Photos and Header Image by the author

A Roar of Desert AirA Roar of Desert Air

All it takes is a little shiny cardboard to get 20,000 people to head to the desert in June.

That's a wrap on the latest MagicCon, once again bringing the Magic: The Gathering faithful to Las Vegas.

The Pre-Con

This time around, the Horseshoe was the lodging - further away from the convention than the Westgate, where I staked claim to a bed for four nights in October, but more centrally-located on The Strip and just a quick Monorail ride away from the front door.

And speaking of front doors: those who attended MagicCon Vegas 2024 in October likely still remember very well the sun-soaked slog of walking all the way to the back of the Las Vegas Convention Center to gain entry because the front entrance was closed. This time around, there were no such problems.

Thousands of attendees stopped by the big sign to grab a photo.

Sure, there were other problems, namely the queues to enter the Con on Friday morning stretching out away from the climate-controlled building and into the parking lot where the temperatures were hitting triple digits. But once the doors opened on the day, it was a swift walk through.

That's a good thing, because with FINAL FANTASY all the rage, for many attendees every second counted when it came to getting their hands on Collector Packs.

The buzz generated by FINAL FANTASY kept the event's vendors busy all weekend.

The Preview Panel

The event's main stage was set up in the back of the second level. To get there, you had to go up an escalator (or stairs, if you're a wild one), cut through the Art of Magic (more on that later), crisscross over a main thoroughfare, skirt around the Pro Tour and find a seat. Of course, there was a back way, too, but not too many people discovered it early on.

Senior Story Lead for Edge of Eternities, Roy Graham, shares insight into the new set's development during Friday's Preview Panel.

Friday's Preview Panel was the first scheduled event on many attendees' radar, and it showed. Hardly an empty seat could be had when the thing got rolling, and a few hundred spent an hour of their first Con day posted up to be among the first to get a peek at Edge of Eternities.

Attendees were quick to snap photos of each new card as they were revealed during the Preview Panel.

Of course, if you were feeling FOMO, our very own Josh Nelson had you covered on EDHREC with a write-up of the panel, beat-for-beat.

Friday's Preview Panel was one of the better-attended Main Show panels during the weekend, with some fans snagging seats more than an hour before the panel's start.

The Command Zone

No, not the show, but the vibe.

For many, MagicCon is the Command Zone. Meeting creators is cool, watching panels is fun, participating in drafts or other structured events can be worth the time - all that is attractive to subsets of MagicCon attendees. But for the bulk of the people who made the trek to the desert of three days of Magic: The Gathering, it's all about the Command Zone.

That's where people gather, and where people play the format that, in most cases these days, got them into the game. And in Vegas, there were no complaints. It was climate-controlled, the lights weren't a sickly yellow (looking at you, Chicago), and there was food and water readily available nearby. Even those who wandered into the area solo didn't struggle to find games at their preferred power level, because event staff were always around to help guide players together.

Two players share a laugh during a game at the Command Zone.

Of course, I personally didn't spend much time there. Duty calls, after all. But when I did have the chance to play a few games, it was with the lovely Space Cow Media staffers who posted up in the Command Zone for the bulk of the weekend. Well, two of them were lovely. The other one cast Warp WorldWarp World six times in one game. You know who you are, Tom.

The EDHRECast Meet-and-Greet

Friday also required me to head over to the EDHRECast meet-and-greet, where I discovered the trio in the midst of interacting with fans. And there were no shortage of fans, either. At no point during the scheduled meet-and-greet did they ever have a moment to themselves.

Fans lined up for the EDHRECast Meet-and-Greet held in the event's Creator Central.

The EDHRECast (from left: Dana Roach, Joey Schultz and Matt Morgan) pose for a photo with a few fans.

I'm sure it's nice to be recognized and appreciated in the Magic world for your contributions. It's also nice to be able to walk from one side of the event to the other in anonymity. But when it came to the fans who spent the better part of an hour patiently waiting for the chance to meet the EDHRECast, each one received a chat, photo op, some signed merch and walked away happy.

EDHRECast's Joey Schultz (center) shows off his best Indestructible Aura impression.

Arcades's Arcade

Probably the best-kept secret of the event, which is a polite way of saying no one knew what it was or where it was at in relation to the rest of the Con, was Arcades's Arcade. For an event centered around the game of Magic: The Gathering, it was a little puzzling that there'd be a small corner of the event space dedicated to 80s/90s arcade cabinets.

Attendees passed through the stone arch adorned with a neon sign to play games in Arcades's Arcade.

But that's until one stops to think about the sheer variety of people who are attracted to an event like MagicCon. It's not just for the Commander-obsessed, or the tournament grinders, or cosplayers or content creators or Limited acolytes, or even the fans of FINAL FANTASY who had never even heard of Magic this time last year. It's also for families, among whom parents brought their kids to what might have been their first large-scale public event. It was great to see innumerable little ones scurrying around the event space, but as anyone who has spent more than a passing moment with a small child, the expectation that they'll be able to remain focused for a marathon Commander session is a doomed one.

