Magic: The Gathering

For other crossover content and media that references the Fallout series, see References to Fallout in other media.
For more information on Magic: The Gathering outside of the Fallout set, see the Magic: The Gathering Wiki.

The following is based on promotional content.

Magic: The Gathering is a strategy card game, published by Wizards of the Coast and originally created by Richard Garfield in 1993. It is an expansive game system that can be played in many different formats.

In August 2023, it was announced that a Fallout crossover set would be introduced to Magic: The Gathering through its Universes Beyond series. It was released in March 2024. The set consists of four decks of 100 cards in the Commander format.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Universes Beyond is a crossover line in the long-running playing card series. Some cards are "reprints," meaning they are functionally identical to previous cards in name and function, but feature Fallout-themed art. (These cards may be used as aesthetic alternatives in other competitive contexts.) Other cards are new and specific to this set, meant to be played as a distinct game mode.

Background[]

The game involves two players battling customized decks, in which cards represent warriors, forces, resources, and tactics in an abstract battle, waged by warlords and sorcerers across many realms. This existing format and iconography has been re-tooled to fit the Fallout setting.

Game mechanics are likened to fictional concepts, and each card expresses or characterizes the concept it depicts through its gameplay function. For example, the cards that comprise a player's deck are abstracted as the player's "mind," and if a player runs out of cards, they lose. The Wise Mothman compels the opponent to "mill" (discard from their deck) cards regularly. In the semiotics of the game, the opponent is effectively "being driven mad" by the creature's presence, because it is causing sustained damage to their "mind."

The Fallout crossover introduces a unique gameplay mechanic called radiation, where players accrue rad counters and are forced to mill cards and take damage over time. The set also includes a new type of card called Junk Tokens which allow players to salvage a card from the top of their deck.

Notes[]

The illustration for "Fraying Sanity" depicts the dweller of Vault 77, his first appearance since One Man, and a Crate of Puppets.
The name of the card "Harold and Bob, First Numens" invokes the concept of Numens from Project V13.
The "Behemoth of Vault 0" card invokes lore specific to Fallout Tactics, namely Vault 0 and the behemoth robots.
- In Tactics, "behemoth" refers to a type of robot, unrelated to the super mutant behemoths introduced in Fallout 3.
The "Winding Constrictor" card appears to depict a mutant two-headed snake. While references to snakes have been made throughout the Fallout series, snakes themselves have not appeared in any form. The depiction may be based on the two-headed rattlesnakes which would have appeared in Van Buren.
One card appears to depict the New Vegas test creature Gojira.
The card "Branching Evolution" depicts a centaur in the style of Fallout 4's concept art.^[4] Its text pertains to the Master's centaurs from the original Fallout.^[5]
The "Robot" card depicts a securitron with the policeman face typical of a Mark I, firing the Mark II's Gatling laser on its right hand.
- "Security Squadron" features 010011110110111001100101.
The "Piper Wright" card depicts Piper's trenchcoat and press cap as black, rather than red.

Behind the scenes[]

Magic: The Gathering was parodied in Fallout 2 as Tragic the Garnering.
- Tragic cards appeared as a quest item collected by Wooz in Fallout 2.
- The fictional IP was mentioned again in a terminal entry in Fallout: New Vegas, establishing that Tragic has existed since at least 2023.
  - Coincidentally, in real life, 2023 was the year that the Magic: The Gathering/Fallout crossover was announced.
The illustration of John Hancock's card "Hancock, Ghoulish Mayor" is based on a 1785 portrait of the historical John Hancock by Edward Savage.
The card "General's Enforcer" mentions veteran rangers, and features four rangers fanned out behind a fifth at the center. The illustration resembles several publicity illustrations synonymous with the Wasteland franchise, and the text may allude to Ranger General Vargas.
- Tycho, the original Desert Ranger character from Fallout, alludes to Wasteland lore, and modern depictions assign him the armor worn by veteran rangers in Fallout: New Vegas, like the illustration's central figure.
In the art for "ED-E, Lonesome Eyebot," ED-E regards a toaster in the desert, possibly alluding to the infamous toaster repair skill from Wasteland.
- This reference would be precedented in Dane's dialogue in Fallout.^[6]
- The illustration also features a lawn gnome and an effigy of Vault Boy made from a volley ball.
The cartoon art for "Ravages of War" is an homage to the famous apocalyptic reveal from Planet of the Apes.