David works on the Magic community team as a content specialist. He spends his days writing about Magic Online and trying to play too many colors at once in Limited.

What Is the Magic Online Weekly Announcements Blog?

Every Tuesday, we round up all of the biggest Magic Online news for the Weekly Announcements Blog.

Check in weekly for the latest updates!

Quick Links

Magic Online Shadows over Innistrad Prerelease Is This Weekend!

Shadows over Innistrad Prerelease Events begin Friday, April 15, at 10:00 a.m. PT (UTC-7). Get the full event details and learn all about recent Magic Online Prerelease changes here. Make sure to play during Prerelease Weekend if you want to add the Avacyn, the Purifier avatar to your collection!

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Ongoing and Upcoming Events

Head on over to our shiny new event calendar at MTGO.com/Calendar for an easy-to-digest breakdown of events happening all across Magic Online. Events are divided into six categories:

Premier Play : Pro Tour Qualifier and Magic Online Championship Series Events.

: Pro Tour Qualifier and Magic Online Championship Series Events. New Set Celebrations : Prerelease Events and limited-time events for products like Modern Masters. These events appear with a greenish background on the calendar.

: Prerelease Events and limited-time events for products like Modern Masters. These events appear with a greenish background on the calendar. Limited Highlights : Limited Set Championships, Cubes, and Flashback Drafts.

: Limited Set Championships, Cubes, and Flashback Drafts. Constructed Highlights : Format Challenges like the Legacy and Power 9 Challenges as well as Constructed Set Championships can be found here.

: Format Challenges like the Legacy and Power 9 Challenges as well as Constructed Set Championships can be found here. Streamed Events : Streamer Showdowns, the Magic Online Championship, and other Streamed Magic Online events.

: Streamer Showdowns, the Magic Online Championship, and other Streamed Magic Online events. Important Dates: Prize Rotations, B&R Updates, On-Sale Dates, and League Begin/Close/End Dates.

From now on, we'll call out certain events in the Weekly Announcements as they're first beginning, but the Magic Online calendar will be your best source to find details on events to play now or in the near future.

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Upcoming Shadows over Innistrad Streamer Showdown on April 21

Since last week, we've added two new competitors to the roster: Please welcome Morgan Wentworth and Alex Sawyer to the Showdown!

This Streamer Showdown will feature a Shadows over Innistrad Draft! Check out the streamer lineup below, then stop by your favorite streamer's Twitch channel on Thursday, April 21, at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. PT (UTC-7) for the latest Streamer Showdown.

Thursday, April 21, 1:00 p.m. PT (UTC-7) Event

Thursday, April 21, 6:00 p.m. PT (UTC-7) Event

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Legacy Cube Available Until April 15

Now that we've transitioned into the Legacy Cube from the Legendary Cube, Legacy Cube events are available until 10:00 a.m. PT (UTC-7) on Friday, April 15. Players can check out the full Legacy Cube cardlist here!

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The Pro Tour Gauntlet Returns April 27

The Pro Tour Guantlet is returning on April 27, this time with Standard decks from upcoming Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad!

If you missed them during their inaugural run, Pro Tour Gauntlet events allow players to test-drive a random deck of among some of the most interesting and highest-placing decks from the recent Pro Tour event. Whether you're looking for a way to check out the new Standard, or just want to play with some of the best decks in the world, check out Pro Tour Gauntlet events running April 27 to May 4! A list of available decklists and event details will be posted to MTGO.com on Tuesday, April 26.

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Magic Online Store Updates

With the April 13 downtime, the Magic Online store is getting an update. Changes will mostly be confined to slight changes to category names ("Theme Decks" will be called "Ready-to-Play Decks" after the update), but there will also be several products that will no longer be available following the downtime. Products that will be leaving the Magic Online Store during the April 13 downtime are:

Planechase and Planechase (2012 Edition)

Khans of Tarkir booster packs

Fate Reforged booster packs

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Shadows over Innistrad Product Updates

With Shadows over Innistrad we’ve redesigned the contents of both the starter kit that each new Magic Online account receives and the Deck Builder’s Essentials. Both items have been refocused to help players build their collection by including two of every common available in the current Standard environment, as well as a selection of uncommon and rare cards. After the update, players who combine any two of the kits will end up with a full playset of commons to get you started on your Magic Online journey.

