians.
Set in New Phyrexia, the body horror of the set has even given Japanese master of horror Manga Junji Ito the opportunity to provide card art.
It’s not the first time his work has featured on MTG cards, with a Secret Lair drop last year featuring four previously released cards having been reinterpreted by Ito.
In Phyrexia: All Will Be One, Wizards of the Coast have promised that ‘Heroes Will Fall’ – so don’t be surprised if some of your favourite MTG characters don’t survive the events of the set’s storyline!
3. March of the Machine (April 21st, 2023)
Next up in our list of the best upcoming MTG sets is the March of the Machine set!
Following on from what’s sure to be a devastating storyline for the Multiverse, March of the Machine will pick up the pieces from Phyrexia: All Will Be One – and will conclude the epic storyline that kicked off with 2022’s Dominaria United.
Commander decks will be released for the set – along with 16 card Draft Boosters, Collector Boosters, Set Boosters, Jumpstart Boosters and the March of the Machine Bundle.
Wizards of the Coast promise that the events of March of the Machine will change the Multiverse forever, as the entire Multiverse rallies to stop Elesh Norn and the New Phyrexians – now the Machine Legion – from taking over other planes.
Perhaps wary of spoilers given that this concludes an epic storyline, not much else is known about March of the Machine at this point – but details will follow over the coming months!
4. March of the Machine: The Aftermath (May 12th, 2023)
Despite March of the Machine concluding the New Phyrexia storyline, there’s also this epilogue set to look forward to.
Yes, wrapping up the saga (for real this time!), March of the Machine: The Aftermath is due in May 2023 and – according to MTG Head Designer Mark Rosewater – is ‘a new kind of thing’.
Tying up loose ends from the storyline and kicking off new ones, the March of the Machines: The Aftermath set will be sold as ‘Epilogue Boosters’; smaller packs of five cards each, containing 1-3 Rare cards and 2-4 Uncommon cards in a pack.
Collector boosters and a bundle will also be available; this smaller set is an interesting experiment – but as yet, little more is known about what can be expected.
5. Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered (Mid 2023)
Though this far away from release – without a concrete release date to go on – not a great deal of definitive information has been shared regarding upcoming MTG sets of Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered, what we do know is that it’s an MTG Arena release; bringing the 2016 set into the digital game.
Of course, with this being a digital release of a prior set, we already have a good idea of what to expect.
The original Shadows Over Innistrad sets were released in 2016.
The horror-based, titular plane of Innistrad was setting; the set featured some very interesting mechanics such as double faced cards (not for the first time in MTG, but used extensively in Shadows Over Innistrad) and spells with allied pairs of mana types.
Zombies mostly using blue and black mana, vampires using black and red and werewolves being red and green, for example.
Delirium, Investigate and Skulk were three new keywords introduced in Shadows Over Innistrad.
The Madness and Transform keywords made a return here too.
If MTG Arena is of interest but you’ve not yet taken the plunge, check out our all MTG Arena codes list, which will give you a great head start when you begin!
6. Commander Masters (August 2023)
Now here’s a very exciting new addition to the release schedule – Commander Masters!
Though not the first Masters set in general, this is the very first time that the Commander format has been the focus of one.
So what are the Masters sets? Well, they’re sets that generally reprint powerful and fan favourite cards from classic sets, with original and alternate art versions included.
In this instance, with Commander Masters, we have reprints as well as some never-before-seen and (so we’re promised) more powerful cards too.
Four pre-constructed Commander decks form part of this set – each of which will feature a brand new Commander card!
The decks are as follows: Enduring Enchantments (White-Black-Green), Planeswalker Party (White-Blue-Red), Silver Swarm (all five colours!) and, very unusually, a completely colourless deck named Eldrazi Unbound.
Boosters will be available too – Set Boosters, Collector Boosters and Draft Boosters will all be on offer as part of the set, each with their own distinctive, beautiful artwork and a somewhat unique colour scheme that really sets them apart from most MTG sets.
Finally, Wizards of the Coast have teased a look at some cards and their alternate art editions, a few examples of which we thought we’d share here!
7. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth (Q3 2023)
Let’s check out our next entry in our best upcoming MTG sets is The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth.
Following on from the huge success of last year’s Warhammer 40,000 and Transformers sets, this year will see two more beloved properties brought to MTG.
The first of these is The Lord of the Rings, with the Tales of Middle-Earth set due to arrive in the third quarter of the year.
Though details are scarce at the moment, we do know that the story – naturally – doesn’t fit in with MTG continuity and there will also be Secret Lair cards released that also feature the Lord of the Rings tie-in art and theme.
Perhaps most exciting for fans of both Lord of the Rings and Magic, we also know that borderless, text-free cards will be part of the set. These scene cards can be brought together to create recognisable scenes from the books; there will be 18 of these cards within the set.
8. Wilds of Eldraine (Q3 2023)
A return to the fairy tale, Brothers Grimm and Arthurian legend-inspired setting of Eldraine – introduced in 2019 set Throne of Eldraine – we’re too far away from release to know much about Wilds of Eldraine.
Throne of Eldraine introduced the keyword Adamant, along with new card subtypes such as Adventure and Food.
Mouse, Peasant and Warlock creature types were also introduced in the first Eldraine set; though this is only speculation at this point, it’s possible that we’ll see a renewed focus on the Throne of Eldraine-originated keywords and subtypes in Wilds of Eldraine.
9. Doctor Who Commander Decks (Q4 2023)
The upcoming mtg sets in Q4 have us incredibly excited, especially this Doctor Who Commander Deck!
The second of 2023’s announced crossovers, the only information currently known on the Doctor Who Commander Decks is that there are four different decks planned – and that they’ll feature cards that cover the rich, 60 year history of Doctor Who.
The Commander Decks will feature characters and settings from Doctor Who, with several Doctors making an appearance.
We also know that there will be a limited edition Secret Lair drop at some point to tie in with the Doctor Who theme, but beyond that we don’t yet have any further insight into the content of the release.
If course, you could always head for the fourth quarter of 2023 in your TARDIS and go find out for yourself!
10. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (Q4 2023)
The final announced Magic set for 2023 will be The Lost Caverns of Ixalan; like the Doctor Who Commander Decks, it’s due in the fourth quarter of the year.
The plane of Ixalan first appeared in the set simply titled Ixalan, back in 2017.
A Meso-American, Age of Discovery/Piracy-inspired setting, Ixalan is home to a huge selection of dinosaurs, as well as merfolk, vampires and pirates.
Explore and Enrage mechanics were added in the 2017 set, along with the Treasure Artifact card subtype.
Dinosaurs had appeared before in Magic but made an extensive return in Ixalan, as did vehicles – in the form of ships.
Given that we won’t be seeing The Lost Caverns of Ixalan until the end of the year, little is known about the set specifically at this point – but it’s incredibly likely that we’ll see the return of the Ixalan-originated themes and types.
If you’re preparing to get the best upcoming MTG sets, then you’ll need to get the best Magic the Gathering sleeves to keep them protected while you play!
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Jason – who lives in the UK – has had a lifelong interest in video games, which all started when he discovered Space Invaders in the early 80s. The first game he ever completed was Wonder Boy in Monster Land on the Sega Master System – which remains one of his proudest gaming achievements. Jason is a passionate writer – and has been writing about gaming since the late 90s. He currently runs pop culture blog midlifegamergeek.com, which he updates on a daily basis (and has written more than 700 articles on the blog alone!).
Outside of video games, Jason is a keen tabletop gamer, film buff and comic book fan.
