By Brian Cooper |
Updated on January 9, 2024
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan will be released on November 17, 2023 and it will be the final Standard released set of 2023. The set is scheduled to remain in Standard rotation for approximately three years ending in Autumn 2026.
Standard rotation lets new players use new cards without needing to go out and get older and sometimes expensive cards for gameplay.
The rotation also keeps the game fun and interesting and which is why the plans are to keep The Lost Caverns of Ixalan in rotation for the three year period.
Contents
SET INFORMATION
Information about this set is still forthcoming, but the excitement surrounding a visit back to the underground sunken ruins of Ixalan is definitely welcome by players and collectors.
The last MTG sets focused on Ixalan date back to the Bronze Era of Magic when the set IXALAN was introduced in 2017, later followed by the set RIVALS OF IXALAN in 2018.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has the makings of another great Magic set. Wizards will have many different creature types in the set, from Pirates and Merfolk to Dinosaurs and Vampires.
Might we see an updated successor to the Legendary Dinosaur Gishath Sun’s Avatar from Ixalan or the Polyraptor from Rivals of Ixalan? More information to come as we get closer to set release.
Number of Cards in the Set: 291 (22 Mythics, 64 Rares, 92 Uncommons, 108 commons, 5 Basic Lands)
Expansion Code: LCI
BOOSTER BOX INFORMATION
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan will have the standard release of boxes including Draft Booster Boxes (36-packs), Set Booster Boxes (30-packs) and Collector Booster Boxes (12-packs.)
Draft Booster Boxes
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Draft Booster Boxes will come in the normal 36-pack configuration and will include a brand new TREASURE TROVE BOX TOPPER. That box topper includes 1 Borderless Alternate Art Artifact reprint card and is sure to be a hit with collectors.
Each Draft booster pack contains one Rare or Mythic card and might also contain another card with a shining Traditional Foil treatment. Draft booster boxes are perfect for drafting a game with a friend and prices should be fairly reasonable at release.
Set Booster Boxes
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Booster Boxes will be as exciting as other set boosters have traditionally been and will be loaded with the good stuff! While Draft boosters contain 1 Rare or Mythic card per pack, Set Boosters typically contain 1 OR MORE Rare or Mythics in every pack!
In addition, Set Boosters will contain a very special subset of Jurassic World Cards which are cards from the Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collection. These cards will feature the Jurassic World franchise’s iconic characters and what Wizards is calling “ferocious dinosaurs.” These can be found in about 1 in every 12 packs so they’ll be tough to find.
Set Booster Boxes will also include the brand new TREASURE TROVE BOX TOPPER which will be a Borderless Alternate Art Artifact reprint card (same as in Draft Boosters.)
Collector Booster Boxes
OK, this is where you can get the REALLY good stuff. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Collector Booster Boxes will be loaded with Rare, Mythic, Foil, alternate art and alternate framed cards, some of which are only found in these Collector boosters.
Collector boosters are also where you find EXCLUSIVE cards not found in Draft or Set booster packs. Every Collector Booster pack contains at least 1 Extended-Art card and may even contain a Cosmium Neon Ink card with borderless art. Again, these will only be found in the Collector boosters and will be highly sought after by collectors.
Collector Booster Boxes will also include one TREASURE TROVE BOX TOPPER pack which contains a Borderless Alternate Art Artifact reprint card (same as in Draft and Set Boosters.)
And to top it off, remember those Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collection cards found in every 12 Set Booster Packs? You’ll get ONE OF THESE IN EVERY COLLECTOR BOOSTER PACK!
Prices will be high when they first hit shelves but should be reasonable when compared to previous Collector Booster box releases. Expect to pay in the $200-$225 range for these 12-pack loaded boxes and around $20-$25 per pack.
We’re also expecting to see some other products normally released with standard sets including Prerelease Packs, Bundles, Gift Bundles and Commander Decks:
PRERELEASE PACKS
Your standard fare is included in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Prerelease Pack including (6) Draft Booster Packs, (1) Foil Stamped Rare of Mythic, (1) Deck Box, (1) Spindown Die and the Arena code card.
Nothing special was added this year and it’s a good way to get your feet wet with the new set. These typically sell in the $25-30 range (plus tax) so it’s basically like paying $4/pack with a bunch of other freebies thrown in. Not a bad deal.
