The Lost Caverns of Ixalan

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan

 

Commander decks

 

Card comparisons

 

Box Toppers

 

Trivia

 

Art Series

 

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
[[File:{{#setmainimage:The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.png}}|250px]]
Set Information
Set symbol
Symbol description	Eye of the Oltec
Design	Mark Rosewater (lead), Mike Mearls, Ari Nieh, Cameron Williams, Chris Mooney, Dan Musser, Doug Beyer, Erik Lauer, Sam Jiang
Development	Jules Robins (co-lead), Erik Lauer (co-lead), Ethan Fleischer, Reggie Valk, Corey Bowen, Daniel Xu, Adam Prosak, Andrew Brown, Ben Weitz, Jadine Klomparens
Art direction	Ovidio Cartagena
Release date	November 17, 2023
Themes and mechanics	TDFC's, Dinosaur Typal, Maps
Keywords/​ability words	Craft, Descend, Discover, Explore
Set size	291 + 119
Expansion code	LCI
Development codename	Offroading
Outlaws of Thunder Junction Standard
Wilds of Eldraine The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Murders at Karlov Manor
Magic: The Gathering Chronology
Lord of the Rings Holiday Release The Lost Caverns of Ixalan The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Decks

Expansion symbol.

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is the ninety-eighth Magic expansion. It will be released on November 17, 2023.

Set details

“

Treasure Bites Back!

”

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is Magic's take on the “Underground World” trope. It is not a traditional return set: R&D was making an underground set, and Ixalan felt like the best fit for it. It wasn’t the other way round. As such, it is not a mechanical return to the previous set. The set will have Dinosaurs, Merfolk, Pirates, and Vampires, but it won’t be factioned or particularly typal. Thematically, it is more of an action/adventure set.

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan contains 291 regular cards (5 basic lands), and includes randomly inserted traditional foil versions of all cards. The regular cards include 5 full-art "Core" basic lands (#286-291). Alternate card frames have a different card number than the original version. The mural-like "Legends of Ixalan" showcase cards are #292-213, and cards with the Gods of Ixalan treatment are #314-319. Borderless Dinosaurs are #320-333 while "Borderless Oltec" cards are #334-350, and extended art cards are #351-392. Bundle basic lands are #393-402. Promo cards are numbered #403-409. The Neon Ink versions of Cavern of Souls are #410a-410f.

Storyline

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is the second set in the Omenpath Arc. The story takes place a year after the events of March of the Machine. We revisit Ixalan, the plane packed with pirates and dinosaurs. Things have changed since the disappearance of the Immortal Sun. Once again, there is a scramble as the groups race toward the center of Ixalan in search of a new resource: cosmium. Once they get past the caves, they find that Ixalan is a hollow world with Ixalan's Core in the middle and lit by Chimil, its own sun. An ancient civilization, ancestors of the Sun Empire, uses the magic of Chimil to grow in power.

The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Lost Caverns are:

• Matzalantli, the Great Door // The Core

Marketing

Collector Booster

The Lost Caverns is sold in regular 16-card Draft Boosters (one card being a marketing card), Draft Packs, Collector Boosters, Set Boosters, the Lost Caverns of Ixalan Bundle, a Gift Bundle and four Commander decks.

Cosmium Neon Ink

This set sees the return of the "Neon Ink" treatment first seen in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. Six versions of Cavern of Souls are printed in different colors. Similarly, there are six versions of the Special Guest Mana Crypt

Box Toppers

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan features a series of 20 box topper promos (8 uncommons, 7 rares, 5 mythic rares), referred to as the "Treasure Trove". Ninteen cards are reprints from sets other than Ixalan block with one card from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

Special Guests

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan introduces Special Guests. These are 18 highly desirable reprints that are matched to the flavor of the plane they appear in. They are incorporated in The List of the respective sets, and can thus be found in Set Boosters, but also may appear in Collector Boosters. Special Guest cards have their own set code (SPG) and set symbol.

• Lord of Atlantis
• Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
• Bridge From Below
• Underworld Breach
• Kalamax, the Stormsire
• Thrasios, Triton Hero
• Mana Crypt (7 versions)
• Star Compass

Universes Beyond: Jurassic World

The Jurassic World Collection set is a booster insert for The Lost Caves of Ixalan, similar to Transformers in The Brothers' War. Jurassic World cards can be found in Set Boosters, Collector Booster and Bundles. Note that these are original designs, and not skinned cards.

