Over the past few years, a handful of unique tournament opportunities have been introduced to MTG Arena. Back in 2020, the first MTG Arena Open took place, giving players the chance to compete for cash on the platform. These Arena Opens have become wildly successful, with multiple events running each year.
In 2023, Wizards of the Coast briefly added another competitive series on Arena known as the Festival in a Box event. Unlike the Arena Opens which stretch across multiple days, the Festival in a Box series offered ample flexibility in its structure. Players would simply use gems to enter the event and play until they reach either a couple losses or the requisite number of wins to earn the Festival in a Box prize. In this case, the box contained roughly $250 worth of prizes and would be shipped directly to you!
This event’s immense success likely paved the way for yet another event on Arena that was just recently announced. Known as Arena Direct, this new program allows players to once again win physical, in-person prizes through digital play. The layout of the tournament is also quite similar to that of the Festival in a Box series, and there’s a lot to like. Let’s take a closer look at how everything works. MTG Arena will be shipping prizes to more than just the U.S.
Event Structure
The first opportunity players have to enter this event will be this Friday, June 28 at 8 a.m. PT. Sign-ups close June 30 at 5 a.m. PT, and players must finish all their matches by 8 a.m. PT the same day. Another event structured identically will be run starting July 12 as well. Entering the event costs 5,000 gems up front. The format of choice this time around is Modern Horizons 3 Sealed.
Once you enter the event, you are able to enter the queue to play your matches any time you want in the allotted window. You do not have to play all of your matches in succession, so if you’d like to take a break at any point, you’re more than welcome.
Players will keep playing until they reach one of two thresholds: six wins or two losses. If you get two losses before you get six wins, your initial run is over. While the big prize comes from reaching six wins before accruing two losses, you can earn back some of the gems you paid by getting to at least four wins first. At four wins, you get 2,000 gems back. At five wins, you get your entry fee of 5,000 gems back. If you manage to get to six wins before reaching two losses, you win the grand prize: a Modern Horizons 3 booster box!
Importantly, just like how the Festival in a Box events were structured, players may pay to enter as many times as they want. Despite the fact that the Arena Direct Terms and Conditions article states that players are limited to one entry each, it has been confirmed by Wizards of the Coast staff that players can indeed enter multiple times. So, if you don’t reach six wins and want to try again, go right ahead. Of course, you can always try to reach six wins multiple times, in which case you can earn extra booster boxes.
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Receiving Your Product
Once a player wins a Modern Horizons 3 booster box, they will receive an email with instructions for claiming prizes. Players must claim their rewards within 90 days. Once all steps are completed, your reward will be shipped directly to you.
In general, players will not have to pay any shipping fees of any kind. Interestingly, while this was the case with the Festival in a Box events, the Arena Direct series is open to a much wider audience. In addition to the United States, products will be shipped to various countries in other parts of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. As such, tons more players are eligible to compete, which is a huge step in the right direction.
With this in mind, there is technically a possibility that supplies of Modern Horizons 3 booster boxes for the event run out. If that’s the case, you may receive a $250 cash prize instead, which is comparable to the current price of a Modern Horizons 3 booster box.
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Is It Worth It?
Ultimately, determining whether this is the right event for you really depends on your confidence level in Modern Horizons 3 Sealed. When the Festival in a Box tournaments were going on, even though they were quite popular, many players felt as though the cost of entry was rather steep. The prize support is obviously very top-heavy, with the difference between reaching five wins and six wins being massive.
From a financial standpoint, though, if you’re a good Limited player, these events have major upside. For $99.99, you can purchase 20,000 gems on Arena, giving you four shots at the big prize. A Modern Horizons 3 booster box currently sits at about $247 according to TCGPlayer market price, so the reward for reaching six wins is certainly there. Each time you enter, you do get the contents of six Modern Horizons 3 packs added to your Arena collection, too.
Going 6-1 is clearly not easy. It’s essential to make sure you budget accordingly and don’t burn out entering the queue repeatedly. Nonetheless, these events are fun and present a great chance for players to utilize excess gems they may have already earned. Even if Arena Direct isn’t your thing, it’s nice to see Arena incorporate ways to keep digital and physical play connected.
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