Textless promos are back. I imagine we won't get another Cryptic Command level card, though.
Wake me up when we get a textless Demonic Pact promo.
Textless promos are back. I imagine we won't get another Cryptic Command level card, though.
I can't wait for Gerry Thompson's measured response to this Ph.D
I agree with this.
This isn't wrong, but I also think it misses out on the fact that if there isn't a competitive circuit, there probably isn't a need/market for as many vendors as we currently have, and those "Invisible" players (especially the EDH crowd) rely on those same vendors.
Yeah, this aspect is very important. (Also, related to why expeditions were awful as it reduced the amount of singles buy/sell sales volume $-wise)This isn't wrong, but I also think it misses out on the fact that if there isn't a competitive circuit, there probably isn't a need/market for as many vendors as we currently have, and those "Invisible" players (especially the EDH crowd) rely on those same vendors.
It also seems crazy- in the era where heavy amounts of money is being spent on Esports by all sorts of corporate interest- to completely gut your "esports" product
This isn't wrong, but I also think it misses out on the fact that if there isn't a competitive circuit, there probably isn't a need/market for as many vendors as we currently have, and those "Invisible" players (especially the EDH crowd) rely on those same vendors.
It also seems crazy- in the era where heavy amounts of money is being spent on Esports by all sorts of corporate interest- to completely gut your "esports" product
Set the new cover image as everyone's favorite card from this set.
Updated.
It exists for older formats and that's about it.So uh MTGO not even being mentioned in this is pretty much the final death knell right? Theres like no reason for it to exist if the "serious" online Magic isn't being supported with this
Depends how quickly Arena catches up with non-rotating formats and things like cube.So uh MTGO not even being mentioned in this is pretty much the final death knell right? Theres like no reason for it to exist if the "serious" online Magic isn't being supported with this
Depends how quickly Arena catches up with non-rotating formats and things like cube.
I do wonder if modern will be played on this circuit, even if just paper. If not it's putting a lot of pressure on the R&D guys to keep standard engaging.
Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast announce huge esports investment for 2019
Just today, at the Games Awards, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast unveiled exciting futures for Magic: The Gathering fans and players. Millions of online viewers tuned in for the Awards and saw the big announcement — a huge investment into Magic esports.
The year 2019 brings a newly restructured Magic esports program. The competitive program is for Magic: The Gathering and Magic: The Gathering Arena. Not only are we seeing a complete restructure, but a huge investment of money backs these tournaments — $10 million to be exact.
Magic esports
Magic esports encompasses both Magic games — Magic: The Gathering Arena and tabletop Magic. The new program is designed to appeal to Magic's 20 million players around the globe. The pool of money will be divided among all Magic esports tournaments. A total of 10 tournaments are played each year. These are called Mythic Championships along with other partner-run events. The 10 million will be split equally between Magic Arena and tabletop Magic.
The esports program will kick off at PAX East in Boston next year. The tournament will be a hefty $1 million invitational. This Mythic Championship will be the first $1 million tournament held at PAX East for 2019.
Chris Cocks, the President of Wizards of the Coast, commented on the importance of Magic esports and its commitment to esports:
Today is an extremely important day for Magic: The Gathering as we announce our commitment to esports and our Magic players by introducing a new tournament structure with a $10 Million prize pool. We have worked diligently to create a program that will establish Magic as a major player in esports, particularly with Magic: The Gathering Arena in the collectable card game category.Magic Pro League
The restructure of Magic esports also ushers in the launch of the Magic Pro League. This league will feature the 32 top ranked Magic players. These players are automatically qualified for each Mythic Championship. Each player will receive a competitive pro contract and a shot at the $10 million prize pool over the course of the year.
This program was designed to support players and push the game to new heights. The Vice President of Esports at Wizards of the Coast, Elaine Chase, is excited to bring the game to a broader audience:
The past 25 years of Magic competition has led us to design this comprehensive esports program that would support Magic: The Gathering Arena, while increasing our investment in tabletop Magic. Magic Esports will catapult the game to new heights while providing support to the players by giving them the platform to build their brand and bring Magic to a broader audience.Wizards of the Coast
The organization that brings people together through Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons is Wizards of the Coast. They strive to build a community of players for both tabletop and digital games. Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., the company behind Magic: The Gathering. Hasbro is also responsible for other such popular series including Monopoly, My Little Pony, and Transformers. Both companies have been working to bring Magic esports to more players and celebrate esports.
sorry
Why would that be even remotely the case
They are most definitely being de-emphasized re: pro play w/ the MagicFest branding stuff.
