Rivals of Ixalan

Rivals of Ixalan
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics	Tribal, Double-faced cards, Treasure tokens, City's Blessing
Keywords/​ability words	Transform, Ascend, Enrage, Explore, Raid
Set size	196 + 9
Expansion code	RIX
Development codename	Eggs

Rivals of Ixalan is the 77^th Magic expansion, and the second in the Ixalan block. It will be released on January 19, 2018, and is a small expansion.

Set details

Rivals of Ixalan is the last regular small expansion to be released. The set contains 196 cards (TBA common, TBA uncommon, TBA rare, and TBA mythic rare) and includes randomly inserted premium versions of all cards. Some of the rares are Double-faced cards which were printed on a seperate print sheet. Nine additional cards are found in the set's planeswalker decks (2 mythic planeswalkers, 2 rares, 2 uncommons, 2 commons, and 1 common dual land). These are numbered #197/196 to #205/196. With the exception of the Elder Dinosaur cycle, all the tribes are staying in their same colors from Ixalan.

Storyline

“

Stake your claim. Dominate the opposition. Rule the city.

”

The legendary city of Orazca has been found, but it will not be claimed without a fight. The winner will wield the greatest power of the plane.

The cards that represent the Story Spotlights in Ixalan are: TBA

Marketing

Rivals of Ixalan is sold in 16-card boosters (one card being a marketing card), two planeswalker decks and the Rivals of Ixalan bundle. The boosters feature artwork from TBA, Angrath, the Flame-Chained, TBA, Frilled Deathspitter, and TBA. The set doesn't feature a Masterpiece Series.

As part of the preview season, Wizards of the Coast again distributed trackable game pieces to stores, fans, volunteers, and some well-known community folk. As game pieces travelled from from geochache to geocache, the distances they travelled influenced the release of preview cards. By tracking Dinosaurs, Merfolk, Vampires, and Pirates individually, accompanied by votes on social media, it will be decided who controls the golden city at the end of the Rivals of Ixalan story.

Events

• Prerelease Events take place on January 13, 2018
• Magic Online Launch: January 15, 2018

Promotional Cards

• Magic Open House: Full-art foil Silvergill Adept
• Prerelease: a stamped card that can be any rare or mythic rare from the set.
• Draft Weekend Launch promo: Brass's Bounty
• Standard Showdown: foil land with art by Rebecca Guay
• Magic League: foil Evolving Wilds
• Store Championship: full-art foil Ghalta, Primal Hunger
• Buy-a-Box: Captain's Hook
• FNM promos:
  • 1/1 Merfolk token with Hexproof — Treasure (River Heralds flavored)
  • City's Blessing marker — 0/1 Red Elemental with "At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature and return target card named Rekindling Phoenix from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste until end of turn"
  • 2/2 Illusion token with "When this creature becomes target of a spell, sacrifice it. — 1/1 Saproling token

Tokens and markers

Ixalan features 12 tokens and markers.

Themes and mechanics

Transform and double-faced cards are carried over from Ixalan. The front side of some of them is multicolored. The backside is still a Legendary Land.

Enrage, Explore and Raid also return.

There is only one new named mechanic:

• Ascend — If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.
  • If you have the city's blessing, you gain a significant advantage depending on the spell you played.
  • A special marker may be used to indicate the city's blessing on the battlefield. This is not a token, because it can't be destroyed.

Card types

• Return of the Elder subtype with the Elder Dinosaurs, the first Elders that aren't Dragons.

Cycles

Rivals of Ixalan has at least one cycle.

• Elder Dinosaurs: Six rare legendary Elder Dinosaurs. — Zetalpa, Primal Dawn , N..., Primal Tide , Tetzimoc, Primal Death , Etali, Primal Storm ,, Ghalta, Primal Hunger and Zacama, Primal Calamity (multicolored)

Reprinted cards

• Silvergill Adept, first printed in Lorwyn
• Evolving Wilds, first printed in Rise of the Eldrazi, last seen in Iconic Masters

Preconstructed decks

Rivals of Ixalan will have two planeswalker decks:

Planeswalker deck name	Colors Included					Planeswalker
Vraska			B			Vraska, Scheming Gorgon
Angrath			B	R		Angrath, Minotaur Pirate

Notable cards

TBA