As September draws to a close, Wizards of the Coast’s blockbuster 30th-anniversary celebration is feeling closer than ever before. Fittingly named Magic 30, this Las Vegas-based event is being hyped up as something really worth looking forward to. With “incredible guests, amazing events, [and] a Secret Lair drop,” Wizards is trying to create a genuinely blockbuster birthday celebration. That intention, however, hasn’t stopped the event already being mired in controversy. To save this party from going down like a lead balloon, Wizards has been quick to try and address what problems they can. Thankfully, this has helped to restore goodwill and get players excited about the event once more. Now that the air is clear, Wizards of the Coast is adding more fuel to the hype train. As, in a very coy announcement, Wizards promises something “you don’t want to miss” a Magic 30.
“Very Exciting News”
In order to try and generate as much hype as possible for Magic 30, Wizards of the Coast recently took to Twitter to announce an announcement for early next month. Due to be announced properly on October 4th, this announcement will be some “very exciting news about Magic’s 30th Anniversary.” While they’re not saying what it is, for now, this announcement is supposedly something that “you don’t want to miss.” Whatever this mysterious announcement is, we’ll be sure to cover it to keep you in the know. That way you don’t have to have your eyes glued to Wizards’ Twitter account all day long.
With Wizards of the Coast frustratingly only announcing the announcement, speculation about what could be in store was rife. Across both Twitter and Reddit, MTG players offered up countless wild predictions, any one of which could theoretically be right. Unfortunately, that’s not as true for one of the most common predictions: that Wizards is abolishing the Reserved List. While many players lament its existence, it’s been stated time and time again that the Reserved List isn’t going anywhere. Supposedly, this is due to “legal reasons that would bankrupt the game,” however, Wizards has remained tightlipped on the matter.
Alongside the requests to be rid of the reserved list and a legitimate suggestion that Wizards might announce “Secret Lairs, a Masters 30 set, upcoming events, [or] a big feature added to Arena,” many players took to memeing on the ambiguity of this announcement. From the discovery of a “sealed Alpha product that we’ll be using for drafts” to a “merger with Joann Fabrics,” MTG players were undoubtedly having fun with the vagueness of this announcement. Memes aside, ultimately, there’s no telling what Wizards has in store, so we’ll have to wait until October 4th.
Limited Availablity
While the mysterious announcement has many players excited once again for Magic 30, there’s still cause for concern. In an email released shortly before their tantalizing announcement, Wizards informed Magic 30 attendees that “there will be an extremely limited number of On Demand Events available.” Wizards explained this disappointing news by stating that this was “due to space constraints.” While this is an understandable restriction, it’s nevertheless disappointing to see such ardent language being used.
Instead of just turning up with the hope of playing in some on-demand events, Magic 30 attendees are instead being instructed to “purchase add-on tournament tickets ahead of time to guarantee a great time avoid disappointment.” With many add-on tournaments already being fully booked, this news is hugely disappointing for those looking to actually play Magic at Magic 30. Thankfully for players who’ve already shelled out on tickets, playing Magic isn’t the only thing available at Wizards’ birthday bash. With “Game Knights Live, A Conversation with Richard Garfield, [and] The Brothers War Preview Panel,” there’s plenty for attendees to enjoy.
Alongside these panels, Magic 30 also features a cosplay contest, which was once the source of great controversy. After initially being announced with exceptionally meager prize support, which wouldn’t even come close to covering the cost of materials, Wizards received a lot of backlash. Thankfully, Wizards has recently rectified this issue by revamping and amping up the event’s prize pool. Rather than receiving a meager $200 Joann gift card, 1st place now receives a much more respectable $3000 cash prize.
Read More: MTG Unfinity Draft Is a Logistical Nightmare
