When Magic: The Gathering launched in 1993, few could have predicted just what a huge success it would become.
Yet here we are, having celebrated MTG’s 30th Anniversary in 2023 – and it’s had one of its biggest years ever!
That’s partially due to what has been one of its most wide-ranging and feature-laden sets yet – which brought JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings into MTG for the first time, via MTG’s Universes Beyond branding, which enables non-Magic: The Gathering properties to ‘cross over’ into the game.
Of course, publishers Wizards of the Coast released many other, more ‘traditional’ MTG products throughout the year – and there’s many more to come throughout 2024.
Despite normally being a bit more reticent with details until a few months before a product is released, Wizards of the Coast have been revealing details on upcoming sets a lot further in advance than is usual.
So we’ve got a lot of information as to what’s coming up in 2024 for MTG fans.
Though there’s nothing as earth-shattering (perhaps Middle-Earth shattering, right?) as the Lord of the Rings set – which managed to spread awareness of MTG far beyond its usual audience – there’s still a lot to get excited about.
Though many 2024 sets are clearly designed with longer term fans in mind, we’re going to see some more really interesting Universes Beyond sets – which is sure to widen the appeal and reach of the game even further.
Magic: The Gathering Release Schedule 2024
At this stage, we know that there are ten major MTG releases in 2024.
Note that this doesn’t include the large number of Secret Lair drops – which are limited edition, highly specialised and very small sets usually comprising around 6 cards – as these are usually announced close to their pre-order windows, then printed to order.
Something huge is also coming in the form of Play Boosters; this heralds a massive change in the booster packs that will be available for any given set.
Though release dates are subject to change, here’s the currently revealed release schedule:
- Ravnica Remastered – January 12th, 2024
- Murders at Karlov Manor – February 9th, 2024
- Ravnica: Clue Edition – February 23rd, 2024
- Fallout – March 8th, 2024
- Outlaws of Thunder Junction – April 19th, 2024
- Modern Horizons III – June 14th, 2024
- Assassin’s Creed – July 5th, 2024
- Bloomburrow – August 2nd, 2024
- Duskmourn: House of Horror – Q3 2024
- Pioneer Masters – Q4 2024
So let’s take a look at each release in order – and cover what we do (and don’t) know about the new sets.
1. Ravnica Remastered – January 12th, 2024
Ravnica is a plane in Magic: The Gathering’s vast multiverse – and is one of the most popular and frequently revisited settings in the game.
It debuted way back in 2005, in the Ravnica: City of Guilds set – but has appeared several times since then too!
The setting of Ravnica takes players into a city that has ten Guilds; each withtheir own abilities and/or keywords.
Each Guild is also focused around a different pairing of two of Magic’s mana colours; the original, 2005 Ravnica: City of Guilds set was the first set to feature hybrid mana costs and cards, reflecting each Guild’s mana combination.
As has been the case with other Remastered sets, Ravnica Remastered focuses on reprinting numerous, popular cards; in this case, they’re from the original Ravnica block.
Which means that it features cards from Ravnica: City of Guilds, as well as cards that were originally printed in Return to Ravnica – and Ravnica Allegiance too.
As seems to be tradition that any time the setting moves to Ravnica, Shock Lands make a return in Ravnica Remastered.
Shock Lands are so-called because you can pay Life to have them enter the battlefield untapped; though that doesn’t sound great in principle – as normal Land enters the battlefield untapped anyway – Shock Lands can be used for one of two different types of Mana.
Ravnica Remastered contains the full cycle of Shock Lands – with full art variants of each one included as well.
In an exciting move for MTG players who have been around for a very long time (couldn’t be me), retro frame Shock Lands will also be available as part of the Ravnica Remastered set.
Anime inspired cards, having proven to be popular in a few recent sets, also feature in Ravnica Remastered.
Finally, along with the anime inspired art variants of familiar cards, further retro frame cards are included as part of the Ravnica Remastered set release.
2. Murders at Karlov Manor – February 9th, 2024
Of course, with Ravnica being so popular, perhaps it’s no surprise that another set based in the same plane has arrived, hot on the heels of Ravnica Remastered.
Given that Ravnica Remastered refamiliarises old players with the setting, or introduces it to those MTG players who may not have been aware of it in the first place, it’s no surprise that the game headed back there so soon.
