Magic: The Gathering (MTG) was widely regarded as the first commercial trading card game, created by Richard Garfield in 1993. The card game series started with a card set called “Limited Edition Alpha,”  featuring different types of fantasy creatures, such as dragons and elves.

Now, they have expanded to include different characters.  From “The Hobbit’s” Gandalf, to “My Little Pony’s” Pinkie Pie. Players have mixed feelings about the introduction of Intellectual Property (IPs) not originating from MTG.

Universes Beyond (UB) and Secret Lairs are usually special guest cards  from other genres. One of the new UB sets that came out focused on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. This set included detailed art work from the old comics and mechanics that synchronized the deck and made it desirable for fans.

The TMNT set caused dispute from the MTG community for making the card game feel less like a fantasy and more like a cash-grab collaboration fest.

Secret Lairs is a sub-brand website owned by MTG to release unique art and cards usually from either a special UB set or a special collaboration with different IPs like UB. The difference was that Secret Lair’s cards were more exclusive and harder to get with limited prints and sold exclusively on a website compared to UB which can be found anywhere.

While it’s heavily debated, I believe that different IPs have been a perfect way to gather new players. For example, one of the new creature types was Lucy from the series “Fallout.” Characters with a fan-base outside of MTG is what, I believe, draws new players to the community.

I think the MTG community will eventually come to understand that jokes and lore from other franchises and other IPs will open the door for new players to join and feel included so they can see the characters they love in a new and expanded format.