These changes go into effect after the downtime on April 13, and the Deck Builder's Essentials will be available in the Magic Online Store after that downtime. The full contents of each product can be found below.

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Temporary Known Issue for April 13, 2016

Starting after the downtime on April 13, when a trade proposal is changed, players will see an incorrect toast notification that misidentifies the player who changed the trade proposal.

We are working on this issue and will have it fixed as soon as possible.

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B&R Updates Go Into Effect April 13 on Magic Online

In case you missed it, banned and restricted updates to Vintage and Modern can be found here. These changes will go into effect on Magic Online on April 13, following the downtime.

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Attention Windows XP and Vista Users

After the May 4th downtime, Windows XP users and Windows Vista users with Service Pack 1 will be unable to download or play Magic Online due to Magic Online upgrading to the .NET 4.5.2 Framework. This upgrade is a necessary one for us to continue to improve Magic Online.

Windows XP does not support .NET 4.5.2, so those users will have to upgrade their operating system to continue playing Magic Online.

Windows Vista does support .NET 4.5.2, but only if Vista users have Service Pack 2 installed. Please visit this link for information on determining which Service Pack you have, and how to upgrade Service Packs at no charge.

Some users may also have to upgrade the .NET Framework on their machine. You can visit this website for information on how to determine which .NET Framework is installed on your machine. If you do need to upgrade your .NET Framework, please visit this website to obtain the upgrade at no charge.

Downloading these updates can take a significant amount of time, so we recommend downloading as soon as possible.

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Complete Your League Matches by the Morning of April 13

At 7:00 a.m. PT on April 13, Leagues currently in progress will end. Make sure you have finished your League matches by then! New Constructed Leagues will begin after the April 13 downtime, and you can play in a Shadows over Innistrad Prerelease Sealed League starting April 15!

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Reminder: Place Redemption Orders Before April 13

In an effort to make sure Magic Online is available when you want to play Magic, we’re working on ways to reduce the number of times we have to bring the system offline for maintenance. As a first step we’re simply going to eliminate at least one downtime each month.

Here are the dates of the exact downtimes we’ll be skipping in the first half of 2016:

April 20

May 11

June 8

June 22

During these weeks without a downtime, Magic Online will NOT be processing set redemptions. This means that if your order wasn't made prior to the April 13 downtime, it won't be processed until April 27.

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Upcoming Extended Downtime on Wednesday, April 27

There will be an extended downtime on Wednesday, April 27, for Magic Online. Events close at 12:00 a.m. PT (UTC-7), midnight, and store activity and trades end at 2:45 a.m. leading up to the system coming down at 3:00 a.m. The system is estimated to return from downtime at 12:00 p.m.

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Downtime for April 13, 2016

All tournaments will close Wednesday, April 13, at 5:00 a.m. PT (12:00 UTC)

Store and trade activity will be suspended at approximately 7:45 a.m. PT (14:45 UTC)

The system will be down from 8:00 a.m. (15:00 UTC) until 12:00 p.m. PT (19:00 UTC)

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Build Notes

General

General | Players can no longer add additional basic lands to Pro Tour Gauntlet decks.

General | While building a Limited deck, adding basic lands will no longer undo sorting by converted mana cost or color.

Deckbuilding | A rare scenario has been corrected that occasionally allowed players to submit a 59-card deck in Constructed formats.

General | The profanity filter has been refined. Notably, text in the Game Log will no longer incorrectly censor words in card names, and player communication during challenges is now properly censored.

Trade | If either trade partner adds or removes items from a trade after one of the partners clicked Submit, the submission will now be reset and both players must again click the Submit button before the trade can proceed to the final confirmation window.

