Checking in With Universes Within

Universes Within was Magic’s short-lived first attempt at creating reprints of Universes Beyond cards, restyled with in-house IP. Primarily distributed through The List – a subset of cards randomly appearing in the now-defunct Set Booster Packs – these cards disappeared from Magic’s production cycle almost as quickly as they appeared. 

So what’s happened to the prices of these cards since? Let’s take a look.

Stranger Things

Appearing in Set Boosters of Streets Of New Capenna, the Stranger Things Secret Lair was fully reskinned as the first Universes Within roster. These nine cards brought Netflix’s popular intellectual property to the Magic plane of Innistrad, with cards such as Cecily, Haunted Mage being the in-Magic parallel to Eleven, the Mage.

Overall, the Universes Within printings of these cards are significantly cheaper than their Universes Beyond counterparts. Going back to Eleven, for example, that card is currently going for around $7, despite Cecily, Haunted Mage only being a 50-cent card. 

So, if you’re interested in picking up any of these cards for their mechanics (as opposed to their brand appeal), make sure to look at the Innistrad reskins. They are, after all, mechanically identical.  

Street Fighter

Second in line is the Universes Within reprint of the Street Fighter Secret Lair, which appeared in Set Boosters of Phyrexia: All Will Be One. As with Stranger Things, this reprint was also set on the plane of Innistrad – a trend that would continue through to the third (and final) iteration of the Universes Within product line.

Looking at the value, only three of the eight cards reprinted this way crossed the $1 threshold: Maarika, Brutal Gladiator, Tadeas, Juniper Ascendant, and Zethi, Arcane Blademaster. Meanwhile, several Universes Beyond printings of these cards easily beat the $10 benchmark, with Chun-Li, Countless Kicks (the Universes Beyond parallel to Zethi, Arcane Blademaster) being $16 more, coming in at $17.

As a bit of a side note, it’s worth pointing out that – despite Wizards abandoning the Universes Within product line – these in-house printings of Secret Lair cards are still showing up as reprints in other products. Baldin, Century Herdmaster, for example, showed up pretty recently as a reprint in one of the Commander decks released alongside Tarkir: Dragonstorm. So, while we might not see new cards being released from Universes Within, don’t discount the preexisting printings for further reprints. Who knows when Maarika might pop up again.

The Walking Dead

Last but not least, the final – and most successful – roster of reprints from Universes Within: The Walking Dead. Appearing in Set Boosters of Wilds of Eldraine, these six cards capped off Universes Within with a bang.

First off, this set is easily the most valuable, containing multiple cards at-or-above $5. Greymond, Avacyn's Stalwart is $55, while Gisa's Favorite Shovel is $11. Sure, it has cheaper picks too, like Enkira, Hostile Scavenger (a sub-$1 card), but don’t let that distract you from the heavy hitters. Nowhere else in the Universes Within product history can you find cards that are nearly as expensive as those you’ll find here.

Secondly, this set is also the only instance of any in-universe card being significantly more valuable than its Universes Beyond counterpart. Going back to Greymond, that card is usually in the range of $5-$10 more expensive than Rick, Steadfast Leader on any given day. It may be an outlier among the Universes Within market, but it’s an outlier with staying power. Greymond has been pricey for a while.

Wrap Up

With the exception of Greymond, Avacyn’s Stalwart, the Universes Within roster provided an excellent way to get access to many of Magic’s most popular mechanically unique Universes Beyond products at a significant discount. Take away the artificial scarcity and out-of-house price premium associated with Universes Beyond, and plenty of these cards drop from $10+ to less than a dollar. 

If you’ve ever wanted a cheaper option for playing with these cards, then check out the too-often forgotten Universes Within roster. You won’t be disappointed.  

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