Magic; The Gathering Arena (aka MTGArena) hosted a digital open tournament last weekend, May 30-31st. This tournament marked the first large-scale tournament for the MTGArena platform, and boasted a prize pool of $2,000 to anyone able to win 14 matches over the course of the 2-day event.
For those unaware, Magic: The Gathering Arena is an online card-based strategy game, and essentially functions as a digital platform to play the game. The premise is that two players with 60-card decks compete with one another for coins and prizes, most of which are simply in-game benefits. The format follows the same rule set as the paperback card game would, but only contains the most recent 2 years worth of cards (with some exceptions). Magic: The Gathering has been around for decades now, with the first set of cards being released in 1993. Since its release, the game has seen many diverse and unique changes, and many different formats for play have been made. Each new set of cards tells an overarching story of whatever the newest set of cards is based on. For instance, the most recent set is based on a fictional plane of existence called Ikoria, where creatures shift and evolve without any warning, creating a constantly evolving and changing food chain. This ecosystem is represented in the cards that were released, where some cards alter or add to already in-play creatures, and make them stronger or different in one way or another. Like this, every set that gets released has a story attached that can be found on the Wizards of the coast story page (though the full stories can be purchased from Amazon).
The tournament held last weekend was a grand display of how accessible and flexible the Magic community can be. Traditionally, these types of tournaments are held in person, using cards already owned, and typically require the contenders to enter a pre qualifying tournament and win to get a chance at winning actual cash. However, due to the threat of Corona virus and the state of the world, they elected to host this tournament online and give everyone a chance at competing. Day 1 of the tournament allowed players to enter for 4,000 gems (roughly $25 in real currency) or 20,000 coins, which can be earned through playing casual or competitive matches in the game. A person can enter as many times as they wish, but can only qualify for day 2 once, and must win 7 matches without losing more than 2 in order to earn qualification to day 2. There were small prizes listed for anyone that got more than 2 wins, but the only way to break even in terms of value would be to make it to day 2.
The Day 2 tournament was played in traditional best-of-three matches, where players only had one chance to enter, and one round consisted of 2-3 matches against the same person. This format offered a small window of time for people to swap out cards from their main deck with cards from their sideboards, offering responses to certain deck archetypes or minuscule adjustments that can (and sometimes are) crucial to success. Players competed until they won 7 matches or lost 2 matches, and the prize pool for day 2 was much more generous. A single win meant you broke even in terms of the gems spent to enter the tournament, and it grew in value up to 5 wins, which netted players 20,000 gems (a $100 value in game). After that, 6 wins meant winning $1,000 USD paid out via i-Payout Accounts, and 7 wins earned the $2,000 grand prize.
Unlike other traditional Magic tournaments, this one made it possible that multiple people across the world could win the $2,000 prize pool, provided they adhere to the rules and are more than proficient with the game mechanics. This tournament set a precedent of how effective online tournaments can be in the Magic community, and might change the way Magic The Gathering does tournaments as a whole.
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