Magic Online Weekly Announcements, June 6, 2023
Posted on Jun 06, 2023
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THE LEAD
Two-Factor Authentication Is Now Live - Protect Your Account Today!
A long-requested security feature is now part of Magic Online - check out Ryan Spain's article to learn why, what, and how to put Two-Factor Authentication into effect to help protect your account!
LTR Article Next Tuesday
We will put out our normal new set article for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ next Tuesday, June 13 alongside the Blog. We can tell you now that the price of a The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ booster on MTGO will be $4.99 USD.
All-Access Continues!
Good news, All-Access Weeks continue for one more week. The Mythic Event Token is available in the Magic Online Store allowing players to use almost every card in the game.
To use the Mythic Event Token, simply purchase it in the Store, build any legal deck in your chosen format, and enter a game or event. No cards will be added to your collection, but you'll be able to play even if you don't have all the cards in your collection.
The token is $25.00 USD and goes on-sale tomorrow following downtime. The access will last from time of purchase until downtime on June 14. We'll remove all Mythic Event Tokens from accounts and turn off All-Access during that downtime. If you’re still competing in a Constructed League on that day, you’ll be allowed to complete that course.
You can also enter Friday’s Pioneer Super Qualifier by purchasing a second Mythic Event Token and spending both as an entry option. Don’t worry, you’ll still have the access until June 14 even if the Token is no longer on your account in this case.
Additionally, for players with enough Qualifier Points, there are 2 more Showcase Challenges in the All-Access period - with extra prizes included (see below. And as usual, the normal suite of Preliminaries and Challenges are available to try out.
Build anything cool and new to you in Commander using All-Access? We want to hear all about it on our Discord’s Commander channel!
Note: Just like previous All-Access periods, certain cards (Secret Lair versions, Battlebond, and old-frame Power Nine) are unavailable. All-Access doesn’t apply to Limited events.
PREMIER PLAY
Aftermath Sets Added to Premier Prize Pools During All-Access!
For one more weekend only, we are sweetening the prize pool for players competing in Super Qualifiers or Showcase Challenge events!
The Top 16 finishers in each event will receive a March of the Machine: The Aftermath regular set in addition to the normal prizes – and the Top 4 will get a premium set instead.
Additionally, any players below 16th place who complete all Swiss rounds with just 2 match losses will be granted a regular Aftermath set by Tuesday of the following week.
Pioneer Super Qualifier This Friday
Your next chance to earn a seat at this fall’s round of Regional Championship comes up at the end of the week. A Pioneer Super Qualifier begins this Friday, June 9th at 2 p.m. PT (21:00 UTC).
The Super Qualifier’s entry options are 40 Event Tickets, 400 Play Points, 40 MOCS Season 2 Qualifier Points, or 2 Mythic Event Tokens (see All-Access item above). The Top 4 finishers earn seats at the RC and prizes pay out to the Top 128!
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.
MOCS Showcase Challenge Events This Weekend
We're midway through MOCS Season 2, so it’s time for another round of Showcase Challenges feeding the next 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!
Additionally, the note above about Aftermath set prizes applies to these events.
Here are the dates and times for the next group - note that Pauper is at a different time than its normal weekly Challenge:
| DATE | TIME (PT) | TIME (UTC) | EVENT | FORMAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, June 10, 2023 | 8:00 a.m. | 15:00 | Pauper Showcase Challenge | Pauper |
| Sunday, June 11, 2023 | 8:00 a.m. | 15:00 | Legacy Showcase Challenge | Legacy |
For more information on these events, click the Premier Play Information link at the top of the Blog.
ALTERNATE PLAY
Tempest Remastered Flashback Returns Tomorrow!
The plane of Rath is the setting for this week’s Flashback format – it's Tempest Remastered!
This Draft League is a Phantom play experience that runs for one week until next Wednesday’s downtime (no new entries after 5 a.m. PT – 12:00 UTC). Entry options are 10 Event Tickets or 100 Play Points.
Alternate Play Schedule
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 unless otherwise noted:
- June 7-14 – Another famous Phyrexian battle front was the plane of Rath. We’ll head back there via Tempest Remastered. (Phantom)
- June 14-LTR Release – Emblematic of March of the Machine and back for the first time in four years – it’s Battle of the Planes! In this Phantom event, choose one of five planes (Zendikar, Innistrad, Ravnica, Dominaria, and Mirrodin), then you get a mix of boosters of sets from that plane and build a Sealed Deck as normal. Four years ago, they were 7-booster Sealed decks ... this time they will be 8-booster Sealed decks!
WEEKLY UPDATES
Redemption Update
Redemption Tokens for March of the Machine are now on sale in the MTGO Store.
IMPORTANT: As of May 23, Redemptions Tokens are non-refundable! We've updated our Redemption page with that information.
Tokens for Phyrexia: All Will Be One and The Brothers' War remain available.
For more details on the redemption program, click here.
March of the Machine: The Aftermath on MTGO
After the battle of the Multiverse has been won, what becomes of the story’s key figures? All is explained in the 50-card micro-set March of the Machine: The Aftermath! This Standard-legal expansion – which has a set code of MAT – is now available in the Magic Online Store.
The booster sells for $2.49 USD in the MTGO Store. Because the set is not designed for Limited play, the main way to get the cards will be by purchasing boosters. (Note: Cards in the set will be available for use in future Cubes)
You can get more descriptions about each 5-card booster’s contents in this article from Wizards of the Coast. MAT will not be redeemable, though regular and foil digital sets will exist inside the game.
Like most expansions, extended-art and retro versions of the cards are now available in the Curated slot of Treasure Chests. They will also appear in the Booster Fun slot of each pack.
The next Magic Online Player Rewards drop on June 1st (based on play and purchases in May) will feature foil, alternate-art versions of the set’s uncommons.
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 | 32-Player 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.
Next Scheduled Downtime - June 14 at 9 a.m. PT
Our next scheduled downtime will be Wednesday, June 14 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific time (16:00-19:00 UTC) to install support for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ - events and products to go on-sale Tuesday, June 20.