Events

• Prerelease: November 10, 2023
• Open House: November 17-19, 2023
• Friday Night Magic: November 17, 2023 – January 26, 2024
• Commander Nights: November 20, 2023 – February 1, 2024
• Store Championship: December 2 – 10, 2023
• Commander Party: December 15 – 17, 2023

Promos

Cosmium planeswalker symbol on the packaging of the Prerelease card

• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
  • The seasonal dark-frame promos are: Spyglass Siren, Deep-Cavern Bat, Geological Appraiser, Cenote Scout, Bartolomé del Presidio.
• Open House: retro frame Ravenous Chupacabra
• Buy-a-Box: alternate art Jadelight Spelunker.
• Bundle promo: alternate art Hit the Mother Lode.
• Game Day: full alternate art (participation), (Top 8) and (winner).
• Store Championship promos: full-art (participation), (Top 8), textless (winner)
• 30th Anniversary promos: Dragonlord Atarka, Dramatic Reversal, Path of Ancestry and Beast Whisperer

Tokens and markers

Lost Caverns has tokens and markers:

1. 4/4 Angel creature with flying and vigilance for Resplendent Angel.
2. 1/1 Vampire creature with lifelink for Preacher of the Schism.
3. 1/1 Merfolk creature with hexproof for Deeproot Pilgrimage.
4. 1/1 Bat creature with flying for Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal, Bat Colony and Sanguine Evangelist.
5. 1/1 Fungus creature with "This creature can't block." for Broodrage Mycoid and The Mycotyrant.
6. 2/2 Skeleton Pirate creature for .
7. 3/1 Dinosaur creature for Bonehoard Dracosaur and Poetic Ingenuity.
8. 0/1 Dinosaur Egg creature for Palani's Hatcher.
9. 3/3 Dinosaur creature for Nurturing Bristleback, Palani's Hatcher and Roar of the Fifth People.
10. */* Fungus Dinosaur creature for The Skullspore Nexus.
11. 4/4 Golem artifact creature for Master’s Guide-Mural and Master’s Manufactory.
12. 4/3 Vampire Demon creature with flying for Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz.
13. 3/2 Spirit creature for Quintorius Kand.
14. 1/1 Gnome artifact creature for Cosmium Kiln, Oltec Cloud Guard and Threefold Thunderhulk.
15. Map artifact for Get Lost, Journey On, Restless Anchorage, Sentinel of the Nameless City, Spyglass Siren and Waterwind Scout.
16. Treasure artifact for Breeches, Eager Pillager, Bonehoard Dracosaur, Careening Mine Cart, Diamond Pick-Axe, Enterprising Scallywag, Hit the Mother Lode, Magmatic Galleon, Poetic Ingenuity, The Belligerent and Treasure Map.

Themes and mechanics

Transforming double-faced cards are back with those that transform into lands with the Ixalan map-inspired card frame, and the new Craft mechanic. One Adventure card was printed as part of the plane-crossing storyline. The set also introduces descending and its related mechanics, discover, and explore makes a return. Finally, although it's not a primary focus like it was in Ixalan block, there are tribal payoffs for Pirates, Dinosaurs, Merfolk, and Vampires.

Craft is a new way to transform artifacts. By paying a mana cost and exiling permanents you control from the battlefield or from your graveyard with specified qualities, artifacts can transform into more powerful permanents.

Descending is a new mechanic which describes the act of putting a permanent card into a graveyard from anywhere. This is linked to two new ability words, Descend X describing triggers that activate if there are X permanent cards in your graveyard. and fathomless descent, which uses the number of permanent cards in your graveyard as a value.

Discover is a revamped version of cascade with more design space. Instead of being a cast trigger, it's a keyword action that always comes with a value. To Discover X, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a card with mana value X or less. To avoid whiffing on something like a counterspell, there is now a choice to cast the spell or simply put it into your hand. The other exiled cards are put on the bottom of your library.

Explore returns from the original Ixalan set, and now also features on Map tokens, a new predefined token.

Card types

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan introduces the creature subtypes Capybara, Llama, and Snail. The set also introduces the artifact subtype Map. Map tokens have “, , Sacrifice this artifact: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.” Additionally, this set introduces the Quintorius planeswalker type.

In keeping with the set's theme of exploration and decent into the Core, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan introduces the Cave land type.

