Magic: The Gathering continues to be a massive success for Wizards of the Coast, as the latest expansion, Secrets of Strixhaven, became the most successful in-universe MTG set of all time. With three sets already released in 2026 and four more scheduled between now and the end of the year, players may be struggling to keep up with all of the new cards, but Mark Rosewater, a lead designer of MTG for over 30 years, has promised that seven sets a year will not be the standard going forward.
Answering questions on his personal Tumblr page Blogatog, Rosewater addressed a fan saying that seven sets in a year–and specifically, more Universes Beyond sets than in-universe sets–is the “new normal,” saying that simply isn’t the case. “2026 is an outlier,” Rosewater wrote. “Future years are going to be three and three.” While this isn’t the first time Wizards of the Coast has confirmed six sets in 2027, no specific sets have been confirmed for next year as of this writing.
Later on, when another fan shared their concern that “the most that fans of Magic-IP sets will ever get going forward is an equal split,” Rosewater replied that “I believe there will be future years (although not ones in the near future) where in-Multiverse sets outnumber Universes Beyond sets.”
2026 began with an in-universe set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, in January, before shifting to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in February. April saw the launch of the most recent set, the aforementioned Secrets of Strixhaven, and the rest of the 2026 schedule includes Marvel Super Heroes in June, The Hobbit, in August, in-universe set Reality Fracture in October, and Star Trek in November.
