It’s exactly 7 days until MagicFest Las Vegas kicks off, and I recently found out I’ve been approved for my vacation days, so I’m beyond hyped to be going to the Vegas convention for the second year in a row! You can read about my thoughts for the 2018 edition over here. I thought I’d take a look at the things that are different this year as opposed to last year and what I’m really looking forward to. If you are unfamiliar with MTG events, many of them are run by Channel Fireball, and you can get a ton of useful information over here. Regular readers will know that I’m primarily a Commander/EDH player, and this year there is a big portion of the convention devoted to Commander. As usual, the event features merchants buying/selling cards, professional tournaments, on-demand drafts and things, and casual tables to meet other players. What’s different this year, is a group of events hosted by the Command Zone podcast guys (one of which I met last year at the convention). The casual area is called the command zone this year, and there is a pass to have unlimited access to this area, but it also comes with the following perks:

• 4-Day access to the Command Zone: Premium Casual Play Area with comfortable seating & table space, access to special guests & fellow Commander fans

• 4 On-Demand Commander Events

• FOIL Sol Ring Promo!

• CFB Deckbox

This pass ran between $80-100, and from what I can recall last year the on-demand commander events were in the $15-20 ball park on their own. I’m sure the judge promo sol ring will be worth some money in the future (though I intend to hang onto it) and deckboxes are worth a few bucks as well. It seems to be worth the value. Check out the sol ring, it’s super nice!

Zur definitely wants this version in th deck, as it’s my most “pimped out” project (and most expensive). There is also a commander fanatic pass that gets you extra on-demand stuff along with a promo lightning bolt and playmat, but it’s an additional $75 on top of what I had already paid, so I passed. Another additional add on was the commander party on Friday night, which I was sort of interested in, but I decided to try and cut down my expenses for the long weekend. It was an additional $60 and gets you one of the C19 Precons at random, another non-foil sol ring promo and some other goodies. My friend ended up getting in on that, but I passed as well. I have been putting money aside for the trip, but between the room for three nights, gas to and from, food for most of four days, the command zone pass I already grabbed, and anything else I might want/need while I’m out of state means I can’t go too crazy. I’m also hoping to hit the LGS where my friend that lives out there goes to, and hitting the strip to gamble a little and hopefully hit something that basically pays for the trip. A couple hundred of bucks would be well enough.

Last time I managed to spend under $200 for the entire trip, but this time around I know that I’m going to spend more just because there are new options this year but also I have been saving for a couple of months to have a splashier time. It’s gonna be a blast one way or the other and excitement is starting to set in. Have you gone to a convention for something that you’re really into? Share your stories in the comments, or feel free to spin off a blog post of your own!