By David Whitfield

David works on the Magic community team as a content specialist. He spends his days writing about Magic Online and trying to play too many colors at once in Limited.

What Is the Magic Online Weekly Announcements Blog?

Every Tuesday, we round up all of the biggest Magic Online news for the Weekly Announcements Blog.

Check in weekly for the latest updates!

The Community Cup is This Weekend!

The Community Cup is this weekend! If you haven't already seen the schedule of Community Cup events, head over to DailyMTG and check them out. Plus, stop back by DailyMTG later in the week for interviews with the Community Team.

Tune into twitch.tv/magic at 10:00 a.m. Pacific (UTC -7) on Saturday, September 19 for the start of Community Cup festivities!

In long-standing Community Cup tradition, all Magic Online players will receive a prize at the event's conclusion—the catch is that it will be different depending on which team wins!

If the Wizards Team wins (which they totally will), players who logged in during Community Cup weekend—September 19 and 20—will be getting a non-premium Drown in Sorrow.

If the Community Team wins, players will get one-each, premium and non-premium, of the John Avon Unhinged basic lands, plus a premium and non-premium version of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben!

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Magic Online Legacy Cube Update

Randy Buehler is a longtime Magic player, creator of the Magic Online Super Leagues, and an expert architect of Magic Cubes. In November 2014, working alongside Magic R&D, he led a complete redesign of the Magic Online Cube, resulting in the new Legacy Cube.

Randy's latest article details the second round of updates to the Magic Online Legacy Cube. Check it out for a list of what's changed and a link to the full Cube list!

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Events for the Newly Updated Legacy Cube Begin September 23

Events for the newly updated Legacy Cube run from Wednesday, September 23, after the downtime, until Friday, October 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific (UTC -7). You can check out the full event details below!

Legacy Cube Single Elimination Phantom Draft

Start Time: Wednesday, September 23 after downtime until Friday, October 9, 10:00 a.m.
All times are Pacific (for UTC, add 7 hours).
Location: Limited Queues
Entry Options:

Option 1: 10 Event Tickets
Option 2: 100 Play Points

Product: Magic Online will provide 3 Phantom Legacy Cube booster packs
All Boosters are Phantom product and will not be added to a player's collection at the end of the event.
Size: 8 players
Play Style: Single Elimination
Format: Draft
Duration: 10 minutes deck-building time. Three rounds, each round up to 50 minutes.
Prizes:

Place	Prizes	QPs
1st	220 Play Points	1
2nd	160 Play Points	0
3rd–4th	100 Play Points	0

Legacy Cube Swiss Phantom Draft

Start Time: Wednesday, September 23 after downtime until Friday, October 9, 10:00 a.m.
All times are Pacific (for UTC, add 7 hours).
Location: Limited Queues
Entry Options:

Option 1: 10 Event Tickets
Option 2: 100 Play Points

Product: Magic Online will provide 3 Phantom Legacy Cube booster packs
All Boosters are Phantom product and will not be added to a player's collection at the end of the event.
Size: 8 players
Play Style: Swiss
Format: Draft
Duration: 10 minutes deck-building time. Three rounds, each round up to 50 minutes.
Prizes:

Match Wins	Prizes	QPs
3 Wins	150 Play Points	1
2 Wins	100 Play Points	0
1 Win	40 Play Points	0
0 Wins	10 Play Points	0

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Increasing the Player Cap in Leagues

The Magic Online Standard League has been running smoothly. As a result, during the Wednesday, September 16 downtime, we'll be increasing the League's cap from 1,000 to a new cap of 2,000 players.

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Time Spiral Phantom Flashback Events Begin Tomorrow

Consider yourself timeshifted! When we return from the Wednesday, September 16 downtime until the Wednesday, September 23 downtime, players will be able to play a triple Time Spiral Phantom Flashback Draft event. That's right, players will be drafting three Time Spiral boosters for this event—not the Time Spiral block.

Mark your calendar and check out the full event details here.

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The Modern Super League Begins Tonight

The Modern Super League begins tonight! Check out the list of competitors below.

Every Tuesday through September 29, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific (UTC-7), the newest episode of the Modern Super League's first season airs live on twitch.tv/magic. Check out Randy Buehler's latest article for a preview of tonight's matches!

If you missed it the first time around, Randy Buehler wrote an article that details how three Super League mini-seasons will qualify players for a Super League Championship later this year. Who will emerge as the Super League grand champion? Find out by watching along!

