Magic: The Gathering is Bringing FNM at Home, With Local Game Stores, on MTG Arena

Due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic, local game stores have temporarily shut down their doors, and Magic: The Gathering players have no choice but to play at home with their family (or friends), online via MTG Arena or Magic Online, or with actual cards remotely. To make social distancing easier for the Magic community, Wizards of the Coast is starting a regular series of weekly updates detailing how they're working to connect players to their local game stores (LGS), how they're assisting LGS, and more ways they're supporing the MTG community during a time when "The Gathering" part has become difficult to impossible.

Today, WotC has announced a way to connect with your local game stores: Friday Night Magic events with Magic: The Gathering Arena. There are three FNM events, taking place on March 27, April 3, and April 10, each for 24 hours, running Thursday at midnight to Friday at midnight, PT. All you need is an MTG Arena account (download here) and there is no entree fee.

Here are the details of the formats:

March 27—Challenger Decks

Choose between the four preconstructed 2020 Challenger Decks and jump in to challenge others.

April 3—All Access

Build a deck with any cards in Standard, whether they're in your collection or not. Play others, build more decks, play again. Rinse. Repeat.

April 10—Historic Brawl

Build a 60-card Brawl deck with your Standard and Historic cards, and battle!

You can use the official store locator at locator.wizards.com. Make sure to check your store's website and social media pages to connect with their online community. Some of them will be using Facebook, Discord, or Whatsapp to connect. Here are the steps to connect with your LGS with the MTG Arena FNM events:

1. Play in the event (win or lose as much as you want)
2. Take a screenshot of your event page
3. Go to locator.wizards.com to find your local game store's website
4. Join their social media channel
5. Share your screenshot with a nice message on their channel
6. Store will message you a code* through that social media channel

The codes will unlock special sleeves on MTG Arena that look a little something like these:

Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Codes will be distributed to stores this week, but note that not all LGS will be participating, and sharing a screenshot to your LGS doesn't guarantee a code.

"There is so much more we're working on to connect players to their local stores and communities, and we're hoping this is a strong first step in laying the groundwork for more in the future," Wizards said. "Local stores, like so many other small businesses, are going to need our help during this time. Support them however you can, but also make sure you're taking care of yourself by staying connected with friends and local communities."

Wizards also recently unlocked the Brawler's Guildhall and Theros Beyond Death Ranked Draft on MTG Arena to give players more exciting reasons to play the game.

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