Nelson Brown, WPN Community Manager

Over the last few weeks, we've launched a series of initiatives aimed at providing some relief for local game stores as COVID-19 suspends business as usual. Sending out Mystery Boosters, launching Wizards Eventlink alpha testing—we hope each of these will help support your own plans to navigate the crisis.

In each case, our philosophy has been announcement now, details later. We break the news as soon as we know something will happen for sure, even if we don't know every little detail of how we'll implement it.

Now that we have those details sorted out, here are answers to the most common questions I've seen pop up.

Mystery Booster Relief Allocation

Q: Where do I submit my confirmation that we are promoting remote events and/or Ikoria preorders to be counted towards the 70% needed to double everyone's allocation?

A: On April 7, owners of WPN members stores were emailed their initial Mystery Booster relief allocation. In that same email was a link to this form that is used to indicate the URL where you are promoting remote events and/or Ikoria preorders.

Q: Will the relief allocation of Mystery Boosters be sent by my distributor or directly from Wizards of the Coast?

A: This may vary by region, but most regions will receive it directly from Wizards of the Coast in similar fashion to how we send promotional materials. We will have more information regarding this in late May.

Q: When can I expect to receive my allocation of Mystery Boosters?

A: We are working to produce and ship the Mystery Booster allocation as quickly as possible. We will ship as soon as we can for each region, meaning some regions may receive their shipment before others. For most regions, we are currently expecting a June delivery, but supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 may delay this.

Q: What is the Mystery Booster allocation based on? Are all stores receiving the same allocation?

A: Stores have been allocated 3–9 Mystery Booster boxes, based on play metrics. If 70% of WPN member stores confirm for us that they are promoting online Ikoria preorders and/or remote events, we will double each store's allocation. You can read more about that here.

Ikoria Release

Q: With the release date changing in some regions and not others, when will Ikoria cards be legal in Standard? Does it vary by region?

A: Ikoria will be Standard-legal on its release date for a given region. For North America, Latin America, Europe, and certain regions in Asia Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam) this will be May 15. For the rest of the world it will be April 17.

Q: I’m concerned my store may be unable to receive packages when you ship Ikoria promo packs and Buy-a-Box. Can I redirect to a different address?

A: This varies by region. Contact your local office for options in your part of the world.

In North America, Ikoria promo materials will not ship until the first or second week of May. If you believe you will be unable to receive packages at your store at that time, please notify Retail Support by April 24 to have it redirected to another address.

Q: Should Ikoria At-Home Prereleases be reported through WER or Wizards Eventlink*?

A: Ikoria At-Home Prereleases should be reported through WER. Wizards Eventlink* should only be used to report remote webcam or MTG Arena events.

Remote Events & Wizards Eventlink*

Q: Is FNM at Home the same as the remote Arena events I’m able to host and charge entry for?

A: No, FNM at Home is an in-game Arena event players can participate in each Friday.

The promotion encourages them to screenshot their participation in this event and then post that screenshot to their LGS’s online community hub to receive a code. This promotion is intended to help you stay connected with your player community.

Once your players have found your online hub, you can host direct challenge Arena or webcam events and charge an entry fee.

You can find the guidelines for hosting Arena events here.

Q: Am I allowed to charge entry for hosting events in Magic Online?

A: The allowance of WPN members to charge entry for digital remote play events is only for Magic: The Gathering Arena. You are also allowed to charge entry for remote webcam events.

Q: Why have my iOS players been unable to download Magic Companion?

A: Apple TestFlight has a preset user capacity for app testing. As of April 9, we have freed up a limited number of additional seats for iOS users, but once those are filled we will be unable to remove the capacity until we move to the next phase of testing later this year.

Q: Where should I submit feedback about Wizards Eventlink or Magic Companion?

A: Please submit all feedback and bug reports about Wizards Eventlink and Magic Companion to Feedback@Wizards.com. Indicate which app it is about in the subject line.

Got a question I didn't cover? Reach out to Retail Support or connect with me on Facebook and we'll be happy to help.

*Name subject to change