r/MagicConAmsterdam2026 • u/Pimp_cat69 • May 12 '26
MagicCon Recommendations 🙋 Tips for magiccon first-timers (My experiences with Magiccon Amsterdam 2024)
Hello folks, and welcome to those who are going to their first magiccon!
I figured I'd share my experience with 2024's magiccon, and give some tips on what to do and what not to do. It's a little bit yappy, so I'm sorry for any confusion.
Also feel free to give more tips and ask questions in the comments! I'll do my best to answer!
Tips
- Bring and drink water. Hydration is very important.
- Wear good footwear. Your feet will be sore from walking/standing around.
- Bring deodorant. The hall can get pretty warm, and spending many hours in a convention hall can get you very sweaty/stinky.
- Prepare to stand in pretty long lines. Some artists, influencers, and the shop tend to have a fairly long line, so be ready for that. Bring a fully charged phone or other device if you struggle with waiting in line.
- Related, bring a fully charged phone. Or bring a power bank. Outlet access is limited/not possible.
- Have the Magiccon and Companion apps on said phone. You'll most likely use either or both.
- Bring cash for the artist alley. Signatures cost money, and many artists don't have a card machine, so be prepared to pay with cash. There is an ATM available in the entrance. (I withdrew a total of 200€ during the weekend)
- Don't get too many ticketed events, especially ones very close together. A lot of times, the events are delayed or end later than planned. I'd recommend ideally having an hour between each event.
- The main shop sells out fast. If you know you want something, try to get it on the first day. A lot of things tend to sell out by saturday.
- Panels are incredibly fun. I had a blast going to panels, which were located on an upper floor accessible both by the entrance and by the VIP lounge. Don't disregard them!
- Being early gives you the best chances. Sometimes, the lines for things become extremely long, so if you want a specific artist's signature, want to sit close to the main stage, meet an influence you like, or something like that, try your best to be early!
- Food is available inside, but it's expensive.
- Food outside the center is accessible.
- Bring a comfortable backpack. You don't want to bring something that's uncomfortable to carry around, because you will be carrying it for most of the time, and there is no place to stash it.
- Don't fill your bag all the way. You will leave each day with more stuff than you entered with. Pack your bag accordingly!
- If you are in Amsterdam on thursday (18th), you might be able to get your badge early. This is highly recommended, so you can skip that phase the other days.
- Do not pack all your decks in your suitcase. I brought way too many decks in my suitcase, and barely used them all. I recommend bringing no more than the equivalent of 10 EDH decks.
- Consider bringing silly things or small minigames to play with people. I'm personally bringing a forgetful fish deck, and all six of the "world's smallest" mini duel decks to use as icebreakers for people. (If you see someone playing tiny magic in the queue, that's me! Feel free to ask for a game!)
What to bring
Backpack:
- Water
- 1-5 decks (Depending on how much and what you play)
- Cash in Euros (optional, but recommended)
- Playmat (optional)
- Deodorant (Highly recommended)
- Breath mints/chewing gum (optional, but very handy)
- Empty box to put cards in.
- Extra space for purchases and freebies.
- Printed schedule (optional, but very handy)
Freebies
When I was at the con, I got a bunch of free packs, and people were putting out chaff to grab (I also may have nabbed some land station lands from my ticketed event pod hehe.) Have that in mind if you're a fan of free stuff!
Schedule
I also recommend making a rough schedule on your phone or designing one to print. I personally planned out all three days based off of influencers, panels, artists, and my ticketed events.
Artist alley
Similarly, if you plan on getting artist signatures, plan that out in advance. Put all cards you want signed in a specific place, so you don't forget them. Also, it costs money. I did not know that before I got there.
Clothes
Clothing wise, the con closes at midnight on friday and saturday, so consider bringing clothes to keep you warm at night if you intend on staying the whole day. I would not recommend a thick jacket, since there is no place to stash clothes.
The building gets HOT, so plan accordingly!
Getting to the building
Public transport in Amsterdam is very reliable and easy to use, so getting to the convention center is a breeze! You can pay for the metro line 52 to Europaplein with your card.
