Full 2024 MagicCon Schedule and Secret Lair Showdown Prizes Announced

Yesterday, Wizards of the Coast announced some fresh details on the year's biggest events for 2024. While it had been previously announced that MagicCon Chicago was happening in February to coincide with Murders at Karlov Manor, we hadn't heard much beyond that until now. We now know the dates of all three MagicCon events and their respective events. Here's the quick rundown:

• MagicCon Chicago takes place on February 23-25 and features a Pioneer Pro Tour for Murders at Karlov Manor.
• MagicCon Amsterdam takes place on June 28-30 and features a Modern Pro Tour for Modern Horizons 3.
• MagicCon Las Vegas will once again close out the year's events in October 25-27 and will host the Magic World Championship 30 event.

Additionally, Wizards announced there would be a Standard Pro Tour for Outlaws of Thunder Junction that will not be attached to a MagicCon event. This event does not have a specific date or location provided at this time but will be held in the second quarter of the year.

Last but not least, the year's Secret Lair Showdown promo cards were announced. Each participant in the qualifier events receives a special Spell Pierce card. All players who qualify for that show's Secret Lair Showdown Championship will also earn a special Murktide Regent promo card. The ultimate prize to the winner of that championship event will be a special promo art of Dark Ritual - of which there will only be four in the entire world! Good luck to everyone looking to play in such a monumental event!

Tomb Raider Secret Lair Announced

Announced on IGN this past Monday, a Universes Beyond Secret Lair themed around the Tomb Raider IP is on the way! If you were a gamer in the late 90s or early 00s, it's hard to recognize leading woman Lara Croft as anything but iconic. Over the last ten years, the series has experienced a revival thanks to the gritty reboot games that began with 2013's simply titled "Tomb Raider." The series focuses heavily on adventure, exploration, treasure, and mythology. This feels right at home coming out in such close proximity to The Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

This Secret Lair crossover features one brand new card and several reprints with special Tomb Raider-themed skins applied to them. The new card is Lara Croft herself, fittingly depicting an adventurer who uncovers settings and artifacts of legend, while uncovering treasure along the way. Other cards notably include reprints of pricey cards such as Shadowspear and Academy Ruins - both of which usually run around $20 and $10, respectively. The other three actual cards are less valuable, though nevertheless are fan favorites in multiple formats: Anger of the Gods, Search for Azcanta, and Bow of Nylea. Rounding out the Secret Lair will be a treasure token, perfect for Laura herself.

Per Wizards' own follow-up announcement, the Secret Lair will be available starting November 20th and will cost $39.99 in non-foil and $49.99 in foil.

In Honor of Sheldon Menery Charity Streams

The Commander content community is coming together to host a special charity stream this Saturday and Sunday in honor of the late Sheldon Menery. You'll be able to catch all the games all weekend long over on the official Commander RC Twitch page. All proceeds will be going to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida where Sheldon received treatments in his battle with cancer. These funds help others in similar situations, as well as help fund research against cancer. Check it out and give to a good cause!

You can check out the complete rundown of pods here.

If you can't make it in but still want to contribute, here is the direct link to the charity page.

Commander Quarterly Update

The Commander RC also provided their latest quarterly update this week. No changes were made to the B&R list, however there were rules clarifications covered for The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Additionally, they note that this will be the final update of 2023 and that the team will continue Sheldon's annual tradition of providing a State of the Format article in January. This article will be released on the MTGCommander.net website prior to the release of Murders at Karlov Manor.

Desert Bus For Hope Crosses $10,000,000 Lifetime Earned

Desert Bus for Hope is an annual charity event that is run by the folks over at LoadingReadyRun. What is Desert Bus for Hope, you may ask? Well, it involves this very generic game called Desert Bus that entails nothing except just driving a bus up a blank road for hours and hours. The crew makes a fun experience out of this, bringing great skits, readings, prizes, and more! Many Magic community members - as well as Wizards themselves - have supported the charity, so while it isn't directly affiliated with the game, it has some pretty close ties and often offers up some extremely stellar MTG prizes as well! The event is happening right now over at https://www.twitch.tv/desertbus and on Tuesday evening, they crossed $10,000,000 raised over the lifetime of the event. Congratulations on this huge milestone and make sure you check it out for some fun times and a good cause!

Decklist of the Week

Rakdos Evoke | Modern | Corey Baumeister, 1st Place Modern Super League

• Creatures (22)
• 1 Bonecrusher Giant
• 1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
• 4 Dauthi Voidwalker
• 4 Fury
• 4 Grief
• 4 Orcish Bowmasters
• 4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

• Instants (14)
• 2 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Not Dead After All
• 4 Terminate
• 4 Undying Evil

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki

• Lands (20)
• 3 Swamp
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 3 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 3 Bloodstained Mire
• 3 Marsh Flats
• 3 Polluted Delta
• 4 Blood Crypt

• Sideboard (14)
• 1 Terminate
• 2 Blood Moon
• 2 Chalice of the Void
• 2 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Hidetsugu Consumes All // Vessel of the All-Consuming
• 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 3 Leyline of the Void

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Earlier this week, the Modern Super League hosted by Magic Online came to a close. Corey Baumeister took down the event, winning against former world champion Javier Dominguez in a mirror match of Rakdos Evoke - aka Rakdos Scam. For those unfamiliar with why the deck is so good, you can evoke either Grief or Fury and before they go to the graveyard, you cast something like Undying Evil or Not Dead After All to bring it back for additional potency. This is, of course, on top of a number of other outstanding cards in Rakdos' suite of top tier plays. The deck has received a tremendous amount of consternation among Modern players with many calling for it to be banned. Nevertheless, Corey Baumeister was able to provide a fantastic example of the power behind the deck and secure the trophy. Congratulations Corey!

Paige Smith

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