Magic Online Weekly Announcements, January 9, 2024

Posted on Jan 09, 2024

Premier Play Information

Treasure Chest Information

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THE LEAD 

Watch the MOCS Season 3 Showcase Broadcast This Saturday!

Eight of Magic Online’s top players have earned the right to battle for their share of $70,000 & two World Championship 30 invitations in the 2023 MOCS Season 3 Showcase held this Saturday, January 13. This is the pinnacle of competition on MTGO, so be sure to tune in!

Read all about the event in this Viewers Guide article now live on magic.gg.

The eight competitors are:

Catch all the action in Vintage Cube and Modern with the casting crew of Haiyue Yu, Carmen Klomparens, Corey Baumeister, and DeQuan Watson! Coverage starts at 10 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC) on twitch.tv/magic and twitch.tv/officialmagiconline.

Ravnica Remastered Arrives Next Wednesday, January 17!

The first Magic offering of 2024 is a return to one of the game’s most beloved planes – Ravnica! Think of Ravnica Remastered (set code RVR) as a collectible version of Ravnica Cube – over a dozen expansions contribute cards to this play experience, and the Guilds are on full display.

Magic Online will be the exclusive digital home of Ravnica Remastered! The set will debut when we come up from downtime next Wednesday, January 17.

• RVR Boosters will cost $3.99 USD in the MTGO Store, the same as a Standard set.
• Both a Draft league and a single-elimination Draft queue will be offered, but they are keep-the-cards events that cost the same as those of a Standard set (12 and 15 Event Tickets, respectively, plus the normal suite of alternate entry options).
  • The events kick off immediately following downtime and run only until Murders at Karlov Manor events start at 10 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC) on February 6.
• Preliminary, Challenge, and Premier events utilizing Sealed Deck during this period will use RVR for their product and award booster & set prizes of Ravnica Remastered instead of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.
  • There is a Limited Super Qualifier on Sunday, January 28 and a Limited Qualifier on Friday, February 2 – both will feature RVR!
  • Constructed Challenge and Premier events will continue to award LCI set prizes.
• Treasure Chest contents will be updated with Ravnica Remastered included once we come up from downtime - be sure to look for the suite of retro-frame and Anime Borderless cards!
• Finally, rarity downshifts for RVR will apply right after downtime.

Retro Shockland Bundles On Sale Next Wednesday

Our next Art Bundle offering is something truly unique in Magic Online’s history – all ten shocklands in a retro frame!
There will be two Bundles available following next week’s downtime, each of which will sell for $39.99 USD in the MTGO Store.
The Allied Guilds Bundle contains 1 copy of each of these 5 lands

The Enemy Guilds Bundle contains 1 copy of each of these 5 lands

These Art Bundles will remain in the Store for a limited time following the release of Murders at Karlov Manor. Like previous Bundles, these will neither appear in Treasure Chests nor be included in All-Access periods. So be sure to pick yours up starting next week!

PREMIER PLAY

Modern Qualifiers This Sunday & Monday

Four more seats in an upcoming Regional Championship are at stake this long weekend. There will be a Modern Qualifier at these times:

• Sunday, January 14 at 1:05 a.m. PT (9:05 UTC)
• Monday, January 15 at 7:05 a.m. PT (15:05 UTC)

It takes 40 Season 1 Qualifier Points to enter a Qualifier and the Top 2 finishers in each event earn an invitation to RCs held in April-June 2024 (the PT Modern Horizons 3 round)!

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

MTGO BROADCASTS

The AlphaFrog Invitational Returns January 16

A popular stream for watching Pro players try their hand at a Vintage Cube variant is on the MTGO Twitch channel! 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.

After an extended holiday break, the weekly broadcast returns next Tuesday, January 16 – look for some exciting personalities to show up and see the shakeups to the show’s format. We’ll talk more about that next week.

ALTERNATE PLAY

Vintage Cube 64-Player Elimination Drafts Continue

A higher-stakes version of the Vintage Cube League is back – the 64-Player Elimination Drafts! The schedule for this week is the same as last week:

• 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. PT (15:30 to 03:30 next day UTC) - Hourly on the 30s
• Other times - Every two hours on the even-hour 30s (8:30 p.m. PT, 10:30 pm PT, etc until 6:30 a.m. PT)

Based on community feedback, we adjusted the prizes to convert some of the Treasure Chests to Play Points. Here’s the current prize table:

ICYMI: Vintage Cube Articles

Our most popular format is in the middle of a five-week run, and we have two articles for you to reference as you play:

• Ryan Spain’s Future of Magic Online Vintage Cube
• Chris Wolf’s Winter Cube Update – including Changelist (with designer comments) and the full Cube list.
• Plus, bookmark this page to find the most recent Vintage Cube list whenever you like!

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.

• Through 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). (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:

• Winter Update: Through January 24
• Fast Follow Update: Late February, Dates TBD
• Spring Update: Mid-March, Dates TBD

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

Cosmium Neon Ink Bundles

Introduced on Cyber Monday, our Cosmium Neon Ink Bundles remain on sale – $20 USD gets you a Mana Crypt and Cavern of Souls in a randomly-selected color choice. Check out this article for full details.

Redemption Corner 

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.

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
• The Sunday Modern Challenge is 64 players when there is a Showcase Challenge on the same day, and 96 players when there is no conflict.

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.

Author: Tony Mayer