That's where the Arcades's Arcade excelled. If a parent or guardian of one of these kids needed to mix things up a bit, but didn't want to venture out into the desert sun, why not shoot some hoops?

A pair of attendees share some downtime in Arcades's Arcade.

Pinball machines featuring properties that have crossed over into the world of Magic were a popular attraction in Arcades's Arcade.

Yes, there was the Family Magic section. And it was well-used during the weekend. But Family Magic is still Magic, so the Arcade was actually a nice addition, even if it was tucked away in the corner.

The Pro Tour

It's not my intention to minimize the Pro Tour's place in the grand scheme of MagicCon. I'm sure there were plenty of attendees for whom this was a highlight, including those actually playing in the thing.

Players competed in Standard Constructed during the weekend's Pro Tour.

I am by no means an expert on tournament play, nor any format these days that require fewer than 100 cards. Let's just say the last Standard deck I played featured ThragtuskThragtusk.

Before the field was whittled down to a Top 8, the Pro Tour area featured hundreds of competitors duking it out in Standard Constructed.

However, it was certainly amusing to me (and likely frustrating to others) that the Pro Tour Top 8 featured four Mono-Red Aggro decks, and four Izzet Prowess decks, with six mirror matches before the final round. There are others much more qualified than I to comment on the health of the format, but I'm certainly capable of extending hearty congratulations to Pro Tour winner Ken Yukuhiro.

Art of Magic

I got my start in writing about the world of Magic by covering the art and artists of the game, and as a result I feel most drawn to this area of any event. A MagicCon, however, is often not the best place to chat up artists. You can't beat the sheer volume of artists in attendance, however, and MagicCon Vegas 2025 was the largest collection of the game's aesthetic masters yet, with around 60 lined in multiple rows on the upper floor, their booths side-by-side.

Artist Ryan Pancoast shares a joke with a fan on Saturday. Pancoast was one of 60 artists with a booth at the event's Art of Magic.

The artists themselves were never not busy, and the ones who were more in-demand due to popularity, exclusivity or being prolific in Magic (or in Rebecca Guay's case, all three) instituted time slot sign-up systems to ensure attendees didn't burn an entire day waiting in line at one artist. Even still, there are many who came away from the event without checking off all their artist-visiting goals.

It's a great thing for the artists, though, and to a person they'd tell you that events like MagicCon are a huge boon not just financially, but for their confidence as well. Having the chance to interact with the artists who create the look for the game we all love is great from a fan's perspective, but it's also a two-way street. And as the game continues to flourish, new generations of artists are coming in who have grown up with Magic and are in many cases living out their dream. Remember that in Atlanta.

And just maybe, you'll run into the Archidekt team, who had the chance to visit their banners on the Art of Magic floor to remind themselves that their hard work does indeed have real impact, right there in the middle of everything.

After including a new Artist Search feature in the weeks before the con, Archidekt team members (from left) Mike, Jeremy and Andy had to find their banner in the Art of Magic.

The EDHRECast Panel

There were many aspects of MagicCon I had the pleasure to photograph, including the EDHRECast panel that capped off the event for many. Held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, there were still a healthy number of fans in attendance despite being so close to the end of the event. So many, in fact, that time ran out before everyone who wanted to had the chance to challenge the fellas on their stats in the form of a game the cast plays at live shows.

The EDHRECast members took turns being "challenged" by audience members on their knowledge of Magic data.

It turns out that EDHRECast's Joey Schultz knows a thing or two about Aristocrats.

And with the clock about to hit zeroes on the event, there was still a few minutes to spare for Dana and I to make a mad dash through the event floor to get to Cynthia Sheppard's line for a few last-minute signatures. I ended up with an artist proof of the stained-glass version of Ashiok, Dream RenderAshiok, Dream Render, while Dana, being Dana, picked up an AP of multi-format staple Rush of BloodRush of Blood. Even Cynthia commented that it might have been the first time someone sought out buying that particular AP.

Was "Senorita Margarita" the right answer to the question asked? Dana seemed to think so.

Wrap-Up

If you felt like you missed out on a memorable weekend, don't fret. It'll happen in Vegas again, before you know it.

The event wasn't complete without a photo op with a certain over-large sword. Maybe in Atlanta it'll be laser rifles and space helmets?

Well, I guess there's no reason to be vague, since we know exactly when it'll be back in the desert: May 1-3, 2026.

But that's after we all gather again later this year in Atlanta. That iteration of MagicCon is slated for Sept. 26-28, or in other words, a few short months away. I hope you like outer space, because MagicCon Atlanta will center around Edge of Eternities. 

Will we being seeing you in Georgia?