Magic: The Gathering is set to return to the plane of Ixalan with its latest set, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, launching on 17 November 2023. These cards will once again invite players into a land of merfolk, pirates, vampires, dinosaurs, and ancient gods, each of which are scattered through lands inspired by Mesoamerica. You can expect to encounter jungle foliage, towering ruins, and hidden treasure aplenty in your journey – although you will have to fight for it, particularly with evil forces mounting on your flanks.
To celebrate the launch of the upcoming Lost Caverns of Ixalan set, we’ve got an exclusive card to reveal on GamesHub. Thanks to Wizards of the Coast and Double Jump, we can introduce you to the vampire cleric Sanguine Evangelist, which wields a sceptre and guides hordes of bats.
Check out the newly-revealed MTG card below – in bordered and borderless form.
The Sanguine Evangelist is a fairly low-level Creature, but its potential impact on the battlefield is huge. As part of its Battle Cry ability, it can rally your entire army of attacking creatures and add +1 damage to each hit – as long as it also attacks. That’s for every monster, so you could potentially multiply your attack factor by multitudes here. The effect is temporary, but may prove the turning point in a battle.
Read: Magic: The Gathering – Fallout crossover includes Mothman commander deck
In addition to this ability, the Sanguine Evangelist will summon a Black Bat with 1/1 stats (power/toughness) and the Flying status when they enter the battlefield, and when they die. Wield this card correctly, and you could have an army of bats at your side – with their attacks boosted by that handy Battle Cry ability.
While the Sanguine Evangelist is fairly weak, and will go down in a single non-blocked hit, it only costs one white mana and two generic mana to summon – so it’s easily deployed in battle. Consider these creatures as cannon fodder. Summon them, use their battle cry ability, and then reap the benefits of their summoned bat hordes.
There’s nothing more annoying in MTG than having an opponent with multiple weak creatures, all ready to absorb your powerful attacks – so we can certainly see how the Sanguine Evangelist could have an impact in those tenser moments of the game. Sometimes, even the weaker cards can win the overarching battle.
Magic: The Gathering – The Lost Caverns of Ixalan launches on 17 November 2023. Check out the Wizards of the Coast WPN store locator to find your nearest launch event for the upcoming set.
