Big Changes Happening in Magic Online After Amonkhet's Release

Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

Ahead of the release of the next Magic: The Gathering set, Amonkhet, Chris Kiritz of Wizards of the Coast has announced the improvements they're planning for Magic Online after the new set comes out on April 28, 2017. For the first time ever, players will be able to participate in online events for the new set on the first Monday (April 24 for this set) after the Prerelease weekend, and players will also be able to purchase cards from Amonkhet the same day it becomes available on paper.

"This change was made possible by the hard work of the cardset team over the last few months," Kiritz said. "Releasing earlier, coupled with the ability to react to bans and restrictions more quickly, means that regardless of where you play Magic, your experiences will be more in sync than ever before. Moving forward, we're looking for additional ways to improve the card set to ensure we're delivering the highest quality sets we can."

But that's not all Wizards are planning to improve in Magic Online. It sounds like they're finally making more effort to improve non-game experience online such as trading and purchasing cards online. "We'll continue to look at ways to make Magic Online more stable and performant," Kiritz explained "We'll be working on improving the trade performance and making it easier to manage the items you have available for trade. We'll be looking at improving how we present cards and how best to get fixes out even faster. Overall, we'll be focusing on fewer major changes this year and looking to refine what is already available in order to better position us for 2017 and beyond."

These improvements would surely motivate more MTG players to play Magic Online, and I'm glad that Wizards are finally making big changes for the online experience that deserves more attention.

Check out the Magic Online Championship on March 3. You can watch it at https://www.twitch.tv/magic

Amonkhet, the first set of the Amonkhet block, will be released on April 28. Prerelease events will take place on April 22-23, 2017.

Read: Here's What's Replacing Magic: The Gathering's Standard Showdown Starting February