MTG fans slam Marvel Universes Beyond collab: “The Fortnite of card games”

Christopher Baggett
A shot of a Magic: The Gathering cardback

The upcoming Magic: The Gathering collaboration with Marvel is sure to turn heads, but longtime Magic die-hards are anything but impressed.

Marvel announced it would finally collaborate with Magic: The Gathering for a Universes Beyond deck.

With a release date of 2025, fans have a while to get hype for their favorite Marvel Comics characters to get summoning sickness. 

Most fans are excited, but not everyone. In fact, much of the Magic: The Gathering community seems frustrated with how the crossover reflects on the current state of Magic. 

Magic: The Gathering fans slam the upcoming Marvel Comics crossover

The announcement video doesn’t show off any cards or reveal any character who will be appearing in the crossover. It does feature nods to Marvel characters, though, including Captain America and Thor. 

That didn’t stop diehard Magic fans from taking to social media to vent about the collab, the latest in the Universes Beyond initiative. Many expressed discontent over the various crossovers, with one even referring to Magic as “the Fortnite of card games.”

Many cite that they’ve predicted this as the outcome for Magic, including a comic that shows a hypothetical card game pitting multiple pop culture characters against each other. (Ironically, we already had that in the ‘90s with the Marvel, DC and Image decks for Fleer’s OverPower card game.)

Others don’t seem opposed to the crossover in practice. As one user suggested, Universes Beyond desperately needs to spin out into its own format rather than being lumped into the current Modern

Announced in 2021, Universes Beyond is a collaboration brand that pairs Magic: The Gathering gameplay and aesthetics with pop culture brands like The Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who. Upcoming Universes Beyond sets include collaborations with Fallout, Assassin’s Creed, and Final Fantasy. 

The upcoming Marvel crossover marks the latest of Marvel’s big swings to make it big in the CCG field. In addition to the OverPower CCG, Marvel has made a few big swings. Their latest, the digital card game Marvel SNAP, has proven incredibly popular with fans and received near-perfect review scores from almost every reviewer. 

For more Magic: The Gathering & Marvel news, be sure to follow all of Dexerto’s coverage.

About The Author

Christopher Baggett started writing about comics on the Internet when he was 14 years old. Since then, he's written professionally for a host of sites, including ComicsBeat, Comic Book Resources, and The HomeWorld. He's most knowledgable about the legacy heroes of the '80s and '90s that he grew up with and believes Wally West is the best Flash - and he'll fight anyone over it. For tips, news, press and more, contact Christopher at christopher.baggett@dexerto.com