In the year On November 17th, the most recent expansion for Magic: The Gathering, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, was released. After the presentation competitions and the opening of several incentives, the edition represents a return to the combination mechanics, which we will explain below.
With The Lost Caverns of Ixalan in both physical and Magic Arena formats, it’s time to take a look at the new mechanics, recurring mechanics, fusions, and clans introduced in this edition. The strong return of dinosaurs and vampires is no more than the appearance that the edition brings. As he says in presentation packages, he “has only scratched the surface”. Dinosaurs, pirates, explorers, mermen and countless creatures await beneath the surface of Ixalan, making exploring the caves an adventure.
For draft posts, for further presentations, unknown, goodbye
Remembering that this is the last time we’ll see the draft and version boosters, let’s start with the products, both of which will be the same for the following versions. The chances of getting “high” cards in both types are great, but in this edition they have increased the level by seeing that the “cave of souls” is open in both types of mail. These same envelopes come in delivery packages, packing six envelopes to build a deck to compete.
The different archetypes made very interesting and fun combinations in presentations and drafts. Above all, a balanced middle level was shown, explorers and dinosaurs as powerful allies. But the most interesting thing is to see how vampires, pirates and mermaids are not left behind. The clans or factions were the main players in this new version and that made it fun to play. In addition, we have found cards that easily fit into other formats.
Classic collection envelopes also had a place, with a little delay it did not appear in the stores in the middle cities. For example, we can see some ‘mana crypts’ dancing around the Malaga market with foil. The same thing happens with the commander, the dinosaur boats (Accelerosaurs) are very interesting and the vampire ships (Blood Wrights) with some modifications, which seem competitive. The first for his accelerated speed and the fearsome creatures that invade the battlefield and the second for his ability to weaken the enemy.
They change to summon bloodlines, vampires, and demons.
This floor includes:
1 ready-to-play 100-card commander deck 2 traditional foil legendary creatures can be the new deck commander for Magic; 8 non-foil rare cards for new Magic cards exclusive to the deck; 90 non-foil Magic card lands, including Basic; 1 special embossed foil commander printed on thick cardboard (not legal in block play); 1 collector’s incentive with samples; 1 non-foil or traditional foil rare or legendary rare card from Fun in Booster Packs from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan; 1 traditional borderless foil rare featured card from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan; 10 double sided tokens; 1 cardboard deck; 1 spindown life counter
This is a deck focused on vampires and ‘Clavileno, the Beginning of the Blessed One’ and ‘Carmen, Fierce Hostess of the Sky’ are guest stars in Feast of Blood. His special commander is ‘Clavileno, the Beginning of the Blessed’, a vampire who turns vampires into demons and summons flying vampire demons. When you play, with some modifications, the theme becomes a dark holiday. Above all, he does not have control over the opponent’s hand.
This ship’s air force stands out in addition to its lifelink ability, an ability we see more among bloodsucking hosts. The presence of ‘Sorin, Lord of Innistrad’ guarantees the creation of vampires. The idea of the deck is to populate the battlefield with small creatures designed to overwhelm opponents. How can it be improved? Especially from this own version including two vampires, ‘Aclazotz’s Bloodshed’ a flying creature and for 4 mana, it doubles the opponent’s life loss on your turn. A vampire demon, one of the Dark Stars of the Lost Caves of Ixalan.
Full deck list here.
Craft and Descend, two mechanics that have more potential than expected
Crafting is an active skill that allows you to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. To activate a crafting skill, you must do three things: banish the permanent with the crafting skill, displace the specified items, and pay mana. Materials are other permanents you control or cards from your graveyard, as defined by the crafting skill, and each card requires its own materials. For example, the Idol of the Deep King says “craft with artifacts”, but other cards may ask you to “craft with creatures” or “craft with cave”. Very useful with cards that have a devastating effect on the battlefield.
A permanent card is dropped every time you go to your graveyard from anywhere. For some cards, it doesn’t matter how many times you go down that turn as long as you go down at least once. It also doesn’t matter if the permanent card is in your graveyard or not. By downloading, most of the cards in this edition become more powerful than their base or activate abilities that add power to the battle table.
Some cards with drawdown abilities count the number of permanent cards in your graveyard, while others count the number of drawdowns that turn. There are also many who never tire of going lower and lower. Cards with Abyss abilities don’t require a minimum of permanent cards in your graveyard, but the more cards you have, the more powerful they become.
Cards are featured in various formats.
With the cards in hand, we’ve been able to verify the power and impact of some of them in an edition that showcases the strength of their editions, at least in the metagame. These three cards are characterized by their abilities, which can be very useful in both commander and modern and normal.
Most notable is the ‘Walking Throne’, a golem artifact that adapts to the clan it suits when it enters the battlefield. Rebuttal 2 lets you persevere on the battlefield and doubles the triggered abilities of creatures of the chosen type. It’s already starting to show up in tribals and it’s no surprise that this card is here to stay.
MagicCon returns to Europe, switch to Amsterdam
We’ll wrap up the week’s news in the world of Magic: The Gathering, starting with the announcement of the 2024 MagicCon circuit date.
February 23 to 25 in Chicago, USA; June 28 to 30 in Amsterdam, Netherlands; October 25 to 27 in Las Vegas, USA.
All information about the three events will be updated on the official MagicCon website, one of the biggest MTG events we’ve been able to enjoy not far from Barcelona. It’s just been revealed that the Modern Horizons III presentation will take place, enough incentive to think hard about going to the biggest magic event in Europe right now.