Magic Online Weekly Announcements, January 6, 2026

Posted on Jan 06, 2026

THE LEAD

2025 Season 3 MOCS Showcase This Sunday, January 11 at 9 a.m. PT on YouTube

Eight of Magic Online’s top players have earned the right to battle for their share of $50,000 & two invitations to the 2026 Magic World Championship in the 2025 MOCS Season 3 Showcase which takes place this weekend. 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 MTGO.com.

The eight competitors are:

Catch all the action in Vintage Cube and Modern with the powerhouse casting crew of Marshall Sutcliffe, Eli Kassis, and Hall of Famer Reid Duke! Coverage starts Sunday, January 11 at 9 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC) only on the MTGO channel on YouTube

Vintage Cube Holidays Edition – One Week Left in League

Our current round of Vintage Cube League has one week left to go – be sure to use up any Vintage Cube Entry Tokens before downtime next Wednesday, January 14^th!

As a reminder, we offer Vintage Cube all the time in our single-elimination queue.

Read all about the current version of the Cube in this article for the full card list and changes.

Lorwyn Eclipsed Article Next Week

Watch this space next Tuesday for our traditional new set article for Lorwyn Eclipsed, which launches on Magic Online January 20^th!

ECL Beta Begins Friday – Sign Up Today!

Want to help us squish bugs and test card functionality while getting a first look at the newest set? MTGO’s Closed Beta Program is just the place!

Our normal Cardset betas involve playing a selection of complicated cards against a curated set of wordy and weird cards from MTGO’s history. A Sealed Deck League will be available and Commander games are encouraged. The goal is to ensure we release a quality product, so we appreciate all the help we can get – sign up today!

To apply for the program, submit a ticket at help.mtgo.com - choose Apply to Beta Program as the subject, fill out the form and agree to Terms. If you're admitted to the Program, you will be invited to join us for the ECL Beta round starting this Friday, January 9 (late in the day).

PREMIER PLAY

Standard Showcase Challenge

A new MOCS season is underway, so it’s time to qualify the first players for the next round of Showcase Qualifiers in March & April. 

Please note that this time has been changed from the one shown on the MTGO Calendar page.

It takes 40 Season 1 Qualifier Points to enter a Showcase Challenge. The Top 8 finishers in each event earn a Championship Entry Token for the event’s format plus earn Leaderboard Points toward an At-Large berth in the next Showcase!

Be sure to review the MTGO Calendar as this season’s Showcase Challenges do not follow the normal cadence.

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

EVENT UPDATES

Premodern Challenge Schedule Going Forward

Looking for some good competition in our newest game mode? We’ve settled on time slots for our Premodern Challenges:

• Tuesday at 9 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC)
• Thursday at 9 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC)
• Friday at 1 p.m. PT (21:00 UTC)
• Saturday at 3:30 p.m. PT (23:30 UTC)

These are now reflected on our Scheduled Event page. 

Pack Wars! Lorwyn Starts Tomorrow

Attention Limited fans: We've taken a long-time favorite of Magic at big conventions and brought it into Magic Online. There are some who call it Mini-Master, but on Magic Online it’s Pack Wars!

Zendikar Rising is on now until tomorrow, then Lorwyn (the original) will take over for two weeks.

There are two different flavors of Pack Wars events – both of which are Best-of-One formats: a Keeper Swiss League, and a 2-Player Phantom Queue.

Get all the details on the Limited Events page!

When Do Vintage Cube Leagues Return?

• Now-January 14 – Holidays Vintage Cube
• January 28-February 25 – Lorwyn Eclipsed Vintage Cube Update

AROUND THE WEB

MTGO University Is Now MTGO TV!

We’ve introduced a brand-new landing spot for everything related to getting your new-to-Magic Online friends up to speed on playing our game – MTGO TV! 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 the MTGO University playlists on YouTube.

In addition, we will be featuring other content from our creators here, including new shows and previous Creator Showdowns.

WEEKLY UPDATES

Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™ Available Now

For two decades, the stories of the Four Nations and the Avatar to unite them have captivated audiences worldwide. Now those tales are told through the lens of one of the world’s largest games! Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™ (set code TLA) is now available on Magic Online!

Check out our article for the low down on what this set adds to the game, including:

• The return of Collector Boosters for $6.99 USD each
  • Contains 5 rares/mythics and at least 7 foils
• The usual hodgepodge regarding Player Rewards, Treasure Chests, and Magic Online Avatars

Magic: The Gathering®– FINAL FANTASY™ Holiday Products Available Now

Magic Online is pleased to present a range of exclusive items tied to the Holiday release of Magic: The Gathering®–FINAL FANTASY™. These items are now available in the Magic Online Store.

Check out this article for information on Holiday 5-Card Boosters and the Chocobo Land Stacks, including Bundles for each, plus the special Chocobo avatars available exclusively with this release!

Redemption Corner

Check out our Redemption page for full program rules and inventory levels (updated weekly). As a reminder, the game itself is the most current place to determine if there is stock remaining for Redemption Tokens.

Edge of Eternities redemption tokens have sold out, both regular and foil-for-regular!

Outlaws of Thunder Junction foils-for-regular remain available in small quantities.

Through the Omenpaths and Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender are not redeemable sets.

NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – January 14, 9 a.m.-Noon

After tomorrow, the next scheduled maintenance is Wednesday, January 14 from 9 a.m. to noon PT (17:00-20:00 UTC). This is to support the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed.