Upcoming Big Changes Coming With Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020

Upcoming Big Changes Coming With Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020

With the arrival of Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020 slated for next month, a lot of BIG CHANGES are set to roll out as well.

What’s Changing Come Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020?

Core Set 2020 is upon us and with only a month left before its release, WOTC listed 15 BIG CHANGES that will affect both retailers and players:

1. More Foils!

War of the Spark has players getting Premium cards at 1:67 odds. For M20, it’ll be approximately 1:45. This basically means you’re getting more foils compared to the older sets.

2. Bundle Are Upgraded!

Core Set 2020 Bundles now come with 20 foil lands, an alternate-art foil promo card, and oversized Spindown life counter.

3. Schedule Your Events When Your Kit Arrives

Kits usually arrive when card spoilers start coming out, which usually spike a traffic in Store and Event Locator. Now, stores can schedule MTG events by the time their kit arrives.

4. Friday Prerelease!

Prerelease events now start on Friday, as opposed to having it on Saturday midnight. So, PR Events will be scheduled as early as July 5 3:00PM in your local time.

5. First-Ever Commander Event Aug 24–25

Commander 2019 is set to release together with this season’s Magic Weekend, which now introduces Commander Weekend. This event will feature Commander variants recommended by Magic’s design studio along with achievement cards.

6. There are 5 Planeswalker Decks

Core Set 2020 now gets 5 Planeswalker decks as opposed to the usual 2 PW Decks in the old sets. Each one will have a foil PW card that’s not found elsewhere, along with one M20 Booster Pack instead of 2, plus a code to unlock the entire deck on MTG Arena.

7. Planeswalker Decks for Sale at Open House June 29–30

WPN Members participating in Core Set 2020 Open House are eligible to sell limited quantities of PW Decks at the event, so this is a chance for new players to get their hands on these decks. Release date remains on July 12.

8. Spellslinger Starter Kit—Reduced Cost

The Spellslinger Starter Kit reduces its cost without changing content. You’re still getting two entry-level decks, two life counters, and two foil cards. This means that new players now have a lower barrier to entry into MTG.

9. WPN Premium Icon Goes Live in Store and Event Locator

Qualified Stores will now have their WPN Premium Seal next to their events in the Store and Event Locator. This means that WPN Premium stores get priority in search results, based on user proximity.

10. Premium-Only Test Events: Best-of-1 Events, Drafts at Prerelease

One advantage to being WPN Premium (Like Affinity Games) is that they get to test out new things before they’re rolled out to the public.

With M20, WPN Premium Stores can run Best-of-one events (Bo1 in MTG Arena), allowing for more Magic events less waiting and Prerelease Booster Drafts, where Premium stores get an extra case of boosters on top of their Prerelease allocation.

11. Magic Arena Codes at FNM August 16 (US & Canada Only)

North American WPN members who signed up for M20 FNM will receive Magic Arena code cards to hand out to players on their August 16 FNM. By that time, MTG Arena will be running ads to drive players to attend FNM’s in their LGS.

12. "London" Mulligan Goes Official

The London Mulligan Rule takes effect come M20, applying to Standard, Modern, and other formats. The London Mulligan has players taking a mulligan, draw a full hand of seven cards, and place cards on the bottom of their deck equal to the number of mulligans taken during that game. So if you had one mulligan, you’ll put one card at the bottom of your library. Ruling takes effect July 5 and July 2 for Digital.

13. Introduction of Universal Promo Packs (With Japanese War of the Spark Planeswalkers)

Universal Promo Packs will be introduced in the Core Set 2020 for the first time. These are packs loaded with promo-stamped rares, foils, plus Japanese-only alternate art Planeswalkers outside the Japanese War of the Spark Boosters.

14. New Welcome Decks

Magic Welcome Decks are also getting refreshed this year for Core Set 2020. Stores get 40 of them for Open House, depending on region.

15. New Buy-a-Box Allocations

Starting with M20, stores get BAB promos in quantities based on Tickets and Engaged Player totals (before, quantities were based on store level). This is to allow WOTC to get more product into places where demand for products is highest.

There you have it: 15 of the biggest changes that we’ll be seeing come Magic: The Gathering 2020! Are you excited for the new set? We are as well.

You can check out the full details of these changes right here.
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