For those who only know me as a woodworker, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that I also love Magic: the Gathering. I’m in my mid 40’s and my first pack of Magic was Unlimited (and I still have the Savannah I opened in it). I largely play Mono White (Life gain or Midrange) or Mono Red (Aggro or Burn). In my youth, I was a control player, but I’ve drifted away from any decks that include Blue. Although I still love me some Mill, especially in limited (I once drafted a Zendikar block deck that had 7 Hedron Crabs in it). I’m primarily a limited player, preferring sealed (although online, I do like the Quick Draft format in Magic: the Gathering Arena).

I do not consider myself much of a contrarian when it comes to my hobbies. I focus on hand tool woodworking, sure. But I do not care if you use a table saw or a jointer in yours. Whatever works for you. I’ve actually come to really appreciate pocket screw joinery in the last two years. Before that, I was the schmuck doing full mortise and tenon for every piece of shop furniture.

But with Magic: the Gathering, I have a much more combative streak. Personal temperament aside (I have flipped a table at a pre-release in anger [although in fairness, I had just quit smoking and was still working in New York big law]), Hasbro’s direction for Magic: the Gathering has been disappointing to me. I do not fault them for wanting to make money (my day job, after all, is mergers and acquisitions attorney). But I think this Universes Beyond crap is getting out of hand.

I have not and will not buy a single pack of Spiderman (either in paper or as Through the Omen Paths online, which is an entirely different rant). Nor will I buy a single pack, physical or digital, of Avatar: the Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel Super Heroes, Star Trek, or whatever other Universes Beyond dreck they are selling this year and in the foreseeable future. And I, in fact, am a huge Star Trek fan.

In fairness, I thought the Final Fantasy set was good. But that was because it clearly had a ton of thought and love put into it. I don’t know a god damned thing about the Final Fantasy lore. But the cards were fun and cohesive and flavorful. A group of someones clearly worked hard on that set. But as someone whose defining sets were from Unlimited (1993) to Alliances (1996), and then back again from Shards of Alara Block (2008) to Innistrad (2011), I just can’t get behind the cash grab that Universes Beyond has become.

So why does it matter and why am I writing about it on my woodworking blog?

Because I love the recent Aetherdrift set. It was a flavorful and fun set. And I’m sick of people shitting on it. Is it as powerful as Final Fantasy or as fresh as Edge of Eternities? Definitely not. But as someone with Hooper in their top 10 favorite movies of all time, Aetherdrift kicks ass. Aetherdrift’s premise is “What if the Magic: the Gathering in-universe canon decided to do a death race?”. And that’s awesome. It still felt like fantasy, where something like Outlaws of Thunder Junction does not.

As the Spiderman set deservedly flops (it’s bad and you’re bad for liking it), I’ve been wondering. Why do M:tG players generally hate Aetherdrift? I think it’s because there was a very unhealthy metagame at the time and Aetherdrift did nothing to shift that unhealthy metagame. But after the bans back in the summer and the metagame becoming even unhealthier since (for the record, my personal view is that Vivi Ornithier is just Oko: Crown of Thorns with the force of a marketing deal behind it), I’m seeing more and more Aetherdrift cards in Standard. Good ones that I identified at the time. Less good ones because they are in colors I don’t like.

So if we’re going to shake Hasbro from this Universes Beyond bullshit, and reclaim the game that we love, I say we start by cherishing the in-universe sets. And giving my favorite set in recent years a chance.

I’ve got a few booster boxes handy if you want to do sealed or a draft.

And if you haven’t taken that survey yet, you can name me as one of the people who shit all over the Spiderman set.

JPG