2025 is almost over, and that means it’s time to take a look back at the year in Magic. There were six sets released. That’s the most we’ve ever seen in a single year, and while that was kind of overwhelming in a lot of ways, it also means that we got six different Limited formats this year. Because Limited is my favorite way of playing Magic it was nice getting to experience so many different formats in a single year.
However, not all Limited formats are created equal. In fact, this year I think we received both an all-time great Limited format and an all-time terrible one. In this article I’ll evaluate those two sets as well as the other four that came out this year.
WHAT MAKES A LIMITED FORMAT “GOOD,” ANYWAY?
There isn’t an empirical answer to this question. Everyone defines “good” differently, but I do think there is one thing that most Limited players would agree is the most crucial – replay value. You want to be able to draft a set multiple times and have the experience feel significantly different over time.
For a set to do well when it comes to replay value, it needs to have good color balance, distinct and interesting archetypes and mechanics, viable buildaround strategies, and not have too many bombs. The flavor of a set is also a factor, because if playing the format makes you feel like you can immerse yourself in an interesting setting it is even more fun, but for me that’s often just the cherry on top for a Limited format. It’s not crucial for a Limited format to be a good one.
SPIDER-MAN/INTO THE OMENPATHS: F
Let’s look at these sets from worst to best, starting with Spider-Man.
Before Spider-Man was even close to being fully revealed, I expressed my concerns about this Limited format. I was alarmed by the fact that the set was incredibly small. It only had 191 cards, while typical sets that we draft have 280+. I specifically was concerned with replay value for this reason, since it meant seeing more of the same cards over and over again than you would in a typical format. I compared the set to Coldsnap, the last time they tried to make a small set have its own Limited format.
However, I did end that article on an optimistic note – with the hope that the Pick Two format and past mistakes would mean that Spider-Man wouldn’t be a terrible Limited format. I was wrong. Spider-Man was one of the worst Limited formats of all time, right there with Coldsnap.
In addition to simply seeing the same cards way too often, Spider-Man also has a colossal problem when it comes to color balance, making its replay value even worse. Red was unplayable, even when it was wide open. According to 17lands data, there is only a single non-rare red card in the set with a positive win rate.
With its 56.4% Game in Hand Win Rate, Raging Goblinoids/Lavaborn Goblins is the only non-Rare or Mythic Red card in the set with a higher win-rate than 17lands users’ average win rate in the set (55.5%)
While Red’s unplayability is certainly the biggest problem, it’s far from the only one. The set also had only 5 two-color archetypes instead of the usual 10, the “headliner” mechanics are basically retreads of mechanics we’ve already seen before, they don’t appear on very many cards, and then there’s the whole debacle where the cards in the set have entirely different names and art depending on whether you are playing digitally or in paper.
In short, it was a set that wasn’t particularly fun to draft even a single time. I’m a Limited junkie who drafts most sets 50+ times. By the time I finished my 10th Spider-Man draft, I had no interest in ever picking it up again.
As bad as Spider-Man was, the good news is that the remaining sets of 2025 are all average or better.
TARKIR: DRAGONSTORM: C
Tarkir: Dragonstorm marked a return to one of Magic’s most beloved settings, and it really knocked it out of the park when it came to flavor. The mechanics that they introduced for each of the Tarkir factions were also well-designed, with each of them feeling both new and in keeping with what we’ve seen of these factions in the past. But, there were some things that detracted from this set overall.
The biggest problem with Tarkir: Dragonstorm is that there were essentially only two consistently viable decks: Red/White Aggro and 5-color Dragon Soup. While I do applaud a set for having both viable aggro and control decks, it was problematic that each of these was really the only representative of each of those powerful archetypes, and midrange decks were largely nowhere to be found.
I hope you’re ready to see these cards over, and over, and over again.
This unfortunately created many drafts that felt super similar. Either you ended up taking lots of awesome one and two drops in Red or White, or you took some Dragonstorm Globes, some Dragonstorms, and a bunch of Dragons. And while it was nice that both of these broad archetypes could support multiple drafters in any given pod, it also meant that you ended up primarily playing with and against many of the same cards.
EDGE OF ETERNITIES: B-
The greatest strength of Edge of Eternities is its color and archetype balance. There’s not really a color pair that dominates in a big way, and there’s not one that is unplayable either. According to 17lands data, the delta between the worst and best color pair in the format is only about 3 percentage points. In your typical set, that gap is usually about 7 percent.
This meant that you ended up being able to draft the set dozens of times and still find yourself doing things in the format that you haven’t done before. However, despite the fact that it has all these different things you could do, the actual gameplay was forgettable because so many games went in the same direction.