In stark contrast to Ravnica Remastered’s focus on nostalgic updates and reprints of classic cards, Murders at Karlov Manor is most definitely not a typical release for MTG.
In fact, it’s difficult to think of any MTG set that’s taken the form of the Murders at Karlov Manor set, which challenges players to solve a murder mystery scenario in the titular setting!
New characters and returning, fan favourite personalities search the manor to try and find a killer – which feels like a much smaller scale and personal experience than the massive, multiversal events that have characterised recent Magic sets.
Intriguingly, 13 ‘Mystery Files’ puzzles are built into the set, which help to immerse players into its classic whodunnit feel.
Adding to this, as of the 2nd of February, Wizards of the Coast revealed a new puzzle each day on their website, with the solutions of these leading players to solve an overarching mystery.
Which they did, seeing the mystery solved on the 14th of February. We won’t spoil anything here, however!
The set itself features Story spotlight cards, assisting players in their adventure as they piece clues together within Karlov Manor.
Limited, serialised Ravnica City cards are included – these feature guild leaders, borderless land cards, a new Dossier Showcase art treatment and, perhaps most excitingly, even an invisible ink card treatment too.
Murders at Karlov Manor also heralds that aforementioned shake up of booster packs – with Play Boosters due to replace Set and Draft Boosters, in what is the biggest change to Booster Pack options for a long time.
We’ve covered all of the details in our new MTG booster pack type article, so head on over there for further information on this massive news!
3. Ravnica: Clue Edition – February 23rd, 2024
Classic board game Clue – or, as it’s known everywhere outside the US, Cluedo – is an experience that many tabletop gamers will be very familiar with.
With Murders at Karlov Manor bringing a whodunnit style mystery to MTG, it’s perhaps not surprising that Wizards of the Coast have chosen their moment to introduce Clue-themed cards to Magic: The Gathering!
February release Ravnica: Clue Edition will – just like Ravnica Remastered – feature those perennially popular shock lands, albeit with a ‘Clue’ theme.
There’s also entirely new cards – which feature a character, place or object, along with a whodunnit twist.
Each Ravnica: Clue Edition box provides enough cards and components for four players to take part in a Clue-enhanced variant of MTG.
In fact, it’s so closely tied into Clue that you’ll even be seeking the killer, setting and murder weapon to solve the mystery of who dispatched poor Guildmage (usually Professor, in standard, non-MTG Clue!) Boddy.
Victory can be secured either by standard, last man standing rules (as would be the case in multiplayer games of Commander-format MTG) or by solving the aforementioned murder mystery itself.
Regardless of life points or the usual rules of Magic, if you manage to guess the murderer, place and weapon, you can win the game.
Each Ravnica: Clue Edition box contains 21 exclusive Ravnica: Clue Edition evidence cards (comprising six suspects, 5 weapons, and 10 rooms), eight guild packs of 20 exclusive cards (each aligned with a certain guild), and one shock land card.
Interestingly, all of the new and unique cards in the set are legal in MTG itself, so they do have value beyond the new, Clue-based multiplayer format.
4. Fallout – March 8th, 2024
With a similar product range to the 2023 Doctor Who set – which featured Commander Decks and Collector Boosters themed around the six decades of the show – long-running video game franchise Fallout is due to make its debut in MTG in 2024.
Just like Doctor Who – and, of course, Lord of the Rings – the Universes Beyond-branded Fallout products are certain to bring new fans over to Magic: The Gathering.
Once more, MTG’s designers seem to have really immersed themselves in the characters, world, settings and themes of the source material – with the cards and special treatments show a clear knowledge of (and passion for) Fallout’s dense, richly drawn lore.
Being a video gamer and fan of the Fallout franchise myself, I’ve already covered numerous aspects of the new set, in a guide to all currently revealed cards – which also looks at some of the incredibly thematic card treatments too.
You can check out our Magic: The Gathering Fallout Cards article for much more insight into the Universes Beyond: Fallout MTG set!
In short, the Fallout set mirrors the Doctor Who product range – in that it features four Commander Decks and Collector Boosters, the latter of which will feature some truly amazing, Fallout-themed card treatments.
