Beyond Boosters Were A FAILURE, According to MTG’s Head Designer

Last updated on December 17, 2024

Dismal Failure – Illustration by Dan Scott

Magic has been going through a lot of different booster pack styles recently, but one that was shockingly short-lived was the Beyond Booster introduced in the Universes Beyond Assassin’s Creed set. When asked by a fan, Magic’s head designer Mark Rosewater confirmed that Beyond packs were considered a failure by Wizards of the Coast.

Source: Blogatog

As mentioned in the question, a similar product that also only made one appearance was the Epilogue Boosters introduced in, and seemingly retired with, March of the Machine: Aftermath. Aftermath Epilogue Boosterswere a sort of prototype for Beyond Boosters, and were equally as unpopular with fans.

While many fans already may have assumed that Epilogue and Beyond Boosters ere failures, the second half of Rosewater’s short answer to this question also hints that the failure of these products was in some way related to the rise of Universes Beyond products in Standard.

So why did Beyond Boosters fail, and how might this have contributed to Magic’s IP being flooded with pop-culture Magic sets like the upcoming Marvel crossover?

What Were Beyond Boosters And Why Did They Fail?

Assassin's Creed Beyond Boosters differed from the typical Magic booster in a few key ways. The first was the size of the booster. Beyond Boosters only contained seven cards. In contrast, Play Boosters contain 14 cards and Collector Boosters contain 15.

According to the Collecting Assassin’s Creed page on Magic’s website, the idea behind these smaller packs was to tell a story with each pack. The basic idea was players would be given a small randomized scene, likely containing an Assassin, a weapon, and a location that they were in, or else a target they were meant to kill.

Source: Magic: The Gathering

While this idea sounds interesting in concept, there are some issues with it. Dedicated Magic players aren’t looking for a story in their packs, they’re looking for good cards or for the ability to Draft. 

Assassin’s Creed fans who are promised a story would likely be left unsatisfied when they open a pack to find a random combination of characters, locations, and items that don’t make sense in the universe of Assassin’s Creed.

Also, because Assassin's Creed Beyond Boosters weren’t draftable, this cuts down on the number of packs players are going to buy. A lot of players only buy boosters when participating in a Draft or Sealed event, and prefer to buy singles when looking for a specific card. 

Even if players pick up a booster here or there for fun, a Magic set not being Draftable severely cuts down on the incentive to buy multiple packs or a full box. Likewise, local game stores aren’t incentivized to keep buying boxes of a set like Assassin’s Creed because they can’t run Limited events with them.

As was seen with Epilogue Boosters before it, players also weren’t a big fan of paying the same or more for a seven-card Beyond Booster than for a 15-card Play Booster. While Epilogue Boosters did have a higher chance of opening a rare card, it still felt bad getting less cards for the same price.

How The Failure Of Beyond Boosters Led To Universes Beyond In Standard

Captain America, First Avenger – Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

Mark Rosewater made it clear in his post that the failures of March of the Machine: Aftermath and Beyond Boosters didn’t “directly” cause Universes Beyond products to start being designed for Standard. However, if they had nothing to do with the decision, then Rosewater likely would have just said no and left it at that.

What seems likely is that Assassin's Creed Beyond Boosters was the initial plan for how to release medium-sized Universes Beyond sets, and Play Boosters would be reserved for full sets like Lord of the Rings. This would’ve allowed Magic to have a similar release schedule to the one previewed for 2025 but with some of the Universes Beyond products being these medium-sized MTG sets.

Source: Twitter/Magic: The Gathering

Given how far in advance Magic sets are designed, it's likely the plan for Beyond Boosters was abandoned before Assassin’s Creed even came out. It’s more likely that Wizards saw the negative reaction to Aftermath and decided to pivot their release strategy for Universes Beyond. 

Assassin’s Creed may have just been too far down the pipeline to change, or perhaps Wizards wanted to see if Beyond Boosters would work, in case having a recognizable IP attached to the boosters would help them sell better than something like Aftermath which would only appeal to Magic fans. Either way, I believe Rosewater when he says this product’s failure was not directly responsible for the reworking of Universes Beyond and the decision to make these full Standard sets.

If I had to guess, I’d say the discussion about including Universes Beyond in Standard started as soon as Lord of the Rings was a huge success for Magic, and Wizards – or Hasbro, its parent company – started looking for ways to continue that trend. The failure of an alternative like Beyond Boosters may have helped make the decision official, but Universes Beyond in Standard was almost certainly on Wizards’ mind beforehand.

Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase, you’ll help Draftsim continue to provide awesome free articles and apps.