Wizards of the Coast has scheduled the fifth Arena Open—and the very first to feature Limited—for the weekend of February 20-21.
The event will use the Sealed format and will offer both Best-of-One and Best-of-Three options for competing in Day 1. Otherwise, the it will have the same eligibility requirements, structure, and prize payouts as the previous Arena Opens, which were broadly praised. It will be open to any player over 18 within eligible territories and will be split into two days, with a cut between days, and a maximum prize of $2,000.
The tournament will kick off with a Day 1 event that is accessible to anyone meeting the eligibility criteria directly inside of MTG Arena. It will have an entry fee of 22,500 Gold or 4,500 Gems and can be entered multiple times during the during the 23-hour period starting at 9 AM Eastern on February 20. Players will enter either the Best-of-One event or the Best-of-Three event and then play Sealed matches at their leisure, similar to the Mythic Qualifiers or Mythic Point Challenges, until they win seven Best-of-One or four Best-of-Three matches to advance to Day 2. If they reach two Best-of-One losses or one Best-of-Three loss they are eliminated—though they can reenter should they want to try again.
In the Best-of-One event, players will earn 400 Gems for each match win from three to seven. For Best-of-Three, players will earn 1,000, 2,500, and 5,000 for their first, second, and third wins, respectively. Their fourth win will earn no additional gems but will qualify them for Day 2. Both events will offer a Vorniclex, Monstrous Raider card style for entering.
Day 2 will begin at 9 AM Eastern on February 21. Players will receive a new Sealed pool and, like the previous Arena Opens Day 2 of the event will shift to Best-of-Three only. Competitors will play until they reach seven wins or two losses—but they will be unable to reenter the Day 2 event. Players will earn 2,000 Gems per win and those that win six matches will also earn $1,000 while those that win seven matches will also earn $2,000. Players that reach five wins or more will also earn invites to the March Strixhaven Qualifier Weekend.