Magic Online Weekly Announcements, December 12, 2023
Posted on Dec 12, 2023
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THE LEAD
Holidays 2023 Festival – December 20-January 3
We’ve reached one of the best times of the year for Magic Online players – the Holidays Festival! As we’ve done the last several years, we’re serving up a heaping helping of great events starting next Wednesday, December 20.
In addition to Festival hallmarks like a free Vintage Cube entry for all accounts active as of the release of this Blog, the return of the All-Access token, and a Week of Super Qualifier, there are extra perks this year:
- Vintage Cube 64-Player Elimination Drafts around the clock
- Using Leftover Season 3 (Red) QPs for Cube Entry
You can get all the details in this article.
Vintage Cube Preview Articles Later This Week
Be sure to come back to MTGO.com on Thursday and Friday this week to read up on everything Vintage Cube ahead of its return next Wednesday:
- Thursday, December 14: Creative Director Ryan Spain presents a framework for how we’ll manage the Cube (both its content and its cadence) going forward.
- Friday, December 15: Our Cube Consultant Chris Wulf presents the next round of changes and the full card list will be live in advance!
MOCS Open Weekend – Last Chance to Reach the Showcase!
We are down to the final weekend of qualification events for the next MOCS Showcase on January 13th. If you haven’t punched your ticket into that elite 8-player event, your last chances to score an invitation will be in this weekend’s MOCS Showcase Opens!
Featuring The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Sealed Deck with a Top 8 Draft, this is your opportunity to spike a tournament for a big payoff.
In addition to reaching the Champions Showcase (with its $70,000 prize pool and two Worlds invitations), the winner of each Showcase Open is invited to the Pro Tour Thunder Junction plus the Regional Championship round in early 2024 feeding that event.
| DATE | TIME (PT) | TIME (UTC) | EVENT |
| 2023 SEASON 3 POSTSEASON EVENTS | |||
| Saturday, December 16 | 7:00 a.m. | 15:00 | MOCS Showcase Open |
| Sunday, December 17 | 7:00 a.m. | 15:00 | MOCS Showcase Open |
The final batch of Leaderboard Points are up for grabs in the Opens, and when the weekend ends the two highest finishers on the Leaderboard snag At-Large invites to the Showcase.
Our intrepid team of Digital Event Coordinators will also be on hand inside the game during the Opens to lend a hand if something goes awry. To contact a DEC, click the Chat button in the top-right corner of the Home Scene, choose Create/Join New Chat …, then type in #DEC and press Enter to join the room.
For more information on MTGO Premier Play, click the link at the top of the Blog.
Cosmium Neon Ink Bundles On Sale
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 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 will be available in the MTGO Store 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.
MTGO BROADCASTS
The AlphaFrog Invitational Continues Today!
A popular stream for watching Pro players try their hand at a Vintage Cube variant is on the MTGO Twitch channel every 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.
Every Tuesday at 1 p.m. PT (21:00 UTC), a single pod of eight will draft and then battle on stream. The best performers are invited back the next week to take on new challengers. This eight-part limited series runs until January 23rd, so mark your calendar!
Today’s episode features this group of players:
On top of that, this is our Spotlight Cube in Magic Online until next Wednesday, December 20 – mimic the Pros or forge your own path.
Check out Gavin’s article now laying out the history of the Cube, the archetypes and combos, and the full list will be presented. Get Hyped for the AlphaFrog Cube!
ALTERNATE PLAY
AlphaFrog Cube Draft Continues – Accepts Red QPs
As mentioned above, the Vintage Cube variant that the Pros draft every Tuesday on Twitch is playable in MTGO until next Wednesday, December 20 at 10 a.m. Pacific time (18:00 UTC). Events and prizes are the same as a normal Spotlight Cube – a 3-round Swiss League and an 8-player Single Elimination queue.
But since this is a Vintage Cube in style, we are extending the validity of the just-expired Season 3 QPs to include this event.
- Previously, the Red Qualifier Points were usable for entry only for the holidays for the Vintage Cube League.
- Now we are also offering the ability to spend 10 Season 3 QPs for a course of the AlphaFrog Cube League or the AlphaFrog Single Elimination Draft.
Alternate Play Schedule
Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and Murders at Karlov Manor. Each description mentions whether 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 (18:00 UTC) unless otherwise noted.
- Now Until December 20 – The Cube Spotlight shifts to one of the top Cubes played on streams – Gavin Thompson-Exner's AlphaFrog Cube! This Vintage Cube variant zigs where the regular Cube zags. (Phantom)
- December 20-January 24 – Vintage Cube returns for the Holidays Festival! Like last year, this will be a five-week run that supports competitors testing for the MOCS Season 3 Showcase (Jan. 13, twitch.tv/officialmagiconline & twitch.tv/magic). Creative Director Ryan Spain will have a whole new package of changes ready to delight all MTGO players. (Phantom)
- January 17-February 6 – Ravnica Remastered will be in the spotlight with a Draft League that overlaps the last week of Vintage Cube. (Keeper)
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:
- Vintage Cube variant: AlphaFrog Cube Now-December 20
- Refreshed Cube: Holidays Festival 2023 starting December 20
WEEKLY UPDATES
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
- A UI improvement in tracking floating mana
- Booster Fun, a Treasure Chest update, and more
- A companion article about our new Premium looks
Redemption Corner – Holiday Delay
We’ve updated our Redemption page with new quantity percentages.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Redemption Tokens are now on sale alongside Wilds of Eldraine.
NOTE: Daybreak Games will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day. All Redemptions processed on December 26 will have shipping delayed by a week until the first week of January. If you want to have shipment started in 2023, make sure your Redemption Token is purchased and all cards in the set are collected by December 18.
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
| 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 96 | |
| 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 | |
| 2:00 p.m. | Pioneer Challenge 64 | 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.
NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – January 17, 2024, 9 a.m. to Noon PT
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.