The 10 most thematically accurate Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Fallout cards

The Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Fallout set is pretty much perfect, with dozens of cards that fit nicely with both universes.

Magic: The Gathering manages to hit the mark with most of its Universes Beyond sets, but the Fallout set is a cut above the rest. It contains not just main characters you could recognize even if you haven’t played the games but niche themes and side quests too that are the perfect nod to long-time fans. That’s why I’ve put together this list showcasing what I think are the ten cards that fit the Fallout universe best.

The most thematically accurate Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Fallout cards

Below, I’ve listed the ten cards from the Magic: The Gathering Universes Beyond Fallout set that I feel best fit the Fallout universe. Of course, there are loads of great MTG cards in this set, but I wanted to boil this list down to the ten that take you right back to the game in the series they’re based on.

10. Intelligence Bobblehead

Intelligence Bobbleheads permanently boost your Intelligence stat in Fallout games. The MTG card stays true to this by allowing you to tap it for one Mana of any color. The real callback to the games is in its power to allow you to draw as many cards as the number of Bobbleheads you control.

This fits with the games because you reap more benefits for having more Bobbleheads, but Intelligence is obviously the most beneficial. Every game feels the same as you start out with poor stats and build them up over dozens of hours. By the end of a playthrough you can talk yourself out of any situation while your weapons gather dust in their holsters.

9. Expert-Level Safe

Safes are a constant source of frustration and joy in the Fallout series. Depending on your Lockpicking skill, you might be able to crack any safe in the wasteland, or be left stumped without a clue how to use a bobby pin. The Expert-Level Safe MTG card is an Artifact that forces you to exile the top two cards of your library face down when it enters the battlefield. Think of this as the loot you’re trying to get at.

After this, you can tap the card to have you and a target opponent secretly choose a number between 1 and 3. If they match, you sacrifice the card and put the cards it exiled with it into the owners’ hands. If not, you exile the top card of your library face down. In a way, you can build up this massive pool of loot to eventually unlock. It’ll just take a long time if you and your opponents don’t match on numbers.

I think this fits the theme of the Fallout games because you never know what you’re going to get, even from a high-skill safe. It could be garbage, or it could change your life, but you won’t know until you crack the safe through what feels like sheer luck.

8. Vault 12: The Necropolis

Vault 12: The Necropolis is one of my favorite MTG cards from this set. As an Enchantment – Saga, it takes a few turns to pay off, but it’s so worth it. Once played, you hand out Rad Counters to all players, then create 2/2 black Zombie Mutant Creature Tokens for all those Rad Counters. Finally, if the Sage isn’t removed, it’ll add two +1/+1 Counters to all your Zombies or Mutants.

In the original Fallout game, Vault 12 is a place players can visit where Vault-Tec experimented on Vault Dwellers with a Vault designed to let radiation flood in. This led to the Ghoulification of every resident, and a political struggle meant that one group moved to live on the surface while the other sheltered underground. The Vault is effectively a Ghoul factory, and that’s exactly how this card plays with the use of radiation.

7. The Master, Transcendent

One of the most disgusting characters in the Fallout franchise, The Master, Transcendent, is a mighty card. It doles out two Rad Counters to one player when it enters the battlefield. Then, you can put a target creature card in a graveyard that was milled this turn into the battlefield under your control. However, now it’s a Mutant with 3/3.

The Master is responsible for creating the Super Mutants in the Fallout universe. He’s an amalgamation of dozens of people’s flesh and a pretty advanced computer, able to do almost anything he wants. His intentions were good, but he ultimately just became a villain.

6. Kellogg, Dangerous Mind

Here’s a guy you’ll recognize if you’ve played Fallout 4. Kellogg awakens the protagonist, steals their baby, and shoots their partner, sparking the game’s main quest. He’s a mercenary out to do whatever the highest bidder pays him to do, and this card nails that perfectly.

Kellogg has Haste and First Strike and creates a Treasure Token whenever he attacks. You can sacrifice five Treasure Tokens to gain control of a target creature for as long as you control Kellogg, making him a potent addition to any deck. What I see here is that he buys loyalty in a turn and makes his own wealth through hits.

5. Yes Man, Personal Securitron

Yes Man appears in Fallout: New Vegas and pretty much does whatever his current owner wants. He has no loyalties, hence his name. I think this card beautifully works in the idea that it has no loyalties while also doing what Yes Man does in the game: help his owner make power moves.

Once played, you can tap Yes Man to give control over him to another player. When you do, you get to draw two cards and put a Quest Token on Yes Man. The Securitron’s Wild Card ability allows Yes Man’s owner to make a tapped 1/1 White Soldier Creature when it leaves the battlefield, meaning you can gain power and still come out on top once the card is gone.

4. Overseer of Vault 76

In Fallout 76, the first main quest you pick up, depending on where you go, is to follow in the footsteps of the Overseer. This character indirectly helps you get on your feet and slowly but surely become a competent wasteland survivor. That’s how their card works, too.

Once played, you can use First Contact, which puts a Quest Counter on the card every time it or another creature with power 3 or less enters the battlefield. Then, at the beginning of combat on your turn, you can remove three Quest Counters from across all your permanents and put a +1/+1 Counter on each creature you control, as well as giving them Vigilance until the end of your turn. You become more powerful thanks to the Overseer, just as it always should be.

3. Mr. House, President and CEO

Mr. House is another character from Fallout: New Vegas. He has you either allying with, or destroying, specific factions in New Vegas to help bring about his new vision of the city. The card is just as despicable as he is, and its power suits him to his cold, cold core.

Once played, you can create a 3/3 colorless Robot Artifact Creature Token whenever you roll a 4 or higher on a die. If you roll a 6 or higher, you instead still create that Token, but also a Treasure Token. By paying 4, you can roll a 6-sided die plus an additional 6-sided die for every Mana from Treasures you spend to activate this ability. You can see how quickly you could build up a tonne of Mana to pay for 4 die rolls each turn and fill the battlefield with creatures and Treasure Tokens.

2. Megaton’s Fate

A card that’s based on an iconic moment in one of the first settlements and questlines you’ll follow in Fallout 3, Megaton’s Fate allows you to make a choice. That’s all Megaton was ever about, but the impact of your choice has far-reaching consequences, just as this card can.

You must choose between two options with this card. Disarm destroys a target artifact and creates four Treasure Tokens. Detonate will deal 8 damage to each creature and give every player 4 Rad Counters. Both of these are impactful and, honestly, Detonate could end a game, but it would be absolutely amazing to finish a match with this MTG card.

1. Commander Sofia Daugerre

When Commander Sofia Daguerre was added as a companion in Fallout 76, I jumped right in and found her. She was one of the first you could get, and Bethesda was upfront with us at the time about their uses. To avoid unfair benefits, companions simply stick around in your C.A.M.P., but they also have companion quests to complete. I think this card beautifully embodies this character and I wouldn’t play a themed match without her.

Daguerre has Flash, meaning she can be summoned at any time an Instant could be cast. That’s great, because she enters the world of Fallout 76 by crashing into it from space. Her ability, Crash Landing, allows her to destroy up to one target legendary permanent, giving the permanent’s owner a Junk Token.

If you’ve played Fallout 76 for a while, you’ll feel how accurate this card is. This character crashes into your world, summons you to help her, and then provides random items when you chat to her. That landing, that flash in your life, is important, though, because it can totally change the environment and a game of MTG.