Magic Online Weekly Announcements, April 18, 2023
Posted on Apr 18, 2023
MTGO Community Links: Forums - Discord - Twitter - Facebook - Instagram
THE LEAD
March of the Machine Events Start Today!
Want to learn all about what we’re offering for the multiplanar battle spectacular that is March of the Machine? Go read the article now for info on:
- A new Art Bundle
- How to Battle on MTGO
- Alternate Play Schedule, including Magic 30 Cube and Vintage Cube
- Our next All-Access
- Odds and Ends
Event Offerings
We will have our normal suite of event offerings available starting at 10 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC) today. Unless otherwise noted, they run until the release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ in mid-June.
March of the Machine
- Friendly, 3-Stage Sealed
- Competitive, Single-Stage Sealed
- Draft League
- Single-Elimination Draft Queue
- Best-of-One Draft League – ends May 3 10 a.m. PT
- Phantom Sealed will start on May 10
Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- Swiss Draft Queue
Constructed
- Leagues permitting MOM cards start at 10 a.m. PT
Art Bundles
Our experiment with Art Bundles last set proved to be a success! We know many of you love to bling out your decks, so we will continue to make some of the most powerful and beautiful cards available directly through the Store.
This time we have a single focus – the Borderless Praetor-Saga Bundle! Containing a single copy each of the five Phyrexian Praetors printed in March of the Machine, these breathtaking Showcase treatments are a great addition to your Collection. Each Bundle costs just $24.99 USD.
Like previous Bundles, these cards will not appear in Treasure Chests and will leave the Store with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ in June. Get your set today!
PREMIER PLAY
No Premier Play This Weekend
We don’t have any events that provide invitations for the Regional Championship or the next MOCS Showcase this weekend. Competitive players need not worry - our normal slate of Weekend Challenges and Preliminaries will go on as usual, with Limited events featuring March of the Machine.
ALTERNATE PLAY
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.
- April 18-May 3 – March of the Machine Best-of-One League (Keeper) – this has the same entry options and prizes as the previous versions but runs for just two weeks.
- May 3-10 – The Magic 30 Cube is back again with updates from MOM! (Phantom) This Cube will recur each time a Magic Con takes place in 2023.
- May 10-24 – Vintage Cube is back for a two-week run to support the Season 1 MOCS Showcase on May 20 (twitch.tv/magic). (Phantom)
- May 24-31 – How many Phyrexian incursions into planes have there been? One of the most famous ones is among the most beloved old draft formats – it’s Invasion Block (IPA) Flashback! (Phantom)
- May 31-June 7 – Another famous Phyrexian battle front was the plane of Rath. We’ll head back there via Tempest Remastered. (Phantom)
- June 7-14 – Emblematic of March of the Machine and back for the first time in four years – it’s Battle of the Planes! (Phantom)
- June 14 – LTR Release – We are still considering out options for this week …
WEEKLY UPDATES
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 remain available but under 10 percent remain for both Regular and 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.
Weekly Challenge Structure Updates
The following changes take place starting this weekend:
- Saturday 6 a.m. Standard Challenge goes back to Small event – min 32 to fire, Top 32 get prizes.
- Sunday 2 p.m. Standard will continue to be a Large event (64 fire/Top 64 prizes) until it fails to fire.
Next on the watch list to be upgraded in a few weeks:
- Vintage – Saturday 10 a.m.
- Pauper – Sunday 10 a.m.
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 | Standard Challenge | |
| 4:00 p.m. | 32-Player Limited Challenge | ||
| 6:00 p.m. | 64-Player Modern Challenge | 64-Player Modern Challenge |
Check out the Magic Online Format Challenges page for further event details.
Patch Notes
April 14, 2023 (Hotfixed Friday)
- Doomsday correctly does not allow you to select cards in opponents’ graveyards.
- Zabaz, the Glimmerwisp temporarily banned due to a game-reset exploit. Intended to be fixed on April 26.
April 18, 2023 (Live Today)
- Ob Nixilis, the Adversary will correctly create a token copy when cast with casualty.
- Venerated Rotpriest will no longer soft-lock a player if its destroyed in response to its trigger.
- Vraska, Betrayal’s Sting will no longer prompt to target a player twice (which was causing the wrong player to receive poison counters).
- Reidane, God of the Worthy will correctly apply to X spells that raise the mana value to 4 or higher.
- Skeletal Scrying and Abandon Hope will allow X mana to be spent while paying additional costs.
- Ratchet, Field Medic will correctly display the amount of life gained when it triggers.
- Ratcher, Rescue Racer will correctly not apply its once-per-turn clause to Ratchet, Field Medic.
- Megatron, Tyrant will be able to convert more than once while on the battlefield.
- Alternate versions of avatars (Momir Vig, etc) will function as intended in Momir Basic or Vanguard games.
Next Scheduled Downtime - May 3, 2023 - 9:00 a.m. to Noon PT
After tomorrow’s downtime, the next scheduled downtime is planned for Wednesday, May 3 beginning at 9 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC).