Where and How to Play Aetherdrift
On February 14, 2025, Aetherdrift races onto the scene as our first Standard-legal release of the year. With brand-new mechanics, sweet new Commander decks, and artwork that spans three planes of the Multiverse, it's an action-packed release you won't want to miss.
As you prepare your aether-infused, chrome-plated, rubber-burning racing machine (or just your Standard deck), we've got the scoop on some of the best places to take the set out for a test drive.
Aetherdrift releases on February 14 and is available for preorder now at your local game store, online retailers like Amazon, and elsewhere Magic products are sold.
Off to the Races with Aetherdrift's Prerelease
(February 7–13)
You can take Aetherdrift for a spin ahead of the set's tabletop release at your local game store's Prerelease events starting on February 7. These are often run as Sealed events and are a great way to meet your fellow Magic players.
When you register for one of these events, you'll receive a Prerelease Pack containing the following:
- 6 Aetherdrift Play Boosters
- 1 Traditional foil year-stamped rare or mythic rare card
- 1 Helper card
- 1 Deck box
- 1 Spindown die (from among five total color variations)
This, along with some basic lands courtesy of your LGS, is everything you need to enjoy your Prerelease! Additionally, players who preorder Aetherdrift products from their local game store can pick them up during Prerelease events.
When you pick up your preorders, you can also snag a special addition to your collection. Players who purchase an Aetherdrift Play Booster box or Collector Booster box from their local game store will receive a Lifecraft Engine Buy-a-Box promo while supplies last.
Finally, players who participate in two or more Aetherdrift Prerelease events will receive a Pinfinity AR-enhanced pin of the Aetherspark, the Ghirapur Grand Prix's prize, while supplies last. This is a great keepsake to commemorate your time out on the racetrack.
Contact your local game store for more details on these exciting promotions and their Prerelease schedule!
Magic Academy Returns with Learn to Play and Deck Building
(February 14–April 3)
With Foundations, we introduced Magic Academy, a new series of events at WPN stores that help you learn to play Magic. With Aetherdrift, we're happy to announce that these events are going to be evergreen and you should expect a round of Magic Academy release with each tentpole release.
Learn to Play events are tailored for players who are just starting to play. You'll receive a "Learn to Play" brochure that breaks down the basics of the game, along with a reference card with all the essential details. Over the course of the event, you'll learn through playing casual games of Magic with beginner-friendly cards, all with some helpful Magic experts ready to assist you.
Deck Building events are the next step in your Magic journey. At the start of the event, you'll watch a video from Magic Designer Gavin Verhey about the basics of building a 40-card deck. Then, from the contents of your Play Boosters, you'll build a deck of your own!
You can find Magic Academy events at your local game store. By purchasing any intro product during these events, you'll receive a borderless, traditional foil Darksteel Colossus promo card while supplies last! You can also get a special Aetherdrift-themed sticker sheet while supplies last by participating in one of these events, letting you adorn your deck box with Chandra, Winter, and other radical racers!
Intro products include Starter Kits, the Foundations Beginner Box or Starter Collection, and six or more Play Boosters from a set. That last one includes Aetherdrift Bundles and Finish Line Bundles.
Strike Hard at Standard Showdown
(February 14–April 3)
Standard Showdown returns with Aetherdrift and lets you show your skills in this vibrant format. You'll face off against your fellow players in Standard Constructed with cards from Dominaria United through Aetherdrift. These are a bit more competitive than a Prerelease, so be prepared to give it your all for the chance at cool promos like these:
During Aetherdrift's Standard Showdown season, the winner of your store's weekly event will receive a traditional foil Lightning Strike promo card while supplies last as part of the Cowboy Bebop promotion.
Additionally, players at Standard Showdown events and beyond will be able to earn Aetherdrift promo packs while supplies last, containing souped-up versions of select Aetherdrift cards.
