The Arena Open – Terms and Conditions

Arena Open

Day 1

Start: October 12, 2024, at 6 a.m. Pacific / 1300 UTC

Signups End: October 13, 2024, at 3 a.m. Pacific / 1000 UTC—you'll still have three hours to complete your current run, but you won't be able to join after this deadline. Matches in progress will be allowed to finish.

Day 1 End: October 13, 2024, at 6 a.m. Pacific / 1300 UTC—no new matches begin after this time but matches in progress will be allowed to finish.

Format: Player can choose between Best-of-One Duskmourn: House of Horror Sealed or Best-of-Three Duskmourn: House of Horror Sealed

Day 2

Draft 1 Start: October 13, 2024, at 6 a.m. Pacific / 1300 UTC

Draft 1 Signups End: October 13, 2024, at 8 a.m. Pacific / 1500 UTC—you'll have until the event ends to complete your matches, but you must join during this two-hour window.

Draft 1 Event End: October 13, 2024, at 12 p.m. Pacific / 1900 UTC (no new matches begin after this time)

Draft 2 Start: October 13, 2024, at 12 p.m. Pacific / 1900 UTC

Draft 2 Signups End: October 13, 2024, at 2 p.m. Pacific / 2100 UTC—you'll have until the event ends to complete your matches, but you must join during this two-hour window.

Draft 2 Event End: October 13, 2024, at 6 p.m. Pacific / October 14, 2024 at 0100 UTC (no new matches begin after this time)

Format: Best-of-Three Duskmourn: House of Horror Draft

It is each player's responsibility to manage play deadlines.

The Arena Open Official Terms and Conditions

Last Updated September 23, 2024

These Arena Open Official Terms and Conditions (the "Open Rules") govern your participation in this organized play event for Magic: The Gathering ("MTG") – Arena: The Arena Open (the "Arena Open"). By entering the Arena Open, in addition to the Open Rules, you agree to be bound by Wizards of the Coast LLC's ("Wizards") General Terms ("General Terms"), Wizards Privacy Policy ("Privacy Policy"), Wizards Code of Conduct ("Code of Conduct"), Magic: The Gathering – Arena Terms ("MTG Arena Terms"), Wizards Play Policy ("Play Policy"), and the decisions of Wizards (including interpretations of the Official Rules) and the judges. (all policies, collectively, the "Official Rules"). In the event of a conflict among the Official Rules and the Open Rules, the Open Rules control.

We reserve the right to change, revise and modify the Official Rules and the Arena Open. Your continued participation in the Arena Open after such change, revision or modification constitutes your acceptance of the same. Please read the Official Rules carefully.

THE GENERAL TERMS CONTAIN A MANDATORY ARBITRATION PROVISION WHICH LIMITS YOUR AND WIZARDS' ABILITY TO LITIGATE CLAIMS AS WELL AS A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY WHICH LIMITS THE LIABILITY OF WIZARDS AND ITS FAMILY OF COMPANIES.

