The 10 Coolest Collaborative Sets From The Gathering

Since the franchise’s first collaboration with The Walking Dead in 2020, Magic: The Reunion has received an ever-growing catalog of crossovers thanks to its Universes Beyond line. From Secret Lairs to the recent fully customizable play sets, Each collaboration has lots of beautiful art or engaging mechanics that make them worthwhile. While each Universes Beyond collaboration is unique in its own way, some have much more to offer than others.

One of the first sets that comes to mind for the best MTG collaborations is Dungeons and Dragonsimplementing creatures and mechanics from the iconic tabletop game. While the set was fantastic, it isn’t classified as a Universes Beyond crossover, given that the franchise is also owned by Wizards Of The Coast. In addition to the wide range of existing collaborations still available today, the next Final Fantasy and Marvel collaborations are sure to be a smash hit with new and old fans.

10

Transformers, letters in disguise

Secret Lair Drops, Brothers War Card Promotions

THE Transformers franchise has received a lot of love over the years MTG card creators, with three completely exclusive Secret Lair releases along with some editable promo cards. Being included in the Brothers’ War set was a great decision both mechanically and thematicallyreflecting the tense relationship between Megatron and Optimus. Although each card in the sets is a reworked version of existing ones, the art and mechanics are fantastically palatable for fans of the franchise.

Each card in the various sets depicts iconic locations or moments from the franchise’s history, with descriptive text reflecting its meaning. THE Optimus Prime x Megatron set is an especially great choice for card collectorsbecause the union of the three forms an artistic panorama.

9

The first dive into the magic of Marvel: The Gathering

Secret Lair

Releasing on November 4, 2024, Marvel Secret Lair is the latest collaboration from Universes Beyond, offering excellent Commander potential for fans. The five commanders of the next secret lair are Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Storm and Wolverine, each coming with reprints and original variants of several other spells that perfectly match their chosen commander. Featuring some of the most iconic characters from the Marvel universe, the mechanics are equally impressivewith Captain America especially having intense combo potential for Artifact decks.

While Secret Lair isn’t the most beginner-friendly concept, this collaboration is still a great way to get more players to try it Magic: The Reunion from other fandoms. While some fans will be disappointed that the collaboration is missing some of Marvel’s most iconic characters like Spider-Man or Deadpool, more Marvel cards are on the way in 2025. While it’s likely that players can expect more Marvel Secret Lairs in the future, With how massive the franchise has become, players can probably expect fully playable Commander decks as well.

8

The gigantic Godzilla, with friends

Secret Lair Lands, Ikoria: Lair Of Behemoth Card Promotions

The classic Godzilla fits perfectly alongside some of the card game’s more monolithic creatureswith the mechanics emphasizing its overwhelming power. Unfortunately, for players wanting to obtain all 19 cards in the set, it took a combination of luck and financial commitment to acquire them all, as they were not available for purchase in the Secret Lair. In addition to the booster and box set cards, there was also a separate five-land Secret Lair that showed Godzilla roaming the various lands of the MTG universe.

Although the concept of the towering lizard looks fantastic in Magic: The Reunion, they fight to give Godzilla the spotlight he deserves. With Godzilla and the others often used in large creature decks like tribal dinosaur, Godzilla and company tend to blend in with the other massive monsters on the field. While some fans would prefer Godzilla and his friends to have a more significant field presence, the cards are still incredibly cool and show off each creature’s intimidating appearance in great detail.

7

Stealth Assassin’s Creed Set

Secret Lair Drops, themed booster set

With two Secret Lairs, a booster set, and a starter kit, the Assassin’s Creed set was one of the most easily accessible collaborations to date. Being a compromise between the standard Secret Lair releases and the complete Commander sets, THE Assassin’s Creed The collaboration featured 100 cards that ranged from entirely new card additions to flavorful retextures of existing cards. Overall, this Universes Beyond set managed to accurately implement the franchise’s most iconic mechanics and characters into the card game, while also breaking a MTG tradition of not including historical figures.

From Altaïr’s inception to the game’s most recent incarnations, the Assassin’s Creed The booster set allows players to tackle a variety of different playstyles with colorful cards. The Secret Lair drops also provided some great additions, featuring variations of some incredibly powerful commanders that fit perfectly into the franchise’s themes. For the second Secret Lair release, WOTC opted for a set of classic artifacts that look like they came straight out of Da Vinci’s sketchbook, creating even cooler versions of already useful cards.

6

Jurassic Park’s nostalgic cards

Secret Lair Drops, Lost Caverns of Ixalan promotional cards

Dinosaurs are a common option for many creature-based Commander players out there, so it’s no surprise that the Jurassic Park set was a hit with longtime fans and dedicated players alike. Ranging from entirely new cards to reprints of Secret Lair, this line had a lot of value to offer players, while adapting perfectly to the already dinosaur-centric Lost Caverns of Ixalan set. Being written from these Ixalan reinforcement sets, the Jurassic Park Cards have also become more accessible, providing exclusive Commanders or deck booster cards for any Dinosaur Tribe player.

The Secret Lair double-sided terrain also provided some beautiful full designs that show iconic locations before and after the disaster, flipping the card, perfectly matching the chaotic events of the franchise while also providing additional value. The detailed art is one of the brightest aspects of these sets, with artists showcasing the sheer terror and detail of the franchise’s most popular dinosaurs in creative ways. THE Life breaks free Secret Lair is one of the most unique skins in a Secret Lair collaboration yet, with highlighted edges that encapsulate the detailed art on the large selection of cardsranging from standard dinosaurs to tribal products like Etali, Primal Storm.

