Competitive Magic: The Gathering play is getting a boost as Wizards of the Coast announces the Magic: The Gathering Spotlight Series.
The company is calling the series an "exciting, new large open tournament series taking place in cities around the world."
Similar to the Grand Prix events that were popular before the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down in March of 2020, the Spotlight Series are made up of large, multi-day events that spotlight a different specific theme at each stop, with elements of the event's theme influencing the weekend's goings-on.
Furthermore, each stop in the Magic Spotlight Series will feature a flagship main tournament, which is a a two-day open main event that features a $50,000 prize pool and a promo card. Also, top-eight finishers at the main event will also be given invitations to an upcoming Magic Pro Tour event.
Beyond the main event, Spotlight Series stops will also feature various side events as well as vendors, special guests, and more.
Please note that, like with CommandFest, the Spotlight Series will not be hosted by Wizards of the Coast. Rather, third-party companies will be running the events on behalf of WotC:
- Five events in the United States, hosted by StarCityGames.com
- Two events in Europe, hosted by Fanfinity
- One event in Japan, hosted by BIG MAGIC
Spotlight Series Stop #1
The initial stop in the Magic Spotlight Series will be held during SGC CON in Atlanta, George, Jan. 4 and ran by host StarCityGames. The spotlight for this first event will be Standard Constructed and participants will receive a borderless non-foil Terror of the Peaks promo card, featuring artwork from Richard Kane Ferguson. Also, those who finish in the top 128 will receive a foil version of the card as well.
As for the Atlanta main event's ultimate winner, they'll walk away with a full Play Booster Display case (a case is six boxes) of each Standard release for the entire year. That first place prize, though, will vary from stop to stop.
"Note that the winning prize for each Magic Spotlight Series stop will differ from event to event, and we’ll have more info about future Magic Spotlight main event winner prizes in the future," the company points out.
Spotlight Series Stop #2
The second stop in the series will take place in Europe.
Hosted by Fanfinity, the event will take place March 15-16 in Utrecht, Netherlands and will feature Modern Constructed format for its main event. All participants in the Magic Spotlight: Modern main event will receive a non-foil borderless copy of a Kaldra Compleat promo card, featuring artwork from Monztre, with top-128 finishers also receiving a foil version of the card. Other prize support is yet to be announced.
More information about other stops in the Magic Spotlight Series will be coming out as the year progresses.