1. There is a fee ("Entry Fee") of 25,000 gold or 5,000 gems to enter the Arena Open in consideration of an opportunity to participate in Arena Open and the opportunity to win a prize.
2. Participation Eligibility. Limit one entry per purchase. To participate in the Arena Open you must be at least 18 years of age or of legal age of majority in your jurisdiction of residence, whichever is older, to participate. You must also have an active and valid Wizards account. You may only participate so long as your participation does not violate applicable local laws. You are responsible for complying with local laws and requirements. The Arena Open is void where prohibited including the following regions and territories: Belarus, the Central African Republic, the Crimea region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria. Employees of Wizards and their household members, if related, are not eligible. Individuals who have been disqualified from participating in events by Wizards are also not eligible.
3. Eligibility for Monetary Rewards. To receive a cash prize, in addition to a Wizards account, winners must have an active i-Payout Account. If a winner is eligible to receive a cash prize, Wizards will contact winner via the email associated with winner's Wizards account to obtain the winner's DCI Account and i-Payout Account information. A winner must check their email regularly after the Arena Open ends to ensure that winner responds to the inquiry in a timely manner. If a winner does not respond within 90 days of prize notification, Wizards reserves the right to rescind the cash prize. If a winner is eligible to receive a cash prize and does not receive a prize email within 72 hours of completion of the Arena Open, such winner should contact customer service. If a winner does not have an i-Payout Account, Wizards will assist winner in creating such accounts. Wizards reserves the right to withhold payment of monetary prizes if a winner fails to provide the necessary information or create the required accounts. All gem prizes will be deposited into winner's player account. Prizes may not substituted, assigned or transferred or redeemed for cash (if not a cash prize) and are for personal use only, however Wizards reserves the right to the extent permitted by law, to substitute a prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value. Use of gems is subject to all applicable Terms of Service. For the avoidance of doubt, Entry Fees will not contribute to the prize pool for any tournament.
4. Taxes. Prizes are void where prohibited or restricted. Local, state, federal or provincial taxes, including but not limited to, VAT or income tax associated with the receipt or use of any prize, are the sole responsibility of the winner. A winner will be required to provide certain payment information including tax information. Cash prizes are subject to income and tax withholding and will be reported on forms (a) 1099-MISC for US residents and 1042-S for non-US residents, and (b) any other relevant tax forms as may be required by applicable law. Unless Wizards is required by winner's jurisdiction of residence to withhold and pay the income tax withholding amount levied against the applicable prize awarded, the winner in whose name the prize is awarded will be responsible for all taxes (income and withholding) associated with acceptance and use of the prize. Such individual should be sure to obtain the services of a tax consultant. Wizards will have no obligation whatsoever for any related taxes or social contributions that may be payable in connection with a prize if it is not required for Wizards to withhold as stated above.

For Slovenia Residents Only: If the amount of the cash prize or the value of the prize exceeds 42 EUR, prizes are subject to personal income tax. Winners are required to file a tax return with the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia in fifteen (15) days after receiving the prize.

5. Prize Acceptance. Potential prize winners may be required to execute and return a Declaration of Eligibility, Liability and, unless prohibited, Publicity Release. If a potential prize winner does not return all required documentation within the time period stated, or if a prize notification or prize is returned as undeliverable, or such potential prize winner is not in compliance with these Open Rules, the prize will be forfeited.
6. Player Conduct and Game Play.

• Players must be in good standing with respect to any Wizards and/or MTG accounts registered by said player, with no undisclosed violations or player is not eligible. Players must also be free of or served fully any penalties from previously breaking any official MTG rules or player is not eligible.
• If, at any time during the Arena Open, a player becomes ineligible, Wizards can disqualify such player from further play. In such an event, the Entry Fee will not be refunded.
• Player can choose to discontinue participation in the Arena Open at any time without penalty; however, the Entry Fee will not be refunded.
• Wizards reserves the right to substitute any ineligible or withdrawn player with an invitation to the next eligible player as described above.
• Players are responsible for understanding the rules of the game. Unless otherwise specified by Wizards, all normal rules of game play will apply. A comprehensive gameplay overview and rules for Magic: The Gathering is available at https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/rules-and-formats/rules.
• Players must conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner. Players who engage in unsportsmanlike, disruptive, annoying, toxic, harassing or threatening conduct or violate any rule, gain unfair advantage in participating in any tournament, or attempt to obtain winner status using fraudulent means, including, without limitation, cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair practices may be disqualified.
• Players must abide by all rules and regulations of the applicable tournament (incorporated herein by reference) and must comply with all requests and directions of Wizards.
• Wizards reserves the right to disqualify any player from participation including, but not limited to, situations where the player violates these Official Rules or provisions of applicable laws.
• Winning status is subject to verification including any suspected errors or anomalies in the game that may have affected the displayed results.
• Players must have access to the Internet and a valid Wizards Account with a verified e-mail address. Players are responsible for ensuring they have each and may be deemed ineligible if they fail to meet these requirements. IMPORTANT: If you participate via your wireless phone, message and data rates may apply. Please consult your wireless-service provider regarding its message and data pricing plans.
• All decisions of Wizards are final in all matters relating to game integrity, including player conduct and rule interpretation, for the Arena Open.

