Magic Online Weekly Announcements, May 5, 2026

Posted on May 05, 2026

THE LEAD 

Vintage Cube League (Including the Bundle) Starts Tomorrow

Check out Chris Wolf’s article for the latest list and archetype shake-ups with Secrets of Strixhaven!

The Vintage Cube League begins again tomorrow, May 6, at 10 a.m. PT (17:00 UTC) with the usual entry options of 10 Event Tickets or 100 Play Points. Single-elimination play will switch over to the new iteration of the Cube at that time. You can always view the current Vintage Cube list on this page.

As usual, we will be offering a Vintage Cube Bundle for $27 USD starting tomorrow. The Bundle includes 3 Vintage Cube Draft Tokens plus this set’s exclusive Bundle avatar – Sanar, Unfinshed Genius!

Each Token is good for one course of the Vintage Cube Draft League. Tokens are valid for entry until the League ends on Wednesday, June 3 – be sure to use up your Tokens by then as they are non-refundable!

Congratulations Nathan Steuer, Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven Champion

Magic Online was well represented at the latest Pro Tour in Las Vegas - fully half of the Top 8 were veterans of the Magic Online Champions Showcase!

In the end, the boss of the MOCS Nathan Steuer won his third Pro Tour title (including the 2023 World Championship) by squeaking past his teammate and former MOCS competitor Christoffer Larsen of Denmark, who just missed out on his bid for back-to-back individual PT titles.

Other former MOCS competitors included one-time Showcase winner Stefan Schütz from Austria, who was swept by Steuer in the quarterfinals, and Rui Zhang of the U.S. who reached the semifinals before bowing out to Larsen.

So far this season, 8 of the 16 PT Top 8 spots have been filled by past MOCS competitors. Magic Online continues to be the home of the strongest competition in digital Magic.

So it’s simple ... want to play with the best? Play on Magic Online!

CEDH Single-Game Events for Prizes

Magic Online has given competitive Commander players their own spot to play for prizes. It’s our CEDH Queue – a single-game, four-player Commander match with prizes just to the winner!

Based on the Commander Bracket system’s expectations, we expect these games to progress fast. Each player will receive 20 minutes on their timer. Entry options will be 4 Event Tickets & 40 Play Points, and the winner will receive 100 Play Points and 2 Treasure Chests as prize.

Cardmarket Best Deck Ever Vintage Gauntlet Next Week!

We're teaming up with top European Magic creators Cardmarket to showcase the Top 8 decks of their Quest for the Best Deck Ever: Vintage video series!

Starting next Wednesday, May 14, we’ll run a week-long Gauntlet League where you’ll be able to take these classic decks for a spin against each other:

• 2024 Dimir Frog
• 2021 Doomsday
• 2015 Dredge
• 2007 Flash Hulk
• 2020 Lurrus Breach
• 2015 Mentor
• 2019 Shops
• 2018 Stax

The Cardmarket Gauntlet League will cost 5 Event Tickets or 50 Play Points to enter. You’ll be presented with three of the eight decks, draft one of them, and then start playing best-of-three matches.

Just for participating, you’ll receive a Colossal Dreadmaw avatar. If you complete a course undefeated, you’ll earn an upgraded Colossal Dreadmaw – a dinosaur with a fancy crown atop its head!

Here’s the prize breakdown:

• 3-0 – 90 Play Points, 1 Treasure Chest, and the upgraded Colossal Dreadmaw avatar
• 2-1 – 50 Play Points
• 1-2 – 20 Play Points
• Participation – regular Colossal Dreadmaw avatar

PREMIER PLAY

It's Showcase Challenge Weekend

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

It takes 40 Season 2 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!

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

EVENT UPDATES 

Pack Wars – The Brothers’ War Continues

Pack Wars – the Magic Online space for Mini-Master – rolls on. Next on the grand tour of the planar past is The Brothers’ War.

The idea is simple – crack a pack, add 2 of each basic land, and play a game. In the Keeper League, you then crack another pack, edit your deck, play a game ... and keep going until you have opened 4 packs and played 4 games!

The Keeper League is easy – 4 packs + 4 games (plus prizes if you do well) for just 4 Event Tickets or 40 Play Points!

Alternate Play Schedule

Here’s a look at the schedule of events coming up between now and the next set release in June. Each description mentions if 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 unless otherwise noted.

• May 6-June 3 – Vintage Cube is back with updates from the newest set, plus it will support the next MOCS Showcase in early June! (Phantom)
• June 3-17 – Vintage Supreme Draft returns for two weeks – the pick-2-and-toss-em format with a custom setup (including duplicates for key archetypes). This will be updated with new cards unlike the last run. (Phantom)
• June 17-23 – We'll close out SOS season and lead up to Magic Online’s 24^th birthday by bringing back the original favorite draft format: Invasion Block Draft! (Keeper – yes, really!)

When Do Vintage Cube Leagues Return?

• May 6-June 3 – SOS/Late Spring Update to support MOCS

WEEKLY UPDATES

Read All About It - Secrets of Strixhaven Set Available Now

Our return to the campus of Strixhaven is here! Check out all of the details on the release of Secrets of Strixhaven, now available in the Magic Online Store:

• Premium Booster for $6.99 USD
• 5 Commander Decks, one for each college – each just $29.99 USD
• Plus info on events, Treasure Chest, Player Rewards, Booster Fun and more! ...

Redemption Corner – SOS On Sale May 13

Check out our Redemption page for full program rules and inventory levels (updated weekly). As a reminder, the presence of the items in the Store is your best guide to determine when a particular Token sells out.

Secrets of Strixhaven redemptions are now projected to go on sale next Wednesday, May 13 – one week earlier than originally anticipated!

Lorwyn Eclipsed regular redemption tokens are now sold out.

Magic: The Gathering® | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™ is not redeemable.

TOMORROW’S PATCH NOTES – May 6, 2026

General

• The Master Sound setting will function to adjust all in-game sound volumes.

Duel Scene

• Zimone, Infinite Analyst will correctly reduce the cost of prepared spells with an X-cost.

NEXT SCHEDULED DOWNTIME – June 17, 9 a.m.-Noon

The next scheduled maintenance is Wednesday, June 17 from 9 a.m. to noon PT (16:00-19:00 UTC).