MTG head designer says he’s “also frustrated” by Final Fantasy supply issues

The head designer at Magic: The Gathering, Mark Rosewater, has addressed the massive demand for the new Final Fantasy MTG set, promising that “more is coming.”

In a post on his Tumblr blog, Rosewater took the time to address how the high demand for the new Final Fantasy MTG set has outstripped demand, as well as inflated demand for Universes Beyond cards in general.

Before Final Fantasy’s Universes Beyond MTG set, “The Lord of the Rings was the best-selling expansion of all time”, began Rosewater. “Final Fantasy broke the record for the best-selling set before it came out,” he continued. “It’s hard to even describe the volume of how large a printing [Final Fantasy] was.”

In addition to upending Standard play with powerhouses like Vivi Ornitier, the Final Fantasy MTG set has proven staggeringly popular, highlighting Wizards of the Coast’s limited capacity to meet such high levels of fan demand. Final Fantasy is a cultural juggernaut, and it follows that fans of the franchise want to see their favourite characters and moments from the games re-invented in MTG card form.

“We anticipated a giant demand,” elaborated Roswater. “We were ready for something of the scope we had never seen before,” he continued. “It turned out, we weren’t even close to the actual demand.”

Rosewater then took the opportunity to address fans directly.

“I understand you are all frustrated,” he offered. “We want to meet demand. Every booster pack we don’t have that someone wants to buy is a booster pack we’re not selling,” he added. “We’re doing everything in our power to try and address it.”

With the Spider-Man MTG set due for release on September 26, Wizards will once again find itself wrestling with a high-demand Universes Beyond set, which will likely stretch its production capacity. However, despite the possibility of further disappointment for fans down the line, it is heartening to see Rosewater address existing concerns.

If you’re looking for fellow Magic: The Gathering players, planeswalk on down to the Wargamer Discord community.

Continue Reading