BUNDLE
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Bundle will come in it’s normal configuration including 8 Set Booster Packs. These bundle boxes will also contain: 1 Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collection card, 1 Bundle-exclusive alternate art PROMO card, 40 Land cards (20 foil, 20 nonfoil), 1 Spindown life counter, 1 card storage box, and 2 reference cards.
I’m a fan of the Bundle Box and would rather buy this over the Prerelease Packs. I know it’s about $15-20 more than the Prerelease, but you get (2) more packs and all of them are Set Booster Packs (which are better than Draft Boosters) and you get some other stuff not found in the Prerelease.
If you want an even better deal, check out my favorite next….
BUNDLE – GIFT EDITION
While the regular Bundles are fun and include a great package of Ixalan packs and accessories, I much prefer the Gift Edition Bundles. These bundles make great gifts for Magic collectors whether beginners or seasoned veterans. These are easily one of my favorite boxes to open!
What makes this Gift Bundle Box different from the regular Bundle Box above?
First, these Gift Bundles come with a shiny foil box that is exclusive to the gift bundles. As you’ll see below, the Gift Bundle boxes have a freaking cool Dinosaur on the front cover and the storage box inside will be foil (as opposed to the non-foil storage boxes in the regular Bundle.)
Second, the Universes Beyond Jurassic World Collect card you’ll receive will be a FOIL version.
But the main difference is that Gift Bundles contain (1) COLLECTOR BOOSTER PACK in addition to the 8 Set Booster packs! That is at least a $20-$30 value alone.
And for those that normally cannot afford the higher priced Collector Booster Boxes, it’s nice to have one of those thrown into this bundle to see what it’s like to open a super high-end Collector pack.
My recommendation is to pay a little bit extra to get this better Gift Bundle. It makes a great gift and collectors of all ages will really enjoy opening it.
CHECK OUT OUR BUNDLE GIFT EDITION BOX OPENING BELOW!
COMMANDER DECKS
Yes, Commander Decks are back with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan! There will be four Commander Decks this year which you can buy separately or as a bundle of all four.
This year the four 100-card decks will be called Ahoy Mateys, Blood Rites, Explorers of The Deep, and Veloci-ramp-tor. Each of these decks will contain 10 never-before-seen Commander cards in each box for a total of 40 new Magic: The Gathering Commander cards!
So what else comes in these Commander Deck boxes? Each will contain a 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 1 Foil-Etched Display Commander, 10 double-sided tokens, 1 life tracker, and 1 deck box. The 2-card Collector Booster Sample Pack is a special addition this year and will include 2 alt-border cards from the regular set, including 1 Rare or Mythic Rare and at least 1 Traditional Foil card.
AHOY MATEYS
“Put Pirates in the Graveyard….Bring Them Back Bigger”
BLOOD RITES
“Spawn Vampire Minions….Sacrifice to Flying Demons”
EXPLORERS OF THE DEEP
“+1/+1 Counters….Explore for Lands and Buffs”
VELOCI-RAMP-TOR
“Play Extra Lands….Dino Devastation”
THE LOST CAVERNS OF IXALAN SPOILERS
Spoilers compliments of Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro.
INSERTS AND CHASE CARDS
As mentioned above, the UNIVERSES BEYOND JURASSIC WORLD COLLECTION cards will be one of the big draws to this new set. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan looks to be a fun set and having these cards inserted randomly in Draft and Set Booster packs should be interesting.
We’re also anxiously awaiting further images of the foil, alternate art and alternate framed cards as well as the Box Topper Artifact cards. All of these are promising to be exciting chase cards in the new set and we’ll have more info here as those are released in November.
MAGIC CARD INVESTOR EXCLUSIVES!
VIDEOS
INVESTMENT OPINION
As of September 2023, with the set not yet released, I do not have an investment opinion. When a Magic set is first released I recommend you purchase packs and watch YouTube for box openings. This will give you a good idea if the cards in the set appeal to you.
When it comes to making investments in certain cards or booster boxes, that is not something I recommend until the set is at least a few months old. Keep checking back here and we’ll cover more topics related to investing in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan as time goes on.
WHERE TO BUY THE LOST CAVERNS OF IXALAN BOOSTER BOXES
Amazon just updated their site with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan products and prices are now LIVE and updated!
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT ALL OF THE LOST CAVERNS OF IXALAN BOXES ON AMAZON!
Check back here for more buying links and great deals from our friends at TCGPlayer and eBay!