Most of the decks in the format were pretty slow. After all, the headliner mechanics like Spacecraft, Landfall, Landers and Warp are all mechanics that make you wait awhile to get the most value out of your cards. This resulted in games often playing out the exact same way. Both players would build out their board state and then whoever got a super powerful game-changing Uncommon first – like Glacier Godmaw or Mouth of the Storm – would just win the game.
AETHERDRIFT: B
Aetherdrift has a lot in common with Edge of Eternities. Both had a bunch of modes of transportation in them that aren’t always creatures, and both were fairly slow formats. However, while games in Edge of Eternities often felt very similar to one another, one of the best things about Aetherdrift is that there were tons of unconventional ways to win the game, something that makes it stand out.
It’s a set filled with really fun build-arounds at lower rarities that could win you the game in super unconventional ways. For example, you could get there by milling your opponent out with Aether Syphon, you could draft a bunch of vanilla creatures and go crazy with Fang-Druid Summoner, or you could drain all of your opponent’s life with Haunt the Network.
However, the coolest buildaround in the set – and probably the best buildaround of the year – was Push the Limit. You could draft that 7-mana Sorcery and mediocre cycling Vehicles no one wanted, and legitimately win the game by reanimating them all in a single turn. It felt like playing Living End in Limited, and that’s quite the experience.
Obviously with only a “B”, Aetherdrift wasn’t perfect. I think the set’s biggest problem is that the elements that were the most hyped about it were the “Start your Engines!” mechanic and Vehicles, and both of those things fell flat in a big way. In fact, the color pair that was the most concentrated on those things – Red/White – was nigh unplayable, with Push the Limit decks just about the only way to make them work.
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER: B
While they both receive a “B,” I think Avatar: the Last Airbender gets a slightly higher B than Aetherdrift does. Think of it as an 85% versus an 87%.
Of all the sets released this year, I think that Avatar did the best job when it comes to mechanic design. All four of the bending mechanics are unique and a lot of fun to play with, and they are all incredibly viable in Limited too, having big impacts on games. I’ve never watched the show, but I gather that those who have also think they’re designed really well when it comes to flavor too, which certainly earns it a few extra points.
The set also has some really cool mono-colored payoffs, most of which are incredibly viable, giving this format a unique route you can take that just isn’t possible in most Limited formats.
However, Avatar isn’t perfect. There are way too many cards in the set that are all about aggression. After all, every bending mechanic apart from Waterbending is all about tempo or attacking – whether you’re making firebending mana, airbending a creature out of the way, or animating a land into a hasty creature.
This results in a problem that is very similar to Edge of Eternities – even though the decks are different, many games play out the same. Both players try and curve out and kill each other quickly. Whoever gets the best curve out and/or cards that generate tempo advantages tends to win.
There are a very significant number of games where you just lose no matter what you do in Avatar. Because tempo is king in the format, missing a land drop is absolutely devastating, and the set also has a plethora of insanely strong Rares and Mythics that are game-breaking and unbeatable. This does mean a significant number of games end with you feeling pretty frustrated.
FINAL FANTASY: A
Final Fantasy is the only “A” of the year for me, and the best Limited format of the year by a wide margin.
It simply checks all of the boxes that need to be checked in order for a set to have near-limitless replay value. It has the best aspects of the other sets of the year in spades. Like Edge of Eternities it has amazing color and color pair balance. Like Tarkir: Dragonstorm aggro and control decks are both quite viable, but midrange decks are too. Like Avatar: the Last Airbender it has really well-designed, synergistic, and fun mechanics and color pairs. And like Aetherdrift it has some really awesome buildarounds.
But if there’s one thing I really want to single at as my favorite thing about the format, it’s the Saga Creatures. Sagas are already a fan favorite, because they give you some sweet slow-drip value while also often telling a story through it’s different chapters.
These Saga Creatures are meant to represent the Summon spells in the Final Fantasy franchise, and that’s perfect, because they are powerful beings that are only around temporarily. So, these Saga Creatures have to give themselves up after their last chapter.
I also think the whole premise of Saga Creatures is just a good design, as making sure that they eventually die keeps them from taking over the game in too big of a way. They were both fun to play with and against in Final Fantasy Limited, and they were the highlight of a set filled with great stuff..
I know that there’s a lot of negative feelings out there about Universes Beyond, and a set like Spider-Man was like the culmination of everything that could go wrong with such a set. But the fact that Final Fantasy and Avatar: the Last Airbender were such good Limited formats shows you that they can also be done really, really well.
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What do you think was the best Limited format of the year? Or the worst one? Let me know over on X or Bluesky.
Jacob has been playing Magic for the better part of 24 years, and he especially loves playing Magic’s Limited formats. He also holds a PhD in history from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he started his YouTube channel, “Nizzahon Magic,” where he combines his interests with many videos covering Magic’s competitive history. When he’s not playing Magic or making Magic content, he can be found teaching college-level history courses or caring for a menagerie of pets with his wife.