Magic Online Weekly Announcements, July 30, 2024

Posted on Jul 30, 2024

THE LEAD

Bloomburrow Available Today!

It's time to gather the communities of the Valley together in an epic fight against the Calamity Beasts – Bloomburrow goes on-sale today at 10 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC)! Check out this article now to learn all about what MTGO has in store with this new set:

• Play Boosters, Premium Boosters, and Commander Decks
  • Gilded frames return on the Anime cards
• Treasure Chest Update – watch our social channels linked above for exact timing
• Commander Backlog progress, plus the usual pile of updates from around MTGO

Vintage Cube LIVE Updates

One of the biggest events in Magic Online history is in progress. Win your way to Las Vegas to draft Vintage Cube – LIVE at MagicCon: Las Vegas, thanks to our friends at Ultimate Guard – and take everything you draft home with you!

NEW! Due to high demand during Week 1, we are reviewing structural changes to the series – including number of wins in the Feeder League, possible extra entry objects to limit participation at some stages, or shifting start times/days of the Feeder League and/or 64-Player Drafts. These changes will be finalized and announced next Monday, August 5.

To get to Vegas, you must run a gauntlet of three different tournaments undefeated:

Step 1 – The Feeder League – 6 Event Tickets or 80 Play Points per course

IMPORTANT: Your next scheduled chance to play in the Feeder League will come in Week 3 on August 9.

NEW! Starting with Week 3, you’ll need to win FOUR matches without losing in a single course to collect a Limited Championship Entry Token.

Step 2 – The 64-Player Drafts – Use that Entry Token to battle through two straight single-elimination Cube Drafts. Six match wins in a single event advances you to the last step.

64-Player Drafts for Week 2 start at 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. PT (14:30 & 21:30 UTC) today, tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday.

We post these events each week on Mondays at 10 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC). By the time you read this in the Blog, one or more events may have filled. If you are holding a Token and waiting for a last-minute cancellation, keep in mind that the event won’t re-appear in your Play Lobby unless you restart MTGO after someone drops out.

A reminder that if a regular-scheduled 64 doesn’t fire for some reason, the replacement will scheduled for 3 hours later and will be posted for entries as soon as possible following the cancellation.

Step 3 – The Vegas Qualifier – The eight winners of a single Week’s 64-Player Drafts meet in one final showdown. The one player who’s left standing at the end punches their ticket to Las Vegas, while the other participants receive digital set prizes and an exclusive avatar.

Important: Week 1’s Vegas Qualifier skipped a week and will be held this Saturday, August 3 at 9:30 a.m. PT (16:30 UTC).

Week 2’s Vegas Qualifier is on the regular schedule but has a special start time. This event will also be held this Saturday, August 3, but at 1:30 p.m. PT (20:30 UTC).

You can get full details on the entire series on this page, including the Official Rules. The link to the announcement article is found here. The current iteration of the Cube will be in play for Weeks 1-2 of Vintage Cube LIVE digital events.

NOTE: We are taking a previously-announced week off to switch Cubes. So there is no Feeder League this week, and no 64-Player Drafts or Vegas Qualifier next week. We will announce the new Vintage Cube list no later than next Wednesday, August 7.

Content Creator Applications Open - Round 2

Yes, you are reading this correctly we are reopening our Creator Program applications for MTGO. If you missed out last time, this is your time to shine. Read about it in the upcoming article releasing this Thursday, August 1^st. Be part of something special and help us shape the future of MTGO. Think you have what it takes to be an MTGO Creator? 

MTGO BROADCASTS 

MTGO Masters Season 2 – Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT

Sixteen online Magic luminaries are gathering for a new season of competition slinging spells in Modern on Magic Online – but with a heavy dose of Modern Horizons 3 added. It’s the return of MTGO Masters!

Continuing tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT (20:00 UTC), this 12-week series features a four-player faceoff with spots in the next round at stake. It all leads to a two-week Top 8 finale in mid-September. Until then, the format is Win 2 Before You Lose 2 – both for matches in a week and also weekly pods prior to Top 8.

Anuraag Das and Will Hall return as hosts for the stream broadcast on the main MTGO Twitch channel – twitch.tv/magiconline – as well as Anuraag’s channel twitch.tv/anzidmtg. We will also be featuring co-streaming partners throughout the season!

