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In-Store Magic: The Gathering Play Temporarily Suspended

Wizards of the Coast has confirmed that all in-store Magic: The Gathering events in the United States and Latin America have been cancelled with immediate effect. All scheduled competitions, pre-release events and other fixtures have been pulled from the Store and Event Locator services, a decision which, the company says, wasn't taken lightly. The reason for such drastic measures, of course, is a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen a massive surge in cases across the US, especially in Texas, California and Arizona, the latter of which has recorded more than 113,000 confirmed cases alone.

Magic: The Gathering

Wizards of the Coast has confirmed that all in-store Magic: The Gathering events in the United States and Latin America have been cancelled with immediate effect.

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All scheduled competitions, pre-release events and other fixtures have been pulled from the Store and Event Locator services, a decision which, the company says, wasn’t taken lightly. The reason for such drastic measures, of course, is a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a massive surge in cases across the US, especially in Texas, California and Arizona, the latter of which has recorded more than 113,000 confirmed cases alone.

An official statement over on Wizards Play Network reads:

We realize that this decision has important implications across the entire Magic ecosystem. We also realize that the state of the pandemic varies wildly around the globe, and that the situation is in a constant state of flux. So we want to be as clear as we can about our plans going forward.

While plans are subject to change due to the situation’s fast-moving nature, the company does confirm that suspensions will at the very least stay in effect until prerelease of upcoming Standard set Zendikar Rising, with “At-Home Prerelease” support only.

Remote play, on the other hand, will continue to receive full support from Wizards, with events in Magic: The Gathering Arena and Online able to be organized through Discord and EventLink. Furthermore, starting from September, monthly updates aimed at giving fans the latest news on the suspension will be released on the second Wednesday of every month, even if no action is taken, the first of which will be provided on September 9th.

Disappointing news, then, though entirely understandable and justified, given the situation. As always, be sure to let us know what you make of the whole thing in the usual place below.