I was fortunate enough to be able to attend PAX Prime this year, and just let me tell you that I have never been to a Magic event more geared toward Vorthos in my entire life. I would go so far as to say that the Magic Annex at PAX was set up specifically for Vorthos, and if it was any indication of what it would be like to attend a Magic con or a Wizards of the Coast con . . . take my money right now.

There was so much Vorthos I thought I would break it down for you all in the best way I know how: by using the five faces. If you are unfamiliar with the five faces of Vorthos, or if you would like to refresh your memory, please take a second and check out my column here. My goal with today's column is to go through each of the five faces and what PAX offered a Vorthos who considers him- or herself aligned with that face.

Let’s jump right in.

Of the five faces, the oracle got the most love at PAX Prime. Magic took up the entire annex this year, and the team at Wizards responsible for the event did an outstanding job transforming the building into the likeness of a fantasy world.

For the entirety of PAX weekend, downtown Seattle was home to a groundbreaking Eldrazi sculpture. The arm could be seen from blocks away, erupting from the ground in an attempt to pull the remainder of its subterranean bulk to the surface. As one would approached the annex housing Magic: The Gathering, this massive work of art served as an introduction to what would be an incredible display of Magic flavor inside.

Photo by Wizards of the Coast

The building served as an oracle for PAX attendees. Sculptures of vines, hedrons, and kor adventurers decorated the annex in a way that made walking through the front doors seem like planeswalking directly to Zendikar.

Hedron photo by Wizards of the Coast

Joining players on Zendikar were the Magic Origins five. Each of the cosplayers (one of whom was @cspranklerun) remained in character, creating a deeper sense of immersion that reinforced the idea that we weren’t in Seattle anymore.

Photo by Wizards of the Coast

Players who participated in the spellslinging event on Saturday were rewarded with an eight-sided hedron die. This little item is actually a big deal for Vorthos, as it shows Wizards’s attempt at creating flavorful, real-world items that allow you to bring Zendikar into your everyday life.

The most interesting part of this die design is the fact that it is eight-sided. There are few cards or game states in Magic that would require you to have an eight-sider handy, so upon initial inspection, the die seems rather strange. When you start to think about the die as a marketing item, everything falls into place. If you use this eight-sided die in a completely different game—cough, D&D, cough—other people at the table who are unfamiliar with Magic will ask you about it. These conversations about Magic often lead to other gamers learning about the game, and they will ultimately add to the ever-expanding player base.

Image from http://necrogen-egregore.tumblr.com/

When people talk about cosplay and being an oracle for Magic, everyone always assumes that you have to dress like an existing character within the game. What everyone seems to forget is that you don't have to create the perfect Liliana costume in order to be an oracle. All you have to do is wear a tee shirt. Let me say that one more time:

Just wearing a tee shirt makes you an oracle for Magic.

Whether you are rep’ing your guild or showing your love for world-devouring titans, showcasing your love for Magic helps bridge the gap and bring our fantasy world into the real world. When I wear my Rakdos tee out to the mall and I walk by another Magic fan showcasing her Azorius pride, I get excited and feel as though I am walking through the streets of Ravnica.

When someone not in the know asks me about my “cool demon shirt,” I get excited because it’s an easy way to start talking about Magic. So get out there, and rep a guild!

Finally, for those out there who are interested in crafting a costume that replicates the gorgeous character art found gracing our cards, Wizards had the “Concept to Cosplay” panel featuring professional cosplayer @cspranklerun.

Gamer Vorthoses love top-down design and flavorful game states, and the events at PAX did not disappoint. When you arrive at a typical Magic event, you expect there to be events firing. Whether it’s drafting the new set or signing up for some good old-fashioned Sealed, players expect to be able to crack some packs and smash some faces. The Magic Annex at PAX had Drafts firing all weekend, but not the kind most players expected.

Whoever was responsible for PAX this year had his or her Vorthos hat on the entire time—even the Sealed events were on flavor. Wizards could have easily held a bunch of Magic Origins Sealed events and Drafts in order to highlight their newest product. Instead, they opted to stay on flavor with the theme that the annex was Zendikar by offering Rise of the Eldrazi Drafts instead. What better way to communicate that you were on Zendikar than to have players annihilating each other’s battlefields all weekend long?

