Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro have created a Magic: The Gathering crossover for The Brothers’ War set, showcasing 15 Transformers cards that are playable within Eternal formats.
The Universes Beyond collaborations began in 2020 with the Walking Dead Secret Lair. Since then, the MTG crossover sets have expanded to Warhammer 40,000 Commander decks in 2022 and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth full Universes Beyondset that’s slated to release in 2023. Found within The Brothers’ War (BRO) Standard-legal set that globally releases on Nov. 18 are 15 Universes Beyond Transformers cards showcasing new mechanics and double-faced legendary Artifact creatures.
All MTG Universes Beyond products are only legal to play within Eternal formats: Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. Despite showing up in BRO set and collector booster packs, the Transformer MTG cards are not legal to play within the Standard format.
Where to find MTG Transformer Universe Beyond cards?
With the global launch of The Brothers’ War on Nov. 18, players can crack set booster packs to find regular versions of the Transformers cards with a Black border. Contained within BRO collector booster packs are booster-fun Shattered Glass Universe versions that showcase extended alternative art and a shattered glass look over the text box.
Players can also find regular versions of the Transformer cards within BRO bundles. And there isn’t a Shatter Glass treatment for the Arcee Sharpshooter//Arcee, Acrobatic Coupe card. The artwork found on the regular versions goes back in time to the 80s when the original cartoon aired from 1984 to 1987. And Shatter Glass versions have a slightly more modern look to them.
What are the mechanics found on MTG Transformers cards?
There are three new mechanics found on MTG Transformers cards: Convert, More Than Meets the Eye, and Living Metal. In addition to the new mechanics, existing mechanics like Adapt, Bolster, Connive, Formidable, Goad, Modular, and Monarch are also found on the Universes Beyond cards.
More Than Meets the Eye
Every MTG Transformer card has More Than Meets the Eye. Each of the 15 cards is double-faced, showcasing a legendary Artifact creature on the front side and a legendary Artifact vehicle on the backside. The More Than Meets the Eye mechanic allows players to cast the backside at an alternative mana cost.
Convert
Some of the MTG Transformers cards have Convert, a mechanic that allows the card to switch to its other side. Optimus Prime, Hero, for example, returns to the battlefield converted when it dies. And the backside of Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist has an activated ability cost that converts the backside Jetfire, Air Guardian back into Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist.
Living Metal
Each of the 15 MTG Transformers cards has the Living Metal mechanic featured on the backside. This enables the legendary Artifact vehicles to also become creatures on your turn, allowing them to attack without a Crew cost.
What are the MTG Transformer cards?
There are a total of 15 MTG Transformer double-face legendary cards. Nine are multicolored, and the remaining six are Monocolored.
Multicolor Transformer cards
- Arcee, Sharpshooter//Arcee, Acrobatic Coupe
- Blaster, Combat DJ//Blaster, Morale Booster
- Cyclonus, the Saboteur//Cyclonus, Cybertronian Fighter
- Flamewar, Brash Veteran//Flamewar, Streetwise Operative
- Goldbug, Humanity’s Ally//Goldbug, Scrappy Scout
- Megatron, Tyrant//Megatron, Destructive Force
- Optimus Prime, Hero//Optimus Prime, Autobot Leader
- Soundwave, Sonic Spy//Soundwave, Superior Captain
- Ultra Magnus, Tactician//Ultra Magnus, Armored Carrier
White
- Prowl, Stoic Strategist//Prowl, Pursuit Vehicle
- Ratchet, Field Medic//Ratchet, Rescue Racer
Blue
- Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist//Jetfire, Air Guardian
Black
- Blitzwing, Cruel Tormentor//Blitzwing, Adaptive Assailant
- Starscream, Power Hungry//Starscream, Seeker Leader
Red
- Slicer, Hired Muscle//Slicer, High-Speed Antagonist
Is a full set planned for MTG Transformers in Universes Beyond?
At the time of writing, WotC has no additional plans to create a full MTG Transformer Universes set. The cards are playable in Eternal formats, but players must combine other cards that don’t thematically match to create a playable deck within those formats.
All images via WotC.