Ahoy, matey! Hold on tight, as we are set to sail to Ixalan, a world of discovery - lush jungles, gorgeous waterways, and no small amount of treasure. Much of that treasure, not to mention unimaginable power, lies within Orazca, a lost city of gold. In fact, this would be a lovely vacation spot if it weren't for everyone constantly fighting to locate and control Orazca.
Four tribes - Dinosaurs, Pirates, Merfolk, and Vampires . A quest for a mysterious and Golden City. Endless opportunities for adventure. And, of course, what's an adventure without rewarding loot to uncover along the journey?
In the world of Magic, we call the loot: new cards!
And the best place to get your hands on these brand-new cards is none other than the Prerelease event.
What Exactly is a Prerelease? How to Join?
So, prereleases are happening this weekend at game stores all across the country! Visit MTG's store locator to find a local store hosting a Prerelease event near you. These events are Sealed Deck format events, where players are given Prerelease Packs and time to construct a 40-card minimum deck. Unravel the madness at your local store this weekend!
Prerelease brings people together, you get to meet players of new and old, pick up some fresh new cards and turn on your strategic mind to use. When the set is brand new, the equilibrium is fairly equal as everybody plays with the new additions for the very first time, and the event is usually casual enough for you to just relax and have fun testing out synergies.
Like all the other prerelease, Ixalan's pre-release pack contains 6 booster packs and a promo card which you could use to construct your 40-card deck, a dice, and a prerelease box which you can use to store your cards.
What's New in Ixalan?
Firstly, we have departed the sandy ancient Egyptian inspired world of Amonkhet and traversed to the realm of great opportunities.
Magic's 76th expansion's story about desire. It is desire for power, desire for companionship, desire for approval, desire for discovery, and everyone is racing to get what they want first. For centuries, the untamed jungles of Ixalan have hidden a coveted secret: Orazca, the city of gold, which houses a mysterious artifact, the Immortal Sun. But no secret can remain undiscovered, and no treasure can be taken uncontested. The dinosaur riding warriors of the Sun Empire and the merfolk shamans of the rival River Heralds are met by the vampire conquistadores of the Legion of Dusk and the pirates of the Brazen Coalition.
Ixalan is essentially a tribal set, focusing on Pirates, Dinosaurs, Merfolk and Vampires. This is the first time Magic has an uneven color distribution of factions within a set. Though the tribes are asymmetrical, the colors are not. Each color has two tribes. The fact that Pirates and Dinosaurs both need more cards to become tribes properly (as compared to merfolk and vampires, who are already pretty established) was a factor in them becoming the two 3 color factions.
Some of the old mechanics returning to Ixalan are i) Raid - Khans of Tarkir (now connected to Pirates), ii) Crew from Kaladesh (connected to the ships from Torrezon), and iii) Transform from Innistrad (the double-faced cards now highlighting the tales and tools of discovery).
There are two new named mechanics from Ixalan:
Explore — Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back on top or into your graveyard.
Enrage — Whenever a creature with this ability word is dealt damage, it has some consequences. This is the signature mechanic of the Dinosaurs.
Overall, I am very excited for Ixalan, as the set is filled with tons of extremely cool and flavourful please-build-around-me cards. There are a number of potential standouts in terms of tournament staples as well, some old - like Spell Pierce and Opt to some new powerhouses like Ripjaw Raptor and some of the nasty pirates!
Although we have a bunch of top tier Standard decks that survive rotation more or less unscathed. I am positive that some new cards of Ixalan will not just enhance the existing decks but also sprout new brews that may challenge the tier list.
So, What Is MTG Arena?
Magic: The Gathering Arena or MTG Arena is a digital Magic game, created under the umbrella of Magic Digital Next by the Digital Games Studio. It is the successor of Magic Duels. The game will exist independently from Magic Online. It is currently under Closed Beta development. And according to Tse of Magic: The Gathering, "The official release date should be some time next year".
Officially revealed on September 7, the sound effects, colors and overall design of the battlefield are more engaging and faster-paced. Tse also added that, the R&D learned a lot from Magic Duels and Magic Online and the game will be available to download with no fee and is a free-to-play game. Players looking to enhance their game experience will have the opportunity to do so through play rewards and in-game purchases, but purchases are not required to access the full depth of authentic Magic gameplay.
Unlike Magic Online, MTG Arena will only focus on the newest cards and game modes. It will feature the full card sets in Standard, with around 1,000 new cards added every year. Wizards of the Coast is exploring opportunities to connect real-world in-store play with digital play — for instance, giving rewards in MTG Arena for attending a Prerelease.
When asked, "Are there any plans to support or venture MTG Arena into esports?" , Tse replied, "Yes, as you can see the game offers a fantastic spectator experience and we are definitely looking into the possibility of moving towards that direction".
MTG Arena is currently planned for PC only, but the game is built on a flexible engine to expand to other platforms when it's ready. Interested players of old and new can sign up for the Closed Beta at PlayMTGArena.com.
Freddy is the Editor for IGN SEA. He has been a Magic enthusiast since 1998, and he can't wait to test out the new meta.
