2019 is going to be the biggest and most exciting year in Magic’s twenty-five years of competitive gaming history, and WPN member stores remain as big a part of it as ever.

Next year will feature a new series of Mythic Championships: high prize pool, high drama events in both Magic: The Gathering Arena and tabletop.

Formerly known as Pro Tours, players will qualify for the former via MTG Arena, and the latter in several ways, including Mythic Championship Qualifiers, which will take place at stores like yours. (See a detailed breakdown of the new Magic competitive gaming world here.)

Take a look:

Invite-Only Qualifiers at WPN Member Stores

In March 2019 we'll launch a pilot program in which players can earn their Mythic Championship berth with a single victory at a WPN member store. For the initial events, Wizards will hand-pick stores to host. Later events will have open applications.

These will be similar to the PTQs that we retired in 2015, but with a few important differences aimed at creating a better play experience: events will be invite-only, with an attendance cap set by Wizards, and players will earn their invitation through play in stores like yours. More details to come.

Open Qualifiers Run by Select Tournament Organizers

Some Mythic Championship Qualifiers will be open to the public, with no attendance cap. They'll be hosted by professional event organizers selected by Wizards, and some will award multiple Mythic Championship berths.

MagicFest

Players can still qualify via Grand Prix—soon to be the main event at MagicFest: large celebrations of all things Magic—side events, artists, panels, qualifying tournaments, and sometimes, Mythic Championships themselves.

The only substantial change to how players earn their berth via MagicFest is that they'll generally qualify for a Mythic Championship in the same region in which they qualified, rather than whichever Championship happens to be next on the calendar.

You can find the full MagicFest calendar on CFB Events' website here.

There's a whole host of additional changes to Magic’s competitive gaming structure . . .

Including a complete redefinition of what it means to be a professional Magic player. If you're interested, you can read up on those changes here.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more information in the coming months—including how you can formally apply to host a Mythic Championship Qualifier.