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Magic Online R&D Challenge

The time has come once again to rumble with the folks in R&D and earn the sweetest prize of all: bragging rights. That's right, another Magic Online R&D Challenge is coming up on Friday, September 18, at 12:00 p.m. Pacific (UTC -7). Aside from satisfying clacks on their victory abacuses, R&D competitors will not be eligible to win prizes—their matches will only affect standings. Any prizes Wizards employees win will be distributed evenly among players with 15 match points within five business days of the event's completion.

Behold, the list of competitors!

Tim Aten
Melissa DeTora
Ian Duke
Ben Hayes
Dave Humpherys
Glenn Jones
Del Laugel
Jackie Lee
Shawn Main
Alli Medwin
Ken Nagle
Adam Prosak
Rob Schuster
Yoni Skolnik
James Sooy
Sam Stoddard
Ryan Spain

Check out the full event details here.

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Upcoming Streamer Showdown on September 25

If you've never seen a Streamer Showdown before, they come in two eight-player Draft pods that feature some of the best streamers in the community brawling with the latest Magic Online sets. If you're trying to improve your game, Magic Online streamers are some of the best players out there—and some of the best teachers, too. Even if you're already a Magic pro, throw your support behind one of the competitors and cheer them on from their Twitch chat!

This Streamer Showdown will feature a new version of the Legacy Cube! Check out the streamer lineup below, then stop by your favorite streamer's Twitch channel on Friday, September 25, at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC -7) for the latest Streamer Showdown.

Friday, September 25, 1:00 p.m. Pacific (UTC -7) Event

Friday, September 25, 6:00 p.m. Pacific (UTC -7) Event

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Announcing October (Season 11) MOCS and MOPR Promos

The MOCS 2015 October Season runs from September 30, 2015, through October 28, 2015. The promo card is:

Sword of Feast and Famine

The September MOPR period runs from September 30, 2015, through October 28, 2015. Here are the promo cards:

Event Promo
Scythe Leopard

Store Promo
Ultimate Price

Play in one or more events during the October season, and you’ll get a non-premium Scythe Leopard. Five or more and you’ll get an additional premium Scythe Leopard. Spend at least $20 total in the Magic Online Store during Season 9, and you’ll get a non-premium Ultimate Price. By spending $40 or more, you’ll get an additional, premium, Ultimate Price.

And remember, this means it's your last chance to get the Season 10 MOCS and MOPR promos, like this alternate-art Stifle.

Earning 15 Qualifier Points (QPs) will earn you a copy of this season's MOCS promo card. You get one promo for every 15 QPs you earn. Players can earn QPs from MOCS Events, PTQ Events, Release Events, and more! Get more details about the Magic Online Championship Series here.

Magic Online Player Rewards (MOPR) promos are earned a bit differently. In the MOPR program, Magic Online players are rewarded for participating in tournaments of a sufficient size, as well as making purchases in the Magic Online Store. Learn about the specifics of the program here.

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Double Pro Tour Qualifier Weekend

Attention all Pro Tour hopefuls, there's a double Pro Tour Qualifier (PTQ) weekend coming up! Modern Pro Tour Qualifier Preliminaries and the Magic Origins Sealed Pro Tour Qualifier Preliminaries begin tomorrow, September 16, and run through the day preceding each Finals Event.

Learn more about PTQs on Magic Online and get the full schedule here.

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Sign Up for the Magic Online Newsletter

The Magic Online Newsletter contains a wealth of personalized information you can't find anywhere else. Published monthly, the newsletter is a quick snapshot of your Magic Online history, and a top news and announcements list of info you shouldn't miss.

In each issue you'll find personalized stats, such as:

A lifetime total of booster packs you've won
MOPR promo cards you've earned through both store and event activity
Current MOCS season qualifier points
A personalized factoid
Year-to-Date MOCS Qualifier Points, by format

And we're always looking for ways to improve this resource! Get directions on enrolling here.

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Upcoming Extended Downtime on Wednesday, September 23

There will be an extended downtime on Wednesday, September 23, for Magic Online. Events close at 12:00 a.m. Pacific (07:00 UTC), midnight, and store activity and trades end at 2:45 a.m. Pacific (09:45 UTC) leading up to the system coming down at 3:00 a.m. Pacific (10:00 UTC). The system is estimated to return from downtime at 12:00 p.m. Pacific (19:00 UTC).

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Downtime for September 16, 2015

All tournaments will close Wednesday, September 16, at 5:00 a.m. Pacific (12:00 UTC)
Store and trade activity will be suspended at approximately 7:45 a.m. Pacific (14:45 UTC)
The system will be down from 8:00 a.m. Pacific (15:00 UTC) until 12:00 p.m. Pacific (19:00 UTC)

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