Magic: The Gathering’s mission to integrate outside properties into its game system is continuing with a Transformers crossover coming in Magic’s next set, Brothers’ War.
There will be 15 Transformers cards introduced in Brothers’ War that will be found in set boosters, collector boosters, and bundles, Wizards of the Coast announced at Hasbro’s PulseCon panel today. This is the first time a Universes Beyond product will be found in a Standard-legal product.
Each double-sided card depicts Transformers characters ranging from the first generation of Transformers to recent bots from modern comic book runs. Of the 15 cards, six were revealed today. The rest will be shown off during the Magic panel on Oct. 1.
The six cards revealed today are:
- Optimus Prime, Autobot Leader // Optimus Prime, Hero
- Goldbug, Scrappy Scout // Goldbug, Humanity’s Ally
- Starscream, Seeker Leader // Starscream, Power Hungry
- Soundwave, Superior Captain // Soundwave, Sonic Spy
- Flamewar, Streetwise Operative // Flamewar, Brash Veteran
- Slicer, High-Speed Antagonist // Slicer, Hired Muscle
Convert is the Magic version of transform for the bots. Each card has a condition that makes it convert to the other side.
Flamewar, Brash Veteran transforms as an activated ability. The cost to activate the ability is to sacrifice an Artifact. Then put a +1/+1 counter on Flamewar and convert it.
Two new mechanics are being introduced with the Transformers cards: Living Metal and More Than Meets the Eye.
Living Metal is found on the converted side of the bots. As long as it’s your turn, the vehicle with Living Metal is also a creature. This gets around crew costs, which none of the Transformers cards so far have. More Than Meets the Eye is an alternate casting cost that has the card enter the battlefield converted.
Similar to other Universes Beyond releases and the new Unfinity set, cards will be black-bordered with a special foil stamp designating them as Universes Beyond releases. The Transformers cards will be legal in eternal formats Commander, Legacy, and Vintage.
Magic: The Gathering has greatly expanded its Universes Beyond products since its introduction in 2020 with The Walking Dead Secret Lair. There have been Secret Lair drops collaborating with Street Fighter and Stranger Things. On Oct. 7, four Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks will drop, featuring new cards, mechanics, and reprints with Warhammer-themed art.
In the future, Universes Beyond will expand to include Doctor Who Commander decks and a full, draftable, and Modern-legal Lord of the Rings set. With the Transformers collaboration coming in a main expansion, this may be a trial run for future Universes Beyond releases to accompany Standard-legal sets.
