Almost a year ago, I posted about opening a Kaladesh Booster Battle Pack. Let's take a look at the new version featuring the Ixalan set! Like with the Kaladesh product, we have two booster packs along with two preconstructed 30-card intro decks that are intended to allow a basic game to learn the basic rules.

First, some background for those unfamiliar with Magic: The Gathering. The game is basically a wizard's duel where the cards represent the spells you cast to deal damage, summon minions, and defend yourself. Every few months, the publisher releases a new set of cards that represent an ongoing story or expanding multiverse of different worlds, and only the most recent few sets are legal for use in certain tournaments or events.

Some sets are set in fairly conventional swords-and-sorcery universes, while others are more imaginative. Kaladesh had a slightly Steampunk flavor with vehicles and magical mechanical constructs. Amonkhet had an Egyptian theme with mummies and pyramids. Ixalan has pirates, merfolk and dinosaurs. In short, Ixalan looks like a lot of fun.

Inside the box, there is a cardboard sleeve containing two booster packs, the two constricted decks, and a quick-start guide to the game covering all the basic rules. The basic rules or comprehensive rules can be read online, but I recommend the former rather than the latter since it would be quite overwhelming for a new player to try to understand.

The starter decks are randomized. This particular box contained red and black. These are 30-card mono-color decks, and they could be combined into a single 60-card dual-color beginner deck. Each includes a number of lands, a rare card, an uncommon card, and several common cards. The commons include several pairs and several singles. Notably, they are mostly from the Kaladesh and Amonkhet sets, so while I am not sure what the set rotation is for Standard, most if not all are "standard-legal" for now.

The packs contained the usual random assortment of cards in various colors and the usual rarity distribution. Each pack had one rare or mythic rare, three uncommons, ten commons, a checklist card that can be used as a stand-in for the various double-faced cards in this set, and a creature token card. Neither pack contained a foil card this time.

Neither pack had much that fit the color identity of the preconstructed decks, but there are two artifacts that grant a creature the ability to fly, a rare Primal Amulet that can flip to become a very useful land card, and quite a few blue and white cards. Unfortunately, the Dire Fleet Captain doesn't synergize with the preconstructed decks despite sharing both colors due to his reliance on other Pirate cards being in play.

If you're new to Magic: The Gathering, this is a decent way to start a card collection and learn the basics of the game. The booster packs are a fun random element. It's a great way to start playing with a few friends at minimal expense. However, it's not a good way to start playing competitive Friday Night Magic, so for that I would recommend one of the Ixalan starter decks instead.

Previously:

Let's Open Two Iconic Masters Packs!

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