When you think of a Grand Prix weekend, you probably think of one event: the main event. Of course, the main event is very important (that’s how it got the name!), with a prize purse of at least $50,000 and 8 (or more) Pro Tour invitations at stake along with Pro Points awarded to players with records of 10-5 or better—the main event is a big deal. If that’s what you’re looking for out of #GPNY, that’s great—make sure you preregister today at www.GPNY2016.com.

That being said, there’s a lot more than that to a Grand Prix weekend, and #GPNY is no exception. The GP New York website has a full schedule of side events listed, so whether you’re only coming in for one day, trying to make a worst-case plan for what to do if you miss Day 2, or just figuring out how to spend Friday after you win a Last Chance Trial, you should definitely check that out. If you’d like some help, though, I can walk you through some of my favorite events. First, let’s talk about the four biggest side events on the weekend—3 Showdowns and the Super Sunday Series.

Every day at #GPNY, we’re running a Showdown event featuring a major Constructed format. We had heard previously that players wanted more premium side events during our Grand Prix weekends, and the Showdowns are our answer to that request. If you’re looking for a competitive side event experience, the Showdowns are a perfect fit, as each one features full Swiss rounds with a cut to Top 8 as well as a guaranteed prize pool of 25,000 Prize Tix—if redeemed for packs, that would add up to more than 11 cases of Shadows over Innistrad. The prize breakdown is as follows:

• 1st – 5,000 Prize Tix
• 2nd – 3,000 Prize Tix
• 3rd/4th – 2,000 Prize Tix
• 5th-8th – 1,000 Prize Tix
• 9th-16th – 600 Prize Tix
• 17th-32nd – 300 Prize Tix

In addition, every participant in each Showdown at #GPNY will receive the exclusive Grand Prix New York playmat and the 2016 GP Promo Stoneforge Mystic.

If all that sounds good to you, I have more good news—you can preregister now for the Showdowns, which is great because each one has a maximum capacity of 226 players. Here’s the time and date for each Showdown as well as a convenient preregistration link:

• Friday, May 6th, 11 AM: Modern Showdown — Preregister
• Saturday, May 7th, 11 AM: Legacy Showdown — Preregister
• Sunday, May 8th, 9:30 AM: Standard Showdown — Preregister

If Sealed Deck is more your style, check out the Super Sunday Series event at #GPNY. The winner gets an invitation to the Super Sunday Series Championship, which is an incredible experience. Past Super Sunday Series Championships have featured $20,000 prize pools, visits to Wizards of the Coast HQ, and drafts and dinner with members of Magic R&D!

If that sounds good to you, you’ll want to play in the Super Sunday Series Sealed event on Sunday, May 8th at 8:30 a.m. to try to win that spot. With a 409-player max capacity, you will play up to 9 rounds of Swiss followed by a cut to a Top 8 draft, with prizes as follows:

• 1st – 1,500 Prize Tix + 5 booster boxes + invite/travel to the Super Sunday Series Championship
• 2nd – 1,500 Prize Tix + 5 booster boxes
• 3rd/4th – 1,500 Prize Tix + 2 booster boxes
• 5th-8th – 1,500 Prize Tix
• 9th-16th – 600 Prize Tix
• 17th–32nd – 300 Prize Tix

I mentioned that 409-player max capacity, which is why there’s preregistration for this event as well. If you’re looking to play some very competitive Shadows Over Innistrad Sealed Deck, get your spot today!

Sunday, May 8th, 8:30 a.m.: Super Sunday Series Sealed — Preregister

Of course, the highly competitive events aren’t always the right answer. Some players prefer a more casual setting, and even the more competitive among us like to mix it up once in a while. That’s why I’m about to highlight my favorite offbeat side events from the schedule—hopefully, this can help you get some new experiences at #GPNY.

All 3 Days

On Demand—Modern Masters 2015 Draft

I saw thousands of people having a great time with this format last year at Grand Prix Las Vegas, and it is still a ton of fun. If you haven’t had your fill yet—and I know I haven’t—these will be starting all weekend every time we fill the 8-player queue!

3 p.m. Every Day—Full Box 2HG Sealed Deck!

Each team receives a full box of Shadows Over Innistrad to build two 40-card decks. Then you and your teammate get to play 4 rounds of Two-Headed Giant with your incredibly strong decks. Remember, this is Limited, so the 4-of maximum doesn’t apply. Yes, that means that if you open 10 copies of Fiery Temper, you can put 10 in 1 deck, or 5 in each, or any other possible permutation you prefer. Each player in this event will also receive a GP New York playmat just for participating.

