Rivals of Ixalan Spoilers and Set Information

A.L. Walser March 1, 2024 Collecting, MTG Cards, MTG Products, Set Overview

Last updated on April 10, 2024

Angrath, Minotaur Pirate | Illustrated by Chris Rahn

Our first foray to the plane of Ixalan in its namesake set changed many typal decks. Merfolk added green to their slice of the color pie and vampires added white. And dinosaurs and pirates, before only hinted at, became canonical creature types with plenty of typal support.

But Rival of Ixalan (RIX) was a monumental set in its own right. Several iconic commanders were printed in this set, which also marked a turning point in Magic’s design history on top of having an incredible storyline.

Let’s explore what RIX brought to Magic!

Rivals of Ixalan Basic Information

Golden Demise | Illustration by Deruchenko Alexander

Set Information

Set Symbol
Set Code	RIX
Hashtag	#RIX
Number of Cards	196
Rarities	13 mythic rare, 48 rare, 60 uncommon, 70 common, 5 basic lands
Mechanics	Ascend, raid, explore, enrage

Important Dates

Previews Start	January 1, 2018
Available on Draftsim's Draft Simulator	Yes!
Prerelease	January 13, 2018
MTGO/MTGA release	January 15, 2018
Paper Release	January 18, 2018
Available on Arena Tutor	Yes!
Store Championship	April 2-8, 2018

About the Set: The Story

Moment of Craving | Illustration by Steven Belledin

Rivals of Ixalan offered a lot to Magic. It was a historic set; this concluded the last block in Magic before they switched to a single-set system (though the following set based on Ravnica that ended with War of the Spark and finished the Bolas storyline felt like a block). It also introduced dinosaurs and pirates into Magic as official, supported creature types.

EDH is the format that has felt RIX’s impact the longest. Several prominent legends like Zacama, Primal Calamity and Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca became premiere typal commanders for their respective card types. We also got Elenda, the Dusk Rose and Ghalta, Primal Hunger as two other popular commanders, though they often lead more generic strategies.

The story of RIX, concluding the hunt for the lost city of Orzaca that began in Ixalan, is among the best Magic stories in recent memory and represents a definite peak before the decline War of the Spark brought. It brings the four factions of Ixalan into direct conflict over the city's fate while Vraska and Jace confront Azor, the Azorius Parun and planeswalker who created the Guildpact binding Ravnica. They learn the truth of Nicol Bolas’s plans, and Jace wipes Vraska’s memories of their time together so they can work against Bolas in the future. It’s too great a story to do justice with the space available here, so I would encourage you to read it (and the Ixalan story before it).

Rivals of Ixalan Mechanics

Ascend

The ascend mechanic appeared on multiple card types in each color, though it was most prominent in Esper colors. Cards with ascend check to see if you have 10 or more permanents in play; if you do, you receive the City's Blessing for the rest of the game. Ascend cards get bonus effects if you have the City’s Blessing. Permanents with ascend checked for the city’s blessing as a state-based action, while instants and sorceries checked upon resolution.

Raid

Raid is an ability that check to see if you attacked with a creature this turn.; these were often ETB abilities that only triggered when raid was active or a bonus on instants and sorceries. The mechanic was flavorfully tied to the pirates of Ixalan.

Explore

When a creature explores, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it’s a land, the player draws it; otherwise, the exploring creature gets a +1/+1 counter and the player can put the card into their graveyard.

Enrage

Enrage triggers when a creature is dealt damage, in or out of combat. These abilities will trigger even if the creature takes lethal damage. Multiple instances of damage, like repeated activations of Pestilence, cause enrage to trigger multiple times.

Rivals of Ixalan Card Gallery

White

Blue

Black

Red

Green

Multicolor

Colorless

Lands

Notable Cards

Zacama, Primal Calamity

Zacama, Primal Calamity was the dinosaur-typal commander in EDH and remained so until the printing of Pantlaza, Sun-Favored. It’s big, flashy, and plays well with the ramp-oriented strategy that dinosaur decks naturally result in. Even outside of dedicated dinosaur decks, this whopper of a commander makes good use of Naya’s multiple infinite mana combos.

