The way you prize your Magic events helps shape the kind of play environment you create—whether that's a welcoming space for new players, a reward-driven league, or a highly competitive tournament. There's no one-size-fits-all solution, and you have the flexibility to tailor your prizing strategy to your store's goals and your community's preferences.

Here's a breakdown of the most common prizing methods, what kinds of prizes work best, and key considerations to help you get started or refine your approach.

Topics:

• Common Prizing Methods
  • Flat Prizing: Simple, Welcoming, and Effective
  • Standings-Based Prizing: Appeals to Top Performers
  • League Prizing: Rewards Repeat Play and Growth
  • Combination Prizing: Customize to Fit Your Players
• Common Prize Options
  • Promo Cards
  • Promo Packs
  • Product and Accessories
  • Trophies and Keepsakes
  • Event Entries
  • Store Credit or Cash
• Final Prizing Considerations

Common Prizing Methods

Flat Prizing: Simple, Welcoming, and Effective

Flat prizing is great for creating a fun, casual environment and play community. Everyone gets a reward just for showing up or finishing a few matches, reducing the emphasis on competition. This is great for welcoming new players and bringing them back to your store.

Key features:

• Easy to administer: hand out rewards at sign-up or after match completion
• Rewards players equally, regardless of skill level
• Great for casual events and unstructured play like Commander

Example of flat prizing:

• Each player receives one Play Booster for joining the event, and an additional booster after completing three matches.
• Each player selects a surplus promo (following the Surplus Promo Policy) at random—such as by sleeving them in reverse to obfuscate them.

Points- and Record-Based Prizing: Balances Fun and Competition

If you want a little more structure and friendly competition without tournament-level considerations, points-based prizing is a strong middle ground. Players earn rewards based on match points or wins throughout the event, keeping them motivated even if they're not chasing first place. For a series of events, points could be carried over from event to event, keeping players returning while they accumulate points.

Key features:

• Appeals to both casual and mildly competitive players
• Awards prizes based on match wins or points earned
• Keeps players engaged even if they're not pursuing top standings
• Works with prize wall systems offering a variety of rewards at different point levels

Example of points- or record-based prizing:

• 1 prize per win
• +1 point for participating in the event
• +3 points per match win
• +1 point for a draw
• +1 bonus point for sportsmanship (staff-selected)

Example of a prize wall:

• 3 points: 1 Play Booster
• 5 points: 1 Promo Pack
• 8 points: Pack of sleeves
• 10 points: Playmat
• 12 points: Free entry to a future event
• 18 points: Collector Booster

Standings-Based Prizing: Appeals to Top Performers

This prizing method is for competitive players who want stakes and structure. Prizes are distributed based on final event standings, typically favoring the top players. Standings-based systems also work well for single-prize events where a trophy or other unique item is awarded to the top player.

This method is recommended only for your most competitive players.

Key features:

• Allows clear, upfront prize budgeting
• Builds stakes and prestige, attracting experienced players
• Ideal for tournaments and events where winning matters most
• Typically uses Swiss rounds and playoffs, ensuring clean rankings

Example of standings-based prizing:

• 1st place: 4 packs
• 2nd place: 3 packs
• 3rd–4th place: 2 packs
• Top-heavy competitive option: 1st place: 8 packs, 2nd place: 4 packs

League Prizing: Rewards Repeat Play and Growth

Leagues are excellent for long-term engagement and can use a points-based system. Players return week after week, building points across events that can be redeemed for rewards.

Note: record event outcomes promptly—Wizards EventLink redacts player data from guest accounts after 24 hours and Wizards Accounts after two weeks.

Key features:

• Incentivizes return play
• Fosters a deeper community around a format
• Flexible prizing and prize wall compatible!

Combination Prizing: Customize to Fit Your Players

Sometimes, a hybrid approach is the best fit. Mixing prizing methods lets you appeal to different play styles and expectations within the same event series or weekend.

Ideas for mixing methods:

• Offer players a booster for participating, and then additional packs for match wins or standings.
• Run a weekend of Prerelease events with varied prizing tiers:
  • Flat prizing event for the casual crowd
  • Points-based event for slightly more competitive players
  • Standings-based event for elite players looking to prove themselves

Common Prize Options

What you give out as prizes can be just as important as how you distribute them. Offering the right mix of rewards adds excitement and perceived value to your events.

Promo Cards

Many events have program-specific promo cards or rewards that must be distributed in a prescribed way. You can find these details on the WPN Promo Usage and Policies page and on individual event pages. After a season ends, stores can use leftover promo cards as they would Promo Packs—distributing them at any sanctioned Magic event, unless the promo usage policies specify otherwise.

Promo cards, along with Promo Packs, are sent to WPN members with each seasonal marketing kit in amounts based on your store's play metrics.

Promo Packs

Promo Packs are one of your most flexible prize tools and are used to reward player participation, excite your community, and support events throughout Magic seasons.

You're free to use Promo Packs as rewards for any Magic event in the way that best supports your community but be sure to plan ahead so your supply lasts until the next shipment.

