Magic: The Gathering’s30th year has been a bit of a ride. We saw the Phyrexians finally beat back in March of the Machine, ventured into Middle-earth for the biggest set ever, and ended it on a high with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
But for every high, there was also a low, resulting in a year that, at times, made Innistrad: Double Feature look like a good idea. With The Lost Cavern of Ixalan now fully settled into the game, it’s time to look back on every Magic: The Gathering release of 2023.
This doesn’t include Secret Lairs and Arena-exclusive products – it’s got to have a booster pack I could rip open to qualify.
9March Of The Machine: The Aftermath
A mini-set dedicated to capping off the story of March of the Machine, with fewer cards and smaller packs, but more stuff people would actually want to play with, should’ve been interesting. Instead,March of the Machine: The Aftermathfailed by basically every possible metric.
It didn’t finish the story of the years-long Phyrexian arc, only giving us two quick chapters that added very little to the multiverse. The cards it gave us were either small and ineffectual, or super rare big-money pulls. With only 50 cards in the set, the smaller pack size wasn’t enough to prevent repeats within the same booster – I pulled two Tolarian Contempts in the same pack, only to then pull two Training Grounds in the next one.
On top of that, the release of The Aftermath was marred by controversy.It was leaked, which sucked, but thenWizards’ response to the leaksis now a stain on the company that it’s not going to be able to wash off for a long time.
8Commander Masters
Price was the big problem withCommander Masters, the reprint-focused Commander set. Though Wizards doesn’t set an MSRP, it does set the price for its internal distributors, and it was far too high. This was the breaking point for lots of people, who just outright avoided the set because of the cost.
It included some of the Commander all-stars, like Jeweled Lotus, and some gorgeous alt-art treatments, but it also played it somewhat safe with cards that really didn’t need reprinting. We didn’t need Zetalpa and Talrand in our £15 packs, making this a feel-bad experience even if you could afford it.
Its one saving grace is the impact it’s had on the secondary market, with many singles from this set now being available for peanuts.
7Phyrexia: All Will Be One
Phyrexia: All Will Be Onetook us right into the homeworld of the horrific Phyrexians, and it had a few great points. The Compleation of five Planeswalkers was a massive twist after the drip-feeding over the previous year, and the reintroduction of proliferate into Standard made for some really interesting plays.
Of the five Planeswalkers compleated in this set, two are missing (Vraska and Jace), two have been uncompleated (Nissa and Nahiri), and only poor ol’ Lukka died.
The big problem was its failure to commit. The art style, while creepy, didn’t capture the body horror of older trips to New Phyrexia, making the whole set feel watered down. Toxic, while an improvement over infect, also still felt overly oppressive – just a few plays against Venerated Rotpriest decks turned me off to the mechanic for life.
6The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan
The final set of 2023,The Lost Caverns of Ixalanattempted to do for Ixalan what Neon Dynasty did for Kamigawa by taking a beloved world, and giving it a new mechanical emphasis that makes for a far better play experience. With its stunning art direction, plenty of Dinosaurs, and new double-faced Gods, it played on what made Ixalan special.
Mechanically, though, Lost Caverns didn’t quite hit the mark. Descending was used to describe two slightly different mechanics, causing confusion, and discover has proven to be problematic in a number of different formats. The lack of a typal focus is also a shame, as it was a core part of our first trip to Ixalan.
5Dominaria Remastered
Dominaria Remasteredwas an impeccable draft environment with some meaty reprints, bringing together 30 years of Dominaria sets for something that felt cohesive and considered. What an improvement over last year’s Innistrad: Double Feature.
Like Time Spiral Remastered before it, Dominaria Remastered struggled from not being the easiest set to get your hands on. A smaller release with a slightly higher price made the older cards you could find in it feel a bit like a whiff, but overall it was a phenomenal start to the year.
4Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth
Easily the biggest set of the year,The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earthhas probably done more for introducing people to MTG than any release before it. Full of flavourful adaptations, deep cuts, and stunning art, I’ve personally never seen as much hype for a set as this.
Tales of Middle-earth has overtaken Modern Horizons 2 as Magic’s all-time best-selling set.
But it wasn’t perfect. Being tempted by the ring was an awkward thing to track, and cards like Orcish Bowmasters and The One Ring have become oppressive throughout the game. The obsession with serialised cards andThe One Ringalso sapped away some of the excitement, turning it into a lottery for people who don’t care about Magic more than a new set to enjoy.
3Wilds Of Eldraine
Wilds of Eldrainetook everything great about our first trip to the fairytale plane and improved on it. During Eldraine, we enjoyed ten wonderfully themed draft archetypes full of interesting cards, some ofthe strongest art directionwe’ve had since New Capenna, and cards that are powerful but not warping, like Stroke of Midnight and Agatha’s Cauldron.
The Enchanted Tales reprints were a great touch, too. Some of them weren’t great for the limited environment, which gavethe bonus sheet a bit of an identity crisis, but it’s hard to pull a Smothering Tithe or Doubling Season in a draft pack and not be excited.
2March Of The Machine
The culmination of a years-long story,March of the Machinewas the biggest celebration of Magic we’ve had in this 30th anniversary year. The entire multiverse was at peril, and we saw names and places all across reality come together to fight the Phyrexians.
2023 is the first time since 2002 that we’ve not had a new plane appear, whether it be its debut or part of a block of sets.
The team-up legendary creatures were fun, battles are a new card type full of potential, and the limited for it is one I often find myself returning to. The story may have felt rushed, but this is still the mostfunI’ve had with Magic all year, and times playing it are the ones I look back on most fondly.
1Universes Beyond: Doctor Who
Doctor Whowas the best Magic release we’ve had since Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and that isn’t just because I’m a massive Doctor Who fan. Every single card is a flavour win, with cards that perfectly match what they’re depicting in a way we rarely see even on Magic’s own characters. Whether it’s The Master, Multiplied slowly spreading across the board, or River Song letting you play your deck in reverse order, there’s so much to enjoy regardless of how up on your Who knowledge you are.
The best thing, though, is that Doctor Who is just four decks. Buying them got you almost everything available for Doctor Who, with the Collector booster just including alternate art treatments that looked amazing. After a year of Epilogue boosters and totally-not-premium premium sets like Commander Masters leaving a bad taste in your mouth, a product you could just buy and be done with was such a nice, refreshing change.
I love Doctor Who. It’s one of my favourite things in the world alongside Magic. But if this set wasn’t anything less than incredible, not even a Sonic screwdriver and a Dalek could’ve put it in the top spot after the likes of March of the Machine and Eldraine. It was the clever set design and reasonable product offering that helped it cinch top place, and it is, quite simply, fantastic.
