Last updated on August 30, 2024
Ixalan Preview Art – Illustration by Alix Branwyn
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan was Magic: The Gathering's final Standard-legal release for 2023. It took us back to the Mesoamerican-inspired plane of Ixalan, full of pirates, merfolk, vampires, and dino-riding humans, with an underground twist on top.
The set features everything relating to dinosaurs, mana ramp, and brutal nature scenes. We've even got an exciting reprint: Mana Crypt! (Kind of…)
We've gathered an entire expedition of information, so let's go Spelunking!
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: Basic Information
Set Details
Chart a Course | Illustration by James Ryman
| Set Symbol |  |
| Set Code | LCI |
| Hashtag | #MTGIxalan |
| Number of Cards | 286 |
| Rarities | 108 commons, 92 Uncommons, 64 Rares, 22 Mythic Rares |
| Mechanics | Craft, Descend, Discover, Explore, Map Tokens, Transforming Double-face Cards, Finality Counters |
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Previews start | October 24, 2023 |
| First Looks | September 22, 2023 |
| Full gallery available | November 3, 2023 |
| Available on Draftsim's Draft Simulator | November 3, 2023 |
| Digital release date | November 14, 2023 |
| Available on Arena Tutor | November 14, 2023 |
| Prerelease week | November 10, 2023 |
| Paper release date | November 17, 2023 |
| MTG Arena Streamer Event | November 9, 2023 |
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is playable in all tabletop formats where Standard cards are legal, including Pioneer, Modern, Pauper, Vintage, Legacy, and Commander, as well as Explorer, Historic, Timeless, Brawl, and Alchemy on Magic Arena. There's also Alchemy: Ixalan for an adjusted Ixalan experience with Arena-only cards.
Wizards of the Coast’s Standard rotation schedule says Caverns remains in Standard until Autumn 2026 (that's to say, for almost three years).
About The Lost Caverns of Ixalan: The Story
Emissary of Sunrise | Illustration by Deruchenko Alexander
History: Ixalan on the Surface
Ixalan was introduced into the Magic Multiverse back in September 2017 and is both the name of the plane and one of its two continents.
The Sun Empire of the west had been at war with the invading Dusk Legion – an army of vampire conquistadors hailing from the Eastern continent of Torrezon – and had the occasional brush with the Brazen Coalition, a loose amalgam of sea-traders-turned-pirates. Then the Phyrexians invaded and burned and compleated everything in their wake, including the mighty Etali, Primal Conqueror in the events of March of the Machine.
This forced former enemies into an uneasy alliance against their common foe. As told in Miguel Lopez's short story “Three Hundred Steps Under the Sun.”
If you'd like to explore Ixalan's lore a bit more in-depth, here is Part One of Wizards' Planeswalker's Guide to Ixalan from 2017, and then go deep with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan lore.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Setting
The Core | Illustration by Piotr Dura
With the Phyrexians defeated across the whole Multiverse by the end of the events of March of the Machine, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan deals, at least in part, with the aftermath of the Phyrexian invasion.
According to Magic's Head Designer Mark Rosewater, “The Phyrexian war was the largest conflict almost every plane had ever seen, and has become an integral part of the identity of each plane. There's now a “Before the war” and “After the war”.
Ovidio Cartagena specified that Ixalan was a “hollow” plane and that the story and cards take place at the core caverns as characters seek a new, mysterious “resource of power.”
Set Mechanics
Discover
Discover debuted in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. It has you exile cards off the top of your library until you hit something with a mana value equal to or less than the discover number. You can then cast it for free, or put it into your hand!
Descend
Descend is a mechanic introduced in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan that is used in a variety of different ways and always dealing with permanents in your graveyard. In the case of Uchbenbak, it works as a threshold for an activated ability, while in Souls of the Lost, it's a simple counter.
Craft
Craft is a mechanic that, well, let's you craft with artifacts! With The Enigma Jewel, you can pay a bunch of mana () and some specific nonland permanents, you can transform this into Locus of Enlightenment.
