Magic: the Gathering's Universes Beyond sets introduce fans to MTG cards from other popular IPs. The Secret Lair Drop Series: The Walking Dead was MTG's first product featuring characters from outside its own universe. Although not initially named as such, this Secret Lair was retroactively added to the Universe Beyond product line, and it paved the way for MTG's recent foray into modern settings.

Fans were initially unsure when Wizards of the Coast announced a crossover with The Walking Dead because at the time, MTG was better known for its mystical fantasy worlds. However, despite initial hesitations, fans warmed up to the cards, and they quickly became incredibly popular thanks to their distinctiveness, flavor and strength. Additionally, they helped push MTG further in the direction of modern fantasy, which was a breath of fresh air that fans desperately needed.

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MTG Walking Dead Daryl Hunter of Walkers, Michonne Ruthless Survivor, Negan the Cold Blooded and Rick Steadfast Leader cards

Secret Lair x The Walking Dead features 5 powerful legendary creatures: Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, Negan and Rick. In addition to the creatures, a legendary artifact Equipment card was included which depicts Negan's signature barbed bat, Lucille. Additionally, the Secret Lair has five unique "Walker" zombie tokens depicting five iconic zombies from the show, as well as a Treasure token to use with Negan's card. Each Walking Dead card has powerful abilities that quickly became favorites among fans, especially those in MTG's Commander community, since the Walking Dead legends all work well in the Command Zone.

Daryl, Hunter of Walkers creates walker tokens under an opponent's control, and lets his controller draw a card whenever an opponent's zombie dies. Daryl uses his signature crossbow to take down walkers from afar, which is reflected by his MTG card, and it's a favorite among fans. Fittingly, Glenn, the Voice of Calm has skulk, and he allows his controller to draw a card whenever he deals combat damage to a player. One of Glenn's specialties in the show is being stealthy, sneaking past zombies and survivors alike, so his MTG card is extremely appropriate.

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Michonne, Ruthless Survivor creates two walker tokens under her owner's control when she enters the battlefield, which mimic her two unfortunate zombie servants in the show. She also gains additional benefits when equipped, like with her signature katana, as well as when she attacks with multiple zombies.

Negan, the Cold-Blooded focuses on opponents sacrificing creatures, rewarding his controller with treasure tokens when a creature is sacrificed. Rick, Steadfast Leader also buffs humans, giving them additional power, toughness and powerful keywords. For most of AMC's popular show, Rick is the leader of a group of survivors, so this set of abilities makes perfect sense for the card.

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Universes Beyond Lets MTG Dive Into Modern Fantasy in New Settings

MTG cards Holy Frazzle Cannon, Errant and Giada, Towashi Songshaper and Reckoner Bankbuster

In addition to The Walking Dead, MTG also created other Universe Beyond sets in more modern or futuristic settings. Stranger Things, Warhammer 40,000 and Doctor Who are all examples of sets that veer from MTG's classic fantasy. Among these, the Stranger Things Secret Lair drop notably featured legendary creature cards of its main characters that can all be mixed and matched in the Command Zone with each other.

MTG's Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks impressed fans with its excellent depictions of iconic Warhammer 40,000 characters, creatures and settings as powerful MTG cards, alongside its vast array of powerful never-before-seen cards not even designed for the command zone. The upcoming Doctor Who Universes Beyond set is likely to shake up the Commander format once again by revitalizing the companion mechanic, which will allow players to have two commanders, as long as one is the Doctor.

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In addition to the Universes Beyond sets, MTG's own settings recently began to explore modern and futuristic genres too. Streets of New Capenna was a fan-favorite hit with its gritty mobsters and 1920s-esque technology. March of the Machine even featured characters from New Capenna using suspiciously gun-shaped weapons, although they shoot lightning or paint instead of bullets. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, which was the Standard set released prior to Streets of New Capenna, took an even bigger leap by transforming the plane into a techno-magic cyberpunk dystopia.

While it might take Wizards of the Coast some more time to nail its modern and futuristic themes, this shift in tone is a needed change to the MTG Universe. Now that the planes are more interconnected than ever following the Phyrexian invasion, MTG will be telling many more interesting stories across all of its planes and Universes Beyond.