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2023 World Championship XXIX Fact Sheet for Competitors

Magic: The Gathering 2023 World Championship XXIX will take place in Las Vegas, USA at MagicCon: Las Vegas on September 22-24, 2023.

The formats for 2023 World Championship XXIX are Wilds of Eldraine Booster Draft and Standard Constructed.

Official hashtag: #WCXXIX

MagicCon Las Vegas Las Vegas Convention Center 3150 Paradise Rd Las Vegas, NV 89109 United States of America

Invited Competitors

2023 World Championship XXIX is an invitation-only tournament. Invitations to 2023 World Championship XXIX are awarded as follows:

• The Top 4 finishers at Magic World Championship XXVIII.
• Competitors that finished with 36 or more match points at the end of the Swiss rounds or the top eight (8) finishing competitors (whichever is greater) in each Pro Tour in the 2022-2023 Season.
• The top two (2) finishers from each Regional Championship from the United States, Europe, and Japan regions in the 2022-2023 season
• The top finisher from each Regional Championship from all other regions in the 2022-2023 season
• The top two (2) finishers from each Arena Championship designated to award invitations to World Championship XXIX.
• The top two (2) finishers from each Magic Online Champions Showcase designated to award invitations to World Championship XXIX.
• The top 32 ranked competitors that are not already invited to World Championship XXIX in the Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings Adjusted Match Point standing and all players tied with 32 nd place in that standing
• Competitors that are otherwise invited to 2023 World Championship XXIX.

The 2023 World Championship XXIX invitation list is available online . If you believe you are an invited competitor but are not on the invitation list, please email [email protected]

Competitor Information

Standard decklists will be due in MTGMelee on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 12:00 PM (Las Vegas local time). To see the equivalent time where you are located, click here .

During the Standard rounds, opponents' decklists will be available for viewing on MTGMelee on your mobile device. Competitors can only access the decklists of other players prior to the start of a game or in between games. Competitors cannot reference decklists during games.

During the Booster Draft rounds, only competitors from the featured draft table will have access to their opponent's decklist. These will be a paper checklist.

The estimated hours of operation for 2023 World Championship XXIX are:

• Friday & Saturday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at the end of the last Swiss round.
• Sunday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM

Note: The opening times on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are for World Championship competitors ONLY. The public will be able to enter the World Championship section of MagicCon only when the show opens each day.

Registration

In-person registration takes place from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Thursday, September 21, 2023, at a location to be determined (details will be provided to players at a later date). If you are unable to attend this registration session on Thursday, late registration will be available Friday morning from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM.

Even though competitors will have registered for the tournament on MTGMelee prior to Thursday, competitors must still register on-site to confirm they are in Las Vegas, undergo an ID check, and receive their complementary Pro Tour gifts.

For in-person registration, all competitors must present one of the following forms of identification:

• a driver's license; or
• a passport; or
• a copy of a birth certification and photo ID (school IDs are acceptable)

Tournament Information

The Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules and Infraction & Penalty Guide are in effect for this tournament unless specifically overruled by information in this section.

Structure (Swiss Rounds)

• Friday: 3 rounds of Wilds of Eldraine Booster Draft, followed by 4 rounds of Standard Constructed.
• Saturday: 3 rounds of Wilds of Eldraine Booster Draft, followed by 4 rounds of Standard Constructed.
• 14 Swiss Rounds total, 50 minutes per round.
• All competitors may participate in all 7 Swiss rounds of Friday's competition.
• Competitors with twelve (12) or more match points after Round 7 will advance to Saturday's portion of the competition.
• Whenever a competitor reaches ten (10) match wins before round 14, they immediately advance to the Top 8 playoff and are removed from future pairings in Swiss rounds.
• The round in which a competitor received their 10th win.
• Their OMW%, GW%, and OGW% as of the round in which they receive their 10th match win.
• Seeding for the Top 8 playoff is locked after each round in which a competitor reaches their 10th win.
• The top 8 competitors after Round 14 will advance to Sunday's single-elimination playoff rounds.

