Magic Online Weekly Announcements, November 7, 2023

THE LEAD​

The Lost Caverns of Ixalan on Magic Online​

It's time to descend below the surface of our tropical plane and discover a wondrous world! The Lost Caverns of Ixalan surfaces on MTGO a week from today – November 14 at 10 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC). Check out our traditional set article for full information: Article
  • The Jurassic World Bundle
  • The return of the Deck Brewer’s Pass
  • Event Updates, including news on how to use leftover Qualifier Points at season’s end
    • See the grid at the bottom of the Blog for updates to Format Challenges
  • A UI improvement in tracking floating mana
  • Booster Fun, a Treasure Chest update, and more

Shiny Improvements – Watch Super League Tomorrow for a First Look​

We are excited to share a special presentation that showcases a stunning new look-and-feel improvement to Magic Online. It’s a genuine game-changer!

Associate Product Manager Aaron Penfold will have an article go live just after downtime tomorrow on MTGO.com.

Then tune into tomorrow’s Super League broadcast on twitch.tv/officialmagiconline - Creative Director Ryan Spain sits down with Anuraag Das to explain the process in greater detail.

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Special Edition on Magic Online

MTGO fans are in for a unique treat – the beautiful Scroll frame featured in tabletop Collector Boosters will be draftable online! Collect all of your The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ favorites in a Special Edition booster going on sale tomorrow following downtime. 

Each booster is $4.99 USD in the Magic Online Store and contains the same product mix as the original booster, but with all cards from the main set replaced by Showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth versions. Many of your Booster Fun favorites from The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will also be available to add to your Collection.


Additionally, all of the Booster Fun cards from tabletop's holiday release - the 24 cards comprising tabletop’s Scene Boxes, the 5 new cards from Jumpstart, the poster cards, the Borderless Brothers Hildebrandt cards, and Showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth versions of Commander cards - will be available in Treasure Chests starting on November 14 when the next set launches.

Draft Leagues featuring The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Special Edition kick off following tomorrow’s downtime but will be featured for just two weeks until November 22. Booster entry options will allow for either 3 original LTR boosters or 3 LTR Special Edition boosters plus 2 Event Tickets. Prizes will be in LTR Special Edition boosters.

Art ©Greg and Tim Hildebrandt – All Rights Reserved. © 2023 Middle-earth Enterprises. Tales of Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings and the names of the characters, events, items and places therein, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Middle-earth Enterprises, LLC used under license by Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved. ©2023 Wizards of the Coast LLC

Downtime Tomorrow​

Magic Online will be in scheduled maintenance tomorrow from 9 a.m. to approximately 12 noon Pacific time (17:00-20:00 UTC) to get The Lost Caverns of Ixalan ready in the system. Watch our social media accounts linked at the top of the Blog for updates!

Reminder: Treasure Chests do not update until LCI launches on November 14th.


MTGO BROADCASTS​

Super League – Time for the Top 8!​

One of Magic Online’s most popular streams is back – Super League Season 1 continues every Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET / 20:00 UTC). Catch all the action at twitch.tv/officialmagiconline or twitch.tv/anzidmtg. 16 Magic: The Gathering celebrities compete over 12 weeks to determine who reigns supreme in the ever-evolving Modern format.

In the final Last Chance Pod, Corey Baumeister and Javier Dominguez did enough to reach the Top 8 bracket! Meanwhile, YungDingo and Mason Clark were eliminated from this season’s competition.

After 10 weeks of play, our original 16 have been whittled down to 8.

The penultimate week features all remaining players battling in the quarterfinals.

Super League glory is within reach! Tune in tomorrow to check out who advances to the final show and who will be sent packing.


ALTERNATE PLAY​

LTR Special Edition Draft Starts Tomorrow​

As mentioned above, Draft Leagues featuring The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ Special Edition kick off following tomorrow’s downtime but will be featured for just two weeks until November 22. Entry and prizes will mirror those of the LTR Swiss Draft queue ending tomorrow, and there’s an additional entry option of using original LTR boosters instead of Special Edition boosters.

NEW - When Is Vintage Cube Back?​

A new regular feature of the Blog, this item will mention when the next scheduled run of our most popular event will take place:

  • Current Cube version: 64-Player Events only - November 22-29
  • Refreshed Cube: Holiday Festival 2023 starting December 20

WEEKLY UPDATES​

Redemption Corner​

We’ve updated our Redemption page with new quantity percentages.

WIlds of Eldraine redemption tokens are now available in the MTGO Store.

IMPORTANT: As of May 23, all new orders of Redemption Tokens are non-refundable!

Two-Factor Authentication Is Now Live – Protect Your Account Today!​

A long-requested security feature is now part Magic Online – check out Ryan Spain’s article to learn the why, what, and how to put Two-Factor Authentication into effect to help protect your account!

Magic Online Format Challenges Every Weekend​

Format Challenges are the first step toward qualifying for Premier Play through your favorite Magic formats and provide excellent prizes for those looking to test their mettle in their favorite formats. Learn more about Premier Play qualification to get started today.

Magic Online's Format Challenges run as shown on the schedule below.

On weekends featuring Showcase Challenge events, the Format Challenge that starts at either 6 a.m., 8 a.m., or 10 a.m. Pacific time is pre-empted by the Showcase Challenge; Format Challenges scheduled at other times remain in place.

NOTES:

  • The number in the title represents the minimum fire size and the lowest place to receive prizes.
  • In MOCS Season 3, Vintage and Pauper Challenges are never pre-empted.
  • 32-Player Limited Challenge events are 6 rounds with no playoff
TIME (PT) FRIDAYSATURDAYSUNDAY
12:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge 32
1:00 a.m. Limited Challenge 32Limited Challenge 32
2:00 a.m. Pauper Challenge 32
4:00 a.m. Legacy Challenge 32 Modern Challenge 96
6:00 a.m. Standard Challenge 32 Pioneer Challenge 96
8:00 a.m. Modern Challenge 96Legacy Challenge 96
10:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge 32Pauper Challenge 32
12:00 p.m. Limited Challenge 32Limited Challenge 32
2:00 p.m. Pioneer Challenge 32 Pioneer Challenge 96 Standard Challenge 64
4:00 p.m.Limited Challenge 32
6:00 p.m. Modern Challenge 64 Modern Challenge 64
Check out the Magic Online Format Challenges page for further event details.


PATCH NOTES – November 8, 2023​

Look and Feel - Major​

  • Improvements have been made to the look of foil cards across the game
  • Improvements have been made to audio files – volume has been normalized and memory usage has been reduced
  • A new UI is in place to select floating mana from particular sources when required

Look and Feel - Minor​

  • Social media links and icons have been updated – added YouTube and Twitch, swapped X for Twitter
  • Jurassic World and the Brothers Hildebrandt have been added to the Universes Beyond credits tab in Settings

Card Fixes​

  • Flash will correctly allow the user to not put a creature card onto the battlefield
  • Favorable Destiny will correctly check its controller’s battlefield to determine if it gives shroud
  • LTR Saga titles will correctly use black font
  • Wastes from Time Spiral Remastered will correctly have a watermark

Oracle Changes – See This Article for Full Details​

  • The keyword ability Totem Armor will be updated to Umbra Armor
  • The card type Tribal will be updated to Kindred
  • The subtype Naga will be updated to Snake
  • The subtype Cat will be removed from certain Rakshasa creatures

NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – January 17, 2024, 9 a.m. to Noon PT​

After tomorrow’s downtime, the next scheduled maintenance will be Wednesday, January 17 from 9 a.m. to noon PT (17:00-20:00 UTC). This is to support the release of Ravnica Remastered.
 
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