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MTG Arena Announcements – February 19, 2024

In this edition:

Watch Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor This Weekend!

Arena open: murders at karlov manor march 2–3, you can now import deck names, get daily mtg arena updates, event schedule.

The first Pro Tour of 2024 is happening this weekend during MagicCon: Chicago, February 23–25! The Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor competition will be streamed live at twitch.tv/magic , and there'll be plenty of social coverage from players, fans, and content creators using the hashtag #PTKarlov .

Coverage begins at 9 a.m. PT each day, Friday and Saturday. Then, Top 8 playoff coverage will begin on Sunday at 8 a.m. PT.

Check out the Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor Viewers Guide for all the details on how to watch.

Here's your first opportunity to put your Limited format skills with the latest set to the test! Arena Open: Murders at Karlov Manor happens Saturday and Sunday, March 2–3, and features Sealed and Draft matches.

The Arena Open is also where you can earn an invitation to the April Qualifier Weekend and as much as $2,000!

And everyone who enters receives the Warleaders Call sleeve featuring art by Aldo Dominguez!

Deck names can now be included when importing your deck files!

To use this feature, add an "About" section in your decklist file. Below that, add "Name" followed by the name of your deck. Your imported deck will appear with that name rather than the generic "Imported Deck."

For example, if you want to import your Mono-Red Aggro deck, the start of your decklist file might look like this:

1 About 2 Name Mono-Red Aggro 3 4 Deck 5 24 Mountain 6 4 Shock 7 …

This addition is completely optional, and decklist files without it will continue to successfully import. If you are a content creator that provides decklists designed for import into MTG Arena , please consider adding this section to your output!

Want to keep up with all things MTG Arena ? Follow us on our official Instagram , Facebook , and other social accounts to join in on the community's dreams and memes!

Events open at 8 a.m. PT on their starting dates (excluding Midweek Magic ) and close to entries at 8 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00) on the ending date shown unless otherwise noted.

Midweek Magic

Midweek Magic events open on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. PT and close to new entries on Thursdays at 2 p.m. PT (UTC-08:00).

• February 20–22: On the Edge
• February 27–29: Momir
• March 12–15: Artisan Brawl

Quick Draft

• February 17–27: Murders at Karlov Manor
• February 27–March 12: Wilds of Eldraine

Other Events

• February 27–March 5: Festival: Murders at Karlov Manor Story Decks
• March 8–11: Standard Metagame Challenge
• March 15–18: Historic Metagame Challenge
• March 29–April 1: Explorer Metagame Challenge
• April 5–8: Timeless Metagame Challenge

March Qualifier Events – Alchemy

• March 16: Best-of-One Play-In
• March 22: Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In
• March 23–24: Qualifier Weekend

Competitive Play Schedule

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-08:00).

Qualifier Events

Qualifier Play-In events are single-day tournaments in which players compete to earn invitations to that month's Qualifier Weekend events.

Qualifier Weekend events are two-day events in which eligible players compete for invitations to upcoming Arena Championship events.

Qualifier tokens are delivered to your MTG Arena inbox. Remember to claim them before the event starts!

• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-One) March 16, 6 a.m. PT
• Format: Alchemy
• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-Three) March 22, 6 a.m. PT–March 23, 3 a.m. PT
• Qualifier Weekend March 23, 6 a.m. PT–March 24, 4 p.m. PT

The Arena Open Day One entry window begins at 6 a.m. PT and closes to new entries the following day at 3 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00).

• March 2: Day One, Murders at Karlov Manor Sealed (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
• March 3: Day Two, Murders at Karlov Manor Draft (Best-of-Three)

Arena Championship

The Arena Championship is an invitation-only, two-day virtual event for players who earn invitations through Qualifier Weekend events.

• Arena Championship 5 March 30, 2024 Who has qualified?

February 2024 Ranked Season

The February 2024 Ranked Season begins January 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT and ends February 29 at 12 p.m. PT (UTC-08:00).

