Magic Online Weekly Announcements, December 5, 2023
Posted on Dec 05, 2023
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THE LEAD
MOCS Postseason Begins This Weekend
It’s time once again to qualify players for the next Magic Online Champions Showcase on January 13th! Over the next two weekends, Top 8 finishers from Showcase Challenges and 5-win players from Last Chance events will battle until one remains as this season’s Showcase Champion for that format.
In addition to reaching the Champions Showcase (with its $70,000 prize pool and two Worlds invitations), the winner of each Showcase Qualifier is invited to Pro Tour Thunder Junction plus the Regional Championship round in early 2024 feeding that event. Leaderboard Points are also on the line as players seek one of two At-Large invites at the end of the postseason.
NOTE: Legacy and Pioneer are swapped from their normal positions to avoid conflicts with tabletop’s Eternal Weekend.
| DATE | TIME (PT) | TIME (UTC) | EVENT |
| 2023 SEASON 3 POSTSEASON EVENTS | |||
| Saturday, December 2 | 8:00 a.m. | 16:00 | Modern Showcase Qualifier |
| Sunday, December 3 | 8:00 a.m. | 16:00 | Legacy Showcase Qualifier |
| Saturday, December 9 | 6:00 a.m. | 14:00 | Standard Showcase Qualifier |
| Sunday, December 10 | 6:00 a.m. | 14:00 | Pioneer Showcase Qualifier |
| Saturday, December 16 | 7:00 a.m. | 15:00 | MOCS Showcase Open |
| Sunday, December 17 | 7:00 a.m. | 15:00 | MOCS Showcase Open |
If you did not reach the Showcase Qualifier stage, your chance to reach the Showcase will be the weekend of December 16-17 in the Showcase Opens – events featuring The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Limited where the winner earns a Showcase invitation.
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 almost 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 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 an Alt-Vintage Cube 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.
Every Tuesday at 1 p.m. PT (21:00 UTC), a single pod of eight draft and then battle on stream. Those who place best 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 will be our Spotlight Cube in Magic Online for two weeks starting tomorrow, December 6 – 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 Starts Tomorrow – Accepts Red QPs
As mentioned above, the alt-Vintage Cube that the Pros draft every Tuesday on Twitch will be playable in MTGO for two weeks starting tomorrow, December 6 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 and 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.
- Until December 6 – The two-pick-and-toss-em format returns – it’s Supreme Masters Draft! Encompassing 18 packs that span most Modern-era Masters sets, all the Remastereds, both Horizons, and the three event sets (Hour of Devastation, War of the Spark, March of the Machine), the power level of this League will be very high. (Phantom)
- December 6-20 – The Cube Spotlight shifts to one of the top Cubes played on streams – Gavin Thompson-Exner's AlphaFrog Cube! This alt-Vintage Cube 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:
- Alternate Vintage Cube: AlphaFrog Cube December 6-20
- 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
- Event Updates, including news on how to use leftover Qualifier Points at season’s end
- See the grid at the bottom of the Blog for updates to Format Challenges
- 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 - LCI Starts Tomorrow
We’ve updated our Redemption page with new quantity percentages.
Redemption Tokens for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan will go on-sale starting tomorrow, December 6 at 10 a.m. PT (18:00 UTC).
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.
PATCH NOTES – December 6, 2023
Card Fixes
- Copies of Spark Double will correctly enter the battlefield only one counter.
- Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth will correctly allow a land and a creature to be put onto the battlefield.
- Kutzil, Malamet Explorer will correctly trigger if both creatures with and without +1/+1 counters deal combat damage to an opponent.
- Palantir of Orthanc will correctly disallow choosing the opponent to draw if they legally cannot do so.
- Souls of the Lost will no longer become a 0/0 due to Merfolk Trickster's triggered ability.
- Skullcap Snail's ability will correctly send cards to the Exile zone rather than underneath itself.
Quality-of-Life Improvements
- A number of improvements have been made to Deck Import
- Capitalization is ignored
- Most diacritic characters (those with accent marks) should be acceptable
- [CARDNAME] will import as 1 [CARDNAME]
- // will import as /
- Updates to the Prompt Box will no longer cause its text to be blurry.
- If Spacebar is key-bound to passing priority, the game will no longer open or close other windows.
- Watchers will be allowed to observe Buddy Challenge matches if Watchers Allowed is selected by the game's host.
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.