MagicCon Atlanta 2025 Impressions – A Magical Weekend of Magic

I had a wonderful time meeting the Magic: the Gathering team at Summer Game Fest this past summer! After my game with Gavin Varney and my tour through Secret Lair with Steve Sunu at Summer Game Fest, I had a chance to talk about their event: MagicCon. Come to find out that MagicCon Atlanta 2025 was going to be walking distance from my residence here in Atlanta, Georgia! It was fate, some might say it was Magic!

As I walked into MagicCon Atlanta, I was greeted with easily marked and well-guided lines that showed everyone where to go. These lines moved quite quickly and we were on our way. I made my way to the Press Lounge where the PR team did a great job briefing me of what was going on and where I should start my adventure. As I wasn’t competing in tournaments, I decided to start my day on the show floor. 

The show floor this year was themed around Spider-Man for the release of the Spider-Man set, of course. We had the Daily Bugle, areas for pictures with a giant Spider-Man Magic: the Gathering card and a cool Venom cutout. Both areas had staff there ready to help me take pictures. Quick shoutout to all of the amazing staff!

In the same area, I was also told quickly I had to meet the Play-Doh creator! He was hard to miss as a HUGE Play-Doh statue was being worked on as the con continued, Jason Loik. His creation was there to showcase a collaboration between Magic: the Gathering and Extra Life (which you can order now).

As I moved on, there were some areas with coverings on them. Hmm... I wonder what those could be!

Throughout the floor, there were vendors buying and selling, a content creator area to play against your favorite creators, meet and greets with a variety of characters in the Magic: the Gathering community, more areas to take pictures, and lots and lots of people playing matches both as part of a tournament and some just for fun. A large portion of the show floor was an area full of Magic: the Gathering artists all at tables so fans could get cards, playmats, or art signed by their favorite artists. (I also had a chance to meet the first Twitch Streamer I ever watched, Darkness429, as well as online personality, Anthony Carboni.) The MagicCon show floor had plenty of space to move around and felt easy to find your way around. 

I made my way to the Preview Panel and WOW, Magic: the Gathering fans can get LOUD when they see something they are excited about. The team put together a fun show full of everything you can expect in 2025 and 2026 including multiple in-universe Magic: the Gathering sets as well as an announcement for multiple Universes Beyond sets including The Hobbit and Star Trek. I was thankful for a colleague in the writing sphere, Jason Fanelli, for helping me fill in any blanks from my Magic: the Gathering knowledge as announcements happened. 

The Secret Lair panel was shortly after, as the Secret Lair team did a fabulous job of showcasing their next Superdrop with everything from The Office to Sony and even a large Furby set coming over the next few months. The crowd, while not as big as the Preview Panel, was extremely excited and sometimes louder than the Preview Panel crowd when they saw something they liked. Oh, and that covered area I spoke of earlier? After the Secret Lair panel, it was revealed to be a Furby-themed dance area with giant glass versions of some of the Furby collab cards as well as some iconic Furby looks. 

I spent the time after at a Q&A session with both the Secret Lair team and the Preview Panel team. This scrum was full of questions directed all over the panel with some easy questions and some extremely detailed questions. The teams were both really good about providing as much information as they could without giving something away that’s coming down the pike. It was also a great opportunity to put some faces to names I had been hearing a lot about throughout the day. 

The following days were a mixture of show floor as well as some specific panels and then the Cosplay Contest. 

The show floor over the next visits was high energy. People were excited about the tournaments but also just chances to play with people they wouldn’t have the chance to play with otherwise. I also had a great time watching some of the attendees purchase their boxes, rip some packs, sell some of the heavy hitters, and buy a new box. This was also the time I got to be part of a Furby Dance party that featured Furby with a guest star of a pink circle character that shall not be named, but it did rhyme with Furby. 

We had a chance to sit down and see Um, Actually LIVE featuring Dropout TV’s Ify Nwadiwe and Brian David Gilbert doing a full episode of their quiz-show, Um, Actually, there on the MagicCon main stage. As a huge Dropout fan myself, this was a great time and I learned a lot about Magic: the Gathering as well. 

The other huge main stage moment we got to see was the Cosplay Contest. I’ve had a chance to see some AMAZING Cosplay Contests in the past, but this one blew me and my partner away from start to finish. They also showcased the Grand Championships including four previous competition winners doing their interpretation of concept art provided of a set coming early 2026. This was INTENSELY competitive and in the end, had to be so hard to judge. 

Everywhere inside of MagicCon, Magic: the Gathering was being played. From tables outside the main stage, to inside of the large play area, to the content creator’s area. People from all over the world descended on Atlanta, GA to show their love for Magic: the Gathering with like-minded fans. 

I was very impressed by the overall organization of MagicCon. The lines, maps, and the amazing staff did a great job providing all of the information a Con-Goer would need for a successful weekend. If you’re a fan of Magic: the Gathering and want to feel like you’re in a wonderful dream, MagicCon is the place for you. MagicCon will have multiple locations in 2026, visit MagicCon’s website for more information.