Counter types

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan introduces Bore counters, Chorus counters, Dread counters, and the new deciduous Finality counters. It also sees the return of Landmark counters, Net counters and Point counters and time counters for the first time since Ixalan, Fallen Empires, Strixhaven: School of Mages, and Doctor Who respectively.

Limited archetypes

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan features the following Limited archetypes:

• : Oltec Ingenuity (Artifact Control)
• : Echoes of the Dead (Descend Control)
• : Going Down! (Descending Beatdown)
• : Dinosaurs of the Sun Empire (Dinosaur Stompy)
• : Malamet Tactics (Buffs Aggro)
• : Dusk Legion Pilgrimage (Sacrifice)
• : Pirates' Plunder (Artifact Aggro)
• : Fungal Festering (Descend Grindy)
• : Thousand-Moon Legion (Tapping Midrange)
• : River Herald Expedition (Explore Midrange)

Cycles

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has TBA cycles.

Cycle name
Deepest Gods	Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization	Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch // Temple of Cyclical Time	Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead	Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might // Temple of Power	Ojer Kaslem, Deepest ... // Temple of ...
	Five mythic rare legendary God creatures that transform into lands when they die. Each land has an activated ability to transform back into creatures.
Uncovered lands		The Everflowing Well // The Myriad Pools		Brass's Tunnel-Grinder // Tecutlan, the Searing Rift
	Five rare legendary colored artifacts that have a trigger when they enter the battlefield and another trigger that transforms them into a land when a condition is met. The lands on the flip side tap to add one mana of their corresponding color, and when their mana is spent to cast a permanent spell, that spell is improved.
Uncommon equipments			Bloodthorn Flail	Diamond Pick-Axe	Glowcap Lantern
	Five uncommon equipments, each costing {M}.
Landcyclesaurs			Rampaging Spiketail		Nurturing Bristleback
	Five common dinosaurs, each of them has an enter the battlefield triggered ability and may be cycled for for a land with a basic land type.
Hidden Caves	Hidden Courtyard	Hidden Cataract	Hidden Necropolis	Hidden Volcano	Hidden Nursery
	Five common nonbasic lands with the new Cave subtype that enter tapped. Each land has an ability to sacrifice itself to discover 4.
Cycle name
Restless manlands	Restless Anchorage	Restless Reef	Restless Vents	Restless Ridgeline	Restless Prairie
	Five allied color lands that can become creatures with an ability and grant a bonus when they attack. They complete the land cycle introduced in Wilds of Eldraine.

Double cycles

Cycle name
Gold mythics		The Ancient One			Sovereign Okinec Ahau	Vito, Fanatic of Aclazotz	Saheeli, the Sun’s Brilliance	The Mycotyrant	Quintorius Kand
	Ten mythic rare dual-colored legendary cards.
Gold rares	Abuelo, Ancestral Echo	Dirge of the Forgotten	Molten Collapse	Palani's Hatcher	Kellan, Daring Traveler	Amalia Benavides Aguirre	The Belligerent	Squirming Emergence
	Ten rare dual-colored cards.
Gold signposts	Master’s Guide-Mural	Uchbenbak, the Great Mistake				Bartolomé del Presidio	Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider	Akawalli, the Seething Tower		Nicanzil, Current Conductor
	Ten uncommon dual-colored cards, each a signpost for a draft archetype.

Reprinted cards

• Cavern of Souls — first printed in Avacyn Restored, last seen in Lord of the Rings Commander.
• Chart a Course — first printed in Ixalan, last seen in Jumpstart.
• Gishath, Sun's Avatar — first printed in Ixalan, last seen in Secret Lair Drop Series: October Superdrop (2021).
• Growing Rites of Itlimoc // Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun — first printed in Ixalan.
• Resplendent Angel — first printed in Core Set 2019.
• Thrashing Brontodon — first printed in Rivals of Ixalan, last seen in Jumpstart 2022.
• Treasure Map // Treasure Cove — first printed in Ixalan, last seen in Secret Lair Commander Deck: From Cute to Brute.

Preconstructed decks

Lost Caverns features four Commander decks that are released as a regular part of a set's product line.

Theme deck name	Color Identity					Commander
Ahoy Mateys		U	B	R		Admiral Brass, Unsinkable
Blood Rites	W		B			Clavileño, First of the Blessed
Explorers of the Deep		U			G	Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Veloci-Ramp-Tor	W			R	G	Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

External links

• Official product page.
• WPN product page.