The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Previews Continue

This week continued the preview season for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. The majority of the most exciting cards from the main set were shown last week, but this week saw the remaining Special Guest and Universes Beyond: Jurassic World cards previewed in addition to the various all new Commander cards. The new Commander decks in particular - even outside of the brand new cards - seem all around outstanding to pick up and play. For more details, you can check out my preview season recap article also going live today right here on CoolStuffInc.com.

As an additional note, Wizards of the Coast announced an unfortunate round of product delays impacting The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. This time it is the collector booster packs specifically, with shops all around the world likely not receiving their supply in time for the prerelease next week. Wizards notes they should arrive soon after, however, so players interested in the product won't have to wait too long. Additionally, the Commander deck supply in North America will be limited during prerelease weekend, but supply should increase soon after.

Hasbro Quarterly Report Shows Magic Doing Well

Hasbro posted their quarterly reports and held an investor call. The key details were shared on Twitter via Hipsters of the Coast. Magic: The Gathering was noted to be doing very well on the backs of releases such as The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth and Wilds of Eldraine. Dungeons & Dragons similarly had a strong showing, and both games each saw record years thus far on the whole. Hasbro, as a company, was noted to be down as a whole, but are being helped greatly by Wizards of the Coast. The Netflix animated television series was mentioned as still being in the works, and there was a noted surprise over the demand for Universes Beyond: Fallout.

A Wild MTG Chatbot Appears

Competitive player Zachary Kiihne revealed last Friday a fun project on Twitter: an MTG chatbot! Zachary posted an article onto Medium as well, detailing some basics of the functionality and goals of the bot. If you'd like to go see what all the fuss is about and ask the bot some questions, you can check out the bot right here. Zachary has noted further interest in making improvements on his Twitter page, so make sure to check in with him and provide him with feedback as well!

Catch Me In The Pit

On the lighter side of the news, Twitter user Dumpster Jesus posted a fun video of a mosh pit during a heavy metal concert. The reason? A group of people got together in the center of the pit itself to play a game of Magic: The Gathering! While mosh pits are often known for being aggressive and adrenaline-fueled spaces during concerts, sometimes you find bits of levity amongst the chaos. This tweet went somewhat viral within Magic: The Gathering spaces and many took some joy and amusement away from the juxtaposition of the scene.

Decklist of the Week

Boros Heroic | Pioneer | Brett Girvan, 1st Place ANZ Super Series Final

• Companion (1)
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring

• Creatures (18)
• 3 Dreadhorde Arcanist
• 3 Tenth District Legionnaire
• 4 Favored Hoplite
• 4 Illuminator Virtuoso
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear

• Instants (18)
• 2 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave
• 4 Defiant Strike
• 4 Gods Willing
• 4 Monstrous Rage
• 4 Reckless Rage

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Homestead Courage
• 4 Ancestral Anger

• Lands (18)
• 1 Plains
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 4 Battlefield Forge
• 4 Inspiring Vantage
• 4 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 4 Sacred Foundry

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Den of the Bugbear
• 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring
• 1 Loran's Escape
• 1 Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield
• 2 Destroy Evil
• 2 Flowstone Infusion
• 2 Rending Volley
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 3 Showdown of the Skalds

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Frank Karsten once again shared his latest Metagame Mentor article over on magic.gg and highlighted the most recent Regional Championships in APAC territories. These included China and Australia-New Zealand. Fu Yu took home the trophy at the MTG China Open with Rakdos Sacrifice while Brett Girvan won it in the ANZ Super Series Final with Boros Heroic. Of the two, I've opted to showcase Boros Heroic, as it has been on a notable uptick in Pioneer and its MTG Arena counterpart of Explorer lately. The reason is the printing of the new card Monstrous Rage from Wilds of Eldraine, which gave the deck some serious firepower, both pumping the creatures while simultaneously providing evasion in the form of trample. It's a great all-in deck to play at local events or to grind up the ladder to mythic, so give it a shot for yourself and see how it was able to take down such a large event for yourself!

Paige Smith

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