Magic Online Weekly Announcements, April 25, 2023
Posted on Apr 25, 2023
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THE LEAD
Art Bundles
Our experiment with Art Bundles last set proved to be a success! We know many of you love to bling out your decks, so we will continue to make some of the most powerful and beautiful cards available directly through the Store.
This time we have a single focus – the Borderless Praetor-Saga Bundle! Containing a single copy each of the five Phyrexian Praetors printed in March of the Machine, these breathtaking Showcase treatments are a great addition to your Collection. Each Bundle costs just $24.99 USD.
Like previous Bundles, these cards will not appear in Treasure Chests and will leave the Store with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ in June. Get your set today!
PREMIER PLAY
MOCS Showcase Challenge Events This Weekend
A new MOCS season is here, as is the first round of Showcase Challenges feeding Season 2’s Showcase Qualifiers in July.
It takes 40 Season 2 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 the next group:
| DATE | TIME (PT) | TIME (UTC) | EVENT | FORMAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 29, 2023 | 8:00 a.m. | 15:00 | Modern Showcase Challenge | Modern |
| Sunday, April 30, 2023 | 6:00 a.m. | 13:00 | Pioneer Showcase Challenge | Pioneer |
For more information on these events, click the Premier Play Information link at the top of the Blog.
Two Regional Championship Qualifiers This Week
Your next chance to earn an invitation to tabletop’s 2023-24 Regional Championship Cycle 1 takes place this weekend.
Our first Limited Qualifier featuring March of the Machine season kicks off Friday at 2 p.m. Pacific time (21:00 UTC). The event is Sealed Deck with a Top 8 Draft playoff.
Also, as an experiment, we are holding a Modern Qualifier event on May Day – Monday, May 1st, a public holiday in many European countries – at a special start time of 1 a.m. Pacific time (8:00 UTC).
Each Qualifier’s entry options are 40 MOCS Season 2 Qualifier Points and the Top 2 finishers earn seats at that RC round that starts in late September. Prizes pay out to the Top 64!
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
Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™. Each description mentions whether or not the Draft is Phantom – cards won’t be added to players’ collections in Phantom events. All event transitions are at 10 a.m. PT.
- Now-May 3 – March of the Machine Best-of-One League (Keeper) – this has the same entry options and prizes as the previous versions but runs for just two weeks.
- May 3-10 – The Magic 30 Cube is back again with updates from MOM! (Phantom) This Cube will recur each time a Magic Con takes place in 2023.
- May 10-24 – Vintage Cube is back for a two-week run to support the Season 1 MOCS Showcase on May 20 (twitch.tv/magic). (Phantom)
- May 24-31 – How many Phyrexian incursions into planes have there been? One of the most famous ones is among the most beloved old draft formats – it’s Invasion Block (IPA) Flashback! (Phantom)
- May 31-June 7 – Another famous Phyrexian battle front was the plane of Rath. We’ll head back there via Tempest Remastered. (Phantom)
- June 7-14 – Emblematic of March of the Machine and back for the first time in four years – it’s Battle of the Planes! (Phantom)
- June 14 – LTR Release – We are still considering out options for this week …
WEEKLY UPDATES
Redemption Update
Redemption Tokens for Phyrexia: All Will Be One are now on sale in the MTGO Store.
The Brothers' War is are still available in the MTGO Store. The Dominaria United Tokens have run out. The Brothers’ War is about half-gone – when supplies run out, they are gone for good!
For more details on the redemption program, click here.
March of the Machine on MTGO
Want to learn all about what we’re offering for the multiplanar battle spectacular that is March of the Machine? Go read the article now for info on:
- A new Art Bundle
- How to Battle on MTGO
- Alternate Play Schedule, including Magic 30 Cube and Vintage Cube
- Our next All-Access
- Odds and Ends
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 2, Vintage and Standard 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) | FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | 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 | 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.
Patch Notes - April 26, 2023
- The Undefeated Decks button in the Play Lobby and League Details scenes will correctly open the Decklists page of MTGO.com
- Seventh Edition and Ninth Edition cards will correctly have white borders
- Battles that are returned to the battlefield from exile or the graveyard (via Hideous Fleshwheeler, etc) will work as expected
- Sunfall will correctly count double-faced permanents that left the battlefield as creatures
- Awaken the Maelstrom will correctly allow creation of non-artifact copies as it resolves
- When Blade of Shared Souls is detached from a creature, the Blade’s copying effect will correctly stop applying to that creature
- Cards with Tempting Offer will correctly function, even if the last player in turn order declines the awesomeness
- The temporary ban of Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp will be lifted – it will no longer reset the game
- Giada, Font of Hope will correctly not give +1/+1 counters to other Angels entering the battlefield at the same time (via Collected Company, etc)
- Doubling Season will correctly not affect counters given to players (poison, experience, etc)
- Anger of the Gods will correctly exile creatures dealt lethal damage
- If control of Reflection of Kiki-Jiki switches after a token creature copy has been created, the token’s controller will correctly still have to sacrifice it at the next end step
- Magecraft abilities and other triggered abilities from casting instants or sorceries (Kalamax, the Stormsire, etc) will once again function as expected (#chainofsmogcombo)
- The alternate casting cost of Invigorate and the splice cost of Roar of Jukai will correctly be able to choose an opponent
Next Scheduled Downtime - To Be Determined
The downtime that was planned for Wednesday, May 3 has been converted to a live patch. We will announce the next downtime once we determine it.