Last week, Arne Huschenbeth swept the pod, while Ben Wheeler also advanced with a 2-1 finish. Ali Eldrazi and Seth Manfield fared worse and will have work to do in the Elimination Pod later this season.

The competition moves to the second phase starting this week. Ben Wheeler and Arne Huschenbeth make an immediate return and will try to make the final step into Top 8 tomorrow. Joining them are our defending Champion Arya Karamchandani and Modern maven Mason Clark.

But there’s a twist! For the first six episodes, players will be tasked with brewing against a theme, then bring multiple decks to battle.

Week Five’s theme is No Banned-List Modern. What happens when the guardrails are down – will Splinter Twin get another day in the sun?

Each player will bring THREE decks this week that can each be used a maximum of one time. In Round 1, the opponent will ban one deck and then the player chooses from the other two. In Round 2, the opponent bans one and the player users the other one. If they play the final match of the night, the player uses their remaining deck.

Check out what our celebrities conjure up tomorrow and every Wednesday all season!

Next Creator Showdown – August 10^th (BLB Sealed)

Dozens of your favorite Magic content creators will be in action competing for up to $5,000 in cash and prizes in the next MTGO Creator Showdown on Saturday, August 10!

The rotating format of battle this month is Bloomburrow Sealed Deck and all participants will be streaming simultaneously in this six-round, double-elimination event starting at 9 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC).

Once the field is whittled down to 16 undefeated players, the official MTGO Twitch channel will fire up a broadcast hosted by Will Hall and featuring a rotating cast of commentators. We’ll whip around from stream to stream catching every turn of the cards until one player emerges with a 6-0 record and scores the top prize of $1,250!

There will be giveaways galore on the MTGO channel’s broadcast, so be sure to tune in and follow the action.

PREMIER PLAY

Congratulations Players Qualified for MOCS Season 2 Showcase!

The season is complete, and we have our eight competitors who will contest the next MOCS Showcase broadcast on September 14^th:

Want to know how to qualify for Season 3’s Showcase in January? Click the MTGO Premier Play link at the top of the Blog.

Four RC Slots Up For Grabs Sunday 

Your next chance to earn an invite to the first Regional Championship of 2025 comes this Sunday.

The Modern Super Qualifier begins this Sunday, August 4 at 7 a.m. PT (14:00 UTC). This event features the debut of Bloomburrow in MTGO’s Premier events.

It takes 40 Event Tickets, 400 Play Points, or 40 Season 3 Qualifier Points. The Top 4 finishers in this tournament grab a seat in the January-March RC round, and prizes pay out to the Top 128! 

Click the MTGO Premier Play link at the top of the Blog for more information.

MOCS Showcase Schedule Changes for Eternal Weekend 

With Eternal Weekend having been announced today, we are flip-flopping a couple events in November and December to accommodate the Legacy community:

• Pioneer and Legacy Showcase Challenges trade places:
  • Legacy – now November 17
  • Pioneer – now November 24
• Pioneer and Legacy Showcase Qualifiers trade places:
  • Legacy – now December 1
  • Pioneer – now December 8

For more information, click the Premier Play link at the top of the Blog

ALTERNATE PLAY

Alternate Play Schedule

Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and Duskmourn: House of Shadows. All these offerings are Phantom – cards won’t be added to players’ collections in Phantom events. All transitions take place at 10:00 a.m. PT unless otherwise noted.

• Now-August 14 – Bloomburrow is center stage for these two weeks. Note that we are not doing a Best-of-One League this time as they have been dwindling in popularity.
• August 14-21 – It’s once again time for the Battle of the Planes – the same five locations as last year will do battle, but there are a couple twists in store. (Phantom)
• August 21-September 18 – Vintage Cube returns to support the next MOCS Showcase on September 14 – this is the same set of cards that will be used in Vintage Cube Live starting August 9. (Phantom)
• September 18-24 – As promised when we had to end its run early in May, we are running back Modern Horizons 2 Flashback (Phantom only)

When Is Vintage Cube League Back?

