Last weekend's MagicCon in Amsterdam brought us a slate of new announcements for the trading card game, including next year's entire lineup of Magic: The Gathering's in-universe sets.

2027 will bring us Nauctis: The Sunken Realm (February), Kamigawa: Titanbreach (June) and Zhalfir (October). In a recent post on Mark Rosewater's Blogatog, Magic's head designer asked readers to vote on which of the three sets they were most excited about.

The poll has now closed, and the results are surprisingly balanced.

  • Nauctis: The Sunken Realm - 27.3%
  • Kamigawa: Titanbreach - 35.1%
  • Zhalfir - 28.3%
  • Don't make me choose - 9.3%

Magic's 2027 Lineup Has Gone Over Well

The relatively even split among the three sets shows that fans are genuinely excited about all three sets, which is a good sign that Magic has three very strong concepts on its hands.

Nauctis: The Sunken Realm is an underwater realm featuring two kingdoms in conflict and an apocalyptic danger that lurks in the depths of the ocean. The set—the first of next year's trilogy—won't use the keyword Flying, and will instead introduce a new evasion mechanic.

Kamigawa: Titanbreach is a Gundam-inspired set featuring a war between the beasts of Ikoria and the giant mechs of Kamigawa: "Kamigawa's biggest metropolis is sent into chaos by rampaging behemoths from the plane of Ikoria. Mechs embodying the world's combined bravery, ingenuity, and raw firepower can break the siege. Choose your side as worlds collide," reads the set's synopsis.

Finally, Zhalfir is a return to the eponymous Afrofantasy-inspired realm that first appeared in 1996's Mirage set. After Zhalfir replaced New Phyrexia in the Multiverse, the realm is now orbited by five suns, ensuring nightfall never comes. The final set of the trilogy is set to release next October.

It almost physically pains me to see Universes Beyond consuming much of Magic: The Gathering's creative energy when the game's writers can clearly create extremely compelling worlds when allowed to do so.

The fact that Zhalfir and Nauctis are within 8 per cent of Kamigawa is a testament to how compelling the former two worlds are, because, in normal circumstances, a battle between giant mechs and giant monsters would be a runaway winner in a poll of exciting concepts.

There is, of course, a final in-universe set releasing this year. Reality Fracture, arriving in October, tells the story of an alternate reality created by Jace Belaran that begins to invade the Multiverse. The theme of the set includes iconic characters having opposite colours, i.e. Blue Chandra and White Liliana.

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Magic: The Gathering

Franchise Magic: The Gathering Original Release Date August 5, 1993 Publisher Wizards of the Coast Designer(s) Richard Garfield See at Official Site Expand Collapse