Ixalan sparked a huge burst of popularity amongst the Latino market.
Some Magic: The Gathering expansions go beyond just being a money-maker for Wizards of the Coast or becoming very popular. Some bring in entirely new demographics or socio-economic groups.
Universes Beyond, for example, has been cited as a big reason for the growth of the game, bringing in players who are fans of other fantasy, sci-fi, or other IPs. Original Magic expansions also do this. Many horror fans were sucked in by Innistrad, while Bloomburrow, with it's ease of play and design aesthetics, brought in a large number of female players and the notoriously hard-to-get "under 10s."
But perhaps most unique amongst these has been Ixalan, it's follow up Rivals of Ixalan, and, six years later, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Ixalan itself expanded out to a lot of things to entice players when it was released in 2017: pirates, dinosaurs, vampire, conquistadores, and (most critically here) Mesoamerican culture.
Before Ixalan, there was a card here and there tied with Latino or Hispanic roots. And of course, pretty much every set and expansion has been in Spanish. But Ixalan was the first to really explore those themes.
Before Ixalan, the Latino market was kind of hard to penetrate. If there isn't a set for you, why get into it?
Magic theming, as discussed, tries to draw in interest each time by bringing in new worlds or venturing back to old favorite planes to entice young and old. And as a result, Ixalan did this to a curious extent.
"Before Ixalan, it was hard," said Enrique, a Latino card store co-owner in Los Angeles. "Magic was seen more as a white kid sort of thing. You know, there was Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, and later one we had Lorcana and One Piece. And those were hit or miss. But even with Spanish cards, Magic was a tough sell.
"But yeah, Ixalan. It just clicked. You know, they looked like Mayan and Aztec warriors. Riding dinosaurs. Right before Ixalan we had the ancient Egypt ones, Amonkhet. That was a tough sell. But your ancestors, people of what looked like your culture, doing awesome things? 500% up. Rough estimate."
Others saw it too. The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC), who in 2025 had an entire Secret Lair set come out, told Magic Untapped at the 2025 MagicCon Las Vegas that they heard from so many that it was Ixalan that brought them in or inspired them to do art.
"We've heard this so much. Magic wasn't for them. Then they saw their culture in the game, and they loved it," said the NALAC representatives. "Representation is important. We've had a lot of artists get interested in Aztec art or art from their home country because of Magic, in particular Ixalan. Players too. I can't begin to tell you how many got into magic because of it.
"Did the Mayans ride on dinosaurs? Haha, of course not. But this fictional land that has the culture opened the door to learn more about it. To bring in representation."
And the huge influx of Latino players and spike in Latino popularity of the game with Ixalan had an effect. In 2023, with Ixalan returning as a plane in Lost Caverns of Ixalan, there was a huge shift. Mesoamerican themes and characters suddenly took center stage, along with the other popular aspect of the original - dinosaurs. Everything from booster pack art of Jaguar warriors to the art taking on more of a Central American feel signaled to Latinos that their plane was back.
"It wasn't a surprise, but it was very welcome," added Enrique. "We heard through some back channels that Ixalan was that popular. So when Lost Caverns came out, seeing them go all in on all the pre-Columbian cultures, seeing them put out more material in Spanish, seeing them add authentic Aztec headresses on dinosaurs. It was respectful, awesome, and still carried that fantastical edge. And with the Secret Lair cards in Spanish and Portuguese like this, well, Magic carved out a bit for us.
"And it's not pandering either. It feels natural. Magic always bounces around between planes, and coming back was welcome. So, for a lot of Latino players, think of your favorite plane or expansion, and then relive that feeling when they went back there. Lost Caverns was like that to so many of us."
And artists were excited too. According to WBUR, "“It was really nice to see a full-blown American game with a high budget with people who look like me and represent my culture,” says LGBTQ activist and artist Laya Monarez. “It made me think like if I were European, this would be what it’d be like to see King Arthur for the first time.”
Lost Caverns creative leads also saw it as a chance to represent their cultures in a staple fantasy franchise.
“We had a lot of artists from Latin America and we knew this was going to be probably the largest indigenous and Latino American-themed release in the year in gaming,” says set art director Ovidio Cartagena. “So I was just very happy that it inspired people in all the right ways.”
"Cartagena, who first contributed card art to the game before its maker, Wizards of the Coast, hired him full-time, even referenced his native Guatemala in a card he illustrated for Lost Caverns.
“Growing up, on my commute, I would see Maya pyramids,” says Cartagena, “I would see a sculpture of Tecún Umán all the time, this great Quiché prince. I wanted to put a piece of that in the card that I illustrated, and many other artists did this with their own interests.”
With Lost Caverns faring pretty well, especially with the Latino market, it currently has a respectable 5 on the Rabiah scale, meaning that it is very likely we'll see another expansion there before the decade is out.
And for Magic, they took a big risk on Ixalan, only for them to win over a growing Demographic that, before 2017, had been somewhat small.
