Magic Online Weekly Announcements, July 9, 2024

Posted on Jul 09, 2024

THE LEAD

Magic: The Gathering® - Assassin’s Creed® Available Now!

Fans of Assassin’s Creed®, rejoice – your game is the next one in Magic’s Universes Beyond spotlight! Step into legend now with Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin’s Creed® (set code ACR).

MTGO is your exclusive digital destination for this straight-to-Modern crossover set, so we’ve pulled out all the stops to provide a great experience for both playing and collecting it!

Read all about ACR in this article – here’s the highlights:

• Beyond Boosters make their debut – 7 cards for $3.49 USD
• Premium Boosters also join MTGO – 7 cards (all foil, mostly the Etched treatment) for $5 USD
• 4 ACR-specific Art Bundles available – Foil Lands, Historical Figures, Relics, and The Animus Project
• For new players, there’s a Starter Kit with 2 decks playable out of the box for $12.99 USD
• Booster Fun galore, including MTGO’s exclusive treatment of the Memory Corridor frames
• Treasure Chest update effective right after downtime

Vintage Cube Rolls On – QP Entries Start Tomorrow For 1 Week

After a nominal two-week break for the debut of Modern Horizons 3, the Vintage Cube returns overlooking a brand-new ... horizon.

Our curation team of Chris Wolf and Ryan Spain have made 7 dozen changes to the card list (that’s 84 for those of you scoring at home) to play up themes such as Doomsday Combo, Lands, and Graveyard Matters. You can read all about the changes in this article.

Events continue until July 17 with the normal Swiss League and single-elimination Queue options. Normal Cube entry options and prize structures will be in effect – you can view those on this page.

In addition, 10 of the expiring Season 2 Qualifier Points (the blue ones) can be used for a free entry into the Vintage Cube League starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC).

MTGO Commander Featured on Tolarian Community College!

Got friends who are on the fence about joining Magic Online? YouTube’s most popular Magic: The Gathering channel, Tolarian Community College, has just debuted a new video showing the ins and outs of getting started with Commander on MTGO! Be sure to check it out and share with your friends ...

MTGO BROADCASTS 

MTGO Masters Season 2 Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT

Sixteen online Magic luminaries are gathering for a new season of competition slinging spells in Modern on Magic Online – but with a heavy dose of Modern Horizons 3 added. It’s the return of MTGO Masters!

Continuing tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT (20:00 UTC), this 12-week series features a four-player faceoff with spots in the next round at stake. It all leads to a two-week Top 8 finale in mid-September. Until then, the format is Win 2 Before You Lose 2 – both for matches in a week and also weekly pods prior to Top 8.

Anuraag Das and Will Hall return as hosts for the stream broadcast on the main MTGO Twitch channel – twitch.tv/magiconline – as well as Anuraag’s channel twitch.tv/anzidmtg. We will also be featuring co-streaming partners throughout the season!

Last week, defending champion Arya Karamchandani advanced with a 2-1 record, while Andreas Petersen swept his matches. Rebell Lily and D00mwake fared worse and will have work to do in the Elimination Pod later this season.

This week features another star-studded quartet:

• Magic Hall of Famer Martin Juza
• 2022 World Champion and 2-time MOCS Showcase champion Nathan Steuer
• Two of the most popular Modern streamers around – Mason Clark and YungDingo

But there’s a twist! For the first round of episodes (Weeks 1-4), players will be tasked with brewing against a theme, then bring TWO separate decks to battle. That’s Deck A in Match 1, Deck B in Match 2, then that player’s choice should they play in a third match during the show.

Week Two’s theme is PT MH3 Revisited, but with three cards banned for this show only: Nadu, Winged Wisdom, Ruby Medallion, and Necrodominance. Check out what our celebrities conjure up tomorrow and every Wednesday all season!

The Magic Discovery Zone Season 3 – Thursdays at 5 p.m. PT

Looking for a fun way to introduce your friends to some of Magic Online’s competitive formats? Gather around your favorite screen of choice for our new series, The Magic Discovery Zone!

Host NileJoanRivers gets coached by an MTG celebrity on the ins and outs of a featured deck in each episode. Then Nile dives into a MTGO League to practice, ask questions, and get a better understanding of the deck’s game plan. The mood here is all about fun and learning!

