2020

The year 2020 is the twenty-eighth year of existence for Magic: The Gathering. It was officially dubbed "The Year of Commander". Due to the global pandemic, many set releases and events were either delayed or cancelled throughout the year. 2020 was also characterized by many banned cards.

Events

Date	Event
January 14	Reveal of ManaStrike, a tower rush game in the Magic: the Gathering franchise.
January 24	Release of Theros Beyond Death. Despite the return of Elspeth Tirel, the set lacks a Magic Story or any other storyline publication.
January 27	Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Year of the Rat. A continuation of the Secret Lair Drop Series.
February 2	Players Tour Series 1: Players Tour Europe at Brussels, Belgium, and Players Tour Asia-Pacific at Nagoya, Japan. Won by Joel Larsson and Kenta Harane, respectively.
February 9	Players Tour Series 1: Players Tour Americas at Phoenix, USA. Won by Corey Burkhart.
February 14	Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Theros Stargazing.
February 16	World Championship XXVI. Won by Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa.
February 28	Release of Unsanctioned, a ready-to-play "Un-set" experience. Combines reprints from previous Un-sets with sixteen new Un-cards.
March 8	Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: International Women's Day.
Match 12	Wizards of the Coast, StarCityGames and Nerd Rage Gaming cancel gaming events due to the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the Players Tour Finals Houston (Series 1) and the Mythic Invitational – Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
March 13	Release of Mystery Booster (Retail Edition). Fills the special slot with one of 121 possible foil cards, instead of test cards.
March 27	Early release of Challenger Decks 2020.
April 1	Announcement of Secret Lair Drop Series: April Fools.
April 11	Netflix is reported to work on a live-action Magic movie, besides the animated series. Angelina Jolie is reportedly considered for the role of Liliana Vess.
April 17	Release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths in Asia Discontinuation of Planeswalker decks for expansions. Instead features five Commander decks (Commander 2020 or Ikoria Commander).
April 27	Planeswalker Points and DCI numbers are retired.
May 7	Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: The Godzilla Lands.
May 15	Delayed release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and Commander 2020 on continents other than Asia.
May 19	Introduction of the Arena Open An irregular tournament with a short duration, high skill cap and monetary rewards featured on Magic: The Gathering Arena.
May 29	All outstanding 2020 in-person high-level Magic events, including MagicFests, are cancelled. Professional play shifts to online, set-based seasons.
June 1	Release of the Secret Lair Drop Series: Summer Superdrop
June 10	Amidst racism concerns, seven culturally offensive cards are removed from Gatherer's card database and banned from sanctioned tournament play, .
June 12	Release of Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition. All fetch lands A product under the Secret Lair umbrella with, distributed through LGS's.
June 14	First two online tournaments in the Players Tour Series 2. Won by Elias Watsfeldt and Ryuji Murae.
June 21	Second two online tournaments in the Players Tour Series 2. Won by William Craddock and Akira Asahara.
June 26	Release of Signature Spellbook: Chandra.
July 3	Release of Core Set 2021
July 14	Magic esports announce their plans for the 2020-21 Magic Pro League and Rivals League Introducing the League Weekend, Split Championships and the Rivals Gauntlet.
July 15	Official launch of the Magic: The Gathering Companion app.
July 17	Release of Jumpstart. A stand-alone product, closely tied to Core Set 2021. A new way to play Magic that mashes together themes from throughout the history of the game and lets you skip the deckbuilding part.
August 2	Players Tour Series 2 Finals. Won by Kristof Prinz.
August 7	Release of Double Masters. Two Rare or Mythic cards in each pack. Each booster box includes two random showcase borderless non-foil box toppers Featuring a VIP Edition package of 35 cards sold for $92.
August 13	Introduction of Amonkhet Remastered to Historic on MTG Arena.
August 17	Unannounced release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Prime Slime.
August 26	Release Secret Lair Drop Series: Every Dog Has Its Day.
September 25	Release of Zendikar Rising and the Zendikar Rising Commander Decks. Introducing 12-card Set Boosters and The List. Art cards return.
November 6	Release of Commander Legends
December 4	Release of Commander Collection: Green
	Hall of Fame inductees: None (due to the COVID-19 Pandemic).

Publications

• Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths — Sundered Bond (April 17)
• D&D Mythic Odysseys of Theros (July 21)
• Magic: The Gathering - Legends (October 27).
• The Art of Magic: The Gathering - War of the Spark ().