Season of Magic

 Wizards of the Coast has provided details on what stores and players for the upcoming Season of Magic organized play program, designed to promote the Arcana Unleashed and Arcana Unleashed:  Deadfall books (See “Wizards of the Coast Offers New Deets on D&D ‘Season of Magic’ Organized Play”) Much like the Season of Horror, this one comes with a scenario taking players through 6 weeks of play as well as premiums for participating players.  Unfortunately, what it lacks, at least as far as I can tell from what I have read and based on what the Season of Horror kits contained, are any in store promotional materials for the event, signup sheets et cetera.  I know we can create these but it seems a missed opportunity for Wizards to send out materials promoting Arcana Unleased and encouraging customers to pre-order it from stores  in order to have it in hand before the start of the Season of Magic. 

D&D and Microtransactions

 Wizards of the Coast is at it again, trying to figure out how to wring more money out of Dungeons and Dragons. Now, it appears the company plans to roll out microtransactions for new D&D products, something the company tried back in 2024 but ended pretty quickly due to the negative response from players (See “More MAP”). It looks as if WotC is revisiting the idea with D&D Beyond Drops. The company plans to release assorted new spells, feats, encounters, maps, etc. to D&D Beyond subscribers with a paid subscription. Subscribers can use this content with their characters and campaigns for as long as they have a paid subscription and lose access to their character additions if they end their subscription.  It does not appear that WotC will charge for each character addition as they will be included with the weekly drops of new content players will be able to access.  However, it also appears WotC wants to move Dungeons and Dragons to a "live service” wherein players subscribing to D&D Beyond will get access to all of the new feats, spells, etc. with WotC determining through the response on the platform which should be incorporated into physical books for later release.  I was bemused to see in one interview, Chris Cooks, CEO of Hasbro, referring to books as “a special totem you can collect” as if they were now cultural artifacts, rather than useful items in the game.  He also pointed out that it can take up to 18 months to move a book from concept to publication so players wanting more material for their game will get a steady diet of it, providing they keep their subscription up to date, rather than waiting for WotC to publish another book.

Packing slips

 

1.      This is one I have asked for before  I doubt I will see any change.  With every new release, Wizards of the Coast and, to a lesser extent, Konami and The Pokemon Company send us a boxful of promotional materials to use promoting that set. Pokemon sends us dice sets, stickers, promotional cards, and activity cards but no indication as to how they want us to use them.  Similarly, Wizards sends us a box filled with assorted promo cards, posters, pins and this time dice and dice bags with the list of items in the kit and their assorted uses posted on the Wizards website. For pity’s sake, put a list in the box that we can use when we open it to see what we are supposed to get and how Wizards wants us to use it. If that is not feasible (and it should be given that whoever packages the kits manages to get the correct items into it almost all of the time), then how about putting a slip of paper with a QR code printed on it taking us to the page listing the items. If it is too much trouble to change the QR code each time, then keep the link static and change the listing of promotional items on the page as each new kit releases.

Edge of Eternities Errata

  Diplomatic Relations has the following errata

We are aware of an issue in which the card Diplomatic Relations from Edge of Eternities was printed with missing rules text that affects its functionality. The printed version reads:

Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains vigilance until end of turn. It deals damage equal to its power to target creature an opponent controls.

The corrected rules text reads:

Target creature you control gets +1/+0 and gains vigilance until end of turn. It deals damage equal to its power to target creature an opponent controls.

This is an official update to rules text that should be reflected in play. Corrected text will appear on MTG Arena, Gatherer, and Magic Online.

Artificer

 Due to  problems with cover warping, the Eberron Artificer book has been delayed until late November.

We want to share an important update about Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. 

A few weeks ago, we received the first printed copies of the book. At first, everything looked great and met our production standards. But over time, a serious issue emerged: the covers began to warp. This was a defect that developed after production and wasn’t visible during initial inspection. 

After reviewing the full scope of the issue, we made the tough decision to recall and reprint the entire physical run. No copies with this defect will be shipped to customers. This is a complete reprint, not a patch job, and we believe it’s the right call. 

