No Bans and Play Boosters! MTG Arena Announcements – October 16, 2023

The weekly MTG Arena Announcement post has been published by Wizards of the Coast! Here’s the roundup of everything that is happening and upcoming on MTG Arena! The big news is that there are no changes to all formats in the scheduled Banned and Restricted announcement, as well as a small upcoming change to booster packs. Check out the original source post here or the transcript below.

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OCTOBER 16, 2023 BANNED AND RESTRICTED ANNOUNCEMENT

Announcement Date: October 16, 2023

There are no changes to announce for formats.

View the list of all banned and restricted cards by format.

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FORMAT GOALS AND PLAY BOOSTER ANNOUNCEMENT

In keeping with our goal of greater consistency across our formats, we are making no changes to any formats.

We do have big news today, however: we’ve announced new Play Boosters, which bring changes to Set and Draft Boosters. Check out the details in Mark Rosewater’s article “What Are Play Boosters?” and learn more about Play Boosters on MTG Arena.

OCTOBER SPOOKY COSMETICS

There are new cosmetics in the MTG Arena Store celebrating the season and two of your favorite movies: The Evil Dead and The Princess Bride! Stop in to see how you can add some fun new coolness to your games!

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SHADOWS OVER INNISTRAD REMASTERED FATAL FLASHBACK RETURNS

Get into the late-October season with the return of Shadows over Innistrad Remastered Limited events beginning tomorrow, October 17, and continuing until November 1!

Earlier this year we had four different flavors of Shadows over Innistrad Remastered events that aimed to mix up the Limited formats, and with this return we’re using the most popular of those Shadows of the Past themes, Fatal Flashback!

You’ll find Shadows over Innistrad Remastered Sealed, Traditional Sealed, Premier Draft, and Traditional Draft events that include that dash of sinister spice: Fatal Flashback! Shadows of the Past theme cards. Each Shadows over Innistrad Remastered pack will contain a card from the Fatal Flashback! Shadows of the Past card list.Check out all the cards in the digital-only Shadows over Innistrad Remastered set, which brings together select cards from the original Innistradblock: Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Avacyn Restored.

Shadows of the Past

INTERVIEW WITH SHINYA SAITO, ARENA CHAMPIONSHIP 4 WINNER

Shinya Saito took the Arena Championship 4 title last weekend, and Corbin Hosler talked with him about his experience with Magic leading up to the win and his future plans in the article, “The Week That Was: Digital Dreams Come True.”

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THIS WEEKEND: BEST-OF-THREE QUALIFIER PLAY-IN AND QUALIFIER WEEKEND

This weekend is the October Premier Play double-header with the Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In and the Qualifier Weekend events taking place.

First up is the Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In on Friday, October 20, starting at 6 a.m. PT. Compete in Traditional Standard, notch four wins, and claim your invitation to the October Qualifier Weekend event.

Immediately following will be the Qualifier Weekend, kicking off at 6 a.m. PT on Saturday, October 21. You’ll play across two days, Saturday and Sunday: seven match wins on Day One gets you an invitation to Day Two; seven match wins on Day Two earns you an invitation to Arena Championship 5 and the Pro Tour!

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ARENA OPEN WILDS OF ELDRAINE LIMITED, OCTOBER 28–29

Keep exercising those Wilds of Eldraine Limited skills, because the Arena Open returns October 28–29. Compete on Day 1 in Wilds of Eldraine Sealed matches for your invitation to Day 2 events—and claim the Mak Fawa sleeve just for participating!

Entry Reward: Mak Fawa Sleeve

Perform well on Day 1, get your invitation, and return on Day 2 for the high-stakes showdown where you could win $2,000 and an invitation to the November Qualifier Weekend—if you can overcome your challengers!

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PLAY BOOSTERS ANNOUNCED

Today we announced the new Play Boosters in tabletop Magic as well as MTG Arena. For complete details, check out “What Are Play Boosters?” from Mark Rosewater and “Play Boosters in MTG Arena.”

