Every once in a while, extremely expensive MTG promo cards hit the scene. Generally, these cards are coveted and expensive because of their exclusivity. This makes them incredibly enticing prizes at special MTG tournaments.
Some of the most exclusive promotional cards in all of MTG are handed out every year at Eternal Weekend events. These commonly go for thousands of dollars thanks to how difficult it is to get their hands on them. The 2024 Eternal Weekend cards are, interestingly, a little different.
The script is being changed a bit this year. Nonfoil iterations of these promo cards are getting handed out to the top 32 of each Eternal Weekend main event. This is unheard of and, while a lot more accessible than what is traditionally possible, these cards will still be incredibly scarce.
2024 Eternal Weekend
Eternal Weekend events are the premier tournaments celebrating Magic’s oldest formats. It’s difficult to run sanctioned events for Legacy and Vintage that feed into the Pro Tour. This is largely because of how expensive the barriers to entry of these formats are.
Thanks to the Reserved List, there are some cards that cannot be reprinted in a tournament-sanctioned manner. This list includes the most powerful cards in all of Magic, including the Power Nine, Dual Lands, and much, much more. Whatever is on the Reserved List can’t show up in a new MTG set, which means no more supply will ever be printed. This makes Vintage and Legacy decks ludicrously expensive to get into.
For this reason, it is incredibly important that players who have gone above and beyond, dedicating themselves to these formats, have a place to play Magic’s most legendary cards. Playing at an Eternal Weekend event may require an expensive deck, but you’re competing for expensive prizes.
At each of the three Eternal Weekend events being held across the world, a Legacy and a Vintage championship are held. The top eight of these events are awarded an exclusive foil promotional card. For the first time ever, the top 32 of these events will be awarded a nonfoil version of these promos as well! While this is likely to impact the secondary market value somewhat, the foil versions of these cards should still be extraordinarily expensive.
This year, players who manage to top 32 in their respective Legacy events will get a non-foil copy of Crop Rotation. The top eight, meanwhile, will get a foil copy.
Vintage Championship players have a similar promo to chase after. The top 32 get a non-foil copy of the Tinker promo pictured above, while the top eight get a foil copy.
Foil copies of past Eternal Weekend promotional cards have gone for well over $1000 each.
Both of these cards have powerful functions in their respective formats. Tinker is one of the most busted MTG cards ever, effortlessly turning your Mana Crypt into a Blightsteel Colossus as early as turn one. Crop Rotation is commonly used in Legacy lands strategies to line up a variety of different plays. One of the scariest ones is setting up a Thespian’s Stage plus Dark Depths combo, cheating out a Marit Lage token.
Read More: Eldrazi-Slaying Modern Horizons 3 Counterspell Jumps Over 250% In Price
No First Prize???
Traditionally, the Legacy and Vintage Championships award first-place players a ‘prize painting’ of the promotional card for their event. These commonly go for outrageous amounts of money, truly making them a sought-after collectible.
Interestingly, in the official 2024 Eternal Weekend announcement, it has been stated that “unlike previous years, prize paintings will not be awarded to the winners of each Legacy Championship and Vintage Championship.” We assume that some other form of prizing will be replacing this to benefit the first-place player. For now, the official announcement simply states that interested players should “refer to the organizer pages below for details as the event approaches.”
This is quite a departure from an old tradition offered at these 2024 Eternal Weekend events, and players suspect that the backlash from this decision will be enormous:
“The backlash to not having championship paintings is going to be massive, I predict they will reconsider.“
JadePhoenix1313
It’s no secret that tournament prizing for MTG events has been getting worse and worse as time passes. Comparing recent MTG Store Championship events to Lorcana ones is a depressing example of this. Breaking tradition for the highlight event of the year for two of Magic’s oldest formats is incredibly concerning. We hope that there is something to replace these prizes that makes the title of 2024 Legacy and Vintage champion worth fighting for. Otherwise, the top eight of each event may just end up splitting and go home. What a depressing way for a Championship tournament to end.
2024 Eternal Weekend Dates and Locations
Despite the disappointing changes, many Legacy and Vintage players will still depart for their event of choice, playing for the promotional cards offered, as well as eternal glory. Here is everything we know about the three 2024 Eternal Weekend events happening this year:
- October 12–13, 2024, in Shizuoka, Japan—hosted by BIG MAGIC
- November 21–24, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—hosted by Card Titan
- December 6–8, 2024, in Prague, Czech Republic—hosted by JK Entertainment
If these events are something you want to attend, we recommend booking your tickets sooner than later. If there are any sort of participant caps on these events, they will likely fill up fast. Having 1000+ entrants for each of these events is not out of the question.
Read More: Bloomburrow Board Wipe Creates Infinite Deck Out Combo!
