MagicCon Chicago is coming February 21-23, 2025, and there’s a lot to look forward to. For fans of Dungeons and Dragons, there will be plenty of opportunities to interact directly with content creators, artists, and more. Of course, if you just want to come for a Magic filled weekend, you won’t be disappointed, either.
MagicCon Chicago will host tons of different MTG events. This includes Pro Tour Aetherdrift and Pro Tour Qualifiers, as well as some unique events like the Magic: the Gauntlet or The Secret Lair Spectacular series. So, whether you’re looking to fulfill your competitive aspirations or have a nice weekend out with friends playing Magic, you’ll have plenty to do.
Interestingly, MagicCon Chicago will also be debuting four new and unique MTG promos. These cards are all gorgeous. To kick things off, we need to look at the promo that players can receive simply for attending.
Avacyn’s Pilgrim
To attend MagicCon Chicago, players first need to purchase a badge to get into the venue. Depending on your needs, there are a wide range of badge options at various prices, with the cheapest choices being single-day passes at $20 for youth and $35 for adults.
However, no matter what badge you purchase, you’re guaranteed to obtain at least one copy of the new textless Avacyn’s Pilgrim promo. Avacyn’s Pilgrim is a rather simple mana dork that’s easy to remember, making it the perfect design to receive a textless promo.
Notably, these textless promos will be available in both non-foil and foil. The version you receive and how many you receive is based on what badge you get. For instance, the one-day passes come with one non-foil copy, while the normal weekend passes come with two non-foil copies.
By contrast, the premium weekend badges cost more to purchase but offer two traditional foil Avacyn’s Pilgrims instead. This badge also comes with Aetherdrift collector boosters, sleeves, and more. For additional badge information, you can take a look here.
Obviously, Avacyn’s Pilgrim isn’t the most exciting promo in the world. The card has seen multiple reprints since it first appeared in Innistrad and, according to the TCGPlayer market price, is under 50 cents in its cheapest form.
Nonetheless, MagicCon promos tend to be in relatively high demand. There are only so many of these promos that will be in circulation. MagicCon Chicago Badges go on sale on December 9 and are available for purchase until December 16, but could easily sell out before then. Expect these textless promos to hold at least a little value, especially the foils.
Lightning Bolt
At MagicCon Chicago, one of the events known as The Secret Lair Spectacular offers a trio of other sweet promos as prize support. All three of these cards will be available in non-foil and foil.
It’s unclear exactly how these promos will be distributed, but presumably, the foils will be harder to obtain and require a better finish in the tournament. We’re also unsure if these promos will be available outside The Secret Lair Spectacular series. If they’re exclusive to this event and thus in very limited supply, they could easily be worth quite a bit of money. For now, though, that’s just speculation.
As for the promos, the first one is yet another Lightning Bolt variant. There are seemingly endless versions of Lightning Bolt at this point, some of which fall under 50 cents. At the same time, though, the card is so iconic and sees tons of Constructed play. This particular Lightning Bolt has its artwork drawn by Peach Monoko, who also did an entire Secret Lair drop.
Make sure to be on the lookout for more details that arise about how you can get a hold of this promo.
Questing Druid
The second promo in this group is Questing Druid. Questing Druid is the most expensive of the three cards from a reprint value perspective. It has only been printed in Wilds of Eldraine up to this point, with non-foil versions landing between $1 and $2.
Questing Druid sees consistent Standard and Pioneer play, and occasionally pops up in Modern, too. Functioning as a card advantage source and a threat in one card makes it quite strong, even if it is a bit slow.
This is the first time Questing Druid will boast a borderless treatment, which is a nice touch. Plus, the artwork looks amazing, which only heightens its appeal.
Sudden Edict
Lastly, we have Sudden Edict. As an uncommon in Modern Horizons 2, it holds little reprint value whatsoever. It sees occasional play in Legacy to help answer Marit Lage tokens without giving the opponent an opportunity to protect it, though it’s not a format staple.
Thus, it really isn’t the strongest card that could’ve been featured as a promo. Luckily, what it lacks in playability it makes up for in style. Sudden Edict has only been printed in paper in Modern Horizons 2 and boasts extremely extravagant artwork this time around. If you’re looking to add some flare to your deck, this version of Sudden Edict delivers.
More information about these promos should become available as we get closer to the event. MagicCon Chicago should be a blast, so don’t miss your chance to nab a badge if you’re contemplating attending.