7. Guest Accounts. Players may not compete using guest accounts. All participants must have a unique and valid Wizards Account. Accounts can be created at https://myaccounts.wizards.com/register
8. Observers. In-game observers are not allowed except for Wizards administrators and their designees.
9. Bugs and Glitches/Game Play stoppage. In the event of a bug or glitch that affects game play, the full game should be played out unless otherwise decided by Wizards administrators. Wizards may, in its discretion, pause game play at any time and for any reason related (but not limited) to preserving the integrity, fairness, accessibility, technical feasibility, and timeliness of the game. In the event of a stoppage of play, players will be notified and must remain at their devices and may not communicate with other players until game play is resumed. Wizards administrators may order game play restarted due to exceptional circumstances, such as if a bug affects a player's ability to play or the game play is disrupted by a Force Majeure. Wizards reserves the right to add, remove, modify, reschedule, and/or delete any tournament for any reason, including without limitation, if in its sole judgment, that tournament's integrity has been compromised by an unforeseen technical issue and/or error in that tournament's administration. In case of removal, deletion, cancelation or termination of the Arena Open, the Entry fee for the Arena Open will be refunded.
10. Termination; Disqualifications. Wizards reserves the right to modify, revise, cancel or terminate the Arena Open or any portion thereof at its sole discretion and without liability to you. Further, Wizards, at its sole discretion, may disqualify you for violations of the Code of Conduct including, without limitation, any attempt to hack or otherwise modify the MTG Arena client, unsportsmanlike behavior, collusion, cheating, or toxic behavior.
11. Limitation of Liability. With the exception of residents of Germany, Hungary and Austria, by participating player agrees to release, discharge, hold harmless and indemnify Wizards, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries and advertising and promotion agencies and all of their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, "Wizards Entities") from any and all liability, losses and damages of any kind (including, without limitation, arising from claims based upon copyright infringement, trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, defamation, or right of publicity) to persons or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from player's participation in the Arena Open and/or the acceptance or use of any prize. Wizards Entities are not responsible for any unanticipated technical failure, hardware or software malfunctions, lost or unavailable network connections, failures or difficulties; or for any other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical, or electronic; or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of game scores or other information, or the failure to capture any such information.

Nothing herein excludes or limits the Wizards Entities' warranties and liability: (i) for death or personal injury caused by the Wizards Entities; (ii) in case of Wizards Entities' negligence or willful misconduct; (iii) for any other liability or warranty that, by law, may not be limited or excluded by the Wizards Entities.

12. Warning for Photosensitivity, Epilepsy, or Seizures. Photosensitivity, epilepsy or seizures could be associated with game play.
13. Publicity Grant. Except where prohibited by law, participating in the Arena Open means that the player is deemed to have given consent for the Wizards Entities and their respective designees to use, publish, and display the name, voice, photograph, and other likeness and/or any biographical information the player may provide, footage of player's Arena Open play (including, but not limited to, a player's deck), and/or any statement the player may make concerning MTG, the Arena Open or any prize won and/ or screen shots or footage of Arena Open play (collectively, "Player Information"), on Wizard's websites, in any social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter) or platforms (e.g., YouTube, Twitch), leaderboards, e-banners and promotional emails, worldwide for up to three (3) years following the conclusion of the Arena Open, for commercial, promotion, advertising, marketing and other purposes, without notification, review, approval or compensation. and in consideration of possibility to participate in the Arena Open, no royalty is due to the Player.
14. Force Majeure: If for any reason the Arena Open is not capable of running as planned, then Wizards reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Arena Open. Notice for any such change, termination, modification or suspension will be posted on publicly and players shall be notified. Wizards Entities shall not be liable to the winner or any other person for failure to supply a prize or any part thereof by reason of any act of God, any action, regulation, order or request by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity, equipment failure, terrorist acts, earthquake, war, fire, flood, explosion, pandemic, epidemic, severe weather, hurricane, embargo, labor dispute or strike, labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, work slow-down, civil disturbance, insurrection, riot or any similar or dissimilar event beyond their reasonable control. In case of removal, deletion, cancelation or termination of the Arena Open, the Entry fee for the Arena Open will be refunded.
15. Choice of Law. To the extent permitted by law, any and all legal actions or claims arising in connection with the Arena Open must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in King County, Washington, U.S.A. To the extent permitted by law, Washington law, without reference to Washington choice of law rules, governs the Arena Open and all aspects related thereto.