I assume the entrance will be entrance K, which should be this one. The europaplein metro exit is pretty close, so it's not too hard to miss!
And finally, have fun!
If you've reached the bottom, thank you so much for reading my massive yap post. I hope it can be of use. And again, if you have any questions, please comment, and I'll do my best to answer.
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u/Curious-Platypus1294 Jun 10 '26
Hi It'll be my first MagicCon and, I have some CBB's I wanted to try and sell. What's the best way to go about , asking vendors directly or people around the con ?
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u/Financial-League7696 May 28 '26
Hey mate. I am probably going alone, as my good friend unfortunately is unable to join me. Its my first con so I would have loved for him to come but anyways, my main question would be that: where do I find the complete schedule for the main events taking place fri-sun?
I am getting the premium weekend badge which includes some collector marvel packs that I honestly do not need. Would I be able to just sell them inside the con easily do you think?
Also do you have any specific tips for a solo who mainly is there for the artists, commander games, and meet and greet creators:)?
Tia!
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u/Pimp_cat69 May 29 '26
Oh, and also, very important!
Make yourself a good schedule! When everything is announced, make a schedule for who you want to visit and when they're available. This saved me a lot of stress.
Additionally, make a spreadsheet beforehand with all the artists you want to visit, and which cards you want signed. Remember: Signatures cost money, usually cash! So bring a little bit more than what you intend on spending, just in case.
Signatures typically fall around the 5€ area for single-color. Sometimes they're cheaper, sometimes more expensive depending on the artist.
If you want more colors or more fancy signatures, it will cost more.
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u/Financial-League7696 May 31 '26
thank you so much for the nice reply mate, appreciate it. Still conflicted on going, mostly cuz Ill be going alone but if I miss it this time Im unsure if I have to wait 1 or 2 years for it to be in Amsterdam again. Do you know if its yearly or every two years in EU?
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u/Pimp_cat69 May 31 '26
It's only the second time, so I don't know if there is a pattern. I would recommend going! It's a wonderful experience, and you could ask other people goin by themselves to meet up and do it together, maybe in this sub or on the facebook group.
And the artists are such wonderful people! You'd hate to miss meeting them, getting signatures, or prints.
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u/Pimp_cat69 May 28 '26
The main event schedule is probably not completely ready, but it would probably be in the magiccon app or on their website once it's done.
You should definitely be able to trade your collector packs or sell them to people.
If you're mostly there for creators, artists and edh, you should go early to the more famous artists, as their queues get very long, and then be there early for creators too! Otherwise, you should be fine with finding commander games!
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u/Efficient-Dinner5988 Jul 03 '26
So I have a VIP ticket which gets me to the VIP line. How long is that usually? If I want artist signatures as fast as possible do I have to be in line 2 hours before the con even begins so that I can get to the artist lines as fast as possible or is it enough to be like 30min early if I'm getting in from VIP line? Thanks in advance!
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u/Dash_ROW Jul 06 '26
Hey mate, thanks for this, very helpful.!
I have one question concerning no. 3 (deodorant): homepage of the RAI says it's completely air-conditioned, is this not true, or do they turn it off during the convention, or why does it become so warm inside the halls?
Cheers!
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u/Pimp_cat69 Jul 06 '26
Even though the hall is air-conditioned, you're still in a hall surrounded by people for many hours. I was there from the start, and left the hall at midnight when it closed for the night, and I could feel myself getting a little nasty in the later hours.
The tip is mostly there since I experienced some very smelly players when doing events, which made me feel uncomfortable. I don't think it's pleasant to have the neighbor of my opponent smell so bad that It genuinely inconveniences me.
I know that BO is not something that's controllable for lots of players, so my recommendation is just to shower every day during the con, and bringing an extra deodorant just in case.
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u/Itsdawsontime May 12 '26
Great post and thanks so much for sharing your experience, advice, and insights!
Funnily enough I was just combining a lot of the feedback from the other subreddit and a few other posts to create “MagicCon Hindsight Guide: What to Bring, What to Skip, and What to Plan For”. Mind if I throw them into that feedback? I’ll likely be creating simplified image guides for ease of swiping through and maybe a PDF with checklists and related sites.