Suggested Promo Pack uses include:

• Event Participation: Rewarding players for attending events like Friday Night Magic (FNM)
• Performance Incentives: Recognizing top performers in tournaments or leagues
• Community Building: Fostering behaviors such as sportsmanship, mentorship, or bringing new players to the store
• Loyalty Programs: Offering packs to players who attend multiple events over a season
• Casual-Play Sign-Ins: Encouraging player sign in for pick-up games (such as a daily or weekly award to a random player who participated in a pick-up game during that period)

While Promo Packs are flexible in their application, certain restrictions apply.

Promo Pack restrictions:

• Promo Packs cannot be sold or used as sales incentives.
• Promo Packs should not be distributed before the official Prerelease date of the associated set.
• Promo Packs are not to be used to promote games other than Magic: The Gathering.

Product and Accessories

Magic product is one of the most popular and flexible options for event prizing. Whether you're rewarding casual play or celebrating a major win, it's easy to scale and always valued by players.

For certain events, Wizards may provide special prizes, such as Pinfinity pins, in limited quantities. Once the supply is exhausted, consider substituting other products or accessories as prizes.

Many organizers use Play Boosters as their go-to prize. They're simple to distribute, widely appreciated, and work well across all event types.

For higher-stakes events, you might consider adding more premium items to elevate the prize pool, such as a Gift Bundle, Commander deck, or Collector Booster. These can help generate excitement and make events feel extra special.

Examples of product-based prizes:

• Play Boosters: Ideal for participation, match wins, or general prizing
• Collector Boosters: A great high-value prize for top performers
• Gift Bundles: Perfect as a grand prize for tournaments or leagues
• Commander Decks: Popular with players and great for format-specific events

Accessories are also a strong addition to your prize lineup—especially for points-based systems, leagues, or events with a prize wall. They offer variety, personalization, and long-term usefulness.

Accessories that work well as prizes:

• Card Sleeves: Functional and collectible
• Deck Boxes: Popular, useful, and easy to distribute
• Playmats: High-impact prizes players love to show off

Trophies and Keepsakes

For events where you want to add prestige or a lasting memory, commemorative prizes make a big impact. They turn great performances into memorable milestones and give players something to proudly take home—or see displayed in your store.

Commemorative prize ideas:

• Trophies or medals for top finishers
• Engraved plaques displayed in-store or given to winners
• Customized items like playmats, deck boxes, or tokens with your store's logo
• Hall-of-fame boards featuring names of past winners

Customized items with your store's branding become meaningful keepsakes for regulars. Some stores use professional printing or engraving, while others handcraft custom prize items. Even a small touch—like a printed certificate—can make your event feel more special.

Event Entries

Offering free entry to future events is a simple and effective way to reward players and encourage repeat visits. It keeps momentum going and builds excitement for upcoming in-store play.

Event entry prize ideas:

• Reward your Friday Night Magic winner with an entry to the next week's FNM.
• Create an invitational event that players must qualify for through prior wins or performance.
• For a prize wall, offer a reward entry into a future event.

Store Credit

Store credit can be a powerful incentive, especially when you want to attract serious competition. It offers clear value, but it also comes with a few important considerations.

• Legal restrictions vary by region, so always check with legal counsel to ensure credit prizing is permitted in your area.
• Clarify if store credit can be used for event entry. Allowing this can be a motivator for repeat play, but be sure it aligns with your pricing and profit model. Store credit prizes significantly raise the stakes of an event and appeal to experienced players looking for high-value outcomes.
• Store credit may not be a good fit for casual play, as it can create unwanted pressure and thwart the casual play atmosphere.

Use store credit prizes sparingly; reserve them for tournaments or qualifier events where you want to target a more competitive set of players.

Final Prizing Considerations

As you design prizing for your Magic events, a few additional factors can help ensure everything runs smoothly and suits your store's goals.

• Record match outcomes immediately. If you need a record of match outcomes for long-term prizing (such as for a League), be sure to document that information outside of Wizards EventLink immediately after the end of the event. Wizards EventLink redacts player data from guest accounts after 24 hours and Wizards Accounts after two weeks.
• Scale based on turnout. Many organizers adjust prize pools depending on event size. For example, adding two packs per player or increasing the top prize when attendance is high.
• Tailor your prizing. Outside of program-specific rewards, how you prize your events is entirely up to you. This flexibility allows you to tailor prizing to your community's preferences.
• Announce your prizes clearly. Players are more likely to attend events when they know what's at stake. If your prizing scales with attendance, communicate this to set expectations.
• Ask your players. Regularly survey your community to find out what kinds of prize structures they enjoy. Offering variety helps meet the needs of different player types.
• Align entry fees to prizes. Entry fees are always set by the organizer—Wizards of the Coast does not impose pricing requirements. Be sure your entry fee aligns with the value of prizing you're offering.

With the right mix of creativity, compliance, and community feedback, your prizing strategy can be a powerful tool for growing and sustaining your Magic community.