Hasbro is the parent company of both Magic: The Gathering and The Transformers franchise. Fantasy and science fiction crossovers are not unheard of. But how does the War for Cybertron mix with the Planeswalkers in Magic: The Gathering’s Dominaria? Read on for the details.
During the 2022 Hasbro Pulsecon, cards for the upcoming The Brothers’ War expansion set were revealed, showcasing The Transformers.
Six double-sided Transformers cards which you’ll be able to get in #MTGBRO Bundles as well as Set & Collector boosters, in either their normal frame or the “Shattered Glass.” First up: Optimus Prime & Starscream pic.twitter.com/OZOMxc1tjn — Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) September 30, 2022 The reveal was also shown on the Hasbro Pulse social media via Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. This will be part of the Universes Beyond series of sets for Magic: The Gathering. Universes Beyond imagines other pop culture franchises as spells for the most popular collectable card game in the world. The Transformers is not the first IP to be featured for the Universes Beyond series. Previous franchises that were featured for this series include The Walking Dead (2020), Stranger Things (2021), Arcane (2021), Street Fighter (2022), Fortnite (2022), and Warhammer 40,000 (2022). The cards for Universes Beyond are not considered legal for Standard tournament formats. But they are allowed in Eternal formats such as Vintage, Legacy, Commander, and Pauper Magic: The Gathering tournaments. Plus, Universe Beyond cards are generally not included in Magic: The Gathering - Arena expansion sets. With regard to the story, Universes Beyond sets do not have any effect on the overall story being told in the lore of Magic: The Gathering. Thus, the Autobots and the Decepticons will not be appearing in current or future storylines that involve the lore that occur in Dominaria and the other realms that Planeswalkers travel to. The Transformers Magic: The Gathering Universe Beyond cards can be found in the boosters, collector booster, and bundles of The Brothers’ War. There will be 15 double-faced cards featuring familiar Robots in Disguise from both the Autobots and Decepticon factions. These include Optimus Prime, Megatron, Soundwave, Ultra Magnus, Jetfire, Starscream, Arcee, and others. Interestingly, the set will have the rebuilt version of Bumblebee named Goldbug. As far as the mechanics go, The Transformers are artifact creatures with the ablity to “convert” into vehicles. For a lower cost of mana, the player can cast a Transformer with the More than Meets the Eye trait in their vehicle form. But unlike standard vehicles in MTG which require a crew, the Transformers have the Living Metal trait which treats them as an artifact creature during the owner’s turn. Another cool feature of The Transformers set is that there are Shattered Glass versions of each card. These depict the characters in their alternate universe roles, where the heroes are villains and vice-versa. Note that while most crossovers are part of the Universes Beyond series, the Dungeons & Dragons MTG sets Adventures in the Forgotten Realms and Battle for Baldur’s Gate are not. Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is a standard Magic: The Gathering core set and is the 88th expansion of the CCG. Magic: The Gathering The Brothers’ War expansion set featuring The Transformers crossover cards will be released on November 18, 2022.
