Wizards of the Coast has had huge success using Universes Beyond to build its Magic: The Gathering player base. The IP-crossover sub-brand allows the company to tap into existing fandoms like Final Fantasy — even if that tactic may frustrate longtime fans who enjoy the game’s own characters and lore. Popular franchises aren’t always a good match for Magic, either. Marvel’s Spider-Man veered too far from fantasy tropes, while Avatar: The Last Airbender had to awkwardly stretch its four elements across five colors. But there’s one extremely successful world that would fit perfectly with Magic: Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere. The thematic match between the two properties, and the fact that Sanderson is a lifelong fan of the game, make it feel like a collaboration that is all but inevitable.
The Cosmere spans multiple planets, each with their own civilizations and ways of using magic. While each of Sanderson’s books takes place on a single planet, his series are interconnected by Worldhoppers, like the storyteller Hoid, who can travel between them. The effect is very similar to Magic’s planes and Planeswalkers. Sanderson previously told Polygon that his worldbuilding has been shaped by his lifelong love of tabletop role-playing games like Magic’s sibling Dungeons & Dragons. He even has detailed rules for magic that make his work easy to translate into game mechanics.
Sanderson’s connection to Magic goes deep. Early in his career, he would exchange signed copies of his books for cards that he wanted to add to his collection. In 2018, he wrote the novella Children of the Nameless, which is set in Magic’s gothic horror world of Innistrad. The story was originally free to read on Magic’s website, but it’s now being published in a $250 deluxe edition that will partially benefit the charity Child’s Play
