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Melissa King - Ian Malcolm, Chaotician, MTG
I love dinosaurs. Yes, I’m a girl in her thirties who still loves dinosaurs as much as I did when I first went to see The Lost World: Jurassic Park in the cinema with my dad all those years ago. As a Magic player, I was beyond delighted to see that this year boasted a return to the plane of Ixalan, known for its abundance of dinosaurs, as I couldn’t wait to upgrade my Atla Palani, Nest Tender dino tribal EDH deck with some new, big stompy dinosaurs… However, a big crossover announcement earlier this year got me even more excited for this set than I could have ever imagined. Magic the Gathering was teaming up with Jurassic Park as part of their Jurassic World Collection!
Before we even opened packs from the Lost Caverns of Ixalan, I had my heart set on pulling one card and one card only… Despite getting Owen Grady, Raptor Trainer and Blue, Loyal Raptor (who can be teamed up as partner commanders), despite pulling (in foil) Ravenous Tyrannosaurus, with art taken from one of the final, most iconic scenes in Jurassic Park, I wanted Jeff Goldblum…
So you can imagine my sheer delight when I opened my Lost Caverns of Ixalan Set Booster pack to find that I had pulled Ian Malcolm, Chaotician, in foil!!! (Insert wild, high pitched, fan girl screaming here!!)
Ian Malcolm, Chaotician is a 3 CMC (One generic, one blue, one red) legendary creature (would Jeff ever be anything less than legendary?!) who exiles cards from player’s libraries when they draw their second card each turn. He then allows you to cast other player’s exiled spells, using mana of any colour to do so.
As Ian’s flavour text reads, “You’ve heard of chaos theory?”, this card is designed to add a sprinkling of chaos to any game of Commander. Whilst chaos decks wouldn’t be the most popular amongst EDH players (due to the absolutely insane things that can happen and the crazy board states which can occur as a result), I can’t wait to build a deck based around Ian Malcolm, Chaotician as my commander.
Granted, he may only grace our table with his presence once a game night (more, if my friends will allow it!) I think that he will bring chaos and hi-jinks that are befitting of his character in the movies. What’s more, the nostalgia value of this card for me (along with others in the Jurassic World Collection), is second to none - what’s not to love??
Tom Gorner - Hercules Divine Hero, Lorcana
Just like that, Chapter 2: Rise of the Floodborn is upon us, having released in FLGSs on the 17th November and releasing across general retail on the 1st December. My LGS has been running the weekly Lorcana league and ran the final round on the evening before release, meaning we had the chance to battle it out, just before the midnight release of Chapter 2. I was lucky enough to come first in the final round of the tournament, netting me 8 packs of the brand-new set and once home, I hastily ripped the packs to see what treasures lay inside. I was not disappointed! From the final pack, I only went and pulled one of the fantastic enchanted cards, Hercules Divine Hero. These enchanted cards have been the envy of all Lorcana players since the release of the first set and the 12 new cards added alongside the Rise of the Floodborn release are no exception. The Hercules Divine Hero card introduces a brand-new keyword; Resist, meaning if he were challenged, he ignores a certain amount of damage before taking damage. This is just one of the new keywords and features added to the game and I’m excited to see what else is added as the TCG grows and evolves. There have been some ‘leaks’ of cards from the 3rd chapter and if these are legitimate, it really does look like an exciting release! What cards would you like to see coming out in the 3rd chapter??
It is also worth noting that Ravensburger have done a fantastic job on working through the supply issues that plagued the first set. They been very communicative with the community and following the supply issues, they have confirmed both the first and second sets will be receiving reprints, to allow new players to get their hands on the incredibly popular cards! So, if you didn’t manage to get stock from the first release, do not fret, there’s plenty more to come!
Tom Harrod - Cinderella, Stouthearted, Lorcana
The new release of Lorcana cards dropped last month! Chapter Two of Disney’s/Ravensburger’s TCG is ‘Rise of the Floodborn’. The theme of this new set features more characters that are ‘Floodborn’ – meaning that the ink within Lorcana has a mind of its own! It’s creating characters in somewhat parallel Disney universes. Floodborn cards differ in seismic leaps compared to their traditional character portrayals.
I had to go for a Floodborn card as my Card Pull of the Month, then! I managed to get a Super-Rare Steel Cinderella – Stouthearted in one of my Booster Packs. This Cinderella is no damsel in distress. She’s not in rags, mopping floors or hanging out with mice. Neither is she in her finest dress, about to slay it as the belle of the ball. No: here is a bad-ass knight in full armour, wielding a magical greatsword and shield!
Some of the older Disney films didn’t portray women in the best light. Many of them needed a male character to save the day for them, which is depressingly misogynistic. It’s a pleasure to see the angle of these Floodborn characters within Lorcana. It’s almost as if the modern-day Disney execs have held up their hands, and apologised on the behalf of their past employees’ direction. The Floodborn cards show amazing versions of beloved Disney characters, but with their roles flipped to the extreme. I would love for there to be a 2024 reimagination of Cinderella, where Cinders takes names with this sword! I know my 9 year-old niece would love that too, Disney, in case you’re reading this…
As for the Cinderella – Stouthearted card, itself? It has Shift 5, so I can play it on top of other Cinderellas for only a 5 ink cost, instead of a standard 7 ink. It also has two awesome new features not seen in Chapter One. Resist is a new keyword, and this means it absorbs +2 damage whenever another character challenges it. This means the card isn’t 5/5, but rather, 5/7! And it can keep taking +2 extra damage! It’s Cinders’ shield, you see! She can keep deflecting the attacks!
Also, when you play a Song card when this card is out, Cinderella can then challenge Ready characters this turn. This is huge! Many players keep certain cards Readied (non-tapped) so they’re immune from challenges. But not with Cinders’ Singing Sword, they’re not! This is going straight into my Amber-Steel deck.
To top things off, one of this card’s tags – alongside Floodborn/Hero/Princess – is ‘Knight’. This is also exciting, because it means there could be a Knight deck combo out there, somewhere…