Predictions for Magic: The Gathering’s Major 2027 Set Releases

Last updated on July 2, 2026

Optimus Prime, Inspiring Leader | Illustration by Steve Argyle

From what I understand, we'll be seeing some peek at Magic's future during MagicCon Amsterdam this month. We've been promised that there's a 50/50 split of three Universes Beyond sets to three Multiverse sets next year, for a total of six Standard sets in 2027. With the proliferation of UB and the post-Reality Fracture flux of Magic's own multiverse, it feels like just about anything's on the table, but I've got some predictions to share. And of course, I'm interested in what else people are expecting this coming year.

#1. More Marvel

Wolverine, Claws Out | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

Confidence Level: Pretty Much Guaranteed

This one's less of a prediction and more of a given, and all but confirmed by members of WotC themselves. It's less of a matter of if we're getting more Marvel sets, and more about which Marvel properties are going to be adopted into MTG next. After all, how do you follow up Marvel Super Heroes, the who's who set of just about every named Marvel character you can think of.

Well… turns you you can think of quite a few others. MSH had some highly notable absentees, including the vast majority of X-Men heroes and villains. We got 100 versions of Wolverine and some other cameos like Beast, Erudite Aerialist and Colossus, Steel Stalwart, but for anyone wondering where Professor X and Magneto were, or large-scale antagonists like Apocalypse, there's a simple answer: X-Men is getting its own standalone UB set.

Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a no-brainer too, what with the absence of basically the entire cast from MSH. Others have pointed towards “Marvel Knights”, which I'm much less familiar with, but apparently contains gritty characters like The Punisher, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, and Blade, who were all mysteriously passed over for MSH.

Look, we know we're getting at least a few more Marvel sets since we have to get the rest of the Infinity Stones, but my money's on X-Men, though that's mostly because that's the one I'd enjoy the most.

#2. Return to Ikoria

Zilortha, Strength Incarnate | Illustration by Chase Stone

Confidence Level: A Baby Godzilla-Sized Amount of Confidence

A return to Ikoria's coming one way or another. Maybe not next year, but soon. And all the better if it's one of the premier sets for 2027.

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths released in 2020, which would put Ikoria 2.0 about 6-7 years apart from the original. That tracks with how quickly we've returned to some of MTG's other worlds. We just went back to Secrets of Strixhaven this year, and the OG Strixhaven released in 2021. Wilds of Eldraine (2023) released just four years after Throne of Eldraine (2019). Ixalan and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan were six years apart (2017 and 2023, respectively). My point is that we're overdue for a return to Ikoria.

Now you could make the argument that Kaldheim‘s on this list too, and that's totally defensible, but there's one more point of evidence in Ikoria's favor: Jaws, Relentless Predator. This random boomer Secret Lair card gives me hope that Ikoria's in the near future. The reason being that when the Jaws Secret Lair was spoiled, they stated that they already had a future set lined up in which they planned to reprint an in-universe version of Jaws. What better plane to print a bloodthirsty shark than the set that gave us Shark Typhoon?

If you're wondering why we don't have a second Ikoria set already, it probably has something to do with mutate. It'd be a huge whiff to go back to this plane without the headlining mechanic, and yet multiple designers have stated how complicated mutate is, and how difficult it can be to design mutate cards. So that might be the biggest barrier that's kept us from going back to Godzilla land again. That, or they're waiting until King Kong becomes public domain so they can get a sweet Kogla, the Titan Ape reskin this time around.

#3. Alara

Conflux | Illustration by Karl Kopinski

Confidence Level: Low, But Hopeful

We went back to Lorwyn in 2026 for the first time in 19 years, and it was sweet to check in on a plane that many present-day MTG players missed the first time around. Original Lorwyn block was one of the last remaining blocks that MTG had yet to revisit. That leaves Alara as one of the only full-block sets we've never returned to.

