Franchise crossovers are really entertaining, and they’re quite popular for a reason. Not only do they tap into different fanbases of multiple franchises to create a broader appeal, but they often bring a sense of novelty to the involved franchises and help foster a broader community. Plus, they really make sense from a business perspective since they’re exceptional marketing tools that encourage engagement from fans who might be devoted to one series but are curious about another.
The MCU is probably the best possible example of this, as it unified all the beloved heroes of its film universe into 2012’s The Avengers. However, in the context of gaming, a modern gamer would tell you that Fortnite is the official King of the Crossover Hill, considering that the game has done well over 100 collaborations with different brands and media — and not just only other video games. But if we go beyond digital gaming and dive into the realms of cards and tabletop, the title of the Crossover King goes straight to Magic: The Gathering.
Magic: The Gathering started off in 1993 as a card game that’s completely entrenched in fantasy. It was the first ever card game released by Wizards of the Coast (the same company behind Dungeons & Dragons), and it grew in popularity ever since. It currently has more than 50 million players worldwide, and more than 20 billion Magic cards were produced. If you think that sounds like a lot, we’re referring to the number of cards that were produced between 2008 and 2016. As of 2022, the game’s massive popularity generates just over $1 billion in revenue annually.
In the game, the players represent powerful, dueling wizards called the Planeswalkers. In play, they cast various spells to damage their opponents and get the upper hand in magic combat. Of course, the players do this by drawing cards from their deck, with each card representing a different magical spell they can use in their dueling wizard battles. There are different cards that do different types of damage, in addition to victory conditions, which aren’t based on reducing your opponent’s health bar to zero.
The original concept of the game drew heavily from other traditional fantasy RPGs, like the aforementioned Dungeons & Dragons, and thus bears a similarity to tabletops while also featuring substantially more cards and more complex game rules than many other card games. But despite the comprehensive rules that encompass its gameplay and separate it from other games, the infinite multiverse of Magic: The Gathering also features the Universes Beyond. The introduction of these universes allowed Wizards of the Coast to develop crossovers with different franchises.
Admittedly, the Magic: The Gathering fandom is split down the middle when it comes to the Universes Beyond releases, as some believe that summoning Rick, the Steadfast Leader from the Walking Dead franchise, is diluting the original experience. Others, however, welcome these crossovers, as they are mostly released as independent sets that allow fans to explore far-off places and times within the confines of the Magic: The Gathering franchise.
Admittedly, not all of the crossover cards are tournament-legal because some of them are just overpowered, but they do showcase unique and humorous designs that pay homage to their source material. Wizards of the Coast has mastered the delicate balance between appeasing their long-time fandom with classic elements and storylines of the game while also making the game appealing to those coming from other franchises, like Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, and Warhammer 40,000-themed sets.
The aim is to grow Magic, so it’s not likely for newcomer players to buy a single card set from Magic’s collaboration with their favorite franchise. Once they realize just how great Magic is, a good portion of this is going to stick around, at least for a while. And to be entirely honest, the strategy has been proven as sound; introducing Grimlock (the leader of the Dinobots) had Transformers fans flock to buy Magic: The Gathering card sets. The same can be said for Doctor Who and the Fallout franchise, the latter of which has just recently received a serialized adaptation on streaming.
The Fallout set even introduced new gameplay mechanics that reflect the themes and elements of the Fallout gaming series, like junk tokens, rad counters, and energy counters, which represent Fallout’s scavenging aspect, the ever-present danger or radiation, and the scarcity of electrical energy. However, though the number of collaborations between Magic: The Gathering and other franchises has been great. There are franchise collaborations the fans have been demanding for years now, like The Witcher.
The fans have been enchanted by this possibility for quite some time now, and many have created fan-made decks, whose designs were shared online as a means of incentivizing Wizards of the Coast to finally make Magic: The Gathering × The Witcher crossover. The game could also introduce new mechanics in terms of signs and alchemy. While we wait for that to happen, those in love with the Assassin’s Creed gaming franchise are in for a surprise on July 5, 2024, when new sets featuring Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Leonardo da Vinci are supposed to drop.
In the end, regardless of what the new franchises are, they bring fresh eyes to the beloved game, which will keep Magic: The Gathering and its collaborations alive and thriving for years to come.