"Over the last five years, Magic: The Gathering games have gotten a bit strange. Cards featuring characters from Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, and, in a few weeks, Avatar: The Last Airbender are starting to show up with increasing frequency, making a typical Friday Night Magic game look more like a match in Fortnite. For some, this is a welcome change, allowing Magic to entice newcomers and invigorate existing players with properties they know and love."
"But the modern idea started in 2020 with Magic's Secret Lair product. Originally, Secret Lair products weren't full sets, or even original cards. Existing Magic cards were revamped with new art from popular artists or IPs and sold at a premium as collector's items. However, with The Walking Dead Secret Lair, Magic publisher Wizards of the Coast decided to create totally new cards set within Robert Kirkman's zombie universe - and it blew up."
Magic: The Gathering has broadened its card offerings to include licensed crossover sets featuring franchises such as Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. The modern crossover strategy accelerated with the 2020 Secret Lair product line, which moved from reimagined art to fully new cards tied to external properties, exemplified by a Walking Dead release that sold extremely well. Some players welcome the crossovers for attracting newcomers and refreshing interest among existing players. Other players worry that frequent licensed releases erode Magic's original identity, compromise card quality, and threaten the game's longevity. The tension reflects diverging priorities between commercial success and preserving core game culture.
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