Magic: The Gathering's 10 Coolest Collaboration Sets Of All Time, Ranked

Jul 20, 2026 - 13:02
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Magic: The Gathering's 10 Coolest Collaboration Sets Of All Time, Ranked
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Updated  Jul 20, 2026, 5:04 AM EDT

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Ever since the first franchise collaboration with The Walking Dead in 2020, Magic: The Gathering has received an ever-growing catalog of crossovers thanks to its Universes Beyond product line. Ranging from Secret Lairs to full playsets, each collaboration has plenty of beautiful art or engaging mechanics that make it stand apart from the others. While every Universes Beyond collaboration is unique in its own way, some have much more to offer than the rest.

One of the first sets that comes to mind for the best MTG collabs is Dungeons & Dragons, implementing creatures and mechanics from the iconic tabletop game. While the set was fantastic, it isn't classified as a Universes Beyond crossover, given the franchise is also owned by Wizards Of The Coast. Even putting D&D aside, there are countless other excellent collaborations with MTG that are definitely worth checking out and even adding to your collection if you can.

13 Transformers, Cards In Disguise

Secret Lair Drops, Brothers' War Card Promos

The Transformers franchise has received a lot of love over the years from the MTG card creators, with three fully unique Secret Lair drops alongside some draftable promo cards. Being included in the Brothers' War set was a great decision both mechanically and thematically, reflecting the strained relationship between Megatron and Optimus. Despite each card in the sets being a reskinned version of existing ones, the art and mechanics are fantastically flavorful for franchise fans.

While the Optimus Prime vs Megatron set only includes three cards, they're all reversible to showcase the transformed vehicle versions of each character.

Each card in the various sets depicts iconic locations or moments in the franchise's history, with description text reflecting their significance. The Optimus Prime vs Megatron set is an especially great choice for card collectors, as putting all three together forms an artistic panorama.

12 Marvel's First Splash Into Magic: The Gathering

Secret Lair Drop

Releasing on November 4, 2024, the Marvel Secret Lair is the most recent Universes Beyond collaboration, offering some outstanding Commander potential for fans. The five Commanders from the upcoming secret lair drop are Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Storm, and Wolverine, each coming with reprints and original variants of multiple other spells that pair excellently with their chosen commander. Featuring some of the most iconic characters from the Marvel universe, the mechanics are equally impressive, with Captain America especially having some intense combo potential for Artifact decks.

Despite Secret Lair not being the most beginner-friendly concept, this collaboration is still a great way to get more players to try out Magic: The Gathering from other fandoms. While some fans will be disappointed that the collaboration is missing some of the most iconic Marvel characters, like Spider-Man or Deadpool that were further developed with the full set release and commander decks not long after the Secret Lair drop.

11 The Gargantuan Godzilla, With Friends

Secret Lair Lands, Ikoria: Lair Of Behemoth Card Promos

The classic Godzilla fits excellently alongside some of the most monolithic creatures in the card game, with mechanics emphasizing their overwhelming power. Unfortunately, for players wanting to get a hold of all 19 cards in the set, it took a combination of luck and financial commitment to acquire them all, given they weren't available for purchase from Secret Lair. On top of the booster and box set cards, there was also a separate five-land Secret Lair that showcased Godzilla roaming across the various lands of the MTG universe.

In addition to the Secret Lair and booster promos, the Godzilla, King of Monsters card can only be obtained as an inclusion in the set booster, while three are exclusively from Japanese text booster packs.

While the concept of the towering lizard looks fantastic in Magic: The Gathering, they struggle to give Godzilla the spotlight he deserves. With Godzilla and the others often used in large creature decks like dinosaur tribal, Godzilla and company tend to blend in with the other huge monsters on the field. While some fans would prefer Godzilla and his friends to have a more significant field presence, the cards are still incredibly cool and showcase each creature's intimidating appearance in great detail.

