Unfinity Set Review

Magic: The Gathering is about to receive something very special. Something we’ve only ever had four times in the game’s 30 year history, yet is always a big hit with fans and often gives us a glimpse into where the game is going in the future. We’re getting the fourth ever Un-set, and Unfinity is having us blast off into the stars for a retro sci-fi extravaganza.

Un-sets are Magic’s line of parody releases, full of jokes, quirky art, and mechanics that would never fly in mainstream Magic. Unfinity isn’t set on any world we’ve seen before, instead taking us to the outer space amusement park that is Myra the Magnificent’s Intergalactic Astrotorium of Fun for all the zany, silly things we know and love from previous Unsets. However, it’s also bringing in a few new things that are set to shakeup the whole of MTG for years to come.

The first big new mechanic of Unfinity is stickers. As in actual, sticky stickers you peel and plop onto cards –but don’t worry, they’re more like post-it notes that can be taken off with no damage to the card. Stickers are kind of like a ‘supercounter’, in that they can change properties of your card like power and toughness, names, abilities, and even the art, but they also remain on the card if it goes to the graveyard or exile. If you’re drafting Unfinity, you can take any sticker sheets you get, whereas constructed play requires you to make a mini-deck of ten sticker cards and then take three at random at the start of the game instead.

Stickers are absolutely wild, and can do all sorts of things. Powerful keywords like hexproof, infect, and proliferate, as well as mechanics like graveyard reanimation and flickering are all up for grabs. Alternatively, you can give your cards a nice hat which, in true Un-set fashion, is an actual strategy you can build your deck around.

Next up, we’ve got Attractions. Attractions are a new type of artifact that sit outside your deck, and challenge you to roll a six-sided dice at the start of your first main phase. Hit the lit-up numbers on any of your in-play Attractions with your roll, and you’ll trigger its ability. These things are frighteningly powerful, not just because of their effects – such as Merry-Go-Round giving things horsemanship of all things, or Swinging Ship giving you a second combat – but also the simple act of rolling a dice itself can easily be turned into a powerful value engine in formats like Commander.

“But wait,” I imagine you’re asking, “Un-Sets aren’t legal in Commander, right?”

For previous Un-sets, like Unglued and Unstable, the cards have all been printed with silver borders, denoting that they can’t be used in any main game of Magic and were only for play in their own little, goofy bubble. Un-sets were Un-sets, black border Magic was black border Magic, and never the two shall mix. That is, until Unfinity.

Unfinity is the first time an Un-set has done away with the silver border and opened up a large number of its cards to be playable in Vintage, Legacy, and Commander formats. Instead, the cards too out-there to work in regular Magic are now called “Acorn cards”, and given a small acorn stamp at the bottom to help you tell them apart.

This means you can still have the wild fun of an Unset, and Unfinity delivers it in spades. Acorn cards do all kinds of fun things like Photo Op, which has you post a selfie online and get value based off the answers people give, or turn yourself into a card and wear the top cards of your deck as a hat with Form of the Approach of the Second Sun. Maybe you want to throw some cards instead with a Devil K. Nevil or Dart Throw instead?

However, it also means we’re getting great cards for games outside of the Un-set bubble as well. Stuff like Monitor Monitor, which lets you reroll a dice for just one generic, or Saw In Half to turn one creature into two token copies instead. There’s even legal commanders in the set too, like The Space Family Goblinson, Tusk And Wiskers, or Magar of the Magic Strings.

Perhaps the coolest thing about Unfinity, though, is its alternate art style. Playing up that retro style, these cards are flat, cartoony, and very Jetsons-esque. Particular favourites of mine are the art by famous illustrator David Semple, who did the gorgeous alt-art for cards like the new dog Planeswalker Comet, Stellar Pup, Ambassador Plorpitybloprboop, and the five-card Myra’s Marvels cycle.

Unfinity is launching on October 7 with both Draft and Collector’s boosters. This set may not have any tie-in Commander decks or bundles available, but just cracking a few packs will definitely give you all the whacky, out-of-this-world fun you’ll need. Don’t forget to preorder your packs and singles through Magic Madhouse today!