EU Residents Only: In the event this Choice of Law provision is unenforceable in an EU player's jurisdiction, that jurisdiction's laws and courts shall govern. EU Residents have the right to submit any dispute before an alternative dispute resolution body or mediation set up by their country. A list of the online dispute resolution bodies ("ODR") for consumers can be found at www.ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

Except where prohibited, each player agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Arena Open or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, and in no event will a player be entitled to obtain attorneys' fees or other legal costs; (3) no punitive, incidental, special, consequential or other damages, including without limitation lost profits may be awarded (collectively, "Special Damages"); and (4) player hereby waives all rights to claim Special Damages and all rights to have such damages multiplied or increased.

16. General Conditions. The Arena Open is subject to all applicable federal, provincial, state and local laws. These Official Rules may be translated into other languages. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between any translated version of these Official Rules and the English version of these rules, the English version shall prevail, govern and control. Except official tournament invitations by Wizards, entry into the Arena Open does not constitute entry into any other tournament, competition, contest or sweepstakes conducted by Wizards.
17. Questions/Concerns. If you have any questions or concerns about the Arena Open or actions of player, please contact Wizards at https://support.wizards.com/hc/en-us.
18. Tournament Structure.

As part of your entry, you will receive the Plots That Span Centuries Sleeve ("Entry Reward"). While you may participate in Day 1 of the Arena Open multiple times, the Entry Reward is limited to one per account.

Day 1 (October 12, 2024)

Entry is 25,000 gold or 5,000 gems per entry.

Day 1 of the Arena Open is Best-of-One Duskmourn: House of Horror Sealed OR Best-of-Three Duskmourn: House of Horror Sealed. Both event types use 30-minute match timers for each player.

You may participate in either Day 1 competition types any number of times. Players may qualify for Day 2 through either the Best-of-One or Best-of-Three Event. It is not required to qualify in both events to receive a Token for Day 2; qualifying in a single event is sufficient. Players may also mix their events (example: a player may play Best-of-One a few times and decide they would rather play or try to qualify for Day 2 using Best-of-Three instead.)

The Best-of-One entry is valid until 7 wins or 3 losses, whichever comes first.

The Best-of-Three entry is valid until 4 wins or 1 loss, whichever comes first.

Best-of-One Rewards:

• 0-4 wins: No rewards
• 5 wins: 1,000 gems
• 6 wins: 2,500 gems
• 7 wins: 5,000 gems and token for entry to Day 2

Best-of-Three Rewards:

• 0 wins: No rewards
• 1 win: 1,500 gems
• 2 wins: 3,000 gems
• 3 wins: 5,000 gems
• 4 wins: 6,000 gems and token for entry to Day 2

Day 2 (October 13, 2024):

Day 2 is an invitation-only event and requires the Invitation Token awarded on Day 1 (limit one participation per player.)

Day 2 of the Arena Open is composed of two Best-of-Three Duskmourn: House of Horror Draft events using 30-minute match timers for each player.

For Draft One, each player plays 4 matches. The rewards are based on the final record:

• 0 wins: 500 gems
• 1 win: 1,500 gems
• 2 wins: 2,500 gems
• 3 wins: token for entry to Draft Two
• 4 wins: token for entry to Draft Two

For Draft Two, all qualified players will play until 4 wins or a number of losses determined by their record in Draft One. If they earned 4 wins in Draft One, they will play until 4 wins or 2 losses in Draft Two. If they earned 3 wins in Draft One, they will play until 4 wins or 1 loss in Draft Two. All Draft Two players will draft and matchmake in the same queues, and matchmaking will be based exclusively on number of wins. Rewards are based on the final number of wins:

• 0 wins: 5,000 gems
• 1 win: 15,000 gems
• 2 wins: $500 USD + invitation to next month's Qualifier Weekend
• 3 wins: $1,000 USD + invitation to next month's Qualifier Weekend
• 4 wins: $2,000 USD + invitation to next month's Qualifier Weekend

Past Events