The MTG Fallout Commander set is “probably the best performing Commander set ever”, according to Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks. He made the remark while discussing the sales prospects for Universes Beyond products during an earnings call with investors on Wednesday.
The MTG Fallout Commander decks released on March 8. Despite being available for less than two months, they’ve made a big enough impact on Hasbro’s financial performance that the firm highlighted them specifically in the earnings call, and its quarterly financial report.
The triple threat of a beloved IP, a timely release alongside the Fallout TV show, and some very fun MTG Commanders for enfranchised players, mean this level of success for the Fallout Commander precon decks isn’t totally surprising. Loading Ready Run’s rumble with the four precons embedded below gives you a good idea of what the decks are like, and the level of fan enthusiasm for the franchise:
Investors are particularly interested in Universes Beyond products (MTG products using outside licenses) after the colossal success of the 2023 Lord of The Rings MTG set, Commander decks, Secret Lairs, and supplemental products, made it the second best selling set of all time. Cocks emphasises in the call that while the Fallout decks have been successful for a Commander set release, they’re still a far smaller product than the Lord of the Rings tie-in range was.
But he is confident that Magic will be able to reach similar heights in 2025 with the forthcoming Universes Beyond Marvel and Final Fantasy products. “I would put them in the same league, at least, with what we saw with Lord of the Rings”, Cocks says. “Multiple sets” are planned with Disney for the Marvel IP – whether that means full draft sets, or a mix of draft sets, Commander precons, and more, is unclear.
Cocks predicts Final Fantasy will “probably dwarf what we did with Lord of the Rings” in Japan, due to the IP’s popularity in that market. He adds that Japan is the second biggest market for both Magic the Gathering, and for trading card games overall.
All of which makes clear that Universes Beyond will only continue to exert a bigger influence on the MTG experience – in keeping with the trends we’ve seen for the past few years. We have another article covering Cocks’ further remarks from the earnings call, which include the much more surprising suggestion that an MTG Arena Commander format might be on the way.
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