10 The Stealthy Assassin's Creed Set

Secret Lair Drops, Themed Booster Set

With two Secret Lairs, a booster set, and a starter kit to boot, the Assassin's Creed set was one of the more easily accessible collaborations to date. Being somewhat of a middle ground between the standard Secret Lair drops and full-on Commander sets, The Assassin's Creed collaboration featured 100 cards that ranged from brand-new card additions to flavorful retextures of existing ones. Overall, this Universes Beyond set succeeded in accurately implementing the franchise's most iconic mechanics and characters into the card game, while breaking a MTG tradition of not including historical figures.

From the beginnings of Altaïr to the more recent game incarnations, the Assassin's Creed booster set lets players take on a variety of different playstyles with flavored cards. The Secret Lair drops also provided some great additions as well, featuring variations of some incredibly powerful commanders that fit right in with the franchise's themes. For the second Secret Lair drop, WOTC opted for a set of classic artifacts that look like they came right out of Da Vinci's sketchbook, making for even cooler versions of already useful cards.

9 The Nostalgic Jurassic Park Cards

Secret Lair Drops, Lost Caverns Of Ixalan Promo Cards

Dinosaurs are a bread-and-butter option for many creature-based Commander players out there, making it no surprise the Jurassic Park set was a hit for old fans and dedicated players alike. Ranging from brand-new cards to Secret Lair reprints, this line had plenty of value to offer players, while fitting in greatly with the already dinosaur-centric Lost Caverns of Ixalan set. Being draftable from these Ixalan booster sets, the Jurassic Park cards became more accessible as well, providing unique Commanders or deck-boosting cards for any dinosaur tribal players.

The double-sided land Secret Lair also provided some beautiful full-art drawings that show iconic locations before and after disaster strikes by flipping the card over, fitting perfectly with the chaotic events of the franchise while providing additional value. The detailed art is one of the most shining aspects of these sets, with the artists showcasing the pure terror and detail of the franchises' most popular dinosaurs in creative ways. The Life Breaks Free Secret Lair is one of the more unique appearances in a Secret Lair collaboration yet, with popping borders that encapsulate the detailed art on the great selection of cards, ranging from standard dinosaurs to tribal staples like Etali, Primal Storm.

8 The Incredibly Thematic Street Fighter Cards

Secret Lair Drop

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the classic fighting game, the Street Fighter collaboration features eight unique legendary creature cards featuring fan-favorite characters from the franchise, like Chun-Li, Ryu, and Zangeif. Alongside the new and unique character cards also came a bonus reskin of the ever-popular Lightning Bolt in the form of the iconic Hadoken, which added even more value to the drop. Each new card has inspired the use of mechanics that make for thematic Commanders or simply great inclusions to pre-existing decks.

The Street Fighter Secret Lair is by far one of the most flavorful collaborations released so far, being incredibly faithful to the source material with its implementation. Chun Li's multi-kicker and Kiryu's Training are just two examples of well-implemented abilities that help the characters jump right out of the game and onto the cards, especially alongside their gorgeous art. Incorporating character backstories and signature moves into their abilities, these unique and flavorful cards are a fantastic addition to anyone's collection.

7 Sony's Superdrop Was Incredibly Flavorful

Themed Cards Worthy Of PlayStation's Greatest Hits

While the Secret Lair format can often limit a collaboration's potential success, Sony's Secret Lair superdrop did a fantastic job of translating some of PlayStation's most iconic games into 7 distinct bundles to choose from, with a familiar Sol Ring reprint in the form of a borderless Twisted Metal card in addition to the following Secret Lair drops:

  • Secret Lair x The Last of Us Part I
  • Secret Lair x The Last of Us Part II
  • Secret Lair x God of War: Greek
  • Secret Lair x God of War: Norse
  • Secret Lair x Uncharted
  • Secret Lair x Horizon: Into the Forbidden West
  • Secret Lair x Ghost of Tsushima

With each drop being based around some of Sony's greatest hits, each of the cards included in the bundles pairs fairly well together, while finding creative ways to use older mechanics like Partners once again. While collecting all the cards included in the Superdrop will set you back a pretty penny, even if you were able to snag them at MSRP, it sets the stage for even more studios to follow with their own themed legacy drops for fans to enjoy.

