Magic: The Gathering The Lost Caverns of Ixalan saw out a busy and utterly fantastic year for MTG sets. As the final premier set for the year, it had a lot riding on it, and it also has some of the most entertaining creature types as well.
Following the set’s release, the interest in the set only seemed to increase thanks to unassuming cards causing multiformat shifts. Shaking up Standard, Pioneer, and Modern, while also giving new toys to Commander, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is certainly one to remember!
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Since the set has already been so impactful, it’s no wonder you’ve ended up here. So, welcome to our hub for all things The Lost Caverns of Ixalan! Whether you’re after release dates, the best cards, or even Alchemy spoilers, we’ve got it all!
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Release Date
Thanks to the First Look at The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, the release dates have finally been revealed. Thanks to this, we now know when to expect the story chapters, previews, and, of course, the actual release date. Since these dates are literally just that, dates, we won’t waste your time jazzing them up.
Here are all the release dates for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
- Complete Story Drop – October 20th
- Debut and Previews Begin – October 24th
- MTG Arena Streamer Event – November 9th
- Prerelease In-Store Play Events – November 10th
- MTG Arena Release – November 14th
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Global Release – November 17th
- Alchemy: Ixalan Release – December 5th
As you may have noticed from the above dates, and experienced already, this release structure is not entirely orthodox. Sure, we have previews and events aplenty to look forward to, but the story got a twist this time around. Rather than releasing one episode every day for a short while, Wizards dropped it all at once.
Understandably experimenting to see if this change would be better or worse, unfortunately, Wizards made a mistake this time around. Following the massive story drop, many MTG players complained, disgruntled at so much information and content being released at once. Thankfully, while this story drop may have been a misstep, it’s one easily corrected by Wizards.
Ultimately, we don’t expect to see another monumental seven-chapter story drop any time soon. That being said, however, we wouldn’t at all be surprised if Wizards kept experimenting to try and find the right balance. As a result, it’ll be well worth watching how the release calendar for each set evolves.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Mechanics
Following the Debut Livestream all of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s mechanics have been revealed. As usual, these mechanics are a mix of mechanics new and old, with a few twists on fan favorites too. Below is a quick rundown of each of the new mechanics, with links to our more comprehensive guides too.
Craft
Seemingly the biggest and boldest of the new mechanics, sadly Craft is interesting in name only. Essentially, Craft is simply a new transform mechanic, which mandates certain costs be paid to transform a card. Usually, this isn’t too much trouble, since Craft targets can come from the graveyard, and the reward is typically worthwhile.
To keep things a little bit confusing, the Craft cost to transform a card varies wildly. The Enigma Jewel
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Descend
Somewhat confusingly, Descend is technically three interconnected mechanics in one, rather than just one simple thing. While this may sound rather overwhelming, thankfully, each individual component is rather easy to understand. To make things even easier, we’re going to lay things out as clearly as possible.
Descend X – The namesake mechanic, Descend simply tracks how many permanent cards are in your graveyard. If that number is bigger than X (4 on Didact Echo) the ability is active.
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Descend/Descended – Confusingly sharing the same name, Descend is also the name for when a permanent enters the graveyard. Specifically, as the rules text dictates, “You Descend each time a permanent card is put in your graveyard from anywhere.” The number of times you Decended each turn is tracked and utilized by some cards such as The Mycotyrant.
Fathomless Descent – Last but not least, Fathomless Descent simply checks the number of permanent cards in your graveyard. On spells like Song of Stupefaction this simply determines an X cost.
Discover
Similarly to Cascade, Discover lets you exile cards off the top of your library until you hit a nonland card with a mana value of X or less. Unlike Cascade, this mana value is determined by a number attached to the mechanic, rather than the spells mana value. Alongside this major difference, Discover allows you to add the found card to your hand, should you not wish to cast it for free.
Ultimately, while it’s technically too early to tell, Discover seems to be a great improvement over Cascade. Offering more interesting gameplay opportunities, utility, and balancing, Discover could become a significantly more popular mechanic. While this popularity remains to be seen, one thing is for certain. Discover is going to be incredibly powerful in both Limited and Constructed games.
Map Tokens
Thankfully, like many tokens in MTG, the new Map Tokens are rather simple to understand. At their core, these new tokens can simply be cracked for one mana to let a target creature Explore. Generated by myriad spells and creatures within The Lost Cavners of Ixalan, expect to see a lot of Map Tokens.
Finality Counters
Last but not least, Finality Counters are a new twist on something we’ve seen many times before. Put simply, when a creature with a Finality Counter on it dies, it gets exiled instead. While we’ve seen this effect time and time again, this new Deciduous mechanic does open up some interesting gameplay opportunities.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Story
As we mentioned earlier, the story for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan was rather unorthodox thanks to its distribution. Rather than slowly releasing it over the course of a week, Wizards instead dropped it all at once. While this allowed some players to binge the story as they wished, for better or worse, it was hardly beloved.
Alongside the unusual release cadence, the story of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan was only released as digital chapters. While this is hardly out of the ordinary, recent sets have received audio readings of the chapters, much to the delight of players. Hopefully, in the future, these will return, however, it is unknown whether or not they will.
As for the story itself, if you’re interested, you can read all of the chapters on Wizards of the Coast’s website. In total, there are six main story chapters, as well as one side story to enjoy. In case you’re looking for something a bit shorter, thankfully, the people of Reddit, or rather u/X have you covered.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Spoilers
Considering The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has been out for some time now, it’s safe to say spoiler season is well and truly over. That being said, however, there’s still plenty to be excited and talk about when it comes to the set. After all, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is absolutely loaded with incredible cards that have already been making waves.
For better or worse, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan actually has so many powerful cards, that it’s rather hard to cover them all in one place. Thankfully, we’ve got plenty of other articles to direct you towards to solve that very problem. So, whether you’re after a list of all the best cards, Commander deck reviews, or new deck coverage, we’ve got you covered!
If you’re feeling really adventurous, we’ve even got details about the latest and greatest Alchemy: Ixalan cards!
- Top 10 MTG Best Cards from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan for Constructed
- MTG Best Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Cards!
- These Six Sleeper MTG Ixalan Cards Have cEDH Potential!
- Top 10 Most Expensive The Lost Caverns of Ixalan MTG Cards!
- Blood Rites Commander Deck Review
- Explorers of the Deep Commander Deck Review
- Ahoy Mateys Commander Deck Review
- Veloci-Ramp-Tor Commander Deck Review
- MTG’s Latest Format-Destroying Combo Isn’t as Bad as You Think!
- Two-Card Ixalan Death Combo Takes Over MTG Format!
- MTG Discover Clone Combo Wins the Game Out of Nowhere!
Jurassic World Crossover
Playing into the Dinosaur themes within The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, the set also features a Universes Beyond crossover. As given away by the subheading above, this crossover with the Jurassic World franchise. Found within Set and Collector Boosters, these cards are sure to delight fans of both Magic and Jurassic World.
As an important note, the Jurassic World MTG cards are only Eternal Legal. In case you’re unfamiliar, this means they can only be played in formats like Commander, Legacy, and Vintage.
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Unfortunately, while the Jurassic World crossover cards are very exciting, they’re rather hard to get ahold of. Due to the crossover featuring land alongside the brand-new cards, opening packs has been a bit of a lottery. Thanks to this, prices for some of the Jurassic World cards are rather expensive, to say the least.
As if the, somewhat controversial, mixed-in Universes Beyond cards weren’t enough, there are also Secret Lair cards. Sold directly to consumers, these Secret Lair cards are unfortunately not the best deal out there, however, they do look great. If you’re a fan of sexy Jeff Goldblum, the new Secret Lair cards are literally made for you.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Booster Fun
As if The Lost Caverns of Ixalan didn’t already have enough going on, the set also features multiple Booster Fun treatments. Technically, within a modern MTG set, this is nothing new, as Collector Boosters have been facilitating myriad new art treatments. That being said, however, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan still manages to set itself apart.
