2016

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The year 2016 is the twenty-fourth year of existence for Magic: The Gathering.

Events

Date Event
Early January Release of the Arena of the Planeswalkers: Battle for Zendikar boardgame expansion set.
January 11 Rehaul of Magicthegathering.com
  • Expansion of the roster of authors and the range of content.
  • Multiple updates times a day at irregular intervals.
  • Introduction of the Daily Magic Update.
  • Retirement of Magic Arcana.
  • Renaming of Uncharted Realms to Official Magic Fiction.
January 12 Wizards Play Network cracks down on the use of proxies at DCI-sanctioned tournaments.
January 13 Wizards of the Coast announces a new policy of explicitly stating the beginning of each spoiler season, to improve awareness of unofficial leaks.
  • Retraction of the suspensions of ten of the twelve players involved in the Oath of the Gatewatch leak.
January 22 Release of Oath of the Gatewatch.
January 28 After criticism, Official Magic Fiction is retitled Magic Story on Magicthegathering.com.
February 6 A complete booster pack of Shadows over Innistrad is put up for sale on Dutch website and consequently spoiled before the official start of the Spoiler Season..
February 7 Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Won by {USA} Jiachen Tao.
  • 20th anniversary of the Magic Pro Tour
  • Domination of Eldrazi Aggro decks, making up six of the top eight decks, and both finalists'.
February 8 Mark Rosewater confirms the discontinuation of Event decks and Clash packs.
February 16 The Twitter account MTGDeepthroat@Vendorleak accuses 2-3 unnamed vendors of possession of the card list for Eternal Masters and insider trading.
February 22 Announcement of Conspiracy: The Reign of Brago, a set designed for Conspiracy Draft.
February 24 As part of the marketing campaign the new Conspiracy set is renamed Conspiracy: The Empty Throne.
  • Brago's spirit is assassinated.
February 26 The new Conspiracy set is renamed (again) to Conspiracy: Take the Crown.
February 26 Release of Duel Decks: Blessed vs. Cursed.
March 1 First publication of the The Hanweir Chronicle
April 4 Eye of Ugin is banned in Modern, to put a stop to "Eldrazi Winter".
April 8 Release of Welcome Deck 2016 and Shadows over Innistrad.
April 11 Announcement of a reorganization of the Judge Program.
  • First change since September 2004.
April 20 Two lawsuits brought against Wizards of the Coast claiming that Magic judges are essentially Wizards employees.
April 22–24 Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad in Madrid, Spain. Won by {USA} Steve Rubin
April 24 The World Championship prize purse is greatly increased; in exchange, appearance fees of Platinum pros and Hall of Famers are greatly reduced.
April 25 Enter the Battlefield, a documentary by Nathan Holt and Shawn Kornhauser about life on the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour, premieres on the official MTG Twitch channel.
April 26 In response to player uproar, Wizards reverse their decision to reduce appearance fees of Platinum pros during the 2016–17 Pro Tour Season.
April 27 Release of Plane Shift: Zendikar, a free supplement to The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Zendikar.
May 16 First official "Announcement Day" on Magicthegathering.com.
June 1 Fabrizio Anteri is suspended from the game for 18 months following an investigation after a disqualification at Grand Prix Manchester.
June 10 Release of Eternal Masters.
  • Due to the higher expected average value of the cards and the lower print run, the MSRP of one booster was set to $9.99.
July 20–23 San Diego Comic-Con.
  • Release of a limited edition of "zombified" planeswalker cards of the members of the Gatewatch.
July 22 Release of Eldritch Moon.
August 5–7 Pro Tour Eldritch Moon in Syney, Australia. Won by {CZE} Lukas Blohon.
August 13 Start of the 2016–17 Pro Tour Season.
August 19 Release of From the Vault: Lore
August 26 Release of Conspiracy: Take the Crown
  • The monarch is a new designation that a player may have during the game.
September 1–4 2016 World Championship. Won by {USA} Brian Braun-Duin
September 2 Release of Duel Decks: Nissa vs. Ob Nixilis
September 30 Release of Kaladesh
October 14–16 Pro Tour Kaladesh. Won by {JPN} Shota Yasooka.
October 19 Aaron Forsythe announces the reversion of the Standard Rotation.
November 11 Release of Commander 2016
  • Four–color matters.
November 11–13 2016 World Magic Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Won by {GRC} Greece.
November 14 Introduction of the Standard Showdown tournament at local stores..
November 18 Release of the Kaladesh Gift Box.
November 25 Release of Planechase Anthology
December 9 An official Wizards of the Coast survey shows packaging design concepts for Amonkhet, Hour of Devastation and two previously unknown sets: Atlazan and Conquest of Power.
Player of the Year: {USA} Owen Turtenwald.
Rookie of the Year: {USA} Oliver Tiu.
Hall of Fame inductees:

Publications

First involved

R&D

Artists

Oath of the Gatewatch
  • Darek Zabrocki
  • Jason Kang

Shadows over Innistrad

  • Jose Cabrera
  • Sean Sevestre
  • Zezhou Chen

Eldritch Moon

Kaladesh

  • Efflam Mercier
  • Kirsten Zirngibl
  • Sara Winters
  • Sean Murray
  • Sung Choi
  • Tom Babbey
  • Tommy Arnold
  • Tony Foti

Treasure Chests

  • Rick O'Brien

References