Weekly Blog - September 12, 2023

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THE LEAD - Wilds of Eldraine on MTGO​

We’re entering the second week of our return to the fairy-tale plane of Eldraine. Wilds of Eldraine events and products are live on Magic Online, and you can check out our traditional set article for information on a ton of new initiatives.

While we had a few hiccups with the initial launch of the set, the team worked quickly to deploy some hotfixes last week to fix a handful of cards along with a minimum deck-size issue in Wilds of Eldraine limited play. We’ve taken some steps on our end to try and avoid similar issues in the future, but we understand that situations like these are frustrating and fall short of the experience we’d like to provide. As a thank you for your time and patience, we have a special treat for all Magic Online players:

Deck Brewer’s Pass - 24 Hours Free!​

As a token of our gratitude for joining us in celebrating the Wilds of Eldraine launch, we're extending All-Access to all MTGO accounts for one day at absolutely no cost!

If you’ve already purchased the Deck Brewer’s Pass, you don’t have to do anything – your existing Pass wll now allow All-Access until Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC).

If you haven’t purchased the Deck Brewer’s Pass, head to the MTGO Store this Thursday, September 14th at 10:00 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC). Enter promo code WILDELDRAINE to activate All-Access and add the Deck Brewer's Pass to your account.

Brew to your heart's content with (almost) every card in MTGO – including Wilds of Eldraine & Wilds of Eldraine Commander – until the token and access are removed at 10:00 a.m. PT on Friday, September 15th. Yes, you heard it right—a full day of All-Access, completely free!

If you'd like to try out the Deck Brewer’s Pass before then, it continues to be available in the store for $20 USD. Full details are available here.

WOE 64-Player Elimination Drafts Start Thursday​

One other addition we are including is the return of 64-Player Elimination Drafts, this time featuring Wilds of Eldraine! These are sprinkled through the schedule this Thursday through Sunday - check times inside the MTGO game client.

These events feature the same format as the Vintage Cube version did a couple weeks ago - draft once, win your pod, draft again. Because you get to keep the cards this time, the entry options are 20 Event Tickets or 200 Play Points. The prize structure also remains the same:

Match WinsPlay PointsTreasure ChestsSeason 3
Qualifier Points
65005024
53503512
4300206
3150103
215051
Depending on how popular these events are, we'll consider whether this is a one-weekend event or whether it'll be a more regular happening.

MTGO BROADCASTS​

The Super League is Back – Wednesdays at 1pm PT​

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 will compete over 12 weeks to determine who reigns supreme in the ever-evolving Modern format.

In Week 2, the reigning Magic: The Gathering World Champion Nathan Steuer swept his pod. while Corey Baumeister took three matches to advance to the upper bracket – one step away from the Top 8! Carmen Klomparens and Simon Nielsen fared worse, so they head to the lower bracket looking to avoid elimination in their next appearance.

Week 3 features another quartet of powerhouse online players: Pro Tour Hall of Famer Reid Duke, AspiringSpike, Carolyn Pardee, and Wizards of the Coast’s own Gavin Verhey.

PREMIER PLAY​

Limited Super Qualifier This Weekend​

Now that you’ve had some time to try out the new cards in Wilds of Eldraine, put your skills to the test in this weekend’s Limited Super Qualifier! Open 6 Wilds of Eldraine boosters, build your deck, and battle your way through a number of rounds (determined by entries) with Swiss pairings. If you make the Top 8, you’ll play in a single-elimination Wilds of Eldraine draft and compete for one of four invitations to the first round of tabletop Regional Championships in 2024!

Each Super Qualifier’s entry options are 40 Event Tickets, 400 Play Points, or 40 MOCS Season 3 Qualifier Points. Prizes pay out to the Top 128!

Click the Premier Play Information link at the top of this Blog for full details. For more details on tabletop Regional Championships, visit magic.gg. 

ALTERNATE PLAY​

Vintage Cube & 64-Player Drafts​

Due to the great reception of the most recent run of the Vintage Cube, we’ll be switching up our original plan of running Supreme Vintage Cube events October 4th-18th. Rather than using the Supreme style, we’re bringing back the most recent Vintage Cube in all its glory – including 64-player drafts! We’ll provide more details closer to that week.