We know many players expected digital access earlier, but to preserve the integrity of the experience and ensure a unified release, we’ve aligned both physical and digital editions to a single timeline. Both versions will now officially launch on December 9, 2025. 

Key Dates for WPN Release 

November 25, 2025 – Early Access Begins [North America Only] 

Customers purchasing through participating WPN stores will be eligible to pick up their corrected physical copies starting this date two weeks ahead of global release. 

December 9, 2025 – Global Release 

All remaining physical copies and digital editions go live. 

WotC CEO Resigns

 The CEO of Wizards announced her resignation today, effective April 26. No indication as to why. Aside from March of the Machines:  Aftermath, the company has done extremely well with only that one misfire on her watch

Amy Dallen

 sorry to see Amy Dallen was fired from WOTC. She was a producer and host on D&D Beyond, which likely mean they are 1 cutting back on the platform or 2. shopping around for less expensive talent.

Deck of Many Things

 Due to some reason or another, the Deck of Many Things, as well as the Collector Boosters for Lost Caverns of Ixalan have been delayed. No indication from WotC as to what the new release dates are, although I expect Collector Boosters to arrive a week later or so. 

Wizards presents

 In case you want to watch, here is the video from Wizards discussing Dominaria United, D&D One, and the relaunch of Dragonlance later this year.

WOTC Metrics

 WOTC made this announcement today. Basically, if stores want to increase their allocation of pre-release packs and other materials, they have a year from the Forgotten Realms release to get numbers us. Metrics, in WOTC speak, is the number of players at events:

Metrics will only be counted in the U.S. to start, but other regions will follow.

Beginning with the AFR Prerelease on July 16, metrics will be counted in the U.S. Other regions can expect to have metrics counted again shortly after play suspension is lifted in that area. We will continue to provide updates about the status of in-store play globally as they occur.

You will have a full year to build up your metrics starting from the date metrics begin counting in your region.

During that grace period, promo and product allocations will be based on either the metric snapshot from Q1 2020 or your live metrics. After that period, only your live metrics will be used to determine allocations.

WPN Update

 Here is an update on handling events from WOTC

Beginning May 28, we’re temporarily enacting the following discretionary WPN in-store event policies. These policies are supplemental to the overarching WPN Terms and Conditions . They are optional, temporary, and should only be applied in accordance with local laws and regulations:

1. You do not have to run in-store events. Running in-store events is voluntary and you will not be penalized in any way if you choose not to.

You should only host in-store events if you are able to do so safely, legally, and responsibly. Events reported during this period will not count towards your play metrics.

Q1 2020 metric snapshot will remain in place until further notice. All scheduling options for Prerelease, including in-store, via webcam, on SpellTable, and at-home will count towards future Prerelease allocations equivalently.

We will inform WPN members before any events begin counting towards play metrics. At that time you will have a full year to rebuild your metrics. We will then base promo and product allocations on whichever is higher between your live metrics and the metric snapshot. Theros Beyond Death will be included in Prerelease allocation determinations until two Prereleases have occurred where metrics are counted.

2. You may impose additional health and safety requirements for entering your store and/or events.

WPN policy normally requires that WPN events are open to anyone allowed in your store. Under the WPN Discretionary Policy, this has been temporarily changed. You may impose additional entry and player requirements that you judge as necessary to provide a healthy and safe environment for play. As a friendly reminder, it is up to you to ensure compliance with applicable local laws and regulations when making these decisions.

3. You may modify Magic: The Gathering tournament rules and procedure as needed to provide a safe environment for play and ensure compliance with local health guidelines and regulations.

