Ranking All Lost Caverns of Ixalan Planeswalkers

Last updated on November 30, 2023

Quintorius Kand | Illustration by Zoltan Boros

As part of our check-in on the planes of the Multiverse after the events of March of the Machine and The Aftermath, it’s been neat to see how our desparked planeswalker friends are doing. But what about those who still have it?

We’re only getting one planeswalker per set for the foreseeable future, and I was delighted when it was revealed that our pachyderm pal Quintorius is the one for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

Let’s get in the spirit of Ixalan and take a closer look at Quintorius Kand!

Why Is There Only One Planeswalker in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan?

Liliana of the Veil | Illustration by Martina Fackova

This is sort of a two-pronged question because I can take it either from the design perspective or from the story perspective. Why not both?

In terms of design, Mark Rosewater confirmed during a preview panel at the Barcelona GalaxyCon that the story was a big factor in reducing the number of planeswalkers that were going to be printed over the coming years. Gavin Verhey also brought up how the reduced number of planeswalkers allowed the design teams to spend more time on each individual one.

In terms of story, there are fewer planeswalkers across the Multiverse as a result of the Desparkening (also Great Desparking or Great Desparkening) at the end of New Phyrexia’s Invasion. At this time, many planeswalkers lost their spark, though some didn’t notice until they attempted to planeswalk away (looking at you, Rowan).

Nobody knows for sure why the Desparkening happened, although Teferi thinks it may be the Multiverse trying to heal itself. You know, between Elspeth setting off the Filigree Silex… within the Blind Eternities, no less. Plus, Wrenn and Realmbreaker pulling off a stunning move by sideboarding part of the planar deck mid-game (Norn's Dominion out; Unyaro in). Yeah, that’s a lot for one Multiverse to take.

Who Is the Planeswalker in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan?

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan gives Quintorius Kand his first planeswalker card after he gained his spark during the events of March of the Machine. Since he gained his spark during the Invasion, it makes sense that our elephant boy would be one of the few planeswalkers that kept it.

Quint has come to Ixalan on Saheeli and Huatli’s invitation. They seem to have found evidence of the mysterious “Coin Empire,” a planar-spanning civilization that Quint believes has left behind a coin motif across the planes he has visited since becoming a planeswalker.

Quintorius Kand

Let’s break down the card itself. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I love the rainbow-colored printing of #352, but beyond the art, Quintorius Kand looks really flavorful.

It just so happens that I was scouting how to use my two Quintorius (Quintorius, Loremaster and Quintorius, Field Historian) cards in a Commander deck, and Quintorius Kand will be right at home there. Quint’s planeswalker card keeps up with his Strixhaven printing and his March of the Machine appearance, playing around with 3/2 Spirit tokens and spells in exile.

Quintorius Kand comes in for 5 mana, which I don’t feel I can complain about because all Quintorius cards eat exactly that much mana (). It has a triggered ability that gives you life and deals damage to each opponent whenever you cast a spell from exile, and it’s 2 life at that. Good start.

The first loyalty ability pumps out 3/2 red and white non-flying Spirit tokens. One at a time, for +1 loyalty. They’re the same tokens that the other Quintorius cards pump out, so that feels fair overall. No notes.

The -3 loyalty ability to discover 4 is where things start to get interesting. If you cast the spell that you get when you discover 4, you automatically trigger Quintorius Kand’s triggered ability. Neat. 4 seems like a good number to discover, especially when I look at the number of up-to-4-mana red or white creatures in LCI. It seems like a fair number to make Quintorius Kand playable in the Limited environment, but I’ll let our Limited/Sealed experts dive further into that.

Discover is also an interesting alternative to cascade since it lets you put the card in your hand. With cascade, you may choose not to cast it, like a Counterspell when there’s nothing to counter. All the exiled cards just go to the bottom of your library.

Quint’s ultimate ability gives you all kinds of power. The mana you gain scales with the number of cards that you exile, but are you going to aim for one big spell, or are you going to play a selection of greatest hits? I think I’m having a flashback….

In terms of synergies with the LCI cards we know of so far, Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation looks great in a “World’s Favorite Token Tripler” t-shirt. And Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might can turn the 2 damage from Quint’s triggered ability into 4 damage, or more if you buff this god up.

Geological Appraiser seems like a good fit. You can discover it with Quint’s -3 loyalty ability, and since you cast it without paying its mana cost, the Appraiser’s ETB trigger lets you discover 3. Hit the Mother Lode, on the other hand, is a big spell with discover 10 (!). You’ll still only get one trigger if you cast the spell from exile rather than putting it into your hand, but it’s fun to play big, splashy spells.

Wrap Up

Nissa of Shadowed Boughs | Illustration by Yongjae Choi

And that’s our look at the first planeswalker card for our boy, Quint! I’m personally hyped, but that’s probably because I have a soft spot for elephants. Wasn’t too obvious, was it?

What do you think of this planeswalker version of Quintorius Kand? Which other cards from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan or Jurassic World are you looking forward to playing with it? Let me know in the comments below or over on Draftsim’s Discord.

Until next time, keep uncovering new mysteries!