Magic World Championship incorporates Booster Draft into MTG Arena gameplay

For the first time in the history of Magic: The Gathering, Booster Draft at Worlds will be played on MTG Arena. 

Day one of the Magic World Championship will showcase several rounds of Theros: Beyond Death Booster Draft played on MTG Arena after drafting via eight-player tabletop pods. Once the paper portion of the THB Draft is complete, players’ decks will be uploaded into MTG Arena, according to Wizards of the Coast. 

But the tool within Arena that players will be using to compete with 40 card decks in the best-of-three Draft matches hasn’t been revealed at this time. And the manner in which the THB Booster Draft is being incorporated into Magic Worlds is a tad on the confusing side. 

Two rounds of THB Booster Draft will take place following the eight-player pods, according to WotC. Based on win/loss records, players will either advance to a Winners group, an Elimination group, or play another round of THB Draft.   

• Winners group: Comprised of four players with a record of 2-0 in THB Booster Draft.
• Elimination group: Will contain four players who went 0-2 in the THB Booster Draft.
• Third round of Booster Draft: Comprised of eight players who had records of 1-1 after two rounds of THB Draft. 

Upon the completion of the third THB Booster Draft round, four players advance to the Winners’ group and four to the Elimination group. Every match following the third round of Booster Draft over the three days at Worlds will be fought in best-of-three Standard Constructed.

The Magic World Championship runs from Feb. 14 to 17, featuring 16 of the best players from the 2019 season who are competing for a total prize pool of $1 million. 

Update Feb. 6 3:15pm CT: WotC revealed today that it’s adding a Limited tournament mode to Direct Challenge in MTG Arena. Competitors at Magic Worlds will use this to compete in Draft and Arena players can begin using it on Feb. 11.