Magic League
- For other uses, see League.
The seasonal Magic League was an official ongoing tournament that played out over the course of days or weeks rather than hours. It ran from 2012 to 2019. The League had two main goals: reduce the amount of time it takes to play competitive Magic and allow players to play on their own schedules. The league used to be organized by the DCI, but the organization was later transferred to individual shops.
This sealed deck tournament followed up on Game Day events and uses the Standard format.
Start
The first league was July / August 2012, in commemoration of the release of Magic 2013. It was created as a a five-week tournament, played in local game and hobby stores around the world, a month after each a new card set was released.
Each participant would play three matches per week, for a total of fifteen over the course of the league. Players joining the league late could play extra matches to catch up to the current match cap of three times the current total of weeks of the league. Over the course of the league, players were able to add more boosters to their league deck. There were optional achievements that players could complete to earn a Planeswalker Points badge and achievement.
Because League play wasn't making the returns on investment, and most stores would run leagues anyways, Magic 2014 marked the last physical League kit to be offered to stores. Starting with Theros, stores were able to download a digital asset kit, which didn't include special prizes anymore.[1] However, for subsequent sets the promos apparently were available again.
Prizes
The base prize for the Top 10 finishers in the league was an exclusive token card.
- Magic 2013:
1/1 Goblin [2] - Return to Ravnica:
2/2 Knight with vigilance - Gatecrash: 1/1 Soldier
- Dragon's Maze: 1/1 Bird
- Magic 2014:
1/1 Sliver - Theros: 1/1 Soldier
- Born of the Gods: 1/1 Soldier
- Journey into Nyx: 2/3 Minotaur
- Magic 2015:
1/1 Squid with islandwalk - Khans of Tarkir: 1/1 Warrior
- Fate Reforged: 1/1 Monk with prowess
Kaladesh onwards
With Kaladesh, WotC launched a playtest version of a new, easy-entry Magic league system, with the goal of collecting feedback from stores for a full launch with Amonkhet.[3][4]
The goal of the league was to foster league-style play with a low barrier to entry for newer players that could still be just as enjoyable for long-time fans of Limited. The start date used to be the Monday after the release of a new set.
The Magic League worked as such:
- Players opened three booster packs and used those boosters to build a 30-card deck.
- The league lasted four successive weeks.
- Match cards were used to track wins and losses.
- Every week, players added a booster pack to their pool, rebuilding as often as they liked.
- Players could also add a booster after three losses, once per week.
- Matches consisted of a single game. Each player got one free mulligan at the start of the game.
- Players played against each other, earning Planeswalker Points.
- Players could join the Magic League at any time during the four-week period. In addition to their initial booster pool, they were allowed to purchase boosters for the weeks they missed.
Prizes
| Expansion | Deck box | Promo | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaladesh | 1/1 Servo // 1/1 Thopter foil double-sided token[5]
|
||
| Aether Revolt | 2/2 Gremlin // Energy counter foil double-sided token[6]
|
||
| Amonkhet | 
|
Reward for 10+ games was a lazotep colored, pyramid-shaped die.[7] | |
| Hour of Devastation[8] |
|
||
| Ixalan |
|
Unclaimed Territory[9][10][11] | |
| Rivals of Ixalan | Evolving Wilds[12] | ||
| Dominaria |
|
Zhalfirin Void | |
| Core Set 2019 |
|
Reliquary Tower | |
| Guilds of Ravnica | Necrotic Wound[13] | ||
| Ravnica Allegiance | Gate Colossus[14] |
Termination
The Magic League was retired after Ravnica Allegiance. According to WPN, because they demanded a lot of resources from stores and Tournament Organizers (TOs) and did little to drive play.[15]
References
- ↑ Gateway to Core and League
- ↑ Trick Jarrett (June 05, 2012). "League Token!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (October 7, 2016). "Leagues Playtest Coming with Kaladesh". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Elaine Chase (February 13, 2017). "What's in Store for In-Store Play". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. (October 7, 2016.) "Playtest League and Earn Foil Tokens", Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. (January 18, 2017.) "the Aether Revolt League Preview", Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. (May 1, 2017.) "Magic League: Amonkhet", Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. (July 17, 2017.) "Magic League: Hour of Devastation", Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Chris Tulach (July 16, 2017). "In-Store Play Evolves". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. (October 2, 2017.) "Magic League: Ixalan", Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (September 1, 2017). "Ixalan Promos, Planeswalker Decks, Packaging, and FNM Tokens!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (December 11, 2017). "Rivals of Ixalan Promos, Packaging, and More!". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (September 4, 2018). "Guilds of Ravnica Packaging, Promos, and More". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (December 17, 2018). "Ravnica Allegiance Promos and Packaging". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast. (February 15, 2019.) "Before You Schedule War of the Spark...", Wizards Play Network.