Among these will be Pip Boy Showcase cards and Borderless, Full Art Vault Boy Cards.
That’s not all though; in Collector Boosters, there’s also set to be special Land cards that have an isometric viewpoint, intended to ape the look of the original PC Fallout games.
Another aspect that somewhat mirrors the Doctor Who set release – in that it featured serialized cards for each Doctor – is the inclusion of Serialized Bobblehead cards that can be found in Collector Boosters.
However, just like those aforementioned serialized Doctors, these will be incredibly rare and will be very sought after by collectors.
There will be just 7 different Vault Boy Bobblehead cards – and there’ll be just 500 copies in existence of each. If you are lucky enough to find one, the card’s number (ie XXX/500) will be printed directly on the card, so it’ll be pretty easy to spot!
Naturally, this isn’t quite on the same level of rarity as The One Ring card from Lord of the Rings – given that only one of those was printed – but these cards are undoubtedly going to be highly sought after collector’s items, that may well sell on the secondary market for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars each!
5. Outlaws of Thunder Junction – April 19th, 2024
Though Fallout takes us beyond Ravnica and into unfamiliar – not to mention very hostile – territory for MTG, the first few releases of the year stick to a safer, perhaps comfortingly nostalgic, setting.
That changes when Outlaws of Thunder Junction arrives in April 2024, however – with the new set taking us into an entirely new setting for MTG!
Outlaws of Thunder Junction has a Steampunk/Weird West aesthetic that looks incredibly appealing and unique; there really has never been anything like this in MTG before.
Along with the knowledge that villains from across the multiverse, perhaps featuring some familiar faces, will be popping up to cause havoc for players, we’ve also seen glimpses of what else the set has to offer.
Wizards of the Coast have gone all out with the Western theme, with Showcase card variants, two examples of which are shown above, feeling highly in keeping with the setting.
The Thoughtseize Showcase variant above is styled like a classic, Old West newspaper, whereas the Tinybones, The Pickpocket card looks exactly like a Wanted poster!
Though several more cards have been revealed, story details are still a little way off, but we’ll update this information as soon as we have it!
6. Modern Horizons III – June 14th, 2024
It may surprise you to find out that the best selling MTG set of all time is Modern Horizons II.
Though it’s not far off being surpassed by Lord of the Rings, which, given that set’s phenomenal popularity, is definitely not a surprise.
Back to Modern Horizons, however, due for release in the second quarter of 2024, Modern Horizons III is a direct sequel to the most popular non-Universes Beyond MTG set.
What made Modern Horizons II (and, of course, its predecessor) such massive hits were that they featured a wide selection of extremely powerful cards from previous sets – many of which had risen significantly in value.
Alongside these, the sets also featured new (and also pretty powerful) cards that were designed to be played in the ‘Modern’ MTG format that’s part of the title.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of Modern as a format, it essentially allows players to use cards in their decks which go back much further, in terms of their age, than cards allowed in other formats, such as Pioneer or Standard.
Access to format-legal cards that have been long out of print (and expensive!) is the key to understanding why the Modern Horizons sets are so popular.
Though overall set details are scarce at present, we do know that it’ll feature the Modern Horizons debut of double-faced cards, with the new double-faced Ajani Planeswalker card shown above as an example.
Though double-faced cards have been around for a long time, they can still be confusing for new or lapsed MTG players – so we’ve prepared a handy guide on how to use double faced cards in Magic: The Gathering for you.
There’s also Fetch Lands and Serialized Borderless Concept Eldrazi cards too, with the latter in particular sure to be highly sought after and very expensive.
Serialized cards are extremely limited in number and each are stamped with the specific number of that card; for example, only 250 copies of the above card will be released, with each having its XXX/250 number on the card.
Though the above example card shows the XXX instead of a number, naturally that won’t be on the final printed cards!
As I’m sure you’ll agree, even without the serialized element, these borderless art cards are absolutely stunning and will look even more so in person, with their textured foil treatment and stamp.
As with other sets that are still several months away, we’ll update these details as more information is released.
7. Assassin’s Creed – July 5th, 2024
Having spawned a huge range of video games, comics, a live action movie (starring Michael Fassbender, no less) and much more besides, it’s fair to say that Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest media franchises in the world.