My knowledge of Shards of Alara, Alara Reborn, and Conflux is minimal, but I know the set essentially ended on a cliffhanger with the fractured world coming together as one multicolor entity. Plus Progenitus was just stomping around everywhere or something. And while we don't know the full extent of what's going to happen in Reality Fracture, it's safe to say the multiverse is about to get a bit weirder. What better way to set up a return visit to the plane that's literally known for being fractured into multiple realities?

Alara block's not one I hear about much when people start talking about their favorite sets, but the same way Lorwyn Eclipsed checked in on sets from nearly two decades again, it'd be cool to see what's going on with one of Magic's last remaining worlds we've yet to revisit.

#4. Transformers

Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist | Illustration by Volta Creation

Confidence Level: Not Confident

Magic did some weird crossovers before we got to the point where Universes Beyond became as prevalent as it is today. That included plug-ins like Jurassic World Collection and Transformers that were crammed into Set Boosters (remember Set Boosters?), and treated as mini-sets that tangentially played on the themes of the main MTG set. Oh, The Brothers' War is about a conflict between two entities that love robots? How about a Transformers tie-in!

The thing is, Magic's now very keen on having Universes Beyond be a big player in its regular line-ups. It no longer has to shamefully hide Optimus Prime and Megatron in Set Boosters–it can make a whole Standard set about them! And I think this is way more likely to be on the table than not. I'm using Transformers here since it's owned by daddy Hasbro, just like Wizards of the Coast. You think the execs won't march down to WotC headquarters and demand a full-scale Transformers set in Magic's future? I'm not Stan of the franchise, but I'd much rather see that than My Little Pony or G.I. Joe.

And there's precedent for this too. We've already got Transformer cards, and while they're some of the most overly-complicated cards in all of Magic, I can totally see a “Battle for Unicron” set or something where they all show back up, except Standard-legal this time.

And I don't really know how deep the well of characters go, but if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is any indication, they'd have no problem making four version of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, slap them together in a small set with four functional Limited archetypes, call it a day, and rake in $600 trillion from all the people who hate it but buy it anyway.

#5. Fiora or Kylem

Paliano, the High City | Illustration by Adam Paquette

Confidence Level: Non-Existent, but Wishful Thinking

This last one's more of a wishlist item than a full prediciton. For those who don't know, Fiora is the politically-charged plane that the two Conspiracy sets takes place on, and Kylem is the colisseum-like playground where Battlebond took place. I don't know the likelyhood that we return to either of these, since it doesn't sound like there are any multiplayer Draft environments coming up next year. That said, I'd welcome either or both into the fold of Standard-playable MTG sets.

Fiora's actually got a lot of worldbuilding across both the sets where it was featured, and it has a ton of notable characters like Grenzo, Brago, Selvala, and Leovold worth checking in on. Kylem's a little more one-note, but I see no reason we can't have some sort of “battle royale” set that takes place there. In fact, we know the battle card type is returning sometime soon, and Kylem sounds like a great place to reintroduce them. Plus, it has that crossover appeal that MTG's been experimenting with in sets like Aetherdrift and Outlaws of Thunder Junction, where characters from just about anywhere could show up and face off in some sort of tournament.

Both of these settings would lose something if they returned as just normal 1v1 experiences. Fiora's associated with multiplayer Conspiracy drafting, and Battlebond was designed for Two-Headed Giant Draft. But I see no reason we can't revisit the planes and maybe have a side-product that maintains the intentions of the original sets.

Looking Forward to 2027

Applejack | Illustration by John Thacker

I'm very curious about next year's line-up, especially given how loose MTG's been with its crossovers, and how freeform the current storyline is. I'm hoping we check in on at least a couple familiar planes, and of course I'd prefer the Universes Beyond sets to lean more fantasy-adjacent, but 2026 was so all over the place, so I'm sure anything could happen. We'll find out what our in-universes sets are soon enough, and probably hear about next year's UB sets closer to the end of this year.