Magic Online Weekly Announcements, March 21, 2023

Posted on Mar 21, 2023

Premier Play Information

Treasure Chest Information

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THE LEAD

MOCS Season 1 Postseason Starts This Weekend

It’s time once again to qualify players for the next Magic Online Champions Showcase on May 20th! 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 Barcelona in July plus the Regional Championship round feeding that event in May-June. Leaderboard Points are also on the line as players seek one of two At-Large invites at the end of the postseason.

IMPORTANT: Most of Europe and some other parts of the world will be switching to Summer Time early Sunday morning. MTGO will display the correct start time of Scheduled Events if your computer’s clock is set to your local time zone.

If you did not reach the Showcase Qualifier stage, your chance to reach the Showcase will be the weekend of April 8-9 in the Showcase Opens – events featuring Phyrexia: All Will Be One Limited where the winner earns a Showcase invitation.

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

ALTERNATE PLAY

Modern Horizons 2 Draft Leagues Start Tomorrow

We’re celebrating all things across MTGO’s Horizons this month! To close things out, we’re bringing back Modern Horizons 2 for two weeks of draft madness … sometimes even drafting a deck with madness!

As usual with this set, we will offer both Keeper and Phantom Leagues. Both start at 10 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC) tomorrow and run until the early downtime on Wednesday, April 5 – no new matches after midnight PT (7:00 UTC) that day. The regular entry options for MH2 Draft apply, that is:

• Keeper – 25 Event Tickets, 250 Play Points, or 3 Modern Horizons 2 boosters & 4 Event Tickets
• Phantom – 10 Event Tickets or 100 Play Points

Alternate Play Schedule

Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and March of the Machine. 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.

• April 5-12 – By popular demand, we will bring back Dominaria Remastered for one week as a Flashback (Phantom only)
• April 12-MOM Release: As we navigate away from New Phyrexia, we take one more trip back to the block with the most poison - it's Scars of Mirrodin Block Flashback Draft (Phantom)

Looking a bit further ahead for you Cube aficionados, the plan for upcoming Cubes is as follows:

• May 3-10 – With MagicCon Minneapolis on the tabletop schedule, Magic 30 Cube returns for another go-around.
• May 10-24 – Vintage Cube returns for a two-week session in support of the MOCS Showcase on May 20.

PREMIER PLAY

MOCS Season 1 Ends Tomorrow

Only a few Last Chance events remain over the next 24 hours before MOCS Season 1 comes to a close – see below.

Season 1 Qualifier Points will be cleared from accounts sometime later this week. Click the Premier Play Information link at the top of this Blog for full details.

MOCS Last Chance Events Wrapping Up

Did you fall just short of a Top 8 Showcase Challenge finish? Did you scrape together that 39th and 40th Qualifier Point at the last second? If so, your ticket to the upcoming Showcase Qualifiers could be earned in a Last Chance Event!

Starting Sunday afternoon Pacific time, all Preliminaries in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, and Pioneer have converted to Last Chance Events. In addition, extra Vintage Showcase Challenges were sprinkled across the schedule. Finish with a 5-0 record in that event to earn an Entry Token to that format’s Showcase Qualifier.

Entry options require both 40 Qualifier Points plus either 30 Event Tickets or 300 Play Points.

Here’s the schedule of remaining Last Chance Events this round:

Last Chance Events pre-empt Preliminaries of the same format normally scheduled at those times.

Click the Premier Play Information link at the top of this Blog for full Last Chance Event details.

2023 MOCS Season 2 Initial Info

The full Season 2 schedule will be published in the next couple of weeks – there are still some details to be worked out, but we want to let you know the first two events that will accept Season 2 Qualifier Points will be:

• Pauper Qualifier on Saturday, April 15th at 7 a.m. PT (14:00 UTC)
• Vintage Qualifier on Sunday, April 16th at 7 a.m. PT

WEEKLY UPDATES

Phyrexia: All Will Be One on MTGO

The latest Standard-legal expansion, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, is now available in the MTGO Store. Check out this article for updates on the following:

• MTGO’s Art Bundles, available for a limited time in the Store
• Event schedules and improvements on how they are displayed in the Play Lobby
• Magic Online Player Rewards
• The latest suite of Avatars

Redemption Update

Redemption Tokens for Phyrexia: All Will Be One are now on sale in the MTGO Store.

The Brothers' War and Dominaria United are still available in the MTGO Store. The Dominaria United Tokens are down to 10 percent of original stock for Standard and 15 percent for Premium. 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.

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 1, Pauper 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

Check out the Magic Online Format Challenges page for further event details.

Next Scheduled Downtime - April 5, 2023 - 6:00 a.m. to Noon PT

The next scheduled downtime is planned for Wednesday, April 5 beginning at 6 a.m. PT (13:00 UTC). This is slated to last longer than usual – up to six hours – due to changes needed in our internal infrastructure.