Starting tomorrow school is in session for Magic: The Gathering fans as the pre-release for Strixhaven is scheduled to kick off digitally. Magic Arena players are just hours away from divining into the very first Limited Strixhaven events when the pre-release officially kicks off tomorrow at 8 am.
As always, it looks like the pre-release weekend will start with a focus on sealed tournaments, following the well-established pre-release tradition from physical Magic: The Gathering events over the last decade or so. Fans of drafting likely won't need to wait long before the offering of events expands and more options become available during week two.
For now, it sounds like the two primary Limited options are going to include Sealed and Traditional Sealed. It's important for players to understand the difference between those two options, so be sure to take some time to study up on each option and make the right decision about which one to sign up for throughout the pre-release season. Once players start cracking open packs and getting a feel for the cards, players can expect to see lots of the new tools making their way into Standard Constructed play, as well this month.
Strixhaven Sealed
Dates: April 15 - May 8
Strixhaven Traditional Sealed
Dates: April 15 - May 8
What is the difference between Traditional Sealed and Sealed?
In Magic Arena, the "Traditional" adjective always signifies that the tournament will feature best of three matches. Events that are not marked as Traditional will instead feature best-of-one matches. The Traditional events usually take a bit longer and will also require players to manage a sideboard. Some players prefer this option, since it's a bit more like the way Sealed tournaments usually happen at in-person events like a game store pre-release event.
The cost and rewards vary from Traditional Sealed to Sealed, so players should be sure to closely keep an eye on the tournament details before cashing in their Gems for an entry fee. In the coming weeks there should be additional Strixhaven events available and some of the other events that were featured throughout early April will be retired.
Players may want to use these pre-release events to do some practicing before the upcoming next Arena Open...
"The College Cup isn't the only competition coming with the release of Strixhaven–we'll also be running another Arena Open on May 8–9, and just like last time, this one will be using the Sealed format. We saw an incredible response to Kaldheim's Sealed Arena Open, and we think Strixhaven: School of Mages and its Mystical Archive will make for an even more exciting Sealed environment.
Similar to Kaldheim, we will be running our normal Best-of-One Sealed event a bit longer, right up until the Arena Open, so players have a good venue to practice. Expanding on what we did in Kaldheim, we will be starting Best-of-Three Sealed right alongside Best-of-One, and it will also run until the Open. We saw a promising response to Best-of-Three Sealed with Kaldheim, and we are interested in offering it for longer to see if that holds up."
More details about the late April events in Magic Arena will be arriving shortly, so be sure to check back throughout the Strixhaven release window for more details, guides, and tips about the new Standard legal set and its impact on the Limited and Constructed metagame.
Magic: The Gathering is available now and the Strixhaven: School of Mages set releases on April 15 for MTGO and Arena and in paper on April 23, 2021.
Source: Magic Arena