Structure (Playoff Rounds)

• Playoff rounds will use a traditional, single-elimination bracket.
• Playoff rounds will run in the Standard Constructed format.
• All playoff matches will be best 3 out of 5. The first two games played in each playoff match are pre-sideboard games. After Game 2 is complete, competitors may exchange cards from their deck for cards in their sideboard.
• Standings after the Swiss rounds will be used to determine final order in the standings for losing competitors in the quarterfinal and semifinal playoff rounds.
• While there are no time limits in the playoff rounds, competitors are expected to play at a reasonable pace and finish their matches within 90 minutes.
• For the first game of each match in the playoff rounds, the competitor that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each playoff match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).

Other Items

• Rules Enforcement Level: Professional
• Competitors must use the same Standard deck for Day 1, Day 2, and the Top 8 playoff
• Competitors are responsible for knowing all tournament rules
• Competitors are responsible for bringing their own appropriate counters and tokens

Competitors that finish in the Top 8 will receive invitations to each Pro Tour and the World Championship in the 2023-2024 Season.

There is a $1,000,000 prize pool, which is awarded to competitors based on their final standing in the tournament. All prizes are displayed in U.S Dollars. Prizes are subject to change.

First place will receive $100,000. All competitors will receive $4000 regardless of the final placing.

** Assumes 104 players

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MTG Arena Festival in a Box Chaos Sealed Event Returns

Get ready for MagicCon 2024 with Festival in a Box events in Magic: The Gathering Arena and at your local WPN store as we bring the excitement of MagicCon to MTG Arena and a WPN store near you!

Festival in an MTG Arena

MTG Arena players in the United States will have the opportunity to win a physical Festival in a Box: Las Vegas 2023 during two newly added events: December 22–24 and December 29–31.

Play in either, or both, of the Festival in a Box events and reach six wins to receive a Festival in a Box shipped to you * .

The Festival in a Box: Las Vegas 2023 includes:

• 1x Mystery Booster: Convention Edition Booster Display (display units include 24 boosters)
• 1x Dan Frazier's Mox Box – foil-etched Secret Lair drop
• 1x Relentless Rats non-foil – Secret Lair promo by Graham Yarrington
• 1x Dominaria Remastered Draft Booster
• 3x Modern Horizons 2 Draft Boosters
• 1x Dominaria United Draft Booster
• 1x The Brothers' War Draft Booster
• 2x Streets of New Capenna Draft Boosters
• 4x Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Draft Boosters
• 3x Wilds of Eldraine Draft Boosters
• 4x March of the Machine Draft Boosters
• 1x Phyrexia: All Will Be One Draft Booster
• 2x Innistrad: Crimson Vow Draft Boosters
• 2x Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Draft Boosters

The format for the Festival in a Box Chaos Sealed event is Sealed with Best-of-One matches. You'll receive nine packs, each from a different Standard-legal set. The cards will be added to your collection, and you'll use them with basic lands to build a 40-card deck. Players who reach six wins in the event will have a Festival in a Box shipped to them * starting in January 2024. See all the details below.

Festival in a Box Chaos Sealed Event Details

• December 22 at 6 a.m. PT until December 24 at 6 a.m. PT
• December 29 at 6 a.m. PT until December 31 at 6 a.m. PT
• Entry fee : 5,000 gems
• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Innistrad: Crimson Vow
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
• Streets of New Capenna
• Dominaria United
• The Brothers' War
• Phyrexia: All Will Be One
• March of the Machine
• Wilds of Eldraine
• Structure : 6 wins or 2 losses

You must be 18 years or older to participate. Only available to residents of the United States. Void where prohibited. Read the Festival in a Box event terms and conditions before entering.

