On October 25th, 2024 Wizards of the Coast announced that Universes Beyond sets, sets containing intellectual property from outside of the Magic: the Gathering cannon, will be legal to be played in all Magic formats, rather than being contained to only Modern or Commander, as was precedent since the first Universes Beyond products were released in 2021. When Universes Beyond products were first announced, Wizards of the Coast stated that Universes Beyond cards would never be legal in Standard. The reasoning for this decision was self-evident. Many players do not want to engage with intellectual property exogenous to Magic: the Gathering.  At the time, the idea of being forced to play with Universes Cards in the classic Standard format was laughable. A gallows-humor of sorts shortly arose regarding the possibility of "Shocking your Spiderman" or "Bolting your Mickey Mouse", but Wizards assured us that this would never be the case. Standard would always be a refuge from Universes Beyond, and while market research confirmed that most players had no issue with Universes Beyond products existing in some capacity, it was clear that many players wanted nothing to do with foreign IPs. Including Universes Beyond sets in Standard strips these players of the last remaining refuge they had from Universes Beyond cards, and will leave them no other choice than to disengage with Magic: the Gathering entirely.

Since the Wizards of the Coast announcement on October 24th, feedback online and in person has been almost entirely negative. Many players on x dot com stating that they are quitting the game, others stating simply that this is the worst decision Wizards of the Coast has ever made. This is a document petitioning for Wizards to reverse its decision to include Universes Beyond in Standard and Pioneer formats. The inclusion of these sets in Traditional magic formats is alienating to players in the most extreme way possible, inevitably leading to a decline in sales and the ultimate destruction of the game. 

Magic: the Gathering is a game that has lasted for 30 years and has required the effort of thousands of people outside of Wizards of the Coast to maintain and facilitate the continuation of the game. People have devoted their lives to Magic: the Gathering. These people are right to demand that their game remains untainted by non-Magic properties. Game-store owners, employees, tournament judges, online creators, artists, and, of course, players, are the people who keep Magic: the Gathering going. This petition intends to empower and combine the spirits of all of these groups, and give a voice to anyone who feels abandoned and betrayed by Wizards of the Coast. 

If anything in this document rings true to you, please consider signing this petition and adding your voice to the thousands who have already decried the decision by Wizards of the Coast. We hope it counts.