A regular feature of the Blog, this item points out when the next scheduled run of our most popular event will take place:

• August Refresh to Support MOCS & Vintage Cube Live
  • New Cube in Feeder Leagues starting August 9
  • Normal Cube Leagues run August 21-September 18

AROUND THE WEB

Tell Your Friends! New Learn-to-Play Channel – MTGO University

We’ve introduced a brand-new landing spot for everything related to getting your new-to-MTGO friends up to speed on playing our game – MTGO University! Whether you’re new to a specific format, new to Magic Online, or are just curious about what this version of MTG is all about, check out MTGO University.

The first content on this page is all seasons of Magic Discovery Zone. This includes learn-to-play videos on all five of the decks included in the New Account Starter Kit. And keep an eye out for additional new-player videos coming very soon!

MTGO Commander Featured on Tolarian Community College!

Got friends who are on the fence about joining Magic Online? YouTube’s most popular Magic: The Gathering channel, Tolarian Community College, debuted a new video recently showing the ins and outs of getting started with Commander on MTGO! Be sure to check it out and share with your friends ...

WEEKLY UPDATES 

Duel Commander Now Available on Magic Online

One of the most popular ways to play competitive Commander is now available on Magic Online. Duel Commander is a 1v1, 20-life format utilizing the 99 in new ways never done digitally before. With thousands of fans worldwide, its distinct metagame and banned lists, and both a Tournament Practice room and a League, the time is ripe to take this game mode for a spin!

Check out this article now to learn all about the format, its origins, and get ready to play on MTGO.

Note: There are two Known Issues for Duel Commander:

• It’s possible to illegally add multiple Companions to a deck
• It’s possible to swap into a card banned as a Commander during sideboarding.

Although we are trying to get fixes in for these as soon as possible, if this is seen in a League match, it should be considered an Exploit and reported at help.mtgo.com.

Magic: The Gathering® - Assassin’s Creed® Available Now!

Fans of Assassin’s Creed®, rejoice – your game is the next one in Magic’s Universes Beyond spotlight! Step into legend now with Magic: The Gathering® – Assassin’s Creed® (set code ACR).

MTGO is your exclusive digital destination for this straight-to-Modern crossover set, so we’ve pulled out all the stops to provide a great experience for both playing and collecting it!

Read all about ACR in this article – here’s the highlights:

• Beyond Boosters make their debut – 7 cards for $3.49 USD
• Premium Boosters also join MTGO – 7 cards (all foil, mostly the Etched treatment) for $5 USD
• 4 ACR-specific Art Bundles available – Foil Lands, Historical Figures, Relics, and The Animus Project
• For new players, there’s a Starter Kit with 2 decks playable out of the box for $12.99 USD
• Booster Fun galore, including MTGO’s exclusive treatment of the Memory Corridor frames
• Treasure Chest update effective right after downtime

Redemption Corner

We’ve updated our Redemption page with new quantity percentages.

Murders at Karlov Manor and Outlaws of Thunder Junction are going fast, with MKM premium sets getting a recent limited re-stock – so get those sets completed and redeemed today!

Redemption Changes

As a reminder, we announced changes to the Redemption Program starting with Bloomburrow – read all about it in this article. Bloomburrow redemption sets go on sale on September 4.

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 on this page.

TOMORROW’S PATCH NOTES – JULY 24, 2024

Card Fixes

• Undoing a sacrifice while paying costs will correctly allow Chthonian Nightmare’s activated ability to be used.
• When a stolen Eldramri, Korvecdal or another “you may look at the top of your library” card deals combat damage to its owner, the game will correctly disallow the creature’s controller from briefly seeing the owner’s top card.
• Endless Whispers will no longer cause the game to reset when a creature dies.
• Winding Way will correctly not treat creatures with changeling as lands.
• Guardian of the Forgotten will correctly trigger when a permanent with a bestowed Aura attached dies.
• Conclave Evangelist will no longer exile non-myriad tokens at end of combat.

Quality of Life Improvements

• In multiplayer Commander games, zones will no longer close on their own after being popped on (including the Command zone).
• You can drag and drop a decklist text file directly into the list of decks at bottom-left of the Collection scene.

NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – To Be Determined

The next scheduled maintenance is officially to be determined, but will definitely be in either August or September.