Residency & Eligibility

Each country's 2018 Nationals are open only to those qualified players who are citizens or have been residents of that country since January 1, 2017.

Complete information can be found in the Magic: The Gathering Premier Event Invitation Policy (Section 4).

If you are planning to participate in an upcoming Nationals tournament, your first step should be to verify that you are listed under the correct nationality. To do this, just sign into the Planeswalker Points website with your DCI number and password. Your current nationality is listed immediately to the right of your name.

If your nationality needs to be corrected, please fill in an appeal immediately using the form here (You have to be logged into the Planeswalker Points site with your DCI number and password to access this form). Nationality-related appeals will be given high priority during the season.

2018 Nationals are invitation-only tournaments. These Premier Events will be held in countries that have been selected to have national teams compete at the 2018 World Magic Cup. The list of selected countries can be viewed in Appendix C of the Premier Event Invitation Policy.

Invitation Criteria

The following players are invited to compete in the 2018 Nationals:

Players in the Planeswalker Points 2018 Yearly Award Points Season that have accrued the minimum amount of points for that country. The number of points required for each country can be found in Appendix C of the Premier Event Invitation Policy.

Players from that country with Pro Tour Players Club Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum level (as of the date of their respective Nationals).

Players (from that country) that are members of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame.

Winners of Nationals Last Chance Qualifier tournaments.

Last Chance Qualifiers

Most Nationals will be preceded by Last Chance Qualifiers! The winner of a Last Chance Qualifier receives an invitation to compete in the Nationals tournament taking place the next day.

Last Chance Qualifiers will be held the day before each Nationals.

Contact the organizer of the Nationals you plan to attend to get specific date, time, and cost of the Last Chance Qualifier.

Complete details on Last Chance Qualifiers can be found in the Magic Premier Event Invitation Policy .

Last Chance Trials

Most Nationals will be preceded by Last Chance Trials. Last Chance Trials allow qualified players to compete a single-elimination tournament where the winner receives a 1-round bye in their Nationals. Nationals organizers may run Trials up to the number allotted to them, based on their country's Planeswalker Points threshold for invitations, as detailed below:

Planeswalker Points Threshold # of Trials Organizer Can Run 100 1 200 2 300 3 500 4

Last Chance Trials will be held the day before each Nationals.

Contact the organizer of the Nationals you plan to attend to get specific date, time, and cost of their Last Chance Trial(s).

Multi-Day Events

Nationals are defined as 1-day, 2-day, or 3-day Nationals.

1-day Nationals have the entire Nationals Tournament (Swiss rounds and the top 8 playoff) take place in a single day.

2-day Nationals have the entire Nationals Tournament (Swiss rounds and the top 8 playoff) take place over 2 days.

3-day Nationals have the entire Nationals Tournament (Swiss rounds and the top 8 playoff) take place over 3 days.

Events that will be multi-day tournaments will be announced in advance and reflected on the schedule. Events that are two-day tournaments, once announced as such, will not reverse to a one-day event. The same goes for three-day tournaments which, once announced as such, will not revert to a two-day or one-day event.

For full information, including which events will be multi-day tournaments, check with your local tournament organizer.

Tournament Information

TOURNAMENT BYES

Players receive a number of byes at Nationals based on the Pro Tour Players Club membership level of the player (as of the date of that players' Nationals), membership in the Pro Tour Hall of Fame, or by reaching the appropriate yearly Planeswalker Point threshold.

Second-Round Byes:

Players with a Pro Tour Players Club level of Platinum

First-Round Byes:

Players that win a Last Chance Trial

Players with a Pro Tour Players Club level of Gold

Members of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame

Players who reach the appropriate yearly Planeswalker Point threshold, based on the criteria below:

PWP Qualification Level PWP Bye Level (1 round bye) 100 1500 200 2400 300 3000 500 4000

FORMAT

Each Nationals will be a mixture of Standard and Booster Draft using the latest set for the draft rounds.

Deck lists are required.

TOURNAMENT LENGTH

Swiss rounds will each be 50 minutes in length.

All players may participate in all Swiss rounds.

Single-elimination playoff matches will have no time limit.

The top 8 players after the final Swiss round will advance to the single-elimination playoff.

The number of rounds will vary from location to location. Check with local organizer for specific information.

PLAYOFF

Playoff matches will be best 2 of 3.

Playoff matches will be single-elimination.

While there are no time limits in the playoff rounds, players are expected to play at a reasonable pace and finish their matches within 60 minutes.

Standings after the Swiss rounds will be used to determine final order in the standings for losing players in the quarterfinal playoff rounds.

Players who lose their semifinal match will play against each other to determine 3 rd place for the purposes of World Magic Cup invitations passing down.

place for the purposes of World Magic Cup invitations passing down. For the first game of each match in the playoff, the player that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each playoff match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).

OTHER INFORMATION

Planeswalker Points multiplier 8x, REL: Competitive

The Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules and the Magic: The Gathering Infraction Procedure Guide are in effect for this event unless specifically overruled by information in this Fact Sheet.

Players are responsible for bringing their own method of tracking life totals, cards sleeves, and appropriate counters or tokens.

ENTRY FEE

Entry fee varies from location to location. Check with local organizer for specific information.

Promos and Prizes

Each participant in 2018 Nationals will receive an alternate-art Flooded Strand promotional card (while supplies last).

The Top 8 finishing players will each receive an exclusive Nationals Top 8 playmat.

The finalists of each event will receive an invitation and a travel award to compete on their country's national team at the 2018 World Magic Cup. The winner will be crowned their country's national champion.

Top 4 players will also receive Pro Points from their Nationals event. Pro Points earned through Nationals.

Finish Order Pro Points 1st 3 2nd 3 3rd 1 4th 1

Other prizes are determined by the organizer of each event. Contact the organizer for additional details.

Schedule

Note: Double asterisks (**) denote a two-day Nationals. Triple asterisks (***) denote a three-day Nationals.