Jadelight Ranger

Jadelight Ranger’s claim to fame was being a Standard powerhouse. For a glorious spell, midrange was the deck to beat. It used Jadelight Ranger and its younger cousin Merfolk Branchwalker to provide early pressure and wrapped games up with Carnage Tyrant; I have fond memories of this as my deck of choice in my favorite Standard format.

Pitiless Plunderer

Ixalan block introduced Treasure to Magic. Pitiless Plunderer was among the best Treasure cards then and retains a spot of prominence. It’s essential to many an infinite combo, so most EDH players kill this on sight.

Mist-Cloaked Herald

Mist-Cloaked Herald didn’t win Pro Tours or alter any format, but this was an incredible card in the RIX Limited environment. Merfolk excelled at stacking +1/+1 counters on creatures and this Slither Blade held them all! It was the MVP of many Draft decks I won with and lost to.

Curious Obsession

Perhaps one of the most iconic cards in the set, Curious Obsession rose to fame in the hands of Autumn Burchett as they won the first Mythic Championship in 2019. Their mono-blue tempo deck utilized this Curiosity variant alongside cheap, evasive creatures such as Siren Stormtamer and Pteramander backed by a host of countermagic to annoy the opponent to death.

Available Products

Booster Packs

Rivals of Ixalan came out in a simpler time when there was only one kind of booster pack. It was sold in 16-card packs that included a marketing card in addition to the traditional 15 cards. You could also buy booster boxes containing 36 booster packs.

Magic: The Gathering Rivals of Ixalan Booster Box | 36 Booster Packs (540 Cards)

BUILD DECKS. A booster box contains 36 booster packs of Rivals of Ixalan. Each booster pack contains 15 Magic cards (540 cards total). Pick your favorites, put them in your deck, and battle!
FILL YOUR BINDER. Rivals of Ixalan includes planeswalkers like Angrath, the Flame-Chained, and some of the biggest creatures ever printed, like Ghalta, Primal Hunger. (Note: cards listed are representative and not necessarily the cards you will receive.)
PLAY AT HOME. Your Rivals of Ixalan booster box holds enough packs to host your own booster draft with as many as twelve friends. (Note: a booster draft requires more basic land cards than a booster box includes.)
PLAY THE ORIGINAL. Magic: The Gathering is the first modern collectible card game. Magic has inspired more than 20 million fans over 25 years, from the first dragons and angels to today’s planeswalkers and Commander decks.
JOIN THE FAMILY. Wizards of the Coast has been making the world’s best strategy games for almost 30 years: Magic: The Gathering (MTG), Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), many board games under the Avalon Hill umbrella, and more. Explore them all, discover new favorites, and make new friends along the way.

Bundle/Fat Pack

The RIX fat pack included 10 individual booster packs. Buying a couple of these can be perfect for organizing a small Draft if you don’t want to invest in a full booster box.

Magic the Gathering (MTG): Rivals of Ixalan Bundle (Fat Pack)

Planeswalker Decks

RIX had two planeswalker decks, a type of preconstructed deck that had planeswalkers as face cards.

The first is a white-black vampire typal deck with Vraska, Scheming Gorgon as its face card. The deck focused on powering out a steady stream of vampires with a low curve and typal support from a few cards like Champion of Dusk and Bishop of the Bloodstained.

The second is a red-black pirate deck led by Angrath, Minotaur Pirate. This deck also had a low curve but focused on using burn spells like Repeating Barrage and Lightning Strike to get over the finish line faster rather than grinding through a longer game.

MtG Rivals of Ixalan Angrath Minotaur Pirate Planeswalker Deck

Wrap Up

Ghalta, Primal Hunger | Illustration by Chase Stone

Rivals of Ixalan wasn’t the flashiest of sets, but it represented a big change in how Magic sets were designed going forward. The introduction of several key commanders still played to this day is one of its biggest offerings, not to mention it featured some of the best stories Magic has seen in a while.

What’s your favorite card from RIX? Do you have any fond memories of the Limited environment? Let me know in the comments below or on the Draftsim Discord!

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A.L. Walser

A. L. Walser - also known as nissaflamecaller online - has been playing Magic since 2009 and the release of the original Zendikar set. An avid drafter with a bit of a Vorthos streak, his favorite aspect of playing Magic comes from the act of building a deck from nothing.

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