Magic Online Weekly Announcements, November 21, 2023

Posted on Nov 21, 2023

Premier Play Information

Treasure Chest Information

MTGO Community Links: Forums  Discord  Twitter/X  Facebook  Instagram

MTGO Official Channels: Youtube Twitch

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 is now live on MTGO. Check out our traditional set article for full information: 

• The Jurassic World Bundle 
  • 20 All-New Cards & 12 Lands for $35 USD 
• The return of the Deck Brewer’s Pass 
  • All-Access for $25 USD!
  • Til November 27th at 10 am PT 
• 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 
• A companion article about our new Premium looks 

Cyber Monday Promotion for Tri-Color Neon Ink Cards Next Week  

MTGO debuted a fabulous new premium treatment on the Cosmium Neon Ink versions of Mana Crypt and Cavern of Souls. The time for collecting them is almost here! 

The Cosmium Neon Ink Bundle sells for $20 USD and includes 1 premium foil copy of each of the two cards. Five different neon colors are available – one will be selected at random, then both cards of that color will be added to your Collection. Red is the rarest at 10%, then purple (15%), blue (20%), green (25%), and yellow is most common (30%).  

This Bundle goes on sale in the MTGO Store starting next Monday, November 27 at 10 a.m. Pacific time (18:00 UTC) and will be available until the release of Murders at Karlov Manor in February. Cards obtained from this Bundle will not appear in Treasure Chests nor be available to use in any forms of All-Access.  

If you're really looking to dazzle, you'll have a chance to snag a Tri-Color Cosmium Neon Ink card through a special giveaway this Cyber Monday.

To have a shot at winning, you just need to do one of the actions listed below between Sunday, November 26th 4am Pacific and Tuesday, November 28th 4am Pacific: 

• Make any purchase of $4.99 USD or more in the Store 
• Join a League and Play in at Least 1 League Match 
• Compete in any Scheduled Event that has a start time in the above range 

Players who complete one of these actions during the Promotion Period will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a Tri-Color Cosmium Ink Mana Crypt card or Tri-Color Cosmium Ink Cavern of Souls card. Fifty (50) of each card will be given away, and eligible accounts can have a maximum of one (1) entry in the drawing (making multiple store purchases or playing multiple leagues/events does not provide additional entries). One Hundred (100) randomly selected winners will each receive one (1) Tri-Color Cosmium Neon Ink card (Mana Crypt or Cavern of Souls). 

Lucky winners will find a stunning card, with its red, yellow, and green neon flourish, added to their accounts within seven (7) days after the conclusion of the Promotion Period. Remember, this offer is limited, and the cards won't be found in Treasure Chests or available with All-Access, so don't miss out on this exclusive opportunity. 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S & D.C, who have an eligible MTGO account at time of entry. Opportunity for entry is November 26, 2023 4:00 AM (PT) through November 28, 2023 4:00 AM (PT) (“Promotion Period”). Only one entry allowed per eligible account during the Promotion Period. Odds of winning will depend upon the total number of eligible entries received. Sponsor: Daybreak Game Company LLC. 

64-Player Vintage Cube Events This Week 

Our popular Vintage Cube 64-Player Elimination Drafts are back this week. Check out the client for exact times – during prime time on Thursday-Sunday there will be one every half-hour. At other times and days, we’ll have a 64 event hourly or every other hour. 

Entry options are 15 Event Tickets or 150 Play Points, and the prizes are the same as previous iterations. 

NEW UNIVERSES BEYOND PRODUCTS 

Welcome to Jurassic World – Today!  

A special collaboration with one of the largest and best-known film franchises in history is on the horizon – the Jurassic World Bundle on MTGO! This digital box contains 20 brand-new card designs featuring dinosaurs, characters, and settings that have entertained millions for over 30 years. All of your favorites are here – the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex, the massive Mosasaur, Ian Malcolm, Owen Grady (partnered with Blue), plus many more. 

The Bundle also features one copy of each of 12 land designs (two of each color, plus two Command Towers) that showcase settings across the franchise's history. This package of 32 digital cards will be on-sale in the MTGO Store for $34.99 USD starting today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time (18:00 UTC).  

