Wizards of the Coast has found a gold mine in Universe Beyond. The use of their own and third-party licenses to create Magic: The Gathering card collections. And it’s not surprising. Not only because combining two popular IPs usually yields good results, but also because, so far, they have done an extraordinary job recreating what makes those licenses special within the logic of their game. Magic cards are never just a drawing of a third-party license. They are always Magic cards of that particular license.
Although their intention to push further beyond Universe Beyond will not fully materialize until 2025, this expansion will begin to be seen in 2024. Starting with one of the first collections of the year, a collaboration with the Fallout video game franchise.
Focusing specifically on Bethesda’s Fallout, the card collection focuses on characters, landmarks, and iconography from the games ranging from Fallout 3 to Fallout 76. Four critically acclaimed games loved by the public. To do this, Wizards of the Coast will release four preconstructed Commander decks for sale, a format characterized by not being able to have two identical cards in the deck except for basic lands, based on different factions and elements of the Fallout universe.
Hail, Caesar, will encourage us to create many tokens and achieve benefits by sacrificing them in honor of the all-powerful Iron Legion. Mutant Threat will put us in charge of all kinds of mutants, including Super Mutants, and Wise Mothman, who serves as the backbone of the entire deck. Survival Fighters will invite us to follow in the footsteps of humans and ghouls trying to survive in The Wasteland, with the invaluable help of Meatball, the best dog in history. And finally, Science! will make us use science, both lost and known, to conduct experiments and overcome our rivals while accumulating enough energy to achieve our objectives.
The interesting thing about this collection is that it will be interesting for both Magic: The Gathering players and Fallout fans. The cards are full of references to the franchise, its characters, and its symbols, with many cards dedicated to the Pip Boy and even alternative arts in the form of V.A.T.S., only available in the edition packs, for those looking for even more exclusive and spectacular artwork.
All this while Commander players can enjoy the reissue of some classic cards, now more difficult to access, and some essential ones for the format, now with all the post-nuclear flavor of the Fallout saga. An intense source of flavor for any deck.
The collection of Fallout cards demonstrates all the care that Wizards of the Coast puts into Universe Beyond. How they seek to naturally integrate it within the entirety of Magic: The Gathering. Something that both players and those who want to play will appreciate, and also, because of what it implies, those who simply want to collect the cards. Those who will be able to do so very soon: on March 8th.