• Bronze Reward: 1 Murders at Karlov Manor pack
• Silver Reward: 1 Murders at Karlov Manor pack + 500 gold
• Gold Reward: 2 Murders at Karlov Manor packs + 1,000 gold + Lightning Helix card style
• Platinum Reward: 3 Murders at Karlov Manor packs + 1,000 gold + Lightning Helix card style + Steamcore Scholar card style
• Diamond Reward: 4 Murders at Karlov Manor packs + 1,000 gold + Lightning Helix card style + Steamcore Scholar card style
• Mythic Reward: 5 Murders at Karlov Manor packs + 1,000 gold + Lightning Helix card style + Steamcore Scholar card style

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Keep up with the latest MTG Arena news and announcements on:

• Twitter @MTG_Arena
• Facebook @MTGArena
• Instagram @mtgarena
• TikTok @MTGArena
• MTG Arena YouTube channel
• Magic: The Gathering Discord channel
• Threads @mtgarena

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Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour returns, Wizards of the Coast revamps competitive system

The Magic esports era is nearing its end after a three-year experiment that saw Magic Arena take center stage for the game’s competitive scene.

Wizards of the Coast has announced the return of a Pro Tour system similar to the competitive infrastructure that was in place before the big esports push. Gone are the Magic Pro League and Rivals League in favor of regional events that lead up to Pro Tours, major tentpole tournaments packed with large prize pools and World Championship invitations.

The current season will conclude with the New Capenna Championships in May and the Magic World Championship XXVIII tournament scheduled for later in 2022. These events will directly be involved in transitioning to the new Pro Tour model.

There will be three Pro Tour events for the 2022-23 season. The first of these will be near the beginning of 2023, according to Wizards of the Coast. No date is set yet. Players will earn invitations through Regional Championship events that are held in each of the 11 regions designated by Wizards of the Coast. Pro tours are expected to be approximately 300 players large with $500,000 prize pools per event.

The top finishers at each Regional Championship will be invited to the following Pro Tour. The 2022-23 season will also give out 64 bonus invites as a way to jumpstart the system. Other invitations will be determined by performance at the previous Pro Tour. Players who earn 10 or more match wins will be invited to the next Pro Tour. For the first two Pro Tours, however, invitations will be awarded for 9-7 or better finishes.

The top four of this year’s World Championship will automatically be invited to all three Pro Tours next season. 

Magic Hall of Fame members get awarded one Pro Tour invitation per season. This also comes with an invitation to that round’s Regional Championship if they choose to compete in that as well.

Each region will be managed by an organizer that’s in charge of holding Regional Championships. These regions are:

• U.S. – DreamHack
• Canada – Face to Face
• Europe, Middle East, and Africa – Legacy
• Australia/New Zealand – Good Games
• Chine – Beijing Kadou Culture
• Japan/Korea – Big Magic
• Southeast Asia – Oracle Events
• Taiwan – Game Square
• Brazil – City Class Games
• Mexico/Central America/Caribbean – Yellow Rabbit
• South America – Magic Sur

The top two from each U.S., EMEA, and JP/KR Regional Championship will earn invitations to the 2023 World Championship. Only the winner from each other region will earn an invite. Other World Championship invites will be earned by the following criteria:

• Top four from the previous World Championship
• 12-4 better players from each Pro Tour
• 32 entering via Adjusted Match Points (everyone tied for 32 will be invited)
• Magic Online and Magic Arena unannounced events

Next year’s World Championship is scheduled for the latter half of 2023 and will be a larger tournament than previous events. Around 128 competitors from around the world will qualify for the tabletop event with a $1 million prize pool.

The road to the World Championship will run through the Pro Tour for many players. These three-day tournaments will have 16 rounds with a cut to a top eight. Like past Pro Tours, each of the three tournaments will be split format with Booster Draft and Constructed.

Every Pro Tour will feature a Booster Draft of presumably the newest set. Each Pro Tour will feature a different Constructed format. The first will showcase Pioneer, followed by Standard then Modern.

Regional Championships will vary depending on the organizer. Each will be able to determine a format and tournament structure that best suits the region and event attendance. Qualifying rounds will be held at around the same time at certain Wizards Play Network stores in each region.

Outside of invitations to the World Championships, prize money, and other awards, Regional Championship competitors will receive special promo cards to commemorate the occasion. Players in each Regional Championship will receive an event-exclusive promo. The top finishers will get a foil version. 

For qualifying events, WPN stores will give all participating players a nonfoil Lava Spike. Top finishers will get a nonfoil Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Regional Championship invitees will get a foil version. These promos are available for the first tournament cycle of the 2022-23 season.