Today, we announced that our tabletop products will be combining Set and Draft Boosters into a unified Play Booster experience. While Mark Rosewater outlined the reasoning behind this change for our physical boosters, on the digital side of things, our primary concern was … well, the same thing that always concerns us: ensuring Magic: The Gathering Arena provides players an authentic way to experience Magic in a fast, fun, digital environment.

So, if changes are coming to the draft experience on tabletop, it means we’re making those same changes to the draft experience on MTG Arena.

CHANGES TO MTG ARENA LIMITED BOOSTERS

In alignment with tabletop, Play Boosters will premiere on MTG Arena with Murders at Karlov Manor. They will be used for our Limited play events so that Draft and Sealed will continue to mirror the tabletop experience on MTG Arena.

Limited packs on MTG Arena will include the new features of Play Boosters, like having cards from The List and Special Guests. Because MTG Arena‘s older formats are different from those of tabletop Magic, we have worked with the Play Design team on a few card swaps on The List to mesh better with MTG Arena‘s formats. (We’ll share those details close to each set’s release on MTG Arena.)

You can rest assured that when you draft using Play Boosters on MTG Arena, it will feel as close as possible to drafting at your local game store.

Will playing in Limited events that use Play Boosters cost more on MTG Arena?

We do not plan to increase the entry cost for Limited events on MTG Arena, including Limited events that use the new Play Boosters. The cost of entry for a Murders at Karlov Manor draft will be the same as Wilds of Eldraine, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and other recent releases.

What changes are you making to non-Limited packs?

None. Packs obtained outside Limited events (purchased in the MTG Arena Store, obtained from Set Mastery, etc.) will remain the same.

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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-07:00) 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-07:00).

• October 17–19: Wilds of Eldraine Phantom Sealed
• October 24–26: Alchemy Ladder Deck Showcase
• October 31–November 2: Innistrad: Crimson Vow vs. Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Phantom Sealed

QUICK DRAFT

• October 10–24: Wilds of Eldraine
• October 24–November 7: Phyrexia: All Will Be One
• November 7–23: Dominaria United

OTHER EVENTS

• October 17–31: Shadows over Innistrad Remastered: Fatal Flashback
• October 17–31: Shadows over Innistrad Remastered: Fatal Flashback Sealed
• November 2–14: Historic All Access, Basically No Bans!

PREMIER PLAY SCHEDULE

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-07:00).

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. Check out the standings to see who’s qualified for Arena Championship 4.

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

OCTOBER

• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-Three)
  October 20, 6 a.m. PT–October 21, 3 a.m. PT
  • Format: Standard
• Qualifier Weekend
  October 21, 6 a.m. PT–October 22, 4 p.m. PT
  • Format: Standard

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-07:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• Arena Open: Wilds of Eldraine Limited
  • October 28: Day One, Wilds of Eldraine Sealed (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
    Day One entry reward: Mak Fawa sleeve
  • October 29: Day Two, Wilds of Eldraine Draft (Best-of-Three)

OCTOBER 2023 RANKED SEASON

The October 2023 Ranked Season begins September 30 at 12:05 p.m. PT and ends October 31 at 12 p.m. PT (UTC-07:00)

• Bronze Reward: 1 Wilds of Eldraine pack
• Silver Reward: 1 Wilds of Eldraine pack + 500 gold
• Gold Reward: 2Wilds of Eldraine packs + 1,000 gold + Glass Casket card style
• Platinum Reward: 3 Wilds of Eldraine packs + 1,000 gold + Glass Casket card style + Bramble Familiar card style
• Diamond Reward: 4 Wilds of Eldraine packs + 1,000 gold + Glass Casket card style + Bramble Familiar card style
• Mythic Reward: 5 Wilds of Eldraine packs + 1,000 gold + Glass Casket card style + Bramble Familiar card style