The War of the Spark expansion is set to release on May 3 and Wizards of the Coast isn’t wasting any time with announcements for its next set, Core Set 2020. Scheduled to pre-release July 6, Magic: The Gathering is changing up a few details while adding a Commander tournament.
A Core Set typically contains new and reprinted cards, geared towards new players. Brought back in 2018 after being discontinued in 2015, a Core Set focuses on reprinting “core” cards from previously released expansions in Standard while adding new cards that sync well with “core” ones.
Pre-release of the Core Set 2020 will have a new start time according to the Magic: The Gathering WPN (Wizards Play Network) page. Start times have always been Friday night (midnight), however, the Core Set 2020 pre-release time will begin at 3pm local time instead.
The Core Set 2020 will also include for the first time Universal promo packs. The new promo packs will include a promo-stamped mythic-rare or rare from the most recent MTG set and one off a curated list, a promo-stamped alternate art basic land card, and a basic promo card. In addition, one in four promo packs will include a Japanese alternative art planeswalker.
Wizards of the Coast also announced that WPN stores will begin offering Commander Weekend tournaments. Included in this new format are achievement cards and Commander variants. The new tournament format doesn’t have any dates or times announced yet.
Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020 is set to pre-release from July 6 to 7, with an official release date of July 12. MTG Arena hasn’t announced its release date for Core Set 2020 but is usually two days prior to pre-release.
