MTG anniversary event Magic 30 kicks off a year-long birthday bash for the card game this October
Will include Limited Edition Beta Draft.
Magic: The Gathering plans to mark the 30th anniversary of the trading card game with a year-long series of celebrations, starting with the Magic 30 anniversary event this autumn.
Magic 30 will take place at Las Vegas’ The Expo at World Market Center from October 28th to 30th, and is being organised in partnership with ReedPop - the events company behind board game convention PAX Unplugged, video game show EGX and MCM Comic Con, which also owns Dicebreaker.
The weekend show will play host to a Modern tournament that will determine the entrants for a Top 8 Beta Draft - as in Limited Edition Beta, the second-ever print run of Magic: The Gathering released in October 1993. The set is notable for its inclusion of the set of cards known as the Power Nine - including the most valuable MTG card of all time, Black Lotus - and other incredibly rare MTG cards.
MTG's Draft format sees players open booster packs and draft cards to create decks, meaning that the Beta Draft at Magic 30 could see original boosters from 30 years ago - each potentially worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars - cracked open.
Magic World Championship XXVIII - the culmination of MTG’s latest competitive season - will be held as part of the 30th anniversary event, with 32 pro players competing for the title of World Champion.
Magic 30 will also include a dedicated Command Zone play area for the hugely popular MTG format Commander, including appearances from hosts Jimmy Wong and Josh Lee Kwai, plus MTG designer Gavin Verhey.
Elsewhere, lead MTG designer Mark Rosewater will host Unfinity events featuring the upcoming Un-set of cards usually forbidden from tournament play due to their wild game-breaking effects.
Various figures from MTG’s design team will appear in panels and interviews, with Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield set to attend the event virtually. Other attendees will include MTG cosplayers such as Olivia Gobert-Hicks and Taalia Vess.
Day tickets for the in-person event will cost $75, with a $30 virtual ticket granting access to online events.
Wizards of the Coast confirmed that COVID-19 health and safety guidelines would be in place for Magic 30, but were still being finalised at the time of the announcement. The full safety protocols will be announced before tickets go on sale in July, the publisher added.
Alongside the physical event, Wizards announced it would release an exclusive Secret Lair - the latest in its time-limited runs of collectible MTG variants - Commander decks and Mystery Booster draft sets.
Following Magic 30, the anniversary celebrations will continue into 2023 at MTG Pro Tours, starting with a February tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, and three more multi-day events yet to be detailed.