Returning after first appearing in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has Neon Ink art treatments. Known as Cosmium Neon Ink this time around, these cards are available in six different colors. As you can see above, each of these has its own unique twist on the same piece of artwork.
In Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, several of the Neon Ink cards proved to be supremely valuable due to their rarity. Found within less than one percent of packs, the Red Neon Ink coloring sells for around $1,200! For better or worse, it’s unclear if this pricing trend will continue into The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
Rather than just having one middling rare being available in Neon Ink, it appears The Lost Caverns of Ixalan will have multiple cards in this treatment. This treatment will also be used for some Special Guest cards that appear in Collector Boosters. So far, only one Neon Ink Special Guest card, Mana Crypt, has been spoiled. To put it bluntly, there is no question that this card is going to be supremely expensive.
For those not satisfied with just one art treatment, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan will also have “Legends of Ixalan” cards. As seen on Breeches, Eager Pillager this borderless art treatment plays into the set’s Mesoamerica aesthetics.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Products
Like almost every modern MTG Set, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has a lot of products for players to enjoy. This includes a number of Commander decks, as well as Booster products. In case you’re curious, below is a full rundown of all the MTG products available in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Prerelease Pack
“Prerelease is the community’s first opportunity to get their hands on the newest Magic: The Gathering release and explore what the set has to offer, and Prerelease Packs are the perfect product to fuel the first events of this new set.”
- 6 Draft Boosters
- 1 foil, year-stamped Rare or Mythic Rare
- 1 Magic: The Gathering Arena code card (only available in select regions)
- 1 deck box
- 1 Spindown die
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Draft Boosters
“Draft Boosters are the ideal booster for play. At Booster Draft events, players strategize on the fly, selecting new cards as they come into their hands to build a powerful deck that wipes out their opponents.”
- 15 Magic: The Gathering cards per booster
- 1 card of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- 3-4 Uncommon cards
- 9-10 Common cards
- 1 Land card (Full-Art Land in 30% of boosters)
- 1 Traditional Foil card replaces a Common in 33% of boosters
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Boosters
“Set Boosters are the best packs to open just for fun, containing gorgeous art cards and the opportunity to explore the set.”
- 12 Magic: The Gathering cards per booster
- 1-4 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- 1 Art Card (foil-stamped Signature Art Card replaces the Art Card in 10% of Boosters)
- 3-7 Uncommon cards
- 3-7 Common cards
- 1 Land card (Traditional Foil in 20% of packs, Full-Art Land in 30% of Boosters)
- 1 Traditional Foil card
- 1 token/ad card, Helper card, or card from The List.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Collector Boosters
“With Collector Boosters, your players get direct access to the coolest cards from the set, with each booster packed with special treatments.”
- 15 Magic: The Gathering cards
- 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher in every pack
- 4 Uncommon cards
- 4 Common cards
- 1 Full-Art Land
- 1 Traditional Foil Jurassic World™ Card (Rare or Land)
- 10-13 Traditional Foil cards in every pack
- 1 Traditional Foil double-sided token
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Decks
“Each 100-card ready-to-play The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Deck makes it easy for Commander fans in your store to grab a deck and play right away.”
- 100-card ready-to-play The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Deck; 2 Traditional Foil + 98 nonfoil cards
- 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack
- 1 foil-etched Display Commander
- 10 double-sided tokens
- 1 life tracker
- 1 strategy insert
- 1 deck box
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Bundle
“The Bundle is a great gift for the Magic superfans. They contain a little bit of everything to get a player’s collection off the ground, plus a unique oversized Spindown life counter themed after the set.”
- 8 Set Boosters
- 1 Jurassic World™ Card
- 1 Traditional Foil alt-art promo card
- 40 basic lands (20 Traditional Foil + 20 nonfoil)
- 1 Spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
- 2 reference cards
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Gift Bundle
- 8 Set Boosters
- 1 Collector Booster
- 1 Jurassic World™ Card
- 1 Traditional Foil alt-art promo card
- 40 basic lands (20 Traditional Foil + 20 nonfoil)
- 1 Spindown life counter
- 1 card storage box
- 2 reference cards
Source: https://t-tees.com
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