General | Players can now also set the alternative art versions of several avatars as their player avatar. This includes Birds of Paradise; Ernham Djinn; Goblin Warchief; Grinning Demon; Momir Vig, Simic Visionary; Platinum Angel; Prodigal Sorcerer; Rith, the Awakened; Royal Assassin; Serra Angel; and Tradewind Rider.

Collection | A bug has been fixed that, in a rare scenario, sometimes displayed the amount of cards in a player’s collection incorrectly after a player switched between decks.

Trade | Clicking an empty space during a trade now properly deselects cards.

Account | The zip code in players’ billing and shipping addresses must now match the zip code requirements for that player’s country. Players may no longer make changes to their addresses unless the zip code is properly formatted.

General | With the removal of Release Queues, the chat room of the same name has been released from service.

General | Players hosting new matches can now change the displayed comments before the match begins by clicking the comment itself in the left pane of the Game Details window.

General | Several bugs not listed elsewhere that caused crashes have been resolved.

Gameplay

Draft | Drafting functionality is now more forgiving of player disconnections. Players who log back in during the same pick will see the highlighting on their reserved card. Even if the player logs back in during a different pick, the pick timer will now display the correct amount of time remaining.

Duel Scene | Abilities that exchange control of permanents between players once again work as intended.

Deckbuilding | A bug has been corrected that would cause sideboarding decisions between games in a match to sometimes be ignored.

Duel Scene | Players are now able to single click, double click, or right click cards to split them into piles when prompted to do so by a card like Fact or Fiction or Epiphany at the Drownyard.

Cardset | If a player activates the second activated ability of a land with hideaway, but chooses not to cast the exiled card, it will now remain available for future use.

Cardset | Cards exiled by Puresight Merrow are now placed in the Exile zone as expected.

Cardset | Scavenge abilities granted by Varolz, the Scar-Striped now work as expected.

Cardset | Veiling Oddity's triggered ability now properly grants blue italic text indicating that creatures can’t be blocked this turn.

Cardset | Thelon of Havenwood’s activated ability can again properly target Fungus cards in an opponent’s graveyard.

Cardset | Players can no longer activate Stormbind with no cards in hand. Previously, this would cause the game to crash.

Cardset | Frozen Æther once again functions as intended.

Cardset | Creatures with abilities that return them to the battlefield from the graveyard or exile now display their names correctly in the game log.

Cardset | Pithing Needle once again prevents players from activating non-mana activated abilities.

Cardset | The activated ability of Groundling Pouncer can once again be activated on an opponent’s turn.

Cardset | If a player controls Porphyry Nodes and has chosen to always yield to its triggered ability, that player can now properly choose a creature to destroy when two creatures are tied for the least power.

Cardset | If Puppeteer Clique changes controllers the turn it enters the battlefield, its delayed triggered ability is now properly put onto the stack at the beginning of the end step of the same player who controlled its enter-the-battlefield triggered ability.

Cardset | Bitter Ordeal now displays a gravestorm count in blue italic text indicating the number of permanents put into graveyards so far this turn.

Cardset | Hunting Wilds, when kicked, now properly untaps Forest cards that were put onto the battlefield tapped during its resolution.

Cardset | If a player casts Return to Dust from an opponent’s graveyard (perhaps using Diluvian Primordial), that player can now properly exile an additional artifact or enchantment if Return to Dust was cast during that player’s main phase.

Look and Feel

General | The Beleren font has been added to several places in the client, including the main navigation bar.

Leagues | A "Learn More" link has been added to the League Details window's left pane that opens information about the League in the default web browser.

Play Lobby | Clicking a game in the Play Lobby no longer causes the displayed text to turn white. Store | The category names and arrangement of products in the Magic Online Store have been updated for easier browsing.

Account Creation | The account creation page has been updated with Shadows over Innistrad images and text reflecting changes to the New Player Kit. It has also received minor visual and functional polish, notably: Text on error messaging has been clarified. Clicking the Terms of Use or Privacy Policy links now open a page in a new tab. Players are now required to enter their email address twice to help prevent accidental errors. Players must now match the formatting of their zip code to the format used by their country.

