Last updated on June 27, 2026

Merchant Scroll - Illustration by Liz Danforth

Merchant Scroll | Illustration by Liz Danforth

It's about time that Magic: The Gathering finally gets back to its roots and makes people fall in love with what originally drew them into the game in the first place. Wizards of the Coast agrees, and their recent announcement for Homelands Remastered proves it.

In a game that's become diluted with super heroes, pop culture references, and 8-power creatures for like 4-5 mana, it'll be refreshing to see a return to Magic classics like summon oysters, blue minotaurs, and Reserved List icon Narwhal.

Check up on Autumn Willow and her daughter, or Joven and his ferrets when this Standard-legal Remastered set drops as 2027's big summer set.

Heading Back Home

Forget - Illustration by Mike Kimble

Forget | Illustration by Mike Kimble

Not a lot is known about Homelands Remastered yet, but we were able to sit down with the set's Lead Designer Jerry โ€œBig Wigโ€ Smalls to discuss some of the questions players might have about the set.

Why Homelands? Why Now?

Answer: โ€œSimply put: People are asking for more in-universe settings. They want to experience the same Magic they played 30 years ago. They want to see original characters, settings, and clean card design. All that combined with the fact that we found thousands of unopened Homelands booster boxes in an industrial warehouse lead us to believe it's time to come back to this beloved MTG set.โ€

โ€œWhat better way to land back home,โ€ continues Small, โ€œthan to come back to the literal Homeland?โ€ He followed this statement by whispering โ€œNailed it!โ€ under his breath with a small fist bump.

Will the Set Be Big Enough for a Summer Standard Expansion?

Answer: โ€œOh, certainly. Original Homelands was only 140 cards, but we figured if we just duplicated each card twice that'd bring us up to 280 cards, which is bigger than most Standard sets.โ€

Of course, one of the very few complaints about original Homelands and some sets surrounding it was that some cards like Ambush Party and Hungry Mist had multiple arts, which confused players.

โ€œWe're aware of this complaint,โ€ says Smalls. โ€œThat was a big issue when there were only two versions of certain cards, but now with us duplicating each card there will be four, which gives players the opportunity to play with a full playset of different arts for each one.โ€

How Will Homelands Remastered Address Reserved List Cards

Answer: โ€œWe're done with that. No more Reserved List as of the release of this set!โ€

Will Apocalypse Chime Work for the Remastered Set?

Apocalypse Chime

Answer: โ€œApocalypse Chime is going to receive a functional errata that now destroys permanents from Homelands, Homelands Remastered, and Marvel's Spider-Man.โ€ When asked why they included the third option, Smalls responded: โ€œBecause bump that set, that's why.โ€

What About Ante Cards?

Timmerian Fiends

Answer: โ€œAnte is coming back in full swing. We've noticed a decline in competitive play lately, and our data shows us that this is due a lack of high stakes at the highest levels of competition. We're reintroducing ante into MTG as a way to really make our top player's sweat, and give the average Magic player who watches MTG tournaments the League of Legends-style competition they're looking for.โ€

โ€œAnd yes, this will affect FNM drafting and casual Commander as well,โ€ he adds.

Does Homelands Remastered Have Appeal for Commander Players?

Reveka, Wizard Savant

Answer: โ€œOf course. We're trying to appeal to all sorts of Magic players with this release. Reveka, Wizard Savant already has 254 decklists on EDHREC, and we expect that number to go up by three, if not four once this set releases.โ€

Welcome Home

Narwhal - Illustration by David A. Cherry

Narwhal | Illustration by David A. Cherry

That's what we know about Homeland Remastered so far. You can expect to find this set on shelf in mid-2027, where it'll also kick off Magic's introduction to the Pick-Fifteen Draft Format. And for all the Homelands fans out there, now's your time to emerge from the shadows and celebrate. There are dozens of us!

This is a fictional piece of satire; the characters and situations described are not meant to be taken literally. Just have fun with it, folks!

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