6 The Time-Bending Doctor Who Collaboration

Secret Lair Drop, Commander Decks, Collectors Boosters

While they may not be the most popular Universes Beyond collaboration, the Doctor Who sets are an amazing product for fans of the long-running sci-fi franchise. Covering every Doctor incarnation to date with its four Commander decks, Secret Lair drops, and collector boosters, this set provided everything fans of the beloved sci-fi series could want and more. Not only are each of the four commander decks strong on their own, but they offer multiple existing mechanics used to great effect with Doctor Companions, or entirely new ones like Time Travel.

Deck Name

Primary Commanders

Colors

Timey-Wimey

The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler

Blue, Red, White

Blast From The Past

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith

Green, White, Blue

Masters of Evil

Davros, Dalek Creator, Missy

Blue, Black, Red

Paradox Power

The Thirteenth Doctor and Yasmin Khan

Green, Blue, Red

Being the central theme of the series, Time Travel allows players to manipulate counters on their cards as if they were traveling through time themselves, fast-forwarding or rewinding at will with activated abilities to create unique and unexpected results. Not only does the set's mechanics provide incredible flavor for the franchise, but it's jam-packed with countless references and Easter eggs for fans to discover, being spread apart through each of the Commander decks' respective themes. On top of these Commander decks, multiple Secret Lair drops were also released soon after, with one including the absent 14th and 15th Doctors and Sonic Screwdriver, another with five Dalek-themed lands, alongside a third dedicated to the iconic Weeping Angels.

5 The Apocalyptic Fallout Franchise

Secret Lair Drop, Commander Decks, Collector Boosters

Being another incredibly popular franchise, the Fallout Universes Beyond set had big shoes to fill to impress its dedicated fanbase, and thankfully, the Commander decks were each varied and incredibly fun to use. While they vary in strength and price respectively, each deck has a clear theme that features various factions plucked from each entry in the franchise. Ranging from the original Fallout, to the iconic New Vegas, and all the way to Fallout 76, this collaboration was spread across four Commander decks and three Secret Lair drops.

Deck Name

Primary Commanders

Colors

Scrappy Survivors

Dogmeat, Ever Loyal or Preston Garey, Minuteman

Red, Green, White

Science!

Dr. Madison Li or Liberty Prime, Recharged

Blue, White, Red

Hail, Ceasar

Ceasar, Legion's Emperor or Mr. House, President and CEO

Red, White, Black

Mutant Menace

The Wise Mothman or The Master, Transcendent

Black, Green, Blue

Rather than sticking to a single faction for each of the commander sets, the Fallout decks aimed to include as many fan-favorite factions, mutants, and characters as possible while maintaining deck cohesion. The collector boosters also allowed players the chance to get some incredibly rare bobblehead cards and foil versions of the Commander cards, featuring existing variants and originals alike.

The Secret Lairs make up for the Commander decks' limited number of artifact cards, allowing players to collect various S.P.E.C.I.A.L. traits, custom Vault Boy art cards, and powerful lands.

4 Avatar: The Last Airbender Brought Great New Staples

A Great Addition To The Standard Card Pool

Despite facing criticism for being both a children's cartoon and for introducing screenshot-style art into the game, Avatar: The Last Airbender​​​​​​'s collaboration quickly rose to the spot of one of the fastest-selling MTG sets in the franchise's history. Being praised for its powerful card additions and unique mechanics that had a surprising amount of depth to them, on top of oftentimes gorgeous depictions of fan-favorite characters, it's not hard to see why the set was so successful on release.

The only thing holding Avatar: The Last Airbender's collaboration with MTG back from reaching its full potential was the strange decision not to release a set of commander decks alongside the set drop, which felt like a surefire win given the series is already divided into four distinct elements, each have their own unique combat styles and ideologies.

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