Throughout our long history Magic: Gatheringthe game's designers invented a wide variety of settings (or planes in Magic speak). We've seen sets based on rival factions in a planetary city Simplehorror atmosphere in gothic land Depositand warring clans in a war-torn Tarkir. With so much choice, even the most popular planes can be kept for years to come while the game's story moves forward and explores new places, but Wizards of the Coast appears to have a new favorite setting. This is not an airplane at all, but New York.
First complete Universes beyond the sets were based on fantasy worlds Dungeons and Dragons And Lord of the RingsBut Spiderman set released September 26, focuses on Marvel Comics' version of New York City. The same will happen with the Avengers-centric ones. Marvel Superheroes will be released in June 2026, and the just announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The set will be released on March 6th. By the end of 2026, New York will have more Magic sets than Amonkhet, Styxhaven, Capenna, Twilight Mourn, Eldraine, Kaladesh, Kaldheim, and Ikoria, and they will be tied to Ixalan and Tarkir.
The Big Apple has a huge cultural influence and the reason Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The action takes place there, returning to the origins of the franchise as tribute to Daredevil. But while Marvel Comics and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles give the Magic developers plenty of popular characters to work with, the setting itself feels very limited.
The only place where you can clearly see the tension is in the design of the basic lands. These are often some of the most striking pieces of art in a set, which is why full-size lands are so popular. It's a way to really establish the setting, whether or not they represent entire planets in Edge of Eternity or show a broken landscape ZENDIKAR.
Marvel's Spider-Man it was quite simple, using Spider-Man's web to form mana symbols displayed against a part of the city in the background, with smokestacks representing mountains and Central Park representing forests. Instead of reusing the same landscapes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles decided to depict the five iconic colors of Magic mana as… pizza toppings.
Pizza obviously has an important place in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pantheon (Wizards even sells a special pizza set), but these lands leave a lot to be desired. Of course, the wacky flavor combinations translate well to some of the disgusting toppings turtles prefer (the green ones are kiwi, jalapeño, and broccoli). And whoever came up with the idea of ​​depicting blue anchovies must have been very proud of himself, even though Raphael was ranting about how much he didn't want them in the 1990 film. I just wish they didn't look so unappetizing and so out of character Magic: Gathering.
These jumbled pieces don't just look like the kind of art I'd like to add to my collection, they look disgusting. The urban setting should not limit the possibilities of art – the metropolis lands in Streets of New Capenna absolutely gorgeous. These pizza lands seem like a lazy solution to the problem created by Universes Beyond's overloaded release schedule. Let's hope Wizards of the Coast does a better job. Marvel Superheroes and then move on to a setting that is not yet worn out.
