The Finances of Universes Beyond

Universes Beyond has come to dominate much of Magic’s annual product catalogue. From Secret Lairs to Standard-legal full set releases, Magic nowadays is just as much its own intellectual property (IP) as it is outsider work. 

However, just because this outside IP uses the same game rules as all the rest of Magic doesn’t mean that it obeys the same product design structure. Far from it; without outside IP comes outside costs…and outside profits. So, how has this played out in the Magic market? Let’s take a look.

The Cost of Licensing Agreements

First up, the elephant in the room: licensing agreements. Unlike whenever Hasbro works on an in-house property (Theros, Innistrad, etc.), all Universes Beyond releases carry with them a cost associated with Hasbro’s usage of foreign IP. 

Iron Man doesn’t come cheap; Hasbro has to pay Disney/Marvel in order to use the character.

 

On the production side of things, this immediately makes Universes Beyond releases into premium products because they have additional costs associated with them. It doesn’t cost anything more to make a reprint set; the price premium there is all in the demand-side of powerful cards. Universes Beyond, however, is inherently more expensive for Hasbro, and as such is routinely more expensive for players.

Looking to Magic’s most recent Universes Beyond release, Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy, we can see that the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) for even the cheapest products is noticeably higher than comparable Standard releases: $6.99 for a Play Booster, versus $5.49 for in-house sets like Tarkir: Dragonstorm. 

This isn’t to say that Hasbro won’t use the licensing agreement excuse to gouge even further – odds are that the premium more than offsets the licensing agreement – but it does provide a framework for what to expect from any set carrying the “Universes Beyond” label. 

Licensing agreements also bring with them a very real restriction on the capacity for Universes Beyond products to be reprinted. These agreements often stipulate that Hasbro can only use IP for a particular amount of time, or a particular release structure, which prevents them from re-releasing anything tied to that IP in the future. 

This isn’t the end-all, however. Early on in the Universes Beyond lifecycle, we saw the earliest glimmers of how Magic might deal with this problem: Universes Within. These cards were reprints of Universes Beyond cards, albeit with a reskin using in-house IP which allowed them to correlate 1:1 with Universes Beyond products (no sneaky breaking of the four-of rule). 

 

As Universes Beyond exploded in product volume, however, this practice became unmanageable and fell to the wayside, leaving an as-of-yet unsolved question as to how the myriad expensive Universes Beyond cards will be reprinted. 

The closest previews we’ve received as to how this might be addressed in the future comes from the world of Magic Arena, where Hasbro is releasing Universes Beyond sets completely reskined with in-house IP under the name “Through the Omenpaths.” 

This is still experimental, however, and we don’t know if this will ever make it to paper.  

The Fandom Premium

Moving away from the litigious backrooms of corporate headquarters, Universes Beyond also brings with it an inordinate excess of demand thanks in no small part to its ability to appeal to non-Magic players. A well designed in-house set will reinvigorate Magic retirees, excite the current player base, and draw in some new attention from folks who already hover near the world of trading card games. A well designed Universes Beyond set, however, isn’t just another expansion of Magic; rather, it doubles as a new collectible which people far from Magic’s usual domain are drawn towards. 

Seen through this lens, Universes Beyond cards don’t just serve as a bridge for non-Magic players to join the game – they serve as something non-Magic players can get excited about without needing to play Magic ever. Is this enough to make the base printings of useless cards valuable? No, not really. Is it enough to cause extraordinary spikes in the premium versions of iconic characters and other assets from outside IP? Absolutely. 

Going back to Final Fantasy, we can take a look at some standout characters as examples. Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER is barely a $4 card. It’s an ok creature that really just sees play in casual circles, and it can be picked up as part of a sealed Commander deck pretty readily. Looking at the Borderless Surge Foil printing, however, the price is absolutely astronomical – nearly $600. Conversely, Kefka, Court Mage – a notorious villain in the series but far from as popular as Cloud – is actually a pretty in-demand card with comparably lower market accessibility than Cloud. This is reflected in the base printing being priced at around $8, showing the card’s competitive demand. Its fandom premium, however, is much lower, with the Borderless Surge Foil only clocking in at around $150. 

Wrap Up

So, between the additional marketplace of non-Magic players and the costs of licensing agreements, what should we take away when evaluating Universes Beyond? Ultimately, it comes down to two things: never doubt the amount of money which fans will pay for premium merchandise, and don’t expect Hasbro to make the base price of Magic (even a Standard set) more affordable. 

Reprints are limited and supply will dry up quickly. So plan accordingly. 

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