After a tease at least year’s GenCon preview panel, we’ve now finally had our first look atMagic: The Gathering’supcoming death race-themed set, and it includes a few returning faces and places.
Launching on Jun 28, 2025, Aetherdrift is a race across three different planes and borrows from the likes of Wacky Races and The Fast And The Furious.
As the name suggests for anyone who knows their Magic lore, Aetherdrift will mark the return of Kaladesh, a setting that combines Indian and Steampunk aesthetics into a world of filigree and machinery. We last visited it briefly in March of the Machine, but its last full set was way back in 2017’s Aether Revolt.
However, Kaladesh isn’t the only plane we’ll be visiting. As this set was described as a multiplanar race across three worlds, it also appears as if Muraganda will be making its biggest appearance yet. Muraganda is a primal world full of dinosaurs and insects that hasn’t ever had its own set, but has appeared on cards as far back as Future Sight.
We should’ve anticipated Muraganda, as Modern Horizons 2 had a Vehicle card from the setting called Dermotaxi.
Where Are We Racing?
The third plane is harder to place from the art we have available to us. On the one hand, it could be Fiora from the two Conspiracy sets, as Aetherdrift will include Fioran former planeswalker Daretti. However, his outfit is particularly un-Fioran, being more inspired by Greasers than the Italian renaissance that plane is inspired by.
It could also be Amonkhet. Amonkhet is Magic’s Ancient Egyptian setting, but it’s also a distinctly post-apocalyptic plane we haven’t visited in a few years. With the Mad Max inspiration, and the appearance of very Amonkhet-looking scenery in some of the art released, this seems like the most likely option.
My wildcard guess is this could be a very quick return toDuskmourn. Duskmourn’s entire aesthetic is ‘80s inspired, and the art we’ve seen so far is full of punks and Greasers that fit in. Theconcept art released last yearalso shows a ghost shrouded in television static, which we now know to be one of the plane’s hallmarks.
Alternatively, it could be other high-tech planes like Kamigawa and New Capenna, or even Dominaria to give the set a more traditional fantasy anchor point.
Mechanically, there are no prizes for guessing this set will have a major artifact focus, and likely a particular affinity for Vehicles. Of the three cards we’ve seen so far – Daretti, Rocketeer Engineer; Brightglass Gearhulk, and Earthrumbler – Earthrumber is a Vehicle that gives you an easier way to pseudo-crew Vehicles, while Daretti and Brightglass both care about artifacts in the more general sense.
Aetherdrift will be the first of six tentpole releases for 2025, and so will likely come with Play and Collector boosters alongside at least two Commander decks. If the wacky theme is a bit much for you, then just a few months later we’ll be returning to one of Magic’s most popular planes in Tarkir Dragonstorm.
Magic: The Gathering
Created by Richard Garfield in 1993, Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has become one of the biggest tabletop collectible card games in the world. Taking on the role of a Planeswalker, players build decks of cards and do battle with other players. In excess of 100 additional sets have added new cards to the library, while the brand has expanded into video games, comics, and more.