Explore
Explore is back, a surprise to nobody who played the original Ixalan. Cenote Scout was the first explore card we got to see from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and it's a simple 1/1 that explores on ETB. Solid.
Map Tokens
Map tokens are a token type that can be sacrificed to have a creature explore at sorcery speed. It's thematic, features beautiful art, and makes the explore mechanic more flexible!
Double-Faced Cards
Dual-faced cards return in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, with some powerful and interesting combinations of cards. Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might flips into the Temple of Power, and Huatli, Poet of Unity transforms into Roar of the Fifth People. The Matzalantli, the Great Door transforms from a good looter into an incredible mana source, The Core.
Caves
Several cards care about lands that are caves to provide helpful effects. Kind of like how finding a cave can change your whole expedition, or at the very least, provide a little benefit.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Card Gallery
White
Blue
Black
Red
Green
Multicolor
Colorless
Land
Notable Cards
Quintorius Kand
Quintorius Kand is the only planeswalker in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. It's a 5-mana walker that has a static ability rewarding you for casting spells from exile. Additionally, it can create a 3/2 spirit, discover 4, or generate a bunch of mana and card advantage with its ultimate.
Allied-Color Restless Creature Lands
We got the enemy-colored cycle of restless creature lands in Wilds of Eldraine, so in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, we come full-circle with the allied-color cards. Each of these lands are unique in their abilities and have interesting attack-trigger abilities that promote activating and going sideways.
Special Guests (Mana Crypt!) and Cosmium Neon Ink
Wizards of the Coast went a bit wild with the box toppers and Special Guests this time around. Lord of Atlantis and Coercive Portal are great playables that have wonderful art, but even WotC knows everybody wants the Mana Crypt.
Not only does the Crypt appear in box-topper packs, but it even has a chance to appear in one of your collector boosters as a “Special Guest” card! Here's the full gallery of alternate-arts deemed “Cosmium Neon Ink.” The box toppers come in foil when you buy a collector booster box, and non-foil for draft and set booster boxes.
Some of the most powerful and desired cards in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan have alternate-art versions. These alternate versions have one base version and five other alternative versions that feature one of the five colors of Magic more prominently.
Cavern of Souls
Cavern of Souls is legal in both Standard (and Pioneer)! The card empowers creature-based, typal strategies against control decks, and it causes quite a stir. However, given the low sampling of control decks in both formats, it's impact is lessened somewhat. At the very least, its price will hopefully drop!
Jurassic World Collection
Magic's collaboration with Jurassic World came out, appropriately, alongside The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. These cards are found occasionally in your average set booster and always in collector boosters.
Full-Art Lands
In case you were living under a rock the last few years, basically every Standard set release has its own suite of full-art basic lands. They're not in every pack, but they go for pennies on 3rd-party marketplaces, so they're pretty accessible. The lands coming in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan are quite unique. They feature a full top-to-bottom art piece underneath the card's name and type in a form we've never seen before. I quite like it, and I think it'll catch most player's eyes more than previous full-art basics.
Available Products
Draft Boosters
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Draft Boosters should come as a surprise to no one. You get your standard 15-card packs meant for drafting plus a box topper. The box topper is extra special this time around, and may even pay for the box and then some if you get a Mana Crypt.
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF IXALAN—Discover powerful relics and craft tools to give you an edge against the deadly dinosaurs, cunning traps, and ancient gods at the center of the world
- BEST BOOSTERS FOR DRAFTING—Draft Boosters are designed to draft a deck and play with friends; everyone grabs 3 packs and passes them around to pick cards. Add some lands and you're ready for epic 2-player battles
- TREASURE TROVE BOX TOPPER—Every box contains hidden treasure, with 1 Artifact reprint Box Topper card featuring exclusive Borderless alt-art
- RARE OR MYTHIC RARE IN EVERY PACK—Every pack contains at least 1 card of rarity Rare or higher and may contain another with a shining Traditional Foil treatment
- PLAY A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES & STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
Set Boosters
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Boosters are your standard made-to-be-opened pack. They contain a dozen cards plus a chance at a Jurassic World Collection card and varying numbers of rare cards inside. They're excellent for pack wars, prize support, or just cracking packs!
