MTG Arena Announcements – January 8, 2024 – Standard Metagame Challenge Returns!

The weekly MTG Arena Announcement post has been published by Wizards of the Coast, returning from the holiday break! Here’s the roundup of everything that is happening and upcoming on MTG Arena! In this edition:

• Preorders for Murders at Karlov Manor Start Next Week
• First Qualifier Weekend for Arena Championship 6 This Weekend!
• Arena Open: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, January 20–21
• Event Schedule

An interesting factvto note this time round: The Standard Metagame Challenge also returns… This time towards the release of a new set, rather than the start of a new one. See below for details!

Preorders for Murders at Karlov Manor Start Next Week

Murder, mystery, and good old-fashioned sleuthing come to MTG Arena with the release of Murders at Karlov Manor on February 6. Set yourself up for a winning head start when preorders go on sale next week!

First Qualifier Weekend for Arena Championship 6 This Weekend

Be among the first players to qualify for Arena Championship 6! Beginning this Friday, January 12, run the gauntlet in the Explorer format through the Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In to grab an invitation to the Qualifier Weekend that kicks off on Saturday, January 13.

Then, notch seven wins in the Qualifier Weekend Day One competition for your entry to the Day Two event. Finally, face the best players in the event to battle your way to seven wins and claim your invitation to Arena Championship 6 and the Pro Tour!

Arena Open: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, January 20–21

Now that you’ve been playing with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan for a while, here’s another opportunity to put everything you’ve learned about the set to the test, maybe earn yourself an invitation to the February Qualifier Weekend, and possibly win as much as $2,000!

The Arena Open: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan is coming January 20–21 where you can have fun and earn prizes. Every player who enters will receive this amazing Quintorius Kand sleeve!

Event Schedule

Events open at 8 a.m. PT on their starting dates (excluding Midweek Magic) and close to entries at 8 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00) on the ending date shown unless otherwise noted.

Midweek Magic

Midweek Magic events open on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. PT and close to new entries on Thursdays at 2 p.m. PT (UTC-08:00).

• Jaunary 9–11: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Phantom Sealed
• January 16–18: Historic Pauper
• January 23–25: Brawl (formerly Historic Brawl)
• January 30–February 1: Phyrexia: All Will Be One Phantom Bot Draft

Quick Draft

• January 2–16: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• January 16–30: The Brothers’ War

Other Events

• December 12–January 16: Khans of Tarkir Premier Draft
• December 12–February 5: Jump Into Middle-earth
• January 9–16: Rivals of Ixalan Premier Draft
• January 19–22: Emblem The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Quick Draft
• January 23–February 5: Arena Cube Draft
• January 26–29: Standard Metagame Challenge

January Qualifier Events

• January 12: Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In (Explorer)
• January 13–14: Qualifier Weekend (Explorer)

Competitive Play Schedule

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-08:00).

Qualifier Events

Qualifier Play-In events are single-day tournaments in which players compete to earn invitations to that month’s Qualifier Weekend events.

Qualifier Weekend events are two-day events in which eligible players compete for invitations to upcoming Arena Championship events.

Qualifier tokens are delivered to your MTG Arena inbox. Remember to claim them before the event starts!

January

• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-Three)
  January 12, 6 a.m. PT–January 13, 3 a.m. PT
  • Format: Traditional Explorer
• Qualifier Weekend
  January 13, 6 a.m. PT–January 14, 4 p.m. PT
  • Format: Traditional Explorer

Arena Open

The Arena Open Day One entry window begins at 6 a.m. PT and closes to new entries the following day at 3 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00).

• Arena Open: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Limited
  • January 20: Day One, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Sealed (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
  • January 21: Day Two, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Draft (Best-of-Three)

Arena Championship

The Arena Championship is an invitation-only, two-day virtual event for players who earn invitations through Qualifier Weekend events.

• Arena Championship 5
  March 30, 2024
  Who has qualified so far?

January 2024 Ranked Season

The January 2024 Ranked Season begins December 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT and ends January 31 at 12 p.m. PT (UTC-08:00)

• Bronze Reward: 1 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan pack
• Silver Reward: 1 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan pack + 500 gold
• Gold Reward: 2 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan packs + 1,000 gold + Cenote Scout card style
• Platinum Reward: 3 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan packs + 1,000 gold + Cenote Scout card style + Dire Flail card style
• Diamond Reward: 4 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan packs + 1,000 gold + Cenote Scout card style + Dire Flail card style
• Mythic Reward: 5 The Lost Caverns of Ixalan packs + 1,000 gold + Cenote Scout card style + Dire Flail card style