Each regional organizer will offer more specific information on how they’ll be handling events heading into the first Pro Tour in 2023. Expect announcements on Regional Championships through the rest of the year.

All images via WotC.

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Magic Pro Tour - March of the Machine

• 2 Prize Pool
• 3 Participants
• 5 References

Format [ edit ]

Prize pool [ edit ].

Participants [ edit ]

Results [ edit ], top 8 [ edit ], references [ edit ].

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Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor Pioneer Metagame Breakdown

The decklists are in, the data is ready, and the first Pro Tour of 2024 begins tomorrow! It's time for Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor , where 258 of the world's best Magic: the Gathering players will compete for $500,000 in prizes, numerous Magic World Championship invites, and a prestigious trophy. The event takes place at MagicCon: Chicago .

While most competitors earned their invitation via Regional Championship performance, the field also includes Magic Hall of Famers, top online players, and high finishers from preceding Pro Tours, Pro Tour Qualifiers, and the World Championship. With World Champion Jean-Emmanuel Depraz and Player of the Year Simon Nielsen in attendance, the Pro Tour is truly one of the highest levels of tabletop Magic competition at a global level.

The formats are Murders at Karlov Manor Booster Draft in the morning of Friday and Saturday, followed by Pioneer for five rounds afterward each of those days. Pioneer is also the Top 8 format on Sunday. To follow all the action, catch the stream at twitch.tv/magic , which begins at 11 a.m. Central Time on Friday and Saturday and at 10 a.m. Central Time on Sunday. Take a look at the viewer's guide for more information.

Pioneer Metagame Breakdown

Pioneer is a non-rotating format based on expansion sets and core sets from Return to Ravnica onward, with the most notable cards on the ban list being the fetch lands. Pioneer will be the designated Constructed format for the next RCQ cycle , heightening its importance for competitive players. With over 10,000 cards to choose from, including the newly added cards from Murders at Karlov Manor , the format features a variety of aggro, midrange, control, and combo strategies. The metagame at the Pro Tour breaks downs as follows.

All Pioneer Constructed decklists for the tournament will be published on the Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor event page on Friday February 23 at the beginning of Round 4 gameplay, approximately at 2 p.m. Central Time.

The Pro Tour metagame bears many similarities to the online metagame in January that I analyzed in my format primer , but there are various notable differences. First and foremost, Rakdos Midrange—the most prominent Pioneer deck throughout 2023—has been dethroned. Even though the most-played nonland cards across all Pro Tour decks are still Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, Thoughtseize , and Fatal Push , we now have a new number one deck: Izzet Phoenix!

After gaining Picklock Prankster and Sleight of Hand from Wilds of Eldraine , Izzet Phoenix maintained an upward trajectory throughout the preceding cycle of Regional Championships, and now 17.8% of the Pro Tour field will try to chain Consider , Treasure Cruise , and Lightning Axe in a single turn, aiming to bring back multiple copies of Arclight Phoenix from the graveyard. There's also some innovation, as seven Izzet Phoenix players added main deck Ashiok, Dream Render to fill their graveyard, exile their opponent's, and prevent search effects like Emergent Ultimatum or Chord of Calling .

New Developments and Surprises

Most Izzet Phoenix lists use zero new cards from Murders of Karlov Manor , but the latest set has introduced powerful options for various other archetypes, shaking up the metagame as a result. The most-played new card by far is No More Lies , which is a noticeable upgrade to Make Disappear with additional utility against Arclight Phoenix and Memory Deluge . Let's take a closer look at the importance of No More Lies and other developments.

The Adoption of No More Lies : No More Lies has cemented Azorius Control as a major contender, nearly evenly split between 80-card and 60-card versions. No More Lies also played a major role in the emergence of Jeskai Creativity and Niv to Light, both of which are control decks with a combo finish. The novel Jeskai Creativity builds are reminiscent of the Izzet Creativity deck that Reid Duke used to win last year's Pioneer Pro Tour , with the addition of white for cards like No More Lies and The Wandering Emperor . We might see 2/2 Samurai tokens creatively turning into Atraxa, Grand Unifier . Niv to Light decks are similar to Omnath to Light, but they use at least one copy of Niv-Mizzet Reborn as a tutor target for Bring to Light , usually along with No More Lies to reveal.

