Games

Magic: The Gathering's Headliners Are The One Ring Hunt All Over Again

Published

2 weeks ago

December 8, 2024

Christoph Rediske

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

MTG has a jam-packed 2025 with 3 Magic Multiverse sets and 3 Universes Beyond sets.
The addition of set-specific “headliner” cards may create a new tradition for MTG.
Headliner cards are serialized and limited, potentially leading to high prices and controversy, much like the one-of-one serialized The One Ring from LotR.

Magic: The Gathering fans will have a lot of new releases to look forward to in 2025, including three sets that take place in Magic’s universe and three Universes Beyond sets – two of which have been revealed to be Final Fantasy and Spider-Man, respectively. With a packed release schedule, Magic: The Gathering is starting 2025 with a bang, especially since there is going to be a seventh release in the form of Innistrad Remastered in January. Furthermore, Innistrad Remastered will give way to what could become a new tradition for MTG – the addition of set-specific “headliner” cards.

Unlike the other three
Magic Multiverse sets
and the Universes Beyond sets releasing in 2025, Innistrad Remastered won’t be Standard-legal.

While headliner cards are not entirely new in concept, as they are limited versions of a given card, the way they are crafted for each set is dependent on the themes of said expansion since they are meant to be the ultimate pull. Magic: The Gathering is no stranger to this concept either, and the prime example of it was the worldwide chase of The One Ring card from the Lord of The Rings MTG set, which culminated in one lucky individual getting the $2 million card.

Why Magic: The Gathering’s Big Universes Beyond Change is a Double-Edged Sword

Magic: The Gathering will soon be changing its approach to Universes Beyond sets, which can be a blessing and a curse for fans.

Why Magic: The Gathering’s Headliners May Break The Game Like LotR’s The One Ring

MTG‘s Lord of the Rings set was rather polarizing because of the inclusion of a one-of-one copy of The One Ring, which was technically a single print of one version of the card rather than a single copy overall. The problem was that booster pack prices skyrocketed as fans tried to hunt for this unique card, and between MTG‘s scalper problem and a genuine interest in the product, it was hard to collect regular cards. As such, the concept of headliners may seem both thrilling and dangerously close to that of the unique The One Ring.

Headliner cards are serialized, from 1 to 500, and only a maximum of 500 copies of each headliner can ever be found within a given set. This obviously gives fans some leeway compared to Magic: The Gathering‘s The One Ring, but it’s quite likely that the prices of headliners will be rather high – especially for the first one, Edgar Markov. Already an expensive card in its base version, Edgar Markov getting a dedicated print for Innistrad Remastered means that the headliner will likely sit at a couple of thousands of dollars in value.

Not only that, but headliners and the hunt for these special cards may end up increasing the sales of each set, leading to the same issues as with the Lord of the Rings set and its prices. Magic: The Gathering‘s collector boosters may skyrocket in price even more, as they have higher baseline chances of good cards, so headliners may drop more frequently from them compared to regular play boosters. On top of that, the earliest copies of headliners from each set may sell for astronomical amounts, both because of the prestige of a low-numbered copy and the fact that some collectors may want them as soon as possible.

What to Expect From MTG’s Headliner Cards in 2025

Right now, only two headliners are confirmed for 2025, but they belong to the very first two sets of the year, meaning that each other set scheduled for 2025 may have one headliner. Edgar Markov is most likely going to be very expensive regardless, especially since it’s one of the most popular cards at the helm of MTG‘s Commander format, whereas other headliners will likely be priced based on their power level.

The headliner coming from 2025’s first Standard-legal set in Magic: The Gathering, Aetherdrift, will be called The Aetherspark. It will be tied to the events of the story, and it seems to be a Planeswalker in and of itself based on the current frame for the card. Regardless of its spot in the meta, it will likely spark a chain reaction that increases Aetherdrift products’ prices soon after launch. As such, both the first two sets of 2025 may give way to similar controversies like the infamous Lord of the Rings set.