Magic Spotlight Series Announced For Competitive Play

On Tuesday, August 20th, Wizards of the Coast announced a new series of events for Magic: The Gathering. Dubbed the "Magic Spotlight Series," this set of major competitive events will focus on different formats from event to event and begin next year.

The Long and Short of the Magic Spotlight Series

According to Magic.gg, the game's main competitive news hub, Magic Spotlight Series events are two-day events. They each focus on a single format of gameplay and culminate in a $50,000 monetary prize pool for the victors. Match points will be a factor in how players proceed from Day One into Day Two of the competition, and the best prizes will be divvied out to the Top 8 for Day Two.

According to the website's announcement article:

The Magic Spotlight main events are open tournaments, meaning anyone eligible to participate in sanctioned Magic events may sign up while seats are available. Seating can run out, so players intending to compete are strongly encouraged to sign up early and in advance of booking travel and attending.

Promo cards will be available to each Magic Spotlight main event participant in non-foil, with promo cards changing for each theme. Additionally, the top 128 players from each Magic Spotlight main event will earn a traditional foil version of the promo card!

What are these promos? Not everything has been announced yet, but for now we know of two. During the Star City Games event in Atlanta, GA, taking place from January 3-5 of next year, the promo card offered to all participants is a copy of Terror of the Peaks, with art by Richard Kane Ferguson. The top 128 participants will receive this card in foil, and all participants will receive it in non-foil form. The event in Utrecht, Netherlands, taking place March 15-16, will offer a copy of Kaldra Compleat. This promo has art by Monztre and, as with the previous event, all participants will receive a non-foil copy, with the top 128 participants again receiving a foil copy.

More Details of this Event Series

Beyond the particulars of the above two announced events, there are some other details to consider:

• Star City Games will host a total of five Magic Spotlight Series events, including the one in Atlanta.
• Fanfinity will host two events in the series, including the one in Utrecht.
• BIG MAGIC will host one event in Japan.

In addition to the main events of the weekends, there will be a plethora of side events as well. On top of that, there will be plenty of vendors, special guests, and other fun features, according to the article by Star City Games.

Are you looking to attend these Magic Spotlight Series events? Do you play any sanctioned competitive formats? Sound off below!