Magic Online Weekly Announcements, February 13, 2024
Posted on Feb 12, 2024
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THE LEAD
Murders at Karlov Manor On-Sale Now
The next Magic expansion is a mystery no longer – Murders at Karlov Manor is on MTGO’s digital shelves right now – go check out the Store!
Our traditional set article is live and previews the following items:
- The return of the Deck Brewer’s Pass
- Boosters and Commander Decks in the Store
- Our unique Invisible Ink treatment found on a select group of the set’s Showcase cards
- Treasure Chest and Commander Backlog updates
- Over 30 cards added from previous sets
- Avatars and MKM legality timing
Deck Brewer’s Pass Extended
Due to system issues this past weekend along with an unplanned downtime tomorrow (info next), the latest Deck Brewer’s Pass period has been extended. All-Access for Pass holders now ends Tuesday, February 20th at 10 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC). Read all about the Deck Brewer's Pass in the MKM set article!
Downtime Tomorrow
After Murders at Karlov Manor was released last week, we discovered an underlying issue that could only be cured by a downtime. Therefore, we will go into scheduled maintenance tomorrow at 9 a.m. Pacific time (17:00 UTC). Our expected return time is 12 p.m. PT (20:00 UTC). During this period our Help and Forums pages will be inaccessible.
We apologize for the inconvenience. As a result, we are extending the validity of the Deck Brewer’s Pass by six hours.
PREMIER PLAY
It's Showcase Challenge Weekend
A new MOCS season is underway, so it’s time to qualify the first players for the next round of Showcase Qualifiers in March.
It takes 40 Season 1 Qualifier Points to enter a Showcase Challenge. The Top 8 finishers in each event earn a Championship Entry Token for the event’s format plus earn Leaderboard Points toward an At-Large berth in the next Showcase!
Here are the dates and times for this weekend’s events:
|
DATE |
TIME (PT) |
TIME (UTC) |
EVENT |
|
Saturday, February 17 |
10:00 a.m. |
18:00 |
Vintage Showcase Challenge |
|
Sunday, February 18 |
8:00 a.m. |
16:00 |
Legacy Showcase Challenge |
For more information on these events, click the Premier Play Information link at the top of the Blog.
ALTERNATE PLAY
Alternate Play Schedule
Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and Outlaws at Thunder Junction. Except for Best-of-One, all of these offerings are Phantom – cards won’t be added to players’ collections in Phantom events. All transitions take place at 10:00 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC) unless otherwise noted.
- February 6-21 (Updated Feb 13) – Murders at Karlov Manor is center stage for these two weeks. As has become our custom, a Best-of-One League will be available for that period. Additionally, Phantom Single-Elimination MKM drafts are available. Entry and prize are same as 8-player Cube Elim Drafts, but QPs are 3 for 1st and 1 for 2nd. Happy PT Testing!
- February 21-March 6 – The Fast Follow/Polish/Minor Update of Vintage Cube allows two more weeks of play in a slightly-tweaked sandbox. In a change, we will not be holding 64-Player single-elimination drafts during this run.
- March 6-13 – The Vintage Cube goes Supreme for one week – everyone's favorite top-two-of-every-pack format returns. This will be the spot where we have one week of 64-Player Drafts of regular Vintage Cube.
- March 13-20 – An old friend returns: Flashback Invasion Block Draft.
- March 20-April 10 – Chris Wolf and Ryan Spain will have the first quarterly refresh of Vintage Cube with packages of cards shuttling in and out.
- April 10-16 – We’ve gathered 18 sets with a medium-to-heavy emphasis on the most universal of card types to create Artifact Chaos Draft!
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:
- Fast Follow Update: February 21-March 6 (no 64’s)
- Supreme Vintage Cube: March 6-13 (plus 64’s of regular Vintage Cube)
- Spring Update: March 20-April 10 (64’s TBD)
WEEKLY UPDATES
Retro Shockland Bundles Available Now
Our latest Art Bundle offering is something truly unique in Magic Online’s history – all ten shocklands in a retro frame!
There are two Bundles available, each of which will sell for $39.99 USD in the MTGO Store.
The Allied Guilds Bundle contains 1 copy each of these 5 lands
The Enemy Guilds Bundle contains 1 copy of each of these 5 lands
These Art Bundles will remain in the Store for a limited time following the release of Murders at Karlov Manor. Like previous Bundles, these will neither appear in Treasure Chests nor be included in All-Access periods. So be sure to pick yours up today!
These Art Bundles will remain in the Store for a limited time following the release of Murders at Karlov Manor. Like previous Bundles, these will neither appear in Treasure Chests nor be included in All-Access periods. So be sure to pick yours up today!
Redemption Corner
We’ve updated our Redemption page with new quantity percentages.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Redemption Tokens (both regular and premium) are now on sale alongside Wilds of Eldraine Tokens (regular sets only).
Murders at Karlov Manor is anticipated to be on sale on Wednesday, March 6.
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 1, Standard and Pauper Challenges are never pre-empted.
- 32-Player Limited Challenge events are 6 rounds with no playoff
- Challenges with a Second Chance Event that fires 30 minutes later are shown in Bold.
| TIME (PT) | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
| 12:00 a.m. | Vintage Challenge 32 | ||
| 1:00 a.m. | Limited Challenge 32 | Limited 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 64 | |
| 8:00 a.m. | Modern Challenge 96 | Legacy Challenge 64 | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Vintage Challenge 32 | Pauper Challenge 64 | |
| 12:00 p.m. | Limited Challenge 32 | Limited Challenge 32 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Pioneer Challenge 32 | ||
| 2:00 p.m. | Pioneer Challenge 64 | Pioneer Challenge 64 | Standard Challenge 96 |
| 4:00 p.m. | Limited Challenge 32 | ||
| 6:00 p.m. | Modern Challenge 64 | Modern Challenge 64 | Modern Challenge 64 |
Check out the Magic Online Format Challenges page for further event details.
NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME
As noted above, we'll have a downtime tomorrow, February 14 beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific time (17:00 UTC) and ending at 12 p.m. PT (20:00 UTC). The next scheduled maintenance will be announced at a later date.
Author: Tony Mayer