As Atreyu takes to the stage in Amsterdam, the metalcore five piece have no idea what to expect. 28 years into their career, they’ve toured the world and played everything from gargantuan European festival stages to grimy dive bars. Yet tonight they find themselves playing a career first – a Magic: The Gathering convention.
With the 1,500 capacity afterparty venue packed to the rafters with Atreyu fans and Magic Con attendees alike, once the first notes of bruising opener ‘Dead’ ring out, any doubts of the gig’s legitimacy fade away. As booster packs for one of the best card games rain down from the stage like confetti, circle pits open unprompted and fans crowd surf while ripping open packs of cards. The unholy union of metalcore and Magic: The Gathering has received its booster-strewn blessing.
“If our usual shows are a 10 out of 10, that was a 15 out of 10,” beams Atreyu bassist, Porter McKnight. With no barrier separating the audience and the band, the joyous gig saw fans soaring onto the stage and opening boosters while Porter inspected their pulls mid-riff. While the rest of his bandmates’ constant grins speak for themselves, for the MTG-obsessed Porter, tonight’s show wasn’t just a fun performance – it was a dream come true.
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“I didn’t know what kind of crowd we were going to get – whether they would be many Atreyu fans or just convention-goers – I just knew we were going to do our thing, make it a safe space, and have fun,” reflects Porter, “What I didn’t expect was circle-pit Magic, crowd surfing and opening packs on stage… that show will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The end is not the end
The band rolled up at Magic Con with exclusive Atreyu MTG playmats produced by Ultimate Guard. Although you won’t find those easily elsewhere, you can find Ultimate Guard’s other MTG accessories easily enough at Amazon.
Discovering the card game at a young age at a sleepover in rural Alabama, Porter tells me that Magic was his “first love”, beating music to the punch. “The art, the themes, and the way the game is played immediately got me,” recalls Porter, “Each color has its own style, feeling, and environment. Seeing all this cool art and being immersed in this magical world stirred something deep inside my soul as a creative person.”
Porter and his childhood friend only had a limited number of cards and no internet – so they’d make up the rules for the complex card game as they went, imagining stories and synergies for their cool-looking collection of creatures. Yet once Porter picked up his bass, deckbuilding took a backseat. While Porter briefly played again at college, as Atreyu kicked into gear, the band became his focus and he swapped tapping lands for tapping frets.
Years later, however, Porter’s two passions unexpectedly collided. “Four or five years ago an awesome band from Slovenia called Within Destruction was opening for us,” says Porter. “Their drummer was very shy and we never really talked beyond friendly hellos. Our drum tech asked me, ‘What’s that game you play on your iPad?…Magic Arena? …I think their drummer is playing it over there.’It turns out he competes and is so good.”
With the musician introducing Porter to Commander decks, the once-intimidating world of warlocks and wards suddenly clicked. With Magic’s artwork pulling from dark fantasy, depicting skeletons, dragons and demons, it’s easy to see why there’s such an overlap between metalheads and the card game. Yet Porter still believed that meeting another Magic-loving metal head was a fluke, until he played the UK’s biggest metal festival in 2024.
“At Download Festival about two years ago, I met Tuck, the bassist from Fit for a King,” recalls Porter, “He was wearing a Magic hat, and I complimented it…. And he told me, ‘I’m in this group, ‘Metalcore Magic.’ and it’s the wildest group chat! The number of bands on it could sell out a world tour.”
With the WhatsApp group boasting members of I Prevail, The Ghost Inside, We Came as Romans, Currents, Neck Deep and Don Broco, Porter suddenly discovered a travelling network of fellow Magic nerds. “I meet up on tour with people from Metalcore Magic all the time….,” beams Porter, “I’ve found it brings people together in a physical, off-screen way that we rarely get in this digital age.”
While it’s not uncommon for bands to bond on tour, once the shows come to an end Porter admits that so too do most of their friendships. Yet thanks to this group chat, these bands have a shared passion that extends beyond a 12 date tour. “I’ve existed in the metal and hard rock community for a while, which brings people together through shows and meeting fans – but this is a different level of connection,” says Porter. “It forces you to sit down face-to-face with people and connect. As an introverted person who needs an activity to socialize, having a shared love for this game builds an instant bond. It’s cool as fuck.”
It’s something I see playing out in real time as I bump into a smiling Rob Damiani of Don Broco at Atreyu’s Magic Con gig. “[With] Don Broco – I didn’t know Rob personally, but we were both at Rock am Ring [festival] in June…He recognized me from the Metalcore Magic chat, so we hung out,” says Porter. “Later, when Don Broco played in Cologne, I drove an hour and a half to a sweaty game store during a heatwave… and we played Magic for four hours with local fans and the store owner. Now we’re genuine friends.”
A day later at a bustling Magic Con, Porter and his bandmates host a packed signing session where hundreds of fans queue up to meet the band and buy exclusive Atreyu-themed playmats. “People were bringing packs to the signing today asking, ‘Can you sign the pack you gave me at the show?’ or ‘Can I open this with you?’,” beams Porter. “ I loved that.”
As well as squiggling over fans’ cards, Porter is also an artist in his spare time, inspiring him to design his own set of custom Magic cards that correspond to the artwork and theme of each Atreyu album. “Each one is a ‘game changer’ card that vastly influences play, so they are functional and usable,” smiles Porter as he proudly shows me his cards, “but they also thematically connect to the feeling of each album.”
As grinning fans stream out of a sweaty venue and thousands of players pack into the bustling convention center the next day, it’s hard not to be won over by the sheer joy this hobby exudes. The camaraderie I witness among Magic fans undoubtedly mirrors the passion that unites a roaring crowd of strangers as their favorite band takes the stage. “Music is the universal language – it’s deeply embedded in the human soul. When you meet someone who loves the same music, you share an instant bond talking about those songs,” Porter says. “Magic operates similarly, but instead of just sitting and listening to an album, you actively engage in a shared universe for hours. You can go to concerts with friends, and you can play Magic together – one shouldn’t exist without the other.”
“Music and Magic mesh in perfect synergy,” Porter concludes, “Last night’s show was living proof—it was one of the best shows of our career. Magic is better played with music, and apparently music is better played with Magic, too.”
Plenty of cool new sets are on the way to MTG, from brand-new settings to crossovers like Star Trek. To get a heads up on what’s coming, check out our guide to everything announced at Magic Con 2026.