Alternate Play Schedule​

Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan®. Each description mentions whether or not the Draft is Phantom – cards won’t be added to players’ collections in Phantom events. All transitions take place at 10:00 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC) unless otherwise noted.
  • Now-September 20Wilds of Eldraine is the focus. Its Best-of-One League will run exclusively during these dates.
  • September 20-27 – While the MTGO team is at Magic Con Las Vegas, the game will celebrate the final run of the Magic 30 Cube. (Phantom)
  • September 27-October 4 – Designer John Terrill is bringing back his CubeCon Cartographia Cube with updates to its land-focused play experience. Look for his article on September 26. (Phantom)
  • October 4-18 – Vintage Cube returns! As noted above, this will be a typical run of Vintage Cube rather than the previously announced Supreme version. 64-Player drafts are also returning by popular demand.
  • October 18-25 – To kick off Spooky Season, it’s Innistrad Chaos Draft! (Phantom)
  • October 25-November 1 – We’re lining up something spooky for Halloween week, but it’s not ready to talk about yet ...
  • November 1-8 – Let's kick Wilds of Eldraine draft up a notch and give it the Supreme treatment! Pick 2 cards from a pack, discard the pack, pick 2 from a different pack, etc. (Phantom)
  • November 8-14 – There’s something even cooler in the works here – more details closer to this time.

WEEKLY UPDATES​

Redemption Corner​

We’ve updated our Redemption page with new quantity percentages – we are now completely sold out of Dominaria United regular sets.

For those who will be collecting sets of Wilds of Eldraine, you can circle Wednesday, October 4 as our anticipated on-sale date.

Information on remaining stock of March of the Machine (regular and foil), Phyrexia: All Will Be One (regular) and The Brothers' War (regular) can be found on that link above.

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

Freeform with Commander Now Available​

We’re particularly excited with our newest game mode – Freeform with Commander!

Check out Ryan Spain’s article describing the how, what, and why of this wild new play mode, then give it a shot!

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:
CONSTRUCTED
  • In MOCS Season 3, Vintage and Pauper Challenges are never pre-empted.
  • 32-Player events require 32 players to fire and give prizes to the Top 32.
  • Pauper and Vintage Challenges are always 32-Player tournaments.
  • All other events listed require 64 players to fire and give prizes to the Top 64.
LIMITED
  • 32-Player Limited Challenge events are 6 rounds with no playoff
  • 64-Player Limited Challenge events are 7 rounds with no playoff
TIME (PT) FRIDAYSATURDAYSUNDAY
12:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge
1:00 a.m. 32-Player Limited Challenge 32-Player Limited Challenge
2:00 a.m. Pauper Challenge
4:00 a.m. 32-Player Legacy Challenge Modern Challenge
6:00 a.m. 32-Player Standard Challenge Pioneer Challenge
8:00 a.m. 96-Player Modern Challenge Legacy Challenge
10:00 a.m. Vintage Challenge Pauper Challenge
12:00 p.m. 32-Player Limited Challenge 32-Player Limited Challenge
2:00 p.m. Pioneer Challenge 32-Player Standard Challenge
4:00 p.m.32-Player Limited Challenge
6:00 p.m.Modern Challenge Modern Challenge
Check out the Magic Online Format Challenges page for further event details.

MTGO UI Improvements​

In case you missed it, we implemented several quality-of-life improvements along with the Wilds of Eldraine launch. Here are a few highlights, but you’ll find all the details in this article.
  • Improved event filtering on the Home Scene and in the Constructed Play Lobby
  • Right-clicking a Commander to see how many times it’s been cast this game
  • Shifts in timer location and in how Atraxa, Grand Unifier works
  • Choosing favorite lands for Limited and Constructed (#Yes!!!)

PATCH NOTES – September 13, 2023​

  • “Name-Sticker” Goblin will be legal in applicable formats with the rules text outlined in this article.
  • Rock tokens created by Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith will display the correct text and will be able to be equipped, and Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith will correctly not display an option to equip.
  • Songbirds’ Blessing will correctly prompt the player to put the revealed aura on the battlefield (or not).
  • Scenarios where Auras chosen with Unfinished Business are unable to enchant the chosen creature are now correctly handled by the game.
  • Kindred Discovery’s will correctly trigger for creatures only of the chosen creature type.
  • Blossoming Tortoise will correctly not reduce the cost of activated abilities of lands in your hand.
  • The Mightstone and Weakstone will use the correct color identity (colorless).
  • Mana generated from the static ability granted by Tzar, Stalwart Survivor will correctly be usable to pay the cost of an activated ability only.
  • Fixed an issue where Premier Events were sometimes not populating on the Home scene.

NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – November 8, 9 a.m. to Noon PT​

The next scheduled maintenance will be Wednesday, November 8 from 9 a.m. to noon PT (16:00-19:00 UTC). This is to support the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan®.
 
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