They are most definitely being de-emphasized re: pro play w/ the MagicFest branding stuff.
For that much money I really hope notAbsolutely guaranteed that streamers will be invited to the Arena events for visibility.
Absolutely guaranteed that streamers will be invited to the Arena events for visibility.
Here's what it unlocks based on what MTGA Tracker shows that I gained after using the code:
Conclave Tribunal
Cleansing Nova
Ghalta, Primal Hunger
Search for Azcanta
Sinister Sabotage
Vraska's Comtempt
The Eldest Reborn
Lava Coil
Risk Factor
Merfolk Branchwalker
Someone on reddit is claiming it is 4x of the Uncommons and 1x of the rares. I can't be sure cause I already had some copies of all these uncommons. It's definitely 1x of the rares.
Definitely.Blizzard doesn't invite the biggest streamers to their most important tournaments just for visibiilty. Usually they just get invites to exhibition type stuff. I don't think WotC will necessarily be all that different. So you might see Trump/Amaz/Day9/Kibler at some exhibition events.
I don't like completing gutting the Pro Tour. It's been around forever and has a good name -- better than Mythic Championships. Why are they always renaming stuff that doesn't need to be renamed? It's a little worrying to see that they are making this up as they go along and there is no serious future plan. They announced the 2 additional PTs just 3 months ago. Now they're cancelled. What kind of planning is that? It feels like they saw the cash rolling in from Arena and have decided to go all-in.
Modern and Legacy are probably dead right? Maybe SCG and Magicfests will keep them alive but I'm doubtful. I don't play Modern but I very much enjoy watching it as I do with Legacy. Since competitive is now being pushed mostly through Arena how can the eternal formats seriously survive? You can't have those formats at these Mythic Championships if you're funneling in players from Arena who may not have ever even seen a card older than Amonkhet.
I'll confess that I like the paper Magic product. Sure maybe it's not the friendliest spectator sport and it's got all it's own problems. But paper MTG is a unique social gaming experience. I thought Arena was supposed to bring new players into the game and eventually to paper. I don't think we're that many steps removed from WotC abandoning paper altogether. It's not likely but it's not out of the question. Cut all the manufacturing and distribution costs and just make people pay for digital.
In fact, they are not pros anymore. They have actual pros now.Article going over the eSports changes, including Pro Tours being changed to Mythic Championships.
Despite being announced only a month ago, they're changing up the upcoming Pro Tour events as a result of this.
There are plenty of angry tweets from Magic pros about this.
And Arena will have a "Standard+" format, likely what people have nicknamed "Arena Extended" and "Arena Modern" with all sets that were on Arena being legal.
Article going over the eSports changes, including Pro Tours being changed to Mythic Championships.
Despite being announced only a month ago, they're changing up the upcoming Pro Tour events as a result of this.
There are plenty of angry tweets from Magic pros about this.
And Arena will have a "Standard+" format, likely what people have nicknamed "Arena Extended" and "Arena Modern" with all sets that were on Arena being legal.
Because at that time they were in standard. There is no need to have them now because an Arena modern just for those sets would be silly especially as players already have enough cards they need to collect.Article doesn't say anything about the Kaladesh and Amonkhet blocks ever coming back. I don't understand why they even made the effort to even add them to closed beta only to get rid of them completely from the game.
Those sets were also already in the game for their internal testing and development. It wasn't much work to include them in the closed beta. Internally they had sets going back to SoI in the game.Because at that time they were in standard. There is no need to have them now because an Arena modern just for those sets would be silly especially as players already have enough cards they need to collect.
The only question now is if they bother to bring them back with next rotation. I currently don't think so because there is no reason to immediately fuck up your format with those terribly overpowered cards.