Prizes for this event are only available to residents of the US. We understand this is disappointing to players outside of the US. This event is an initial test for how we can award non-monetary prizes on MTG Arena , and we made the decision to focus on getting everything right with shipping in the US before we offer prizes globally. Based on the results of this series of events, we will be exploring ways to expand physical prizes globally for future events.

Festival in a Store

The fun and opportunities continue in January with Festival in a Store! Ring in 2024 with a Festival in a Box Chaos Draft event at your local WPN store in the United States and Canada.

January 5–21, experience MagicCon from the comfort of your local game store with this unique event run from a Festival in a Box: Las Vegas 2023. Eight players will face off and draft from a pool of 24 packs across 11 recent sets of Magic . Go undefeated and win the coveted Dan Frazier's Mox Box and a Relentless Rats promo.

This is a limited-time event, and space will be limited. Check with your local game store for details.

Festival in a Store Chaos Draft Event Details

• Event open : Each qualifying store will host one event between January 5–21.
• Format : Limited – Chaos Draft
• Structure : Eight players, three rounds of Swiss
• Rewards : The winner will receive Dan Frazier's Mox Box and a Relentless Rats Secret Lair promo. The remaining contents of the Festival in a Box: Las Vegas 2023 will be given as prize support. See store for additional details.

Get excited for MagicCon 2024! Prepare your best decks and get ready to gather, because there are three MagicCon events taking place in 2024, and each will feature a Premier Play event:

• February 23–25, 2024 – MagicCon: Chicago, featuring Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor
• June 28–30, 2024 – MagicCon: Amsterdam, featuring Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3
• October 25–27, 2024 – MagicCon: Las Vegas, featuring Magic World Championship 30

In addition to Premier Play, MagicCon events will host featured artists, panels, and events on the main stage, vendors, immersive experiences, play experiences, ticketed play events like the Secret Lair Showdown, and so much more! Check out our MagicCon 2024 announcement for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!

* The Festival in a Box: Las Vegas 2023 prize is available while supplies last and will be substituted for a $250 cash prize for players who earn this prize after supplies run out.

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MTG Pro Tour drama teaches important lesson: Never trust your opponent

Drama over conceding matches at Regional Championship Montreal for a Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour 2023-2024 season invite has ended, but no rules have been changed. 

Draws and concessions have been in the MTG hot seat before at high-level tournament play, especially when a seed invite is on the line. The Pro Tour helped remove some of the controversy by allowing players who hit 12 match wins an automatic advancement to the top eight playoffs. But Regional Championship organizers, like the recent RC in Montreal, are allowed to have their own rules in place. This led to a verbal agreement between MTG players Brian Bonnell and Eduardo Sajgalik, in which one would concede if their final match of the time went to time, allowing the player with the stronger board state to advance and earn a Pro Tour invite . 

The match hit time and was unable to end without either a concession or a draw. But Sajgalik didn’t concede, as was agreed upon, even though Bonnell had a stronger board advantage through his Domain Ramp deck. This earned Sajgalik a 13th-place finish with both players missing out on the Pro Tour invite. The Magic community was quick to blast Sajgalik for poor sportsmanship, resulting in a public apology from the veteran player. The apology wasn’t received well by the Magic community until Bonnell decided it was time “to put this whole thing to bed and move on with our lives.” 

“I just wanted to clear the air about the events at the Canadian RC this past weekend” Bonnell said. “Sajgalik [@walaoumpa] reached out to me yesterday to offer his sincerest apologies. I accepted his apology and I sincerely wish him the best moving forward.”

Matches like Bonnel and Sajgalik had at RC Montreal aren’t common but they do happen. The only way to prevent controversy from drawn matches at the end of a tournament is to change the overall rules, creating uniform results at both RC and Pro Tour tournaments. It’s also advisable to not trust your opponent and always play to your best ability.  

The next Pro Tour tournament of the MTG 2023-2024 season will run from June 28 to 30 at MagicCon Amsterdam.