Hit the Road and Head to MagicCon: Chicago and Pro Tour Aetherdrift
(February 21–23)
The first MagicCon of 2025 is almost here! MagicCon: Chicago is shaping up to be a supercharged celebration of everything Magic: The Gathering. With Aetherdrift fresh in our minds and our engines hot, we're bringing all the fun of this multiversal adventure to Chicago. Badges are available now on the MagicCon: Chicago website, and while Black Lotus badges and Saturday single-day badges are sold out, there's still time to hop in the passenger's seat for this event.
MagicCon: Chicago is the home of Pro Tour Aetherdrift. You can see the best of the best compete in Aetherdrift Draft and Standard Constructed, all with a prize pool of $500,000. We'll be covering the action over on Magic.gg, so follow along to see who will claim the title of Pro Tour champion.
While Chicago in February isn't ideal for lounging around in the sun, it looks like Karn found a workaround. Pro Tour Aetherdrift participants will receive a non-foil borderless Karn Liberated promo card, with Top 32 players receiving traditional foil copies. Karn Liberated is 2025's Pro Tour and World Championship Secret Lair prize card, so expect to see more of our favorite sun-tanning silver golem throughout the year at the Magic Pro Tour.
MagicCons feature an exciting array of vendors, content creators, artists, and events, letting you experience maximum Magic with your fellow fans. You can check out the full list of events here, complete with fan favorites like the Unknown event with Gavin Verhey and a little game you might have heard of called Dungeons & Dragons.
You heard that right: Dungeons & Dragons is coming to MagicCon! We'll be offering special D&D play events that you can experience right at MagicCon. Whether you want to brave the thundering skies of Tarkir or venture into the misty lands of Greyhawk, you can dive into an adventure alongside your fellow MagicCon attendees.
Finally, if you can't make it to MagicCon: Chicago, why not bring the convention to you? Festival in a Box: Chicago 2025 lets you experience the fun of MagicCon from your own home. You can order your own package of unconventional, convention-themed fun starting February 3, 2025, from MagicSecretLair.com. Each Festival in a Box: Chicago 2025 includes the following:
- 1 Mystery Booster 2 display box
- 1 Animar & Friends Foil Edition Secret Lair drop:
- Animar, Soul of Elements
- Benevolent Hydra
- Forgotten Ancient
- All Will Be One
- Mulldrifter
- 1 Traditional foil promo pack:
- 1 Traditional foil, retro frame Serra the Benevolent
- 1 Traditional foil, Future Sight frame Ponder
- 1 Traditional foil, Future Sight frame The First Sliver
- 1 Second City playtest card
- Playtest cards are not legal in Eternal formats.
No matter how you decide to spend the convention season, MagicCon: Chicago has plenty to offer Magic players. Purchase your badge now and get ready to gather!
Aetherdrift Commander Party
(February 21–27 and March 14–20)
Whether you've been playing with one of Aetherdrift's Commander decks or honing one of your own design, you can take them for a test drive at Commander Party events! These feature a special ruleset that brings some of the set's high-octane fun to Commander.
After surviving this deadly race (or at least a casual game of Commander), participants will receive this retro frame Rishkar's Expertise promo card while supplies last. WPN Premium stores will receive traditional foil copies of this promo, while other stores will receive non-foil copies. Contact your local game store for more details on how to snag this epic promo.
Exclusive Promos at Store Championships
(March 8–30)
You've learned how to hit top speed at your Prerelease, navigated the tight corners of Constructed at Standard Showdown, and now you get to take on the field at your local game store's Store Championship. Plus, there are some eye-catching promo cards of Standard staples up for grabs. All of these promos are available while supplies last, so contact your local game store for details.
You can reap the rewards of this event just by registering and showing up! Participants will receive this haunting non-foil version of Deep-Cavern Bat with artwork by Maxime Minard.
There's more in store for those who make it a bit further in the event. Those players who make the Top 8 will receive a traditional foil Preacher of the Schism promo card with artwork by Zara Alfonso.