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF IXALAN—Discover powerful relics and craft tools to give you an edge against the deadly dinosaurs, cunning traps, and ancient gods at the center of the world
- EXPLORE WITH SET BOOSTERS—Set Boosters are specifically designed for a fun pack-opening experience, with at least 1 Rare or Mythic Rare card and at least 1 card with a shining foil treatment in every pack
- 1 IN 12 BOOSTERS INCLUDES A JURASSIC WORLD CARD—Be on the lookout for Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collection cards featuring the Jurassic World franchise’s iconic characters and ferocious dinosaurs
- TREASURE TROVE BOX TOPPER—Every box contains hidden treasure, with 1 Artifact reprint Box Topper card featuring exclusive Borderless alt-art
- PLAY A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES and STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
Collector Boosters
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Collector Boosters are the top end of sealed product for almost any given release. This time around, they include tons of foils including at least five rares, some full-arts, and even a chance at an extra-rare neon-ink card!
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF IXALAN—Discover powerful relics and craft tools to give you an edge against the deadly dinosaurs, cunning traps, and ancient gods at the center of the world
- BEST BOOSTERS FOR COLLECTORS—Collector Boosters are a shortcut to the coolest cards in a set, with packs full of Rare cards, shiny foil cards, and special alt-art, alt-frame cards
- EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL TREATMENTS—Found only in Collector Boosters, every pack contains at least 1 Extended-Art card and may even contain a Cosmium Neon Ink card with borderless art that radiates with the power of Ixalan’s inner sun
- JURASSIC WORLD CARD IN EVERY PACK—Get 1 Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collection card depicting iconic characters and moments from the Jurassic World franchise in every pack
- PLAY A GAME THAT FUSES ART, STORIES & STRATEGY—Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that weaves deep strategy with art and mechanics that explore the themes of a particular world and story—whether you want to play a casual game with friends, collect cool cards, or get competitive, Magic welcomes you to The Gathering
Bundle
No products found.No products found. are a great way to dive into the set with a couple of must-have items. In addition to the eight set boosters, you're getting a card from the Jurassic World Collection, a foil, bundle-exclusive card with alternate art, and other accessories!
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Gift Bundle
No products found.No products found. are everything the conventional bundle has plus a collector booster! It's the extra cherry on top that makes it that much more special.
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Commander Decks
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Deck Bundle is last, but certainly not least, are the preconstructed Commander decks accompanying the main release. The decks are Ahoy Mateys, Blood Rites, Explorers of the Deep, and Veloci-Ramp-Tor! Of course, we have full upgrade guides for each of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan precons so read up!
- JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF IXALAN—Explore the cavernous depths beneath Ixalan in a race to the hidden core. Will you uncover treasure and glory, or will your adventure spell certain doom?
- EPIC MULTIPLAYER BATTLES—Commander is a multiplayer way to play Magic, an epic, free-for-all battle full of strategic plays and social intrigue
- INTRODUCING 40 COMMANDER CARDS—Each deck introduces 10 never-before-seen Commander cards to Magic: The Gathering
- COLLECT SPECIAL TREATMENT CARDS—Each deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack containing 2 alt-border cards from the The Lost Caverns of Ixalan set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card
- CONTENTS—All 4 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander Decks; each 100-card deck also comes with a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box
Wrap Up
I hope you enjoy discovering The Lost Caverns of Ixalan! With interesting 1-drops, tricky play between transforming cards, using your graveyard and good old exploration, this set has colorful cards that offer a wide range of play and deck styles.
Of course, the set still delivers on the dinosaurs if that's how you want to dominate, and I'm excited about all the ways we can play with Map tokens.
If you have any thoughts or hidden gems from the caves, do let us know! Stop by the official Draftsim Discord, or send a ping on Twitter.
Until next time, and get your lamps ready!
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