Standard Showdown is a Magic: The Gathering pilot program, aimed at growing local Standard communities and providing a reliable weekly setting for this format. Events must be Ranked (i.e. include at least three rounds and at least eight players).
Standard Showdown prize booster
History[ | ]
Standard Showdown was introduced in November 2016 after the release of Kaladesh.[1] The first Standard Showdowns were scheduled as 1 event per week, on eight consecutive weekends (excluding the week of Game Day). Starting with Ixalan, Game Day was abandoned and Standard Showdown would culminate in the Store Championship.[2]
Standard Showdowns were put on hiatus for Core Set 2020 and all further sets. This lasted through to the release of Wilds of Eldraine.
During MagicCon Las Vegas 2023, Billy Jensen announced that Standard Showdowns would return with the release of Murders at Karlov Manor.[3]
Prize boosters[ | ]
Basic lands with art by Rebecca Guay (Rebeccalands).
Basic lands panorama, art by Alayna Danner.
Wizards of the Coast announced that they would provide special promotional prize boosters to participating stores. Initially, each prize booster contained three cards. One was a premium card from a currently legal Standard set in any rarity (which was, in low probability, replaced by a Masterpiece Series' card) The other two cards were non-premium cards that were either a rare or a mythic rare, also from a set currently legal in Standard.
For Amonkhet, a fourth card was added: a full-art land.[4] Masterpiece Series were no longer included in prize packs.
For Hour of Devastation yet another card was added. There were now two premium foil cards: one common or uncommon and one rare or mythic rare.[5]
Starting with Ixalan, the Standard Showdown booster prizes came with a foil promo land card in each booster. Those lands would feature new or highly desirable art from Magic 's history.[2]
Contents[ | ]
| Expansion | Foil 1 | Foil 2 | Non-foil | Land | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaladesh | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | Masterpiece Series replaces Standard Foil in 1 out of 35 packs. Cards from Oath of the Gatewatch are not included in the non-foil slot. | ||
| Amonkhet | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | full-art basic land in Amonkhet | full-art basic land may also appear in Foil 1 | |
| Hour of Devastation | 1 common or uncommon | 1 rare or mythic rare | 2 rare or mythic rare | full-art basic land in Hour of Devastation | full-art basic land may also appear in Foil 1 |
| Ixalan | 1 common or uncommon | 1 rare or mythic rare | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 foil basic land promo with art by Rebecca Guay | 5 different basic lands (#001/005 to #005/005) |
| Rivals of Ixalan | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 foil basic land promo with art by Rebecca Guay | 1 of 5 different basic lands (same as for Ixalan) | |
| Dominaria | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 foil basic land from Dominaria | ||
| Core Set 2019 | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 foil basic land promo with art by Alayna Danner | 5 different basic lands that line up to make one large panorama.[6] | |
| Guilds of Ravnica | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 foil basic land promo with art by Alayna Danner | 5 different basic lands (same as for Core Set 2019) | |
| Ravnica Allegiance | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 special guild-affiliated premium foil promo basic land. | 10 different basic lands, numbered A01/10 to A10/10. These are actually Guilds of Ravnica Ravnica Weekend promos. | |
| War of the Spark | Any rarity | 2 rare or mythic rare | 1 special guild-affiliated premium foil promo basic land. | 10 different basic lands, numbered B01/10 to B10/10. These are actually Ravnica Allegiance Ravnica Weekend promos. |
Note[ | ]
- Double-faced cards and cards from Masterpiece Series did not appear as a part of prize booster packs (except Kaladesh's prize packs, in which Masterpiece Series' cards could appear).
Misprint[ | ]
- Every foil Captain's Claws from Amonkhet standard showdown packs had Goldnight Castigator's foil pattern on it.[7][8]
Promos[ | ]
Starting with Murders at Karlov Manor, Standard Showdown events come with exclusive promos for top performing players, and retailers who run and report two or more Standard Showdown events will also qualify to receive a WPN-exclusive reward: an oversized Magic card for display in their store.[9]
| Date | Set | Particpation | Winner | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02 | Murders at Karlov Manor | Dragonlord's Servant | Sarkhan Unbroken | Full-Art Omenpath basic lands[10] |
Notes and references[ | ]
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (November 14, 2016). "Announcing Standard Showdown". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022.
- ↑ a b Chris Tulach (July 16, 2017). "In-Store Play Evolves". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022.
- ↑ William Jensen (September 24, 2023). "The Next Steps in Revitalizing Standard: Play". Magic.gg. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (February 20, 2017). "The February 20, 2017 Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (July 14, 2017). "Standard Showdown: HOU Booster Contents". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021.
- ↑ Alayna Danner (June 8, 2018). "My Magic: The Gathering basic lands previewed today!". Twitter.
- ↑ u/MtimmyMtg (June 10, 2017). "Foil Captain's Claw from showdown pack with goldknight castigator foiling on it???!!!!!!". Reddit.
- ↑ Captain's Claws Standard Showdown Misprint. Reddit (Septermber 23, 2017).
- ↑ WPN (December 5, 2023). "Dates & Details for Murders at Karlov Manor". Wizards Play Network.
- ↑ WPN (January 16, 2024). "Murders at Karlov Manor Events & Promos Overview". Wizards Play Network.