Winning one of these events takes persistence (and some clever deck building). Winners of these Store Championship events will take home a traditional foil Virtue of Persistence promo card with artwork by Lorenzo Lanfranconi.
As an extra bonus, WPN Premium stores will also receive non-foil copies of the Preacher of the Schism and Virtue of Persistence promo cards, each with the name of the store right there on the card! We've heard of taking names, but this takes that to a whole other level.
Store Championships for Aetherdrift run from March 8–30 at participating local game stores, so contact yours to see if they're hosting their own Ghirapur Grand Prix.
Test Your Might at Magic Spotlight: Modern
(March 14–16)
Hot off the heels of Magic Spotlight: Foundations, our next event in this brand-new series is taking us all the way to Utrecht in the Netherlands! Magic Spotlight: Modern is your chance to prove your skill in one of Magic's most popular competitive formats: Modern! With a $50,000 prize pool, it's a Modern player's dream. And you might just be the one to emerge victorious.
All participants in the Magic Spotlight: Modern main event, which runs from March 15–16, will receive a non-foil Kaldra Compleat promo card, compleat with artwork by Monztre. Those who make the Top 32 will receive a traditional foil copy. The Top 8 players will all receive invites to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™, taking place in MagicCon: Las Vegas, with the overall winner also taking home two Modern Horizons 2 Draft Booster cases and two Modern Horizons 3 Play Booster cases! That's 24 total boxes of cards!
Fanfinity, the event's organizer, will be hosting side events on the Friday before and alongside the main event. If you think you've got what it takes, grab your best Modern deck and register now! Just make sure to leave some room in your suitcase for all those booster boxes.
Earn a Spot on the Pro Tour at Regional Championships
(January 4–March 23)
We're on the final lap on this round of Regional Championship events, each of which offers a sizable prize pool, qualifications for the Pro Tour, and a handful of slots at World Championship 31, set to take place later this year. Plus, the United States has expanded to two Regional Championships, so there are even more chances to make it to the Pro Tour!
Regional Championship participants will receive this non-foil Nexus of Fate promo card, with top finishers receiving a traditional foil copy. Top-finisher traditional foils vary by market, so contact your region's organizer for more details about these events and their prizes!
- Brazil: City Class Games
- January 24–26 in Sao Paulo
- Canada: Face to Face Games
- January 24–26 in Ottawa, Ontario
- Japan/Korea: Big Magic
- February 7–9 in Chiba
- Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA): Fanfinity
- January 24–26 in Prague, Czech Republic
- China: Kadou
- February 28–March 2 in Wuhan
- Chinese Taipei: Game Square
- February 15–16 in Taipei City
- Australia/New Zealand: Good Games
- March 7–9 in Sydney, Australia
- United States: StarCityGames.com
- February 7–9 in Portland, Oregon
- March 7–9 in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Southeast Asia: Oracle Events
- March 14–16 in Bangkok, Thailand
- Mexico/Central America/Caribbean: Necrotower
- March 14–16 in Mexico City, Mexico
- South America: Magicsur
- March 14–16 in Santiago, Chile
Round 2 Regional Championship Qualifiers Continue
(Until March 22)
Regional Championship Qualifiers are many players' first step on the path to greatness. The current round of RCQs runs until March 22, so if you want to get on the starting line of your Pro Tour journey, check out the details here and contact your region's organizer.
This round of RCQs offers these stunning Secret Lair promos as prizes, with availability and supply determined by your region. All RCQ participants will receive a non-foil Mayhem Devil promo while supplies last. Top finishers will receive a non-foil Force of Despair promo, with the players who qualify for their region's RC earning a traditional foil copy. Check with your regional tournament organizer and hosting game store for more information.
Hit the Gas with Aetherdrift
Whether you're a fresh-faced pilot or a Grand Prix-hardened champion, there's an event for you with Aetherdrift. Take control of the racetrack when the set releases on February 14, 2024. Aetherdrift products are available for preorder now at your local game store, online retailers like Amazon, and elsewhere Magic products are sold.