Summary
Magic: The Gatheringfans will have a lot of new releases to look forward to in 2025, including three sets that take place in Magic’s universe and three Universes Beyond sets - two of which have been revealed to be Final Fantasy and Spider-Man, respectively. With a packed release schedule,Magic: The Gatheringis starting 2025 with a bang, especially since there is going to be a seventh release in the form of Innistrad Remastered in January. Furthermore, Innistrad Remastered will give way to what could become a new tradition forMTG- the addition of set-specific “headliner” cards.
Unlike the other threeMagic Multiverse setsand the Universes Beyond sets releasing in 2025, Innistrad Remastered won’t be Standard-legal.
While headliner cards are not entirely new in concept, as they are limited versions of a given card, the way they are crafted for each set is dependent on the themes of said expansion since they are meant to be the ultimate pull.Magic: The Gatheringis no stranger to this concept either, and the prime example of it was the worldwide chase of The One Ring card from theLord of The RingsMTGset, which culminated in one lucky individual getting the $2 million card.
Why Magic: The Gathering’s Headliners May Break The Game Like LotR’s The One Ring
MTG’sLord of the Ringssetwas rather polarizing because of the inclusion of a one-of-one copy of The One Ring, which was technically a single print of one version of the card rather than a single copy overall. The problem was that booster pack prices skyrocketed as fans tried to hunt for this unique card, and betweenMTG’s scalper problem and a genuine interest in the product, it was hard to collect regular cards. As such, the concept of headliners may seem both thrilling and dangerously close to that of the unique The One Ring.
Headliner cards are serialized, from 1 to 500, and only a maximum of 500 copies of each headliner can ever be found within a given set. This obviously gives fans some leeway compared toMagic: The Gathering’s The One Ring, but it’s quite likely that the prices of headliners will be rather high - especially for the first one, Edgar Markov. Already an expensive card in its base version, Edgar Markov getting a dedicated print for Innistrad Remastered means that the headliner will likely sit at a couple of thousands of dollars in value.
Not only that, but headliners and the hunt for these special cards may end up increasing the sales of each set, leading to the same issues as with theLord of the Ringsset and its prices.Magic: The Gathering’s collector boostersmay skyrocket in price even more, as they have higher baseline chances of good cards, so headliners may drop more frequently from them compared to regular play boosters. On top of that, the earliest copies of headliners from each set may sell for astronomical amounts, both because of the prestige of a low-numbered copy and the fact that some collectors may want them as soon as possible.
What to Expect From MTG’s Headliner Cards in 2025
Right now, only two headliners are confirmed for 2025, but they belong to the very first two sets of the year, meaning that each other set scheduled for 2025 may have one headliner. Edgar Markov is most likely going to be very expensive regardless, especially since it’s one of the most popular cards at the helm ofMTG’s Commander format, whereas other headliners will likely be priced based on their power level.
The headliner coming from 2025’s firstStandard-legal set inMagic: The Gathering, Aetherdrift, will be called The Aetherspark. It will be tied to the events of the story, and it seems to be a Planeswalker in and of itself based on the current frame for the card. Regardless of its spot in the meta, it will likely spark a chain reaction that increases Aetherdrift products' prices soon after launch. As such, both the first two sets of 2025 may give way to similar controversies like the infamousLord of the Ringsset.
