MagicCon Chicago: A Whirlwind

Header Image by Nick Wolf

Ah, Chicago. The Windy City. The City that Never Sleeps. The Hamburger Capital of America. 

Chicago played host to MagicCon over the weekend of February 21-23, specifically the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, a vast event center sidled against Lake Michigan. As it turns out, MagicCon Chicago 2025 was pretty popular, friends.

This is quantifiable. During the event, it was announced that MagicCon Chicago was the largest and most-attended Magic event in the history of the game. And trust me, it wasn't the weather that brought on the fans. 

I opted to drive to Chicago, since it's roughly a four-hour trip in good conditions from my home in the superior state of Michigan, a straight shot all the way into town. I left Friday morning and I was stepping through the doors of the Lakeside Center around noon. Mind you, that's a lot more harrowing than it might seem, since while my hotel was connected to the event center via skybridge, the walk from the hotel to MagicCon was 1.4 miles. Not insurmountable by any means, but when you're carrying five Commander decks, a laptop, a camera and two lenses on a nearly 40-year-old frame already battered from a decade of ice hockey, every step is another increasingly pointed question of effort versus value. 

But MagicCon is the place to go if you're looking for an in-person Magic event, for better or worse. I'm old enough to remember the days of Grands Prix, and I'd hit close to a half-dozen each year around the Midwest -- hell, there were even some in Detroit. Those days are gone. There's no indication that we're going to get them back, either. CommandFest events are similar, but Grands Prix didn't cost you money just to walk in the door. 

Despite the loss of smaller, cheaper-to-attend events, there are pros with MagicCon, too. Nowhere else are you going to get this number of fans, creators, designers and artists in once place, all there to celebrate the greatest game ever made. 

Speaking of designers, the highlight of Friday's scheduled activities was the Preview Panel. 

It's become tradition at MagicCons to hold a Preview Panel and provide for the audience in attendance a first-look at whatever exciting new thing is just around the corner, and this time, that exciting new thing was Tarkir: Dragonstorm. At least, that's what it is chronologically, though the flames of hype were equally flamed for Final Fantasy, as well as a surprise announcement related in some way to a cartoon people in attendance lost their minds about.

You can find a full recap of the Preview Panel here, in case you missed it.

How does one fill one's days at a MagicCon?

That's truly up to the individual, but there's certainly no shortage of ways to bleed the hours. 

One of the biggest time sinks is the Art of Magic area, this event featuring more than 50 Magic artists signing cards and slinging all manner of tokens, playmats and other merch. The Art of Magic area has grown to be an entire event in its own right, and if that's your thing, you had to plan accordingly. Some artists' lines never shortened organically, and required event staff to cap them in order for the artists to have time to eat or step away for event a few moments. For artists, the Art of Magic is a marathon and a sprint, and it never lets up from the moment the doors open on Friday. 

Coming from a background of loving the art of the game above all, it's a blessing and a curse that the Art of Magic section of a MagicCon has grown to such levels. On one hand, it's great to see so many artists in one place, some of whom I've gotten to know well over the years of crossing paths at various events. It warms my heart to see artists so well revered, their lines always full, and their hard work and talent rewarded. Speaking of which, if you want to delve further into that aspect of Magic, I've got just the thing for you.

However, the surge in popularity of artist alleys like Art of Magic also require one to make difficult decisions. There are only so many hours in the day at a MagicCon -- do you want to spend three or four of them in Svetlin Velinov's line? That's no shade to Svetlin; in fact, it's the opposite. He's so prolific, and has done so many iconic cards, that his popularity is well earned. But unless you're prepared to devote an entire afternoon to reach him (or buy a $700 Black Lotus VIP Badge that grants early entry), you're just out of luck. 

Of the 50ish artists in attendance, more than a dozen required their lines to be capped at various points during the weekend. In chatting with some industry folk I know, there was a sense that this MagicCon's Art of Magic was the most successful in the short history of the event, and there's a hope that that success will hit a plateau soon. As organized, Art of Magic can't really get much bigger. We'll see how MagicCon Vegas goes in June, but things might have to be readjusted soon.

If you've spoken to anyone who spent the weekend of February 21-23 in Chicago, they probably told you about Hall E. 

Hall E was the open play area a floor below the main MagicCon experience. It was, to be specific, chartreuse.

The chief complaint during last year's Chicago MagicCon was the lack of open tables on which to actually play Magic. For many, that's why they're there, after all. Sure, there are panels, vendors, artists, and myriad other activities, but for some reason most of the attendees insist that they'd like to play Magic at a MagicCon. 

Last year, Hall E was the staging area where attendees were diverted at the start of each day to form a queue. Early risers only spent a little while down there, and those who arrived after the doors officially opened each morning at 10 a.m. didn't have to be down there at all. This year, in order to alleviate the play space issues, that morning queue was on the main floor, serpentined around the far side. Instead, Hall E was this year's shout by organizers: "You want tables? Here are tables!" 

And the tables were certainly appreciated. Sure, there's always something to complain about. There's the lighting, which fit in more with a 90s horror movie about a haunted sanitarium. There were the chairs, which felt precarious in the best of conditions -- I'm not a small guy, somewhere in the 6'2" range and the weight of around 920 McDonalds Quarter Pounders -- and I felt like I was taking my life into my own hands every time I stopped for a game of Commander. 

And if Commander was what you were there for, all these complaints had little effect on your overall enjoyment. Despite the structural limitations (which are of course no fault of the event organizers) there were as close to infinite opportunities to play Commander as you could possibly have. Some friends of mine in attendance estimated they played roughly 50 games each over the three days of the event. On two of those days, Friday and Saturday, Hall E was open for 10 hours each. I was among the handful on one of those days who were tossed out by event staff at midnight. 

While the Wizards of the Coast-organized panels were a draw thanks to the potential surprises and new cards being discussed, content creator events and panels were also a hit. 

I had the pleasure of photographing the EDHRECast live panel on Sunday, and the crowd was lively despite listening to those three guys talk about Selesnya, graveyards and hipster cards from The Dark, respectively. 

And then there are these two:

People keep telling me that they're popular and funny and worth a listen, but I'm not convinced. Maybe you, reading this, should go listen to their entire catalogue and report back to me. I'll wait here.

It's Not Just the Wind

I stayed through until Monday before hopping back into my vehicle and heading home to the land of better pizza and sports teams. That Sunday evening saw plenty of "lobby con" action, with all manner of game developers, content creators and artists meeting to do what seems so quaint after three full days of wall-to-wall excitement; simply jam a few games of Commander. 

Would I recommend attending a MagicCon? Absolutely, if you've got the means. They're not easy -- no large-scale events are. They're noisy, packed with people (a lot of whom, let's be real, have questionable sanitation practices when it comes to mitigating the spread of illness), both too hot and too cold depending on where you're standing, frustrating and expensive. But if you can put all that aside, they're also a hell of a lot of fun. 

Will we be seeing you in Vegas? Or Atlanta? Let us know in the comments, and maybe there'll be time to just jam a game of Commander.