4 p.m. Every Day—Chaos Draft

Chaos Draft is one of the best experiences I think anyone can have playing Magic. Drafting throwback formats is one thing, but drafting at a table with 24 different packs being opened is another thing altogether. Every game is a new experience with interactions you’ve probably never seen before cropping up each round. Oh, and the deckbuilding might be the most fun thing ever. In case this somehow wasn’t enough value, each player in the Chaos Drafts will receive a GP New York playmat just for participating. Sweet!

6:30 p.m. Fri/Sat, 5:30 p.m. Sun—4 Pack Sealed Deck

Looking to pack 4 rounds of Magic into a short amount of time? 4 Pack Sealed is a great answer. Decks are 30 cards each, matches are 1 game each, and rounds are 25 minutes each. If you’re waiting for your friends to finish their matches so you can go to dinner, or if you just want to play more Magic before heading to bed, 4 Pack Sealed is a solid choice. We’re also running this event at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

7-9 p.m. Fri/Sat, 6-8 p.m. Sun—Turbo Draft

We all know that the best part of drafting is the actual drafting, so why not get as much of that as you can? For two hours at the end of each day of the Grand Prix weekend, we’ll be taking registration for Turbo Draft, where you draft Shadows over Innistrad and then play just 1 round. Win that round and you’ll receive 100 Prize Tix. Done before registration is over? No problem— come back to the side events stage and register for the next one! This is a great way to practice the Draft format and have a ton of fun in the process.

Friday

2 p.m.—Throwback Sealed: 6x Khans of Tarkir

Not Khans/Fate, not Fate/Dragons—just Khans of Tarkir before Sarkhan started messing around with Dragons and time travel. 6x Khans is a format where you can play 3, 4, or even 5 colors, depending on how many lands you open in your Sealed pool. Plus, those packs could have fetchlands in them, and you can never really have enough fetchlands, can you? If you miss this one, we’re running it back on Sunday at 2 p.m. as well.

5 p.m.—Foiled Again! Bounty Event

I talked about this in my last GPNY Spotlight article so I’ll be brief—this is 3 rounds of Sealed Deck with assorted foil promos and Prize Tix for each match you win. That’s not all, though—our 6 sponsored pro players add some extra spice to this event! Reid Duke, Gaby Spartz, Neal Oliver, Martin Juza, Andrew Cuneo, and Frank Karsten will all be playing in this event, which means you could get matched against any one of them. Win your match against one of these sponsored pros and you’ll earn an extra 100 Prize Tix!

Saturday

10 a.m.—Saturday Morning Special Sealed

Can’t make the main event? Prefer a slightly lower-pressure event? Just want to play some Sealed Deck but still hoping to get some GP swag? No problem! The Saturday Morning Special is a 4-round Shadows Over Innistrad Sealed event, and each participant will receive the exclusive GP New York playmat and the 2016 GP Promo Stoneforge Mystic. Just to add even more value, the Saturday Morning Special has double the prize pool of our normal GP New York side events. That means going 4-0 will get you 1,000 Prize Tix!

5 p.m.—Modern Masters 2015 Sealed

If you didn’t get the chance to play Modern Masters 2015 Sealed last year, or if you did and you’re still hungry for more, you should check this event out. The Sealed format is a great time whether you’re waxing nostalgic for GP Las Vegas 2015 or just hoping to open some sweet cards for your Modern deck (or your trade binder!)

Sunday

10:30 a.m.—Old School Constructed

I wrote an article about this format last week! If you’re interested, make sure you check out the rules sheet here, as it represents how this event will be run. It’s important to know that you don’t need Power to play and win in this format, so if all you want is to Dark Ritual out your Hypnotic Specter, or play with the Channel-Fireball combo, this is the event for you.

Noon—Moms Play Free 2HG!

We know Sunday, May 8th is Mother’s Day. That’s why we’re running a 2HG event on Mother’s Day where moms play free! Hey, moms like value just as much as everyone else. If you’re a mom and you love Magic, or if you know a mom who fits that description and wants to come battle at a Grand Prix side event, this is the perfect tournament for you.

Of course, these aren’t all of the side events—they’re just some of my personal favorites. For more information, or to register for the #GPNY main event, any of the Showdowns, or the Super Sunday Series Sealed, head to www.GPNY2016.com now! If you have questions, email us at [email protected] or Tweet @ChannelFireball—we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks for reading, and good luck at #GPNY!