MTG fans go crazy for the giant Axolotl card

Releasing as part of the MTG Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander decks, this humongous creature is as friendly as it is fierce.

Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood is a brand new monster from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s Explorers of the Deep Commander deck. Xolatoyac boasts impressive stats and an ability that can lead to many interesting combos, but its design is pushing fan excitement over the top.

Rather than the intimidating dinosaurs that Ixalan has become known for, Xolatoyac is a kaiju-sized creature that looks just like an oversized axolotl. This unique, adorable design has set them apart from most of the other creatures in the Lost Caverns of Ixalan set.

Fan reaction to Xolatoyac

It’s fair to see that Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood is instantly a hit with the MTG community. Commenters on Reddit have immediately professed their adoration for the creature, with those like karlek97 saying ‘What a joy that smile is.’ Commenter PhoenixsVoid compounded the positive sentiment, adding ‘This is such a cute big ol guy like wtf‘.

Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood MTG abilities

Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood brings a new counter type to Magic: The Gathering. Flood counters are both versatile and thematic, making any land with a flood counter into an island in addition to its other types.

The benefits of flood counters are immediately obvious. Allowing your lands to also tap for blue helps with mana-fixing in multicolor decks. If playing Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood more aggressively, why not bring back Islandwalk and use Xolatoyac to stampede right past your opponents’ defenses?

Perhaps the most potent use for flood counters is inherent to Xolatoyac themselves, which will likely end up being their primary purpose for now. During your end step, Xolatoyac allows you to untap any of your permanents with a counter on them. Given Simic colors’ propensity for big mana, Xolatoyac allows you to go for broke summoning your creatures, and still have plenty of mana left for reactions and removal during your opponents’ turns.

Xolatoyac’s ability doesn’t just rely on flood counters either, so any Simic deck utilizing +1/+1 counters needs to seriously consider this new addition.

Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood has everything it needs to become a popular and memorable MTG card. With powerful and unique abilities, Commander potential, and an instantly beloved design, Xolatoyac is already among The Lost Caverns of Ixalan’s surefire successes.

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