Magic: The Gatheringis returning to the Strixhaven School of Mages, although you’ll need to wait a while before class is back in session, although the set isn’t going to launch until the first half of 2026.
Alongside Strixhaven, Wizards of the Coast has also confirmed the close of the current Omenpaths arc, in a new, currently undetailed event set launching a few months later. Thanks to this, we now have a rough idea of the entire Omenpaths arc, and it’s looking like a doozy.
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The plans for 2026 were revealed at the Gen Con Magic 30th Anniversary Panel, which primarily showcased 2024 and a bit of 2025. We know practically nothing about either set, other than the first codenamed “Yachting” and the second “Ziplining”, closing out Magic’s trend of codenaming sets after sports that started with Throne of Eldraine’s Archery back in 2019.
It has been said by Wizards that the set will be going back to the School of Strixhaven itself, which suggests we might not be exploring the wider plane of Arcavios as many players have wanted. Regardless, Strixhaven is one of Magic’s most successful newer settings, with its five colleges being a slam-dunk thematically, and even getting its own Dungeons & Dragons adaptation with Curriculum of Chaos.
The first Strixhaven set had an emphasis on instant and sorcery spells, which mechanics like ward and magecraft directly relating to the casting of them. It also included the Mystical Archive, a reprint bonus sheet that included rare and powerful cards we’d normally never see in a Standard set like it. It’s not known if this new Strixhaven set will also include the Mystical Archive, but the bonus sheet has become more frequent since the first one, and it was often listed as one of the most popular parts of the set, so there is a high chance we’ll see it again.
The second set of 2026 is going to be an event set. Event sets close out an ongoing story orc, such as March of the Machine this year finishing the Phyrexian Invasion, or War of the Spark in 2019 putting an end to Nicol Bolas. The current arc, which is due to begin in earnest in Wilds of Eldraine this year, focuses on the Omenpaths – holes that connect the planes of the multiverse together. Whether this set will return us to the pre-Omenpath status quo, or introduce another monumental change for the story remains to be seen.
We’ve got a hell of a lot to get through before going to Strixhaven, though. It was also confirmed that in 2025 we’ll be visitingouter space, Tarkir, and even Lorwyn. Meanwhile, next year, we’re going to the animal haven ofBloomburrow, a haunted house inDuskmourn: House Of Horror, solving mysteries in Ravnica inMurders at Karlov Manor, and catching up with some long-running villains in Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
