Overview
Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour March of the Machine will take place in Minneapolis, USA at MagicCon: Minneapolis on May 5–7, 2023.
The formats for Pro Tour March of the Machine are March of the Machine Booster Draft and Standard Constructed.
Official hashtag: #PTMachine
Location
MagicCon Minneapolis
Minneapolis Convention Center
1301 Second Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55403
United States
The Pro Tour will take place in Hall E. The ballroom will be open to MagicCon Minneapolis attendees.
Invited Competitors
Pro Tour March of the Machine is an invitation-only tournament. Invitations to Pro Tour March of the Machine are awarded as follows:
- The Top 4 finishers at Magic World Championship XXVIII.
- Competitors with thirty-nine (39) or more points in the Adjusted Match Points standing generated at the conclusion of Pro Tour Phyrexia.
- Top finishing competitors from each Pro Tour March of the Machine Regional Championship.
- Pro Tour Phyrexia Championship competitors that finished with twenty-seven (27) or more match points.
- Competitors from each MTG Arena Qualifier Weekend with seven (7) wins that awarded invitations to Arena Championship 3.
- The eight (8) competitors from the 2022 Magic Online Champions Showcase 3.
- Members of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame that selected Pro Tour March of the Machine as their once per season Pro Tour invitation benefit.
- Competitors that are otherwise invited to Pro Tour March of the Machine.
The Pro Tour March of the Machine 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, May 3, 2023, at 12:00 PM (Minneapolis 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 players 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 a paper checklist.
Hall Hours
Hall E will use the following, estimated hours of operation for Pro Tour March of the Machine:
- Friday & Saturday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at the end of the last Swiss round.
- Sunday: Hall opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM
Note: The opening times on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are for Pro Tour competitors ONLY. The public will be able to enter the ballroom only when the show opens each day (10:00 AM).
Registration
In-person registration takes place from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at an off-site location (details will be provided to players 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 AM to 8:30 AM. 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 Minneapolis, 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 & Penalty Guide are in effect for this tournament unless specifically overruled by information in this section.
Structure (Swiss Rounds)
- Friday: 3 rounds of March of the Machine Booster Draft, followed by 5 rounds of Standard Constructed.
- Saturday: 3 rounds of March of the Machine Booster Draft, followed by 5 rounds of Standard Constructed.
- 16 Swiss Rounds total, 50 minutes per round.
- All competitors may participate in all 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 twelve (12) match wins, they immediately advance to the Top 8 playoff and are removed from future pairings in Swiss rounds.
- 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 12th win.
- Their OMW%, GW%, and OGW% as of the round in which they receive their 12th match win.
- Seeding for the Top 8 playoff is locked after each round in which a competitor reaches their 12th win.
- 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 3 out of 5. 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 will be 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).
Double-Faced Cards Procedure
The following describes how double-faced cards ("DFCs") will be handled during the booster draft. This procedure will be used for Pro Tours and World Championships that have DFCs in the set being drafted. How DFCs will be handled in other tournaments will be different.
When the judge instructs players to open a booster, the following will happen before card selection actually begins (each step will be prompted by the judge calling the draft):
- Each player will find each DFC in the booster they opened.
- All players will hold their DFCs up for each other player at the table to observe them. This should take approximately one minute.
- Each player will then sleeve all the cards in the booster they opened. Sleeves will be provided by Wizards. All sleeves will be the same at each draft table. This should take no more than two (2) minutes.
- Players will then draft using the normal procedure.
Steps 1–4 will repeat for boosters 2 and 3.
While cards are being drafted, players may not un-sleeve a card.
After deckbuilding, players should re-sleeve their decks. If the sleeves on a draft deck cause the deck to be marked, penalties will apply.
Schedule
| Day | Time | Tournament Item |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | 8:55 AM | Seating for competitor meeting and Draft 1 posted |
| Friday | 9:00 AM | Competitor meeting begins |
| Friday | 9:05 AM | Draft 1 begins |
| Saturday | 8:55 AM | Seating for competitor meeting and Draft 2 posted |
| Saturday | 9:00 AM | Competitor meeting begins |
| Saturday | 9:05 AM | Draft 2 begins |
| Sunday | 9:00 AM | Top 8 competitor check-in |
| Sunday | 9:45 AM | 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
- Competitors are responsible for bringing their own appropriate counters and tokens
Prizes
Competitors that finish Pro Tour March of the Machine with twenty-seven (27) or more match points will be invited to the next Pro Tour in the 2022-2023 Season.
Competitors that finish with 36 or more match points at the end of the Swiss rounds or the top eight (8) finishing competitors (whichever is greater) will be invites to the Magic World Championship XXIX.
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 U.S Dollars. Prizes are subject to change.
Prizes for the Top 8 finishers are awarded as follows. All competitors will receive at least $1000 regardless of the final placing.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 |
| 2 | $30,000 |
| 3–4 | $15,000 |
| 5–8 | $10,000 |
| 9–16 | $5,000 |
| 17–24 | $3,000 |
| 25–48 | $2,000 |
| 49–100 | $1,500 |
| 101–160 | $1,250 |
| 161–245 | $1,000 |
| 245+ | $1,000 |
| Total | $500,000** |
**Assumes 245 players
Second Chance Pro Tour Qualifier
Date: Sunday, May 7 at 9:00 AM.
Cost: Free
Format: Standard Constructed
Invitations: Four (4) invitations to the Pro Tour at MagicCon: Barcelona
Structure: 6 or 7 Swiss rounds (based on attendance), top 8 cut, 1 single-elimination round
Who can play: Pro Tour March of the Machine Competitors that are not already qualified for the Pro Tour taking place at MagicCon: Barcelona. Remember that if you finish Pro Tour March of the Machine with twenty-seven (27) or more match points, you will be invited to the Pro Tour taking place at MagicCon: Barcelona.