Today just marked the end of an almost 20-year-old era for Magic: The Gathering, and this time, it seems to be for good. Magic: The Gathering is slightly over 33 years old, with the first-ever set being Alpha, which launched in early August 1993. As such, almost 20 years out of 33 is a very long time for the franchise, and it all ends today with the official launch of the Reality Fracture set. Despite being available for pre-release for a week now, Reality Fracture's proper release is today.
This is one of the most hyped sets in recent memory, as it not only features all the original planeswalkers from 2007 in one story, but it also has powerful cards and wraps up a major storyline. MTG's Reality Fracture brings back the OG Tarmogoyf as a Mythic that is now playable in Standard, it adds new versions of various characters and events with different colors, and it makes the iconic Blue planeswalker Jace Beleren the enemy of this new set. There is a lot to unpack in Reality Fracture, but as it stands, this is the final appearance of Jace due to his death.
Arguably the face of the franchise for almost 20 years, Magic: The Gathering's planeswalker Jace Beleren officially dies in Reality Fracture, stabbed by Vraska to prevent the Echoverse from destroying the current multiverse. Jace was first introduced as a planeswalker alongside Ajani (White), Liliana (Black), Chandra (Red), and Garruk (Green) in the Lorwyn set in 2007, so it's fitting that after 19 years, WotC brought Lorwyn back with Lorwyn Eclipsed and then killed off Jace in Reality Fracture. Considering that Jace has been the face of the franchise for almost 20 years, often alongside Chandra and, more recently, Loot, Reality Fracture appears to be a memorial for the Blue planeswalker.
دە سەرەوەی تەواوت دروست بکە یەک ئاشکراکردن لە یەک کاتدا.
دوو خاڵ هەڵبژێرە بۆ گۆڕینەوە پێش ئەوەی لە ڕیزبەندی کۆتایی خۆتدا قفڵ بکەیت.
It's not uncommon for MTG characters to come back from the dead, but Jace's story seems very final in Reality Fracture. His mind fragment that became The Theorist, the main villain of the set, is fatally stabbed by Vraska, allowing Jace to be himself in his final moments after repeatedly hurting his friends as they tried to stop the Echoverse. Then, passes his Planeswalker Spark onto his protégé, Tam, who finds a way to let the Eldrazi Emrakul devour the Echoverse and save the day, after a story arc about finding her own identity. It would be hard for future sets to walk all this back just to resurrect Jace, and his story seems to have a genuine ending. This is even reflected in new MTG Reality Fracture cards as part of the story.
Yes, Jace may somehow return, especially in flashbacks or memories of other characters, so his presence is not necessarily over. However, his story seems to be definitively finished now, ending the longest era the game has ever had after almost 20 years. The game is far from over, though, and Magic: The Gathering revealed three new crossovers for October 2026 just a few days ago.
On top of that, Reality Fracture seems to be a celebratory capstone for the entire game. Magic: The Gathering brings back Displacer Kitten in Reality Fracture as a slightly different card, this time White and working with creatures, for example. Even with the delays, this set is primed to be one of the best in the game's history.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/magic-the-gathering-mtg-reality-fracture-jace-death/
