Not every week is full of news that shakes the foundation of Magic. The past seven days was relatively sedate, all things considered, and the news brief is just that —brief. Here are the top Magic news stories from the past week.
New Logo
Magic’s new logo has been public for quite some time. On Tuesday, Matt Cavotta let us in on exactly where we will be seeing the stylized planeswalker symbol moving forward.
The new logo will be featured in all the places you’ve come to expect: booster products, physical releases like planeswalker decks, Magic Online, Arena, and sleeves. UltraPRO will be making a special sleeve using a stylized version of the classic Magic card back, featuring the new logo. The updated brand marker will also be featured on the upcoming board game Heroes of Dominaria.
The end of Cavotta’s article also announced the formation of the Franchise Creative team. This team will be responsible for overseeing the way Magic’s IP is used across other products. Spots on the Franchise Creative team are open and if you are interested you can apply at the end of the article.
Dominaria Prerelease
The Dominaria Prerelease has a neat wrinkle. In addition to receiving a foil stamped promo rare or mythic rare, Dominaria Prerelease packs will also feature a foil stamped legendary card. Normally players receive a single foil promo card in a prerelease pack. Whether this is a change specific to Dominaria as part of Magic’s 25th Anniversary or something more permanent remains to be seen.
Access Magic
The YouTube Series “Access Magic” has returned for Dominaria. Hosted by Ashley Burch this time around, Access Magic provides a behind-the-scenes look at certain Magic sets. Dominaria is getting the treatment since it is Magic’s first plane, as well as a celebration of Magic’s 25th year. So far there have been two episodes. One, featuring Mark Rosewater and Richard Garfield, is dedicated to the new subtype Saga. The other features Ethan Fleischer and Mark Winters, and goes over the world building aspects of the new set.
Grand Prix Amsterdam
The last Grand Prix to feature Rivals of Ixalan-Ixalan Limited took place last weekend in Amsterdam. Grand Prix Amsterdam was a team event that featured over 520 teams on Day 1. As Sunday drew to a close and with it our chance to see the city’s blessing in action in Limited, one team stood above the rest. Jeroen Kreijne, Simon Geurts, and Pim Heijne won the day after defeating the more experienced team of Geoffrey Siron, Vincent Lemoine, and Davy Loeb in the finals.
(Tobi) Congratulations to Jeroen Kreijne, Simon Geurts, and Pim Heijne who defeated Siron/Lemoine/Loeb 2-1 in the finals to become champions of #gpamsterdam 2018! pic.twitter.com/MLXqSmncMM
— Magic Esports (@MagicEsports) April 1, 2018
More experienced is a bit of an understatement. Geofffrey Siron is a Pro Tour Champion with another Top 8 while Lemoine has a Top 8 of his own. The team of Kreijne, Geurts, and Heijne claimed three Game Day Championships as their greatest accolades. But that’s part of what makes Magic great—sometimes David really does beat Goliath.
Grand Prix Amsterdam was the final Ixalan Block Limited Grand Prix. While the format started a bit aggressive when it comprised only Ixalan, the addition of Rivals of Ixalan let non-beatdown strategies emerge. The result was a robust Limited environment that represented a good way to end multi-set Limited play. Starting with Dominaria, all releases will be drafted on their own and not mixed with a “small set.”
Discussion