Season Three will highlight the Modern format. This week, Magic Hall of Famer Reid Duke is in the coach’s seat this Thursday night at 5 p.m. PT (midnight Friday UTC) at twitch.tv/magiconline as Nile delves deeper with Modern Horizons 3.

Just now finding Discovery Zone? Both seasons’ VODs are now available on our brand-new YouTube channel MTGO University!

MTGO Creator Showdown Returns This Saturday!

Dozens of your favorite Magic content creators will be in action competing for up to $5,000 in cash and prizes in the MTGO Creator Showdown this Saturday, July 13!

The rotating format of battle this month is Modern and all 64 participants will be streaming simultaneously in this six-round, double-elimination event starting at 9 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC). Look for them on Twitch, YouTube, and more to chat in real time!

We’ve added an extra rule for this event only: Nadu, Winged Wisdom is banned.

Once the field is whittled down to 16 undefeated players, the official MTGO Twitch channel will fire up a broadcast hosted by Will Hall and featuring a rotating cast of commentators. We’ll whip around from stream to stream catching every turn of the cards until one player emerges with a 6-0 record and scores the top prize of $1,250!

There will be giveaways galore on the MTGO channel’s broadcast, so be sure to tune in and follow the action all day this Saturday!

PREMIER PLAY

MOCS Postseason Begins This Weekend

It’s time once again to qualify players for the next Magic Online Champions Showcase on September 14^th! Over the next two weekends, Top 8 finishers from Showcase Challenges and 5-win players from Last Chance events will battle until one remains as this season’s Showcase Champion for that format.

In addition to reaching the Champions Showcase (with its $50,000 prize pool and two invitations to the 2025 World Championship), the winner of each Showcase Qualifier is invited to the Pro Tour of 2025 plus the Regional Championship round in September-December feeding that event. Leaderboard Points are also on the line as players seek one of two At-Large invites at the end of the postseason.

If you did not reach the Showcase Qualifier stage, your chance to reach the Showcase will be the weekend of July 27-28 in the Showcase Opens – events featuring Modern Horizons 3 Limited where the winner earns a Showcase invitation.

For more information on MTGO Premier Play, click the link at the top of the Blog.

MOCS Last Chance Events Start Today & Tomorrow

Did you fall just short of a Top 8 Showcase Challenge finish? Did you scrape together that 39^th and 40^th Qualifier Point at the last second? If so, your ticket to the upcoming Showcase Qualifiers could be earned in a Last Chance Event! 

Starting Today and tomorrow, all Preliminaries in Modern, Legacy, Pauper, and Pioneer convert to Last Chance Events. Finish with a 5-0 record in that event to earn an Entry Token to that format’s Showcase Qualifier later this month. We’ll also be supplementing the supply of Pauper Last Chance events.

Entry options require both 40 Qualifier Points plus either 30 Event Tickets or 300 Play Points.

Here’s the schedule of remaining Last Chance Events this round: 

*indicates next-day  

Last Chance Events pre-empt Preliminaries normally scheduled at those times.  

Click the Premier Play Information link at the top of this Blog for full Last Chance Event details. 

Last Two Super Qualifiers of this RC Round This Weekend 

The final eight Regional Championship slots for this round are on the line this weekend across a pair of Super Qualifiers!

Note: These events are the first for MOCS Season 3 Qualifying – they will award Season 3 Leaderboard Points and allow entry with either Season 2 QPs (the blue ones) or Season 3 QPs (the red ones). QPs from different seasons are not combinable – it must be either 40 of Season 2’s or 40 of Season 3’s QPs.

First is the MH3 Limited Super Qualifier Friday, July 12 at 7 a.m. PT (14:00 UTC). This event features Modern Horizons 3 Sealed Deck with Top 8 Draft. With more expensive packs, it takes 50 Event Tickets or 500 Play Points to join this event. You can also join with the normal amount of 40 Season 2 Qualifier Points or 40 Season 3 QPs.

Then the weekend wraps with a Modern Super Qualifier. That tournament begins Sunday, July 14 at a special time of 12 noon PT (19:00 UTC). It takes 40 Event Tickets, 400 Play Points, 40 Season 2 QPs, or 40 Season 3 QPs to enter that event.

The Top 4 finishers in each tournament earn a seat in the September-December RC round, and prizes pay out to the Top 128! 

