Listen, FOMO (fear of missing out) is a real thing.

I've spent the better part of the last two decades traveling across the entire world for Magic events. I've been to three different continents, as well as an uncountable amount of cites in the US. While my travel is a bit extreme compared to your average player, almost all Magic players know the excitement of travelling to a local SCG Tour stop or Grand Prix. The road trip, the hotel room, the highs of making day two or seeing your friends do well, the lows of mulliganing to five in your win and in, and the Sunday night out for food and drinks with friends that makes it all worth it.

Can you tell I'm a little bummed not to be going to #MTGVegas this weekend, the first major open event since the Covid-19 pandemic?

And hey, maybe you are too!

If for whatever reason you're also home this weekend, that's okay! There's still tons of great stuff going on, so today I wanted to go over with you a bunch of options for what you can do for your weekend that's not just lying in bed and refreshing Twitter to see what an awesome time everyone is having in Vegas.

Let's go!

Play In Eternal Weekend On Magic Online!

Eternal Weekend is usually the biggest Eternal event of the year, with unique prizes for the largest Legacy and Vintage events of the year. However, with Covid-19 the event has moved online. While this seems like a bummer, it's actually got quite the silver lining.

Magic Online offers an "Eternal Weekend Entry Token" for sale for $25, which gives you access to every single card on Magic Online until December 1st. This means that even if you don't own five figures worth of Magic cards, you too can play with dual lands and Power 9 cards until you are blue in the face! This brings a level of accessibility to two formats that are rich with history and tradition to players who may not have access to such old and expensive cards.

The biggest count against Vintage and Legacy is how inaccessible they are, which makes this event extra exciting. Full information is available here.

Crimson Vow Release Events At Your Local Game Store!

Maybe you're still itching for the paper Magic experience?

Local games stores, which thrive on providing a safe and fun environment for gamers to game, had a terrible time during the deepest parts of the pandemic. With many people now being vaccinated (and if you are not, please do so!) and safety regulations in place, it's a great time to get out and check out your local store that maybe you haven't been to in a long time.

Crimson Vow officially releases this weekend, so I'm sure that almost every local store should have some sort of release event. Getting back into paper Magic can be a bit tough if you've been out of it during the pandemic, but these events are almost always sealed and offer a great and casual way to get back into the swing while getting your hands on the brand-new Crimson Vow cards.

Support your local game store and get out and game!

Watch Some Magic Coverage to Get In The Spirit!

The perhaps most surprising bad news about #MTGVegas is there's no live coverage to speak of. This may seem odd for such a large event, but for whatever reason there will only be text coverage via Twitter and nothing else. That's a bummer.

However, there's still some great Magic to be watched!

On Friday night at 9pm EST, it's week 3 of 7 of the Venus and Mercury League, a 64-player league for Magic players of marginalized genders. This is the sixth season for the VML as they have grown considerably since their first offerings, and this season offers $3500 in prizes as well as first place getting an invite to a future Pro Level Set Championship. I'm a little biased because my wife Nicole is on the coverage team, but the VML has been a wonderful addition to tournament Magic, helping to shine a spotlight on exceptional players like Arya Karamchandani as well as excellent commentators like Haiyue Yu.

There's nothing official (to my knowledge!) happening on Saturday, but I'm sure there will be plenty of great players streaming their runs in Eternal Weekend, as well as yours truly rocking some more Bronze To Mythic Crimson Vow draft!

On Sunday morning at 11am EST, it's Stream League 7! While many players are at #MTGVegas, not everyone is! Join TheOneJame and I as we cover 32 players battling it out in a brand-new Standard format, featuring such big names as Seth Manfield, Zan Syed, Aaron Gertler, Arne Huschenbeth, Arya Karamchandani, and more!

Sort Your Collection!

Look, you've been putting it off for how long now?

You said "oh sorting my Magic collection would be a great pandemic project" didn't you?

Well, what happened?

For bonus points, you can even sort while watching any of the coverage or streams suggested above. And don't be shy about trying out CoolStuffInc.com's own Collection Sorter!

(There's definitely no projection here, as there's no way my Magic boxes are still only half unpacked after my move over a year ago and my paper cards in absolutely shambles all over my office, no way no how.)

Watch Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings!

Let's face it, it doesn't need to be all Magic, all the time.

Magic can be an extremely consuming hobby, so don't be afraid to get away sometimes. To what? Well, that's up to you, but it can be anything from a neglected hobby (or a new one!) to something as simple as taking some relaxing time off of work, school, or whatever comprises your usual routine.

I'd say get out to the movies to go see The Eternals, but it didn't resonate super well with me. However, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings was awesome and comes with my highest recommendation, definitely one you don't want to miss!

There's Always Next Time

The biggest way to get past FOMO is to understand that there's always a next time. As things start slowly return to normal you can bet the pace of large-scale Magic events will only increase, even with a startling lack of support for pro play at the moment.

#MTGVegas, with its lack of coverage, middling prizes, and no connection to any sort of organized play system is going to sell out and be perhaps the biggest Magic event of the year. It's clear there is a huge demand for large Magic events and some type of organized play and I have no doubt that once it is safe the demand will be met. I'm looking forward to it.

But beyond #MTGVegas, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!