Overview
Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Aetherdrift will take place in Chicago, USA, at MagicCon: Chicago on February 21–23, 2025.
The formats for Pro Tour Aetherdrift are Aetherdrift Booster Draft and Standard Constructed.
Official hashtag: #PTDFT
Location
MagicCon: Chicago
McCormick Place, Lakeside Center
2301 S. Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60616
USA
Invited Competitors
Pro Tour Aetherdrift is an invitation-only tournament. Invitations to Pro Tour Aetherdrift are awarded as follows:
- The Top 8 finishers at Magic World Championship 30.
- Competitors that finished in 9th through 24th place at Magic World Championship 30.
- Competitors with thirty-nine (39) or more points in the Adjusted Match Points standing generated at the conclusion of Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3.
- Top finishing competitors from each Pro Tour Aetherdrift Regional Championship.
- Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3 competitors that finished with thirty (30) or more match points.
- The Top Sixteen (16) finishers from Arena Championship 7.
- The eight (8) competitors from the Magic Online Champions Showcase that award invitations to Pro Tour Aetherdrift.
- Members of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame that selected Pro Tour Aetherdrift as their once per season Pro Tour invitation benefit.
- Competitors that are otherwise invited to Pro Tour Aetherdrift.
The Pro Tour Aetherdraft invitation list is available online. If you believe you are an invited competitor but are not on the invitation list, please email PremierPlay@wizards.com
Competitor Information
Decklists
Standard decklists will be due in MTGMelee on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. (Chicago-local time). To see the equivalent time where you are located, click here.
During the Standard rounds, opponents' decklists will be available for viewing on MTGMelee on your mobile device. Competitors can only access the decklists of other competitors prior to the start of a game or in between games. Competitors cannot reference decklists during games.
During the Booster Draft rounds, only competitors from the featured draft table will have access to their opponent's decklist. These will be paper checklists.
Hall Hours
The estimated hours of operation for Pro Tour Aetherdrift are:
- Friday and Saturday: Hall opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at the end of the last Swiss round.
- Sunday: Hall opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 p.m.
Registration
In-person registration takes place from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at a location to be determined (details will be provided to competitors at a later date). If you are unable to attend this registration session on Thursday, late registration will be available Friday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Competitors should email PremierPlay@wizards.com if they will not be attending the Thursday registration session.
Even though competitors will have registered for the tournament on MTGMelee prior to Thursday, competitors must still register on-site to confirm they are in Chicago, undergo an ID check, and receive their complementary Pro Tour gifts.
For in-person registration, all competitors must present one of the following forms of identification:
- a driver's license; or
- a passport; or
- a copy of a birth certification and photo ID (school IDs are acceptable)
Tournament Information
The Magic: The Gathering Tournament Rules and Infraction and Penalty Guide are in effect for this tournament unless specifically overruled by information in this section.
Structure (Swiss Rounds)
- Friday: Three (3) rounds of Aetherdrift Booster Draft, followed by five (5) rounds of Standard Constructed.
- Saturday: Three (3) rounds of Aetherdrift Booster Draft, followed by five (5) rounds of Standard Constructed.
- Sixteen (16) Swiss rounds total, 50 minutes per round.
- All competitors may participate in all eight (8) Swiss rounds of Friday's competition.
- Competitors with twelve (12) or more match points after Round 8 will advance to Saturday's portion of the competition.
- Whenever a competitor reaches the designated number of match wins before Round 16, they immediately advance to the Top 8 playoff and are removed from future pairings in Swiss rounds. The designated number of match wins will be determined the week of February 17, 2025.
- Competitors in the Top 8 playoff are seeded in order from 1st through 8th. Seeding is determined by:
- The round in which a competitor received their designated number of match wins.
- Their OMW%, GW%, and OGW% as of the round in which they receive their designated number of match wins.
- Seeding for the Top 8 playoff is locked after each round in which a competitor reaches their designated number of match wins.
- The Top 8 competitors after Round 16 will advance to Sunday's single-elimination playoff rounds.
Structure (Playoff Rounds)
- Playoff rounds will use a traditional, single-elimination bracket.
- Playoff rounds will run in the Standard Constructed format.
- All playoff matches will be best three out of five. The first two games played in each playoff match are pre-sideboard games. After Game 2 is complete, competitors may exchange cards from their deck for cards in their sideboard.
- Standings after the Swiss rounds are used to determine final order in the standings for losing competitors in the quarterfinal and semifinal playoff rounds.
- While there are no time limits in the playoff rounds, competitors are expected to play at a reasonable pace and finish their matches within 90 minutes.
- For the first game of each match in the playoff rounds, the competitor that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each playoff match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).
Schedule
| Day | Time | Tournament Item |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | 8:50 a.m. | Seating for competitor meeting and Draft 1 posted |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m. | Competitor meeting begins |
| Friday | 9:05 a.m. | Draft 1 begins |
| Saturday | 8:50 a.m. | Seating for competitor meeting and Draft 2 posted |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m. | Competitor meeting begins |
| Saturday | 9:05 a.m. | Draft 2 begins |
| Sunday | 8:00 a.m. | Top 8 competitor check-in |
| Sunday | 9:00 a.m. | Quarterfinals begin |
Other Items
- Rules Enforcement Level: Professional.
- Competitors must use the same Standard deck for Day 1, Day 2, and the Top 8 playoff.
- Competitors are responsible for knowing all tournament rules.
Prizes
Competitors that finish Pro Tour Aetherdrift with thirty (30) or more match points will be invited to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY in Las Vegas, USA.
Competitors that have 39 or more Adjusted Match Points (AMP) in the post-Pro Tour Aetherdrift AMP standing will be invited to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY in Las Vegas, USA.
Competitors that finish with thirty-six (36) or more match points at the end of the Swiss rounds or the Top Eight (8) finishing competitors (whichever is greater) will be invited to Magic World Championship 31.
There is a $500,000 prize pool, which is awarded to competitors based on their final standing in the tournament. All prizes are displayed in US dollars. Prizes are subject to change.
Prizes for the Top 8 finishers are awarded as follows. All competitors will receive at least $500 regardless of the final placing. The complete, final prize chart will be posted the week of February 17, 2025. (Note: The estimated number of competitors will be 400.)
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 |
| 2 | $30,000 |
| 3–4 | $15,000 |
| 5–8 | $9,000 |
Second Chance Pro Tour Qualifier
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
Cost: Free
Format: Standard Constructed
Invitations: Four (4) invitations to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY in Las Vegas, USA.
Format: Single-elimination rounds (based on attendance), Top 8 cut, one single-elimination round
Who can play: Pro Tour Aetherdrift Competitors that are not already qualified for Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY in Las Vegas, USA. Remember that if a competitor (1) finishes Pro Tour Aetherdrift with thirty (30) or more match points, or (2) has 39 or more Adjusted Match Points (AMP) in the post-Pro Tour Aetherdrift AMP standing, they will be invited to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY in Las Vegas, USA.