Photo by Wizards of the Coast

Also on flavor was Saturday’s spellslinging event “Battle for Zendikar.” For the event, players attending PAX took on the role of the Zendikari attempting to fight off Eldrazi invaders. These unfathomable titans of destruction were represented by members of Wizards R&D and other Magic celebrities like Felicia Day and the Loading Ready Run crew.

Keeping with the on-flavor themes of the weekend, each of the “titans” played special pink-sleeved decks that were themed as flavorful Eldrazi decks. Players who would challenge them were able to pick from three similarly flavorful decks representing the Zendikari resistance:

• Kor
• Allies
• Landfall

Sometimes, the titans would win . . . 

Other times, the Zendikari would be victorious.

A large projection screen would display invading Eldrazi, and with each player victory, those Eldrazi would “take damage,” turning more and more red until defeated and a new preview card would be revealed. This “mini-tournament” was a gamer Vorthos’s dream come true. Not only was every single player involved piloting completely on-flavor decklists, but the entire structure of the mini-tournament was on flavor as well.

While there may not have been any artists set up at PAX this year, there was still plenty for artist Vorthoses to be excited about.

Featured at the event were unique play mats for players to win and purchase. One mat featured up-close shots of the Origins five in beautiful black and white.

The other featured Battle for Zendikar’s key art, allowing players to feel as though they were right behind Gideon, providing backup against the Eldrazi menace.

The panels offered at PAX proved to be of interest for more than their target audience. In the “Concept to Cosplay” panel, Jeremy Jarvis and Mark Winters discussed the importance of silhouettes when designing the look of a new character. Jeremy even commented on the art for Feldon of the Third Path and how Feldon’s face reflecting in the window behind him is lined with the golem of his late wife’s head. Not only does this create the appearance that the two are sharing a kiss, but the head in Feldon’s hands and the reflection of his own form the shape of a heart.

PAX attendees were also greeted by an information booth, where players could pick up a small booklet outlining the weekend and all of the events that would be taking place. The book offered artist Vorthoses a sneak peek at the cool new graphical treatments being used for Battle for Zendikar block.

Photo by Wizards of the Coast

Oh yeah, there’s one last thing I almost forgot. Wizards of the Coast also announced a little something for artists everywhere.

We are getting an art book! The book will feature new art as well as art from the original Zendikar block and concept art from both sets.

This is the moment we have been waiting for, Vorthoses of the world, so make sure you show your support and pick one of these up. Buying one is the easiest way to ensure that we see more art books in the future.

Dreamer Vorthoses care about one thing: storyline. Understandably, information about the upcoming Battle for Zendikar storyline was hard to come by (Wizards wouldn’t want to show all their cards all at once). The informational booklet offered a little bit of insight into the coming conflict, but for fans closely following the story, the information was already known. What PAX did have to offer the dreamers were insights into past decisions made by the creative team. “A Voice for Vorthos Live,” “Building the Best Worlds in Gaming,” and the “Battle for Zendikar Worldbuilding Panel” all offered information of interest for dreamers. If you identify as one, I urge you to check them out.

On the surface, PAX offered the least amount of content for writer Vorthoses out there. There was not a ton of written content to be absorbed, and not all of the previewed cards featured flavor text. Where a writer could find the hidden gem of the weekend was in analyzing the way information was written. From the informational booklet to the preview show to the Sea Gate Theater itself, everything at PAX was written in a way that created a deep level of immersion for everyone involved. Participants in the spellslinging event were Zendikar or Eldrazi, the info booklet welcomed you to Zendikar, and everything you experienced was centered on creating a Vorthosian experience for every attendee. Those are the little touches that every writer would be a fan of.

Wrapping Up

PAX this year was basically the first ever Magic: The Gathering convention. It was an absolute haven of Vorthos goodness, and as a fan of Magic’s flavor, I could not have asked for anything more. I believe that this was the first step in a bright future for Magic’s fans, and I cannot wait to see what Seattle’s Wizards have in store for us in the future.