MTG Lead Designer confirms Lost Caverns of Ixalan inspired by Minecraft

MTG’s lead designer Mark Rosewater has confirmed that Minecraft was one of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s main inspirations.

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan expands MTG’s worldbuilding in many key ways, bringing new depth to a deserving plane and setting up the next phase of the game’s Omenpath arc. While Mesoamerican cultures and history provided inspiration for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, a more surprising yet key factor in the set’s development was Minecraft.

It was already revealed that The Lost Caverns set was not initially intended to take place on Ixalan, but design focused in on the plane after a few months of building an unrelated underground-focused set. As a result of this, Minecraft featured heavily as a point of reference when planning The Lost Caverns.

Why bring Minecraft to MTG?

A big part of MTG’s design is looking for ways to draw in new and uninitiated players to the game. Universes Beyond sets are doing a great job of broadening the scope of Magic and appealing to wider audiences, but there’s still room for growth via the main sets too.

As Minecraft is a popular touchstone with younger potential players, particularly those of Gen Z, MTG Lead Designer Marl Rosewater stated that they were looking for elements of Magic’s world and mechanical design that could appeal to such a group. “When building new sets, I was to keep an eye out for opportunities to find resonance that spoke to a generation Z crowd. …A diamond Pick-axe, for example, is more resonant to my son than it is to me.”

Translating Minecraft into Magic

Far from leaving it at simple visual references like the Diamond Pick-axe card, pillars of Minecraft’s game design are also explored within The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Exploration and survival play a key part in the set’s story and archetypes.

Perhaps the biggest inspiration in the set is the new Craft mechanic. Acquiring and spending resources on impressive and powerful constructions is Minecraft to a tee, and it plays a big part in The Lost Caverns’ design.

Universes Beyond: Minecraft

With the spirit of Minecraft being so successfully translated into The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, could it herald Minecraft eventually receiving the Universes Beyond treatment? Whether a full set or Commander decks, there’s certainly room for Minecraft cards to exist in MTG’s current crossover climate.

Time will tell whether The Lost Caverns excavated all of the Minecraft potential hidden in MTG, or if it’s building up to a full Universes Beyond set further down the line.