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2020 year of digital expansion

The year 2020 is the twenty-eighth year of existence for Magic: The Gathering. It was officially dubbed "The Year of Commander"[1] as well as Hasbro's "Year of Digital Expansion".[2] Due to the global pandemic, many set releases and events were either delayed or cancelled throughout the year. 2020 was also characterized by many banned cards.

Events[ | ]

Date Event
January 14 Reveal of ManaStrike, a tower rush game in the Magic: the Gathering franchise.
January 24 Release of Theros Beyond Death.
January 27 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Year of the Rat.
February 2 Players Tour Series 1: Players Tour Europe at Brussels, Belgium, and Players Tour Asia-Pacific at Nagoya, Japan.
February 9 Players Tour Series 1: Players Tour Americas at Phoenix, USA.
February 14 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Theros Stargazing.
February 16 World Championship XXVI.
February 28 Release of Unsanctioned, a ready-to-play "Un-set" experience.
  • Combines reprints from previous Un-sets with sixteen new Un-cards.
March 8 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: International Women's Day.
Match 12 Wizards of the Coast, StarCityGames and Nerd Rage Gaming cancel gaming events due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
March 13 Release of Mystery Booster (Retail Edition).
  • Fills the special slot with one of 121 possible foil cards, instead of test cards.
March 27 Early release of Challenger Decks 2020.
April 1 Announcement of Secret Lair Drop Series: April Fools.
April 11 Netflix is reported to work on a live-action Magic movie, besides the animated series.
April 17 Release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths in Asia
April 27 Planeswalker Points and DCI numbers are retired.
May 7 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: The Godzilla Lands.
May 15 Delayed release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths and Commander 2020 on continents other than Asia.
May 19 Introduction of the Arena Open
May 29 All outstanding 2020 in-person high-level Magic events, including MagicFests, are cancelled.
  • Professional play shifts to online, set-based seasons.
June 1 Release of the Secret Lair Drop Series: Summer Superdrop
June 10 Amidst racism concerns, seven culturally offensive cards are removed from Gatherer's card database and banned from sanctioned tournament play, .
June 12 Release of Secret Lair: Ultimate Edition.
June 14 First two online tournaments in the Players Tour Series 2.
June 21 Second two online tournaments in the Players Tour Series 2.
June 26 Release of Signature Spellbook: Chandra.
July 3 Release of Core Set 2021
July 14 Magic esports announce their plans for the 2020-21 Magic Pro League and Rivals League
July 15 Official launch of the Magic: The Gathering Companion app.
July 17 Release of Jumpstart.
  • A stand-alone product, closely tied to Core Set 2021.
  • A new way to play Magic that mashes together themes from throughout the history of the game and lets you skip the deckbuilding part.
August 2 Players Tour Series 2 Finals.
August 7 Release of Double Masters.
August 13 Introduction of Amonkhet Remastered to Historic on MTG Arena.
August 17 Unannounced release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Prime Slime.
August 26 Release Secret Lair Drop Series: Every Dog Has Its Day.
September 1 Announcement Day.[3]
September 3 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Happy Yargle Day!.
September 10-13 Mythic Invitational 2020.
September 25 Release of Zendikar Rising and the Zendikar Rising Commander Decks.
September 25 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Showcase: Zendikar Revisited.
October 4 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: The Walking Dead.
October 11 2020 Players Tour Season Grand Finals.
October 24 Start of the 2020–21 Players Tour Season (Esports only).
November 6 Less than a year after its launch, Netmarble terminates the Magic ManaStrike game.
November 6 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Extra Life 2020.
November 12 Release of Kaladesh Remastered on MTG Arena.
November 13 Release of the Zendikar Rising Bundle Gift Edition.
November 15 2019 Magic Online Championship
November 20 Release of Commander Legends.
November 30 Release of Secret Lair Drop Series: Secretversary.
December 2 Release of the inaugural wave of unpainted Magic miniatures by WizKids.
December 4 Release of Commander Collection: Green
December 6 Zendikar Rising Championship.
Hall of Fame inductees:
  • None (due to the COVID-19 Pandemic).[4]

Publications[ | ]

First involved[ | ]

R&D[ | ]

References[ | ]

  1. WPN (February 10, 2020). "The Year of Commander Starts Now". Wizards Play Network.
  2. Derek Strickland (February 22, 2020). "MTG Arena will 'aggressively expand' onto other platforms through 2020". Tweaktown.com.
  3. Blake Rasmussen (September 1, 2020). "Zendikar Debut and Announcement Day Recap". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. Ben Drago and Bear Watson (August 27, 2020). "Esports Update: Changes to 2020-2021 Magic Pro League Play". Magic.gg.
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