Cards in the Jurassic World Bundle will not be made available in Treasure Chests and are not included during All-Access periods. The Bundle is only available until the release of Murders at Karlov Manor in early February – be sure you don’t miss out!  

Jurassic World Franchise © 2023 Universal City Studios and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

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 continue 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 

MTGO BROADCASTS

Congratulations Corey Baumeister, Modern Super League Champion! 

One of Magic Online’s most popular streams – the Super League – wrapped up last week. After 12 weeks of competition and besting 15 other competitors, Corey Baumeister’s mastery of the Rakdos Evoke mirror proved victorious in the Finals! 

The MTGO team would like to extends congratulations to the players and production team for making the show a success! Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long to see what’s next … 

Announcing the AlphaFrog Invitational! 

A popular stream for watching Pro players try their hand at an Alt-Vintage Cube is coming to the MTGO Twitch channel starting next week! Designed by Gavin Thompson-Exner – AlphaFrog himself – the Cube has been a place for some of the biggest names in Magic to show off, goof around, and compete against their peers. 

Next Tuesday, November 28 at 1 p.m. PT (21:00 UTC), a single pod of eight will draft and then battle on stream. The four survivors with winning records after three rounds will be invited back the next week to take on new challengers.  

The first episode is literally stacked with talent – TWO World Champions, Two Hall-of-Famers, and Three PT-Level Event Winners. Just look at these names: 

Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Nathan Steuer, Corey Baumeister, Luis Scott-Vargas, Reid Duke, Eli Kassis, Luis Salvatto, and Kyle Rose – what a group! 

Like the Super League, the players themselves will be handling most of the commentary, so you can get into the minds of some of the game’s best! Why does that matter? Because this will be our Spotlight Cube December 6-20 – mimic the Pros, or forge your own path. 

We’ll have an article next Monday, November 27 on MTGO.com where Gavin lays out the history of the Cube, the archetypes and combos, and the full list will be presented. Get Hyped for the AlphaFrog Cube! 

PREMIER PLAY 

End of MOCS QP Season Approaching 

The last day to earn MOCS Qualifier Points for this season is coming up on Wednesday, November 29. Between now and then you’ll have a few different ways to spend them: 

• The Showcase Challenges mentioned above 
• A Limited Super Qualifier this Friday, November 24 
• Last Chance Events next Sunday-Wednesday, November 26-29 
• These events require 30 Event Tickets or 300 Play Points in addition to 40 QP 

And as a reminder, leftover Season 3 QPs will be usable to enter Vintage Cube during its Holidays run from December 20-January 3.  

Another RC Qualifier This Friday 

Two more invitations to next year’s second Regional Championship round are at stake in the Limited Qualifier this Friday, November 24 at 7 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC). It features The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Sealed Deck with Top 8 Draft. 

Each Qualifier can be entered only with 40 MOCS Season 3 Qualifier Points. The Top 2 finishers earn seats at the RC early next year. 

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

It's Showcase Challenge Weekend 

We're closing in on the end of qualifying for MOCS Season 3, so it’s time for another group of players to earn seats for the next round of Showcase Qualifiers in December. 

It takes 40 Season 3 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! 

Due to the growing popularity of these events over the past year, we have increased the prize pool for Showcase Challenges starting with this season – prizes now go down to 128th place! The increases are: 

• Regular full set for players finishing in 9th-16th places 
• Regular full set for players who finish the Swiss rounds with an X-2 record (only 2 match losses) 
• The sets for X-2 will be granted by Customer Support in the week following the event 
• Prizes for 33rd-64th places increased to 200 Play Points and 10 Treasure Chests 
• Prizes for 65th-128th places added – 150 Play Points and 5 Treasure Chests 

Here are the dates and times for this weekend’s events: 

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

MOCS Last Chance Events Start Saturday 

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

Starting Monday, all Preliminaries in Modern, Legacy, Standard, 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 in December. 

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

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

*indicates next-day  

Last Chance Events pre-empt Preliminaries of the same format normally scheduled at those times.  

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

ALTERNATE PLAY 

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. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is currently slated to go on-sale the first week of December – exact date TBD. 

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 

Check out the Magic Online Format Challenges page for further event details. 

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

The next 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.