So the fact that MTG have tapped into the property for another Universes Beyond set – marking the second video game crossover in 2024 after Fallout – is perhaps unsurprising!
Though this set isn’t due until July 2024, we do have some insight as to what it will contain.
Arriving with Assassin’s Creed is a new type of booster pack, named the ‘Beyond Booster’.
What does that mean, exactly? What will we find in a Beyond Booster?
These special booster packs will be smaller than you may expect, with just seven cards in each Beyond Booster.
This is due to the fact that Assassin’s Creed will be a smaller set than we’re used to; there’s not enough factions to make Commander Decks viable and, due to the reduced number of cards in the set, standard boosters weren’t a good fit either.
Though Assassin’s Creed won’t have Commander Decks, along with Beyond Booster packs there will also be Collector Boosters, booster Bundle boxes and even a Starter Kit, which will contain exclusive cards.
Perhaps the most exciting card variants will only be found in Collector Boosters, however, with serialized cards featuring real historical figures, printed in the native language of the card’s subject!
Two examples of these are shown above, with the Leonardo da Vinci and Cleopatra serialized card variants.
You can find many more details and all of the currently revealed cards in our Magic: The Gathering Assassin’s Creed card list.
8. Bloomburrow – August 2nd, 2024
Did you think that the Steampunk Western of Outlaws of Thunder Junction would be the only new plane we’d get to visit in non-Universes Beyond MTG this year?
Think again, because Bloomburrow is here to take us even further away from Ravnica!
Bloomburrow is a setting that features anthropomorphic animals and, apparently, no human characters at all; that’s because, when humans Planeswalk to Bloomburrow, they morph into the animal creatures you see in the set’s illustrations.
It’s a cosy and whimsical setting, though just from the image above you can tell that it looks far from safe!
Kicking off a new story – known as the Dragonstorm Arc – there’s very little in the way of detail for Bloomburrow at this stage.
Some cards have been revealed, however; you can see a spectacular extended art variant of Mabel, Heir to Cragflame with a real storybook aesthetic above, as well as a gorgeous Land card on the right.
One thing we also know is that when human Planeswalkers travel to Bloomburrow, they morph into animal form!
More details on the Bloomburrow set will be revealed over the coming months.
9. Duskmourn: House of Horror – Q3 2024
Image Credit: Wizards of the Coast
Did you grow up reading Stephen King and James Herbert books at an inappropriate age, like me?
If so, Duskmourn: House of Horror looks like it’ll be right up your dimly lit, creature-infested alley.
Arriving after Bloomburrow in the third quarter of 2024, Duskmourn: House of Horror continues the Dragonstorm Arc – but couldn’t be any more of a contrast with the cosy, anthropomorphic style of the prior set.
Unusually for the more fantasy and sci-fi inspired settings of MTG’s planes, Duskmourn: House of Horror seems to be heavily inspired by modern, urban horror – along the lines of the aforementioned Stephen King or, for you younger players, Stranger Things.
Given that it’s so long until this set releases, we’ve yet to see any details emerge from the haunted house – but we will of course update you as soon as we have any more information on this unique and terrifying new set!
10. Pioneer Masters – Q4 2024
The ‘Masters’ sets often bring back fan-favourite cards that prove useful in certain formats – such as 2023’s Commander Masters.
That particular set caused quite a lot of controversy among players and collectors alike, however, thanks mostly due to a pricing model that made it far too expensive for anyone but the most dedicated (and financially secure!) collectors.
Pioneer Masters should avoid that issue, given that it’s due to launch as a digital set only, via MTG Arena.
So what is the Pioneer format?
Much like Modern, Pioneer is another format within MTG that allows for a wide range of older cards to be used – however, it doesn’t go as far back as Modern in terms of any given card’s age.
Another aspect of Pioneer that sets it apart is the fact that there’s no restrictions on a player’s deck size – plus, the format allows for a sideboard of up to 15 cards to be used.
Though not reported as such, it could be that Pioneer Masters shifted from its original plan as a physical release to digital-only due to the poor overall reception of Commander Masters – though that is, admittedly, speculation on my part.
Pictured above are Pioneer Decks from 2021; we don’t yet have any images for Pioneer Masters, given that it’s not due to release – on MTG Arena only – until the fourth quarter of 2024.