For more information on these events, click the Premier Play Information link at the top of the Blog.

MOCS Season 2 QPs Expire This Week 

If you have been sitting on chunks of 40 or more Season 2 Qualifier Points, it’s time to find a use for them before they expire.

The good news is that unlike normal seasons, we have a couple of events that accept QPs after the official season end time on July 10. Here are all the remaining events to use QPs:

• Last Chance events today and tomorrow
  • These require 30 Event Tickets or 300 Play Points in addition to QPs
• Super Qualifiers this Friday and Sunday, July 12 & 14
• Vintage Cube League – Wednesday, July 10 to Wednesday, July 17
  • 10 QPs per entry for Vintage Cube League

ALTERNATE PLAY

Alternate Play Schedule

Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and Bloomburrow. All 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 unless otherwise noted.

• Now-July 17—Vintage Cube returns for a three-week run featuring its New Horizons Refresh. (Phantom)
• July 17-30— Friend of Magic Online David McDarby returns with a refresh of his Live the Dream Cube!

When Is Vintage Cube Back?

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

• New Horizons Refresh: June 26-July 17

Magic Online Judge Open League – Signups Due Thursday

Several of us on the MTGO Game Team are former high-level Judges, and the entire team is appreciative of the benefits provided to the Magic community by members of Judge programs around the world. We are celebrating that effort by bringing back the Magic Online Judge Open (or MOJO for short)!

If you are an active member of a regional Judge organization, you should have already received information on how to sign up for the next MOJO League being held July 16-21. If you have not, please contact them and provide your username.

We will grant a Limited Point – good for one entry into a special MH3 Phantom Sealed League - to each registered account this Friday, July 12.

For more information on MOJO, contact your regional Judge organization.

WEEKLY UPDATES 

Modern Horizons 3 Items & Events Available Now!

The biggest shakeup of the Modern metagame in three years is now available on Magic Online! Check out our Modern Horizons 3 set article right now for all the details on this set:

• How to collect the different Booster Fun treatments across products, including some epic new digital-only effects on cards – Etched Foil (applied to all previous versions) and Ripple Foil
• A new suite of higher-power Commander decks, plus the debut of 5 older decks with cards completed from the Commander Backlog
• A tweak to New Player items – Tokens replacing New Player Points
• The usual updates regarding Avatars, MOPR, League timing, Treasure Chests, etc

In addition, we have a separate article detailing the entry options and prize structures for MH3 Limited events. For regular Leagues and Queues, Drafts are 20 Event Tickets and Sealed Deck are 35 Event Tickets. Other options using boosters and/or Play Points are available.

Redemption Corner

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

Murders at Karlov Manor and Outlaws of Thunder Junction are going fast, with MKM premium sets now sold-out – so get those sets completed and redeemed today!

Redemption Changes

As a reminder, we announced changes to the Redemption Program starting with Bloomburrow – read all about it in this article.

Tell Your Friends! New Learn-to-Play Channel – MTGO University

We’ve introduced a brand-new landing spot for everything related to getting your new-to-MTGO friends up to speed on playing our game – MTGO University! Whether you’re new to a specific format, new to Magic Online, or are just curious about what this version of MTG is all about, check out MTGO University.

The first content on this page is our previous seasons of Magic Discovery Zone. This includes learn-to-play videos on all five of the decks included in the New Account Starter Kit. And keep an eye out for additional new-player videos coming very soon!

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 on this page.

PATCH NOTES – JULY 10, 2024 

• Voldalian Stormdrake will correctly be untargetable by an opponent's Depth Defiler.
• Pearl-Ear, Imperial Advisor will trigger off Auras targeting modified noncreature permanents.
• Amphibian Downpour’s extended art version will display the correct art.
• Treacherous Greed will function as expected once an opponent has been damaged by a creature you control.
• Loyal Inventor will no longer cause draws to be skipped.
• Lands affected by Omo, Queen of Vesuva’s everything counters will correctly have all basic land types.
• Chtonian Nightmare and Amped Raptor will interact as expected.
• Emails to new players will correctly reflect items included with a new account.

NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – July 24, 2024

After today, the next scheduled maintenance will take place on Wednesday, July 24 between 9 a.m. and 12 noon Pacific time (16:00-19:00 UTC). This is to support the release of Bloomburrow.