You are allowed to make good faith modifications to tournament rules solely as they relate to providing a safe play environment. You are responsible for ensuring these modifications comply with applicable local laws and regulations. It is up to you to determine what modifications, if any, to adopt, but here are some examples of what is allowed:

Players may only shuffle or cut their own decks

Cards must remain on the owner’s side of the table when control is changed

Cards attached to cards owned by other players should not physically touch

Mechanics that require an opponent to search a player’s library, hand, or graveyard are performed by the owner displaying that zone to the active player without cards changing hands

4. You may host in-store events for private groups.

You may offer private events for groups. You may also host off-hours events. This pertains to all event types, including WPN programs and non-programs. Any private event you host should always follow the WPN Code of Conduct and comply with the basic terms of your WPN membership. You must provide a safe, welcoming, and inclusive play environment for all customers, including minors.

Wizards Premium

One of the things I see happening over the next few years is more stores moving or seeking WOTC Premium store status. Essentially, WOTC has a checklist of things a store to meet to qualify. In exchange the store gets access to higher level events, premium product like more collector boosters and higher quality marketing materials as well.

A major focus, and showing WOTC's direction, is the number of events and players a store has, both active and engaged. An active player is one that shows up to stores and plays in Magic events, (unfortunately, D&D play has no effect), an engaged player is one that registers on the Wizards website. You can play in events without registering but WOTC looks for both. WOTC also, for standing purposes, currently values players in Standard and Draft events more highly than players in other types of events, although Commander may be entering that area as well.  Why Standard and Draft? Players in those events are buying the most recent Magic product, which helps push WOTC sales higher. A Modern or even Pioneer player, since early packs are out of production, typically buys single cards, which do not help the Wizards bottom line.

Pioneer Format

In case you missed it, WOTC announced a new Magic Tournament format a week or so ago:  Pioneer. Pioneer is a non-rotating format that used cards from more recent sets, dating back to Return to Ravnica. Pioneer was created, according to what I understand, because the same problem has developed with Modern that afflicts Legacy format: price of playing.  The selling point of Modern was that players who had entered Magic late could play with decks made from cards readily available, compared to the ones oft used in Legacy that could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.

However, as magic has aged, cards that are now staples in Modern format have become more expensive and players need to put together a deck costing several hundred dollars to be competitive. Pioneer, as I see it, is an attempt by WOTC to ecourage play with more accessible cards and lower priced decks.

Helvault

Longtime Magic players may remember the Helvault promotion, tied in with the Avacyn Restored pre-release. Stores regegistering to host pre-releases received Helvaults to open during the pre-release as players completed certain activities, such as playing a type of card or winning a match. It was a pretty cool idea as players really wanted to see what was inside. Unfortunately, some retailers decided to show them what was inside early and posted videos to YouTube showing the contents. Ruined the anticipation of the event for everyone else, which is likely one reason Wizards has not run a similar promotion in the years since.

Why Aryel, Knight of Windgrace Should be in Your Deck

Aryel, Knight of Windgrace is in Dominaria and with the standard rotation coming up, knights are going to be super popular. This Legendary Human Knight costs 4 mana and is a 4/4 with vigilance. It uses black and white mana so any black/white could benefit from it. For less than its mana cost you can create a 2/2 knight token, then tap any number of knights to destroy a target creature of that value or less.
Aryel makes it easy to build a small army quickly. I hope you check out this underrated card and enjoy it!
-Jay

Ustable Magic

Those of you who have played Magic for years will remember the Unglued and Unhinged sets of humorous cards, that released in the early years of the game. The closest thing we have seen to those we have seen in recent years have been the annual Christmas promo cards sent out to stores that participate in Wizards's programs. Well, now Wizards has announced the drought of humorous sets has ended with the release of Unstable this December. No specific details have released regarding the set's cards have been released, except that they are silver bordered and will total about 216 cards.

If You Have Damaged Magic Cards

If you open a pack of Magic and it contains missing or damaged cards, Wizards will replace them, if you follow the procedures, except for a Masterpiece Scalding Tarn. Those are all gone.

The most important thing you need to do immediately is to take a picture of the pack and the cards immediately after you open them and Wizards would like photos of both.

Note that if you buy single cards on the aftermarket and get one that is damaged, you are out of luck. You would need to contact the seller of the cards to deal with replacements.