The Revamp of Lotus Field Combo: Lotus Field Combo traditionally has a good matchup against Izzet Phoenix, and 23 players—a sizable 8.9% of the field—registered it for the Pro Tour. Out of those 23, an almost-unanimous 22 incorporated Archdruid's Charm , and 16 run the full four copies. The triple-green spell is the first-ever unconditional three-mana effect that can put Lotus Field or Thespian's Stage from your library directly onto the battlefield. Besides increasing the deck's consistency, Archdruid's Charm also answers Damping Sphere after sideboard and can fetch silver-bullet creatures like Dragonlord Dromoka , Fae of Wishes, or even Realm-Cloaked Giant. But the rest of the field came prepared: Lotus Field Combo players will have to contend with Krenko's Buzzcrusher (which gets around hexproof) and Ashiok, Dream Render (which stops Archdruid's Charm ). All of these new changes will refresh the way Lotus Field Combo matches will play out.

The Surprise of Boros Heroic : At 4.7% of the metagame, Boros Heroic is the most-played aggro deck, which is a bit of a surprise. At the preceding cycle of Regional Championships, after Wilds of Eldraine introduced Monstrous Rage , the deck put up solid results, but it lived in the shadow of Boros Convoke. However, Boros Heroic is generally faster, allowing it to race combo decks like Amalia Combo or Lotus Field Combo. Moreover, ten out of twelve Boros Heroic players embraced Fugitive Codebreaker as a new turn-two prowess creature that can be disguised—albeit predictably—to provide staying power in the late game. Supported by an abundance of instants and sorceries, Fugitive Codebreaker shores up the otherwise tough matchup against Rakdos Midrange.

The Verve of Vampires : Cavern of Souls became more valuable after No More Lies was added to the format, and twelve players—4.7% of the field, split between eleven Rakdos and one Mono-Black deck—decided that Vampires was the way to go. Although Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord has been legal in Pioneer for years, the supporting cast of Vampires was always a bit lackluster, but recent sets have changed that. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan added Preacher of the Schism , and Murders at Karlov Manor introduced Vein Ripper . Vein Ripper is difficult to remove, wins damage races, and provides a fast clock when put onto the battlefield on turn three by Sorin. These new Vampire decks pack a punch.

Most-Played Cards from Murders at Karlov Manor

Despite the high bar set by the existing Pioneer card pool, Murders at Karlov Manor had a considerable impact on the format. I've already mentioned standouts like No More Lies and Archdruid's Charm , but the following table provides a complete overview of all new-to-Pioneer cards among decklists submitted for the Pro Tour.

Besides No More Lies , most Azorius Control players also embraced Meticulous Archive and/or Deduce . Meticulous Archive improves the consistency of the mana base, can surveil Memory Deluge into the graveyard for value, and provides a free surveil when your Temporary Lockdown is hit by Boseiju, Who Endures . Deduce is an improved Think Twice ; it was included by slightly less than half of Azorius Control players, and a small number of Creativity players exploit the Clue as a target for Indomitable Creativity as well.

Murders at Karlov Manor was a gold mine for Niv to Light and Omnath to Light. Deadly Cover-Up is a sweet Bring to Light target, as sweeping the board while exiling all opposing copies of Arclight Phoenix or Amalia Benavides Aguirre can provide a big edge in certain matchups. Lightning Helix was an even bigger get, as it's a early-game removal spell for Ledger Shredder , Smuggler's Copter , and Wildgrowth Walker that bridges to your powerful end-game. The iconic burn spell is also found in Jeskai Creativity, Jeskai Control, and Boros Burn.

All Boros Convoke players (and one Azorius Improve player) embraced four copies of Novice Inspector . It's the best one-drop for decks built around Gleeful Demolition and Venerated Loxodon , so the ability to run effectively eight copies of Thraben Inspector adds redundancy and consistency. Boros Convoke players usually shaved Ornithopter to make room. In addition, most Boros Convoke players use a singleton Case of the Gateway Express to bolster their go-wide strategy.