5

Incredibly themed Street Fighter cards

Secret Lair

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the classic fighting game, the street fighter The collaboration features eight exclusive legendary creature cards featuring fan-favorite franchise characters such as Chun-Li, Ryu, and Zangeif. Alongside the new and exclusive character cards also came a bonus revamp of the ever-popular Lightning Bolt in the form of the iconic Hadoken, which added even more value to the launch. Each new card has inspired the use of mechanics that create themed Commanders or simply great additions to pre-existing decks.

THE street fighter Secret Lair is by far one of the tastiest collaborations released to date, being incredibly faithful to the source material in its implementation. Chun Li’s multi-kicker and Kiryu’s training are just two examples of well-implemented abilities that help characters get out of the game and into the cards, especially alongside their gorgeous art. Incorporating character stories and unique moves into their abilities, these unique and flavorful cards make a fantastic addition to anyone’s collection.

4

The Time-Bending Doctor Who Collaboration

Secret Lair Drop, Commander Decks, Collector Boosters

While they may not be the most popular Universes Beyond collaboration, the Doctor Who The sets are an incredible product for fans of the long-running sci-fi franchise. Covering every incarnation of the Doctor to date with his four Commander decks, Secret Lair releases and collector’s boosters, This set provided everything fans of the beloved sci-fi series could want and more. Each of the four commander decks is not only strong in its own right, but also offers several existing mechanics used to great effect with Doctor Companions, or entirely new ones like Time Travel.

Being the central theme of the series, Time Travel allows players to manipulate counters on their cards as if they were traveling through time, moving forward or backward at will with activated abilities to create unique and unexpected results.. Not only do the set’s mechanics provide incredible flavor to the franchise, but it’s also packed with countless references and Easter eggs for fans to discover, spread across the respective themes of each of the Commander decks. In addition to these Commander decks, several Secret Lair releases were also released soon after, with one including the absent 14th and 15th Doctors and Sonic Screwdriver, another featuring five Dalek-themed lands, alongside a third dedicated to the iconic Weeping Angels.

3

The Apocalyptic Fallout franchise

Lair Secret Lair, Commander Decks, Collector Boosters

Being another incredibly popular franchise, the Precipitation The Universes Beyond set had big shoes to fill in impressing its dedicated fanbase, and thankfully, the Commander decks were varied and incredibly fun to use. Although they vary in strength and price respectively, Each deck has a clear theme that features various factions taken from each entry in the franchise. Varying from the original Precipitationto the iconic New Vegasand all the way up Fallout 76this collaboration was spread across four Commander decks and three Secret Lair releases.

Instead of limiting yourself to a single faction for each of the commander sets, the Precipitation decks aimed to include as many factions, mutants, and fan-favorite characters as possible while maintaining deck cohesion. Collector boosters also allowed players the chance to obtain some incredibly rare bobblehead cards and foil versions of Commander cards, featuring both existing and original variants.

Secret Lairs compensate for Commander decks’ limited number of artifact cards by allowing players to collect various SPECIAL traits, Vault Boy custom art cards, and powerful lands, respectively.

2

The highly anticipated Lord of the Rings set

Full Set Released, Secret Lair Drop, Commander Decks, Scene Boxes, Booster Packs

Being one of the most anticipated Magic: The Reunion releases of all time, WOTC pulled out all the stops for the legendary THE Lord of the Rings crossed set. With the largest variety of products, players have a lot of freedom to choose exactly how they want to collect fantasy cardsfeaturing iconic characters, scenes and weapons from the influential series. In addition to normal cards and Commander decks, there was also a craze for players trying to find the legendary One Ring in collector’s boosters, which ended up selling for more than two million dollars after being removed.

While there was some initial criticism over the changes made to the fan-favorite film adaptation, it was swept aside by the fervor of fans scrambling to get their hands on the cards. Each of the Commander decks is also incredibly powerful in its own right, themed around Elves, Humans, Hobbits, and Sauron’s minions, with a unique presentation of your skills along with the beautiful art expected from MTG. Fan-favorite characters have been portrayed in excellent detail that fits perfectly into the setting of Magic: The Reunionproviding precise flavor abilities like Sauron’s Amass orcs, providing powerful combo potential for creative players.

Being the biggest collaborative effort yet it paid off, setting the standard for what a full crossover would look like in the future, should another deserving series make a deal with WOTC.

1

Excellent showcase of Warhammer 40,000 cards

Secret Lair, Commander Decks

Starting the Universes Beyond Commander crossover trend, the Warhammer 40,000 The decks set the standard for what future collaboration decks should aim for, while being a love letter to fans of the franchise. All four decks are masterfully crafted with lore and game mechanics in mind, from the fast-growing creatures of the Tyranid, the death abilities of the Necrons, to Abbaddon’s dependence on the gifts of the Chaos Gods through cascade. . At launch, these decks were incredibly difficult to obtain, and although stock has stabilized over time, they still remain one of the Magic: The Reunionof the most successful collaborations, leaving fans hoping for more faction decks in the future.

Despite only being made up of four Commander decks, they include 168 completely new cards along with two new mechanics, namely Ravenous and Squadron, with each deck ready to play at a somewhat competitive level out of the box. In addition to the four powerful Commander decks, fans also received several Secret Lair items made from redesigned versions of existing cards set in War Hammer universe.

From comedy Bowl of Blood for the fantastic Age of Sigmarthe Secret Lair falls to Magic: The Reunion helped fill the missing content gap in the four main decks, especially with the third drop including the ever-popular and brutal Orks.

Sources: Snowfall, Magic: The Gathering Fandom Wiki