Only four of the eleven Izzet Ensoul players incorporated Gleaming Geardrake and/or Case of the Filched Falcon into their list, shaving Gleeful Demolition and Reckless Bushwhacker , but they are promising options. Both new cards bring along an artifact token, which the deck can suit up with Ensoul Artifact or sacrifice to Shrapnel Blast . And when Darksteel Citadel is animated by Case of the Filched Falcon , an opposing Temporary Lockdown or Get Lost can't even answer it, unlike Ensoul Artifact .

All in all, Murders at Karlov Manor has introduced many novel cards for archetypes both old and new. If you're eager to find out which cards and strategies will come out on top and who will carve their name into competitive Magic history, then don't miss all the live action. Coverage begins Friday, February 23 at twitch.tv/magic !

• The Inventory

Magic: The Gathering 's Pro-Focused Broadcast Experiment Is Paying Off

When broadcasting their Grand Prix or Pro Tour tournaments, Magic: The Gathering ’s official Twitch channel tends to take the “sports” angle: they talk the whole tournament, watch different players, and show off the field. This weekend they’re following one single player , and it’s great.

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[Update - 6:05pm] - Reid Duke is out of the tournament after missing the cut to top 8 , but he is going to be on commentary through tomorrow, so you can still hear what he thinks about the game.

That player is Reid Duke, whose accomplishments in Magic have been pretty significant, and the event is Legacy, a format that uses cards extending all the way back to the first set of Magic . Alongside tournament organizers CFB Events, official Magic coverage made the choice to follow one of the most skilled players in the game competing in one of the most skill-intensive formats that the game has to offer.

You can watch this coverage by clicking this link here , by the way.

The choice to follow one player has the ability to produce a lot of different outcomes: Duke could drop from the tournament early; viewers could miss the shape of the entire tournament; it could be boring . Luckily, at least two days into the three-day-event, none of those things have happened.

In fact, it is working basically as intended. The matches have been a fascinating look into the methods of a player who has consistently done well at Magic in a tournament setting, and to be frank, this is the thing that is missing from a lot of Magic coverage. While many sites run articles or videos of Magic pros playing games , those are not the same as listening to a pro communicate about a complicated game state with their opponent or talk with a judge.

In physical competitive Magic (as opposed to Magic Online or Arena ), the rules are adjudicated by judges who walk around and view matches. If you think something weird has gone in on your game or that your opponent has made an illegal move, you call a judge. Lots of people don’t know quite how to handle that interaction. Even more people have trouble advocating for themselves when they encounter those authority figures. Here’s Reid Duke doing all of it:

In the clip, Duke catches a mistake, a judge gives him a game rule violation, and then Duke realizes that he did not make a mistake. Then he proves it.

In normal Magic coverage, we would never hear this interaction. Normally there is not a microphone at the table, meaning that anything we learn about judge interactions on-stream will be communicated through a game of telephone that happens between someone standing at the table who communicates it to the commentator who then communicates to the viewer. 99% of the time that takes the form of something like “well, there seems to be some confusion here. We’ll wait for a judge to sort it out.”

Being able to hear Duke talk through the interaction is meaningfully helpful for players who want to get better at the game and maneuvering through the relationship between players and judges.

It goes beyond that, though, because hearing every interaction between Duke and his opponents helps show what proper play is supposed to look like. Legacy is a notoriously complicated format of Magic , which is generally just a complicated game, and Duke is exceptionally clear in his communication about what the state of the game looks like at any moment.

The fact is that some players of Magic lean into ambiguity about the game state to their advantage. Some players prey on the fact that their opponents do not know the game as well as they do. Reid Duke continually makes sure that everyone knows exactly what is happening at every moment, and in doing so, he keeps the bar for proper play very high.

He verbally signals when he is interacting during certain phases of the game, and he is always maximally clear about what he is doing. That shouldn’t seem like a high bar, but it is, and if everyone played with the clarity that Duke does, Magic would be a better play experience for everyone.

While the broadcast does, during time between rounds, kick over to some non-Duke coverage, it is basically wall-to-wall Reid Duke all weekend. I really do encourage you to check it out .

I have enjoyed literally every minute of Magic coverage this weekend, especially since commentator Marshall Sutcliffe has been golf whispering through most games, and I hope that this “experiment” in coverage becomes the standard. While we lose something of the shape of the entire tournament, the deep focused value that I find in listening to Duke talk through each turn far outweighs that big traditional sports angle. After all, I can just read official writeups from Wizards of the Coast if I need that info.