Overview
Magic: The Gathering's Pro Tour Nauctis will take place at MagicCon: Detroit in Detroit, Michigan, on February 26–28, 2027.
The formats for Pro Tour Nauctis are as follows:
- Nauctis: The Sunken Realm Booster Draft
- Modern Constructed
Official hashtag: #PTNAU
Location
MagicCon: Detroit
Huntington Place Convention Center
1 Washington Blvd
Detroit, Michigan
United States
Invited Competitors
Pro Tour Nauctis is an invitation-only tournament. Invitations are awarded as follows:
- Top 8 finishers at Magic World Championship 32
- Competitors that finished in 9th through 24th place at Magic World Championship 32
- Competitors with thirty-nine (39) or more points in the Adjusted Match Points standing generated at the conclusion of Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering® | Marvel Super Heroes
- Top-finishing competitors from each Pro Tour Nauctis Regional Championship
- Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes competitors that finished with thirty (30) or more match points
- Top 16 finishers from Arena Championship 13
- The eight (8) competitors from the Magic Online Champions Showcase that awards invitations to Pro Tour Nauctis
- Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame Members who have selected Pro Tour Nauctis as their once-per-season Pro Tour invitation benefit
- Competitors that are otherwise invited to Pro Tour Nauctis
The Pro Tour Nauctis 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
Modern decklists will be due in Melee on Wednesday, February 24, 2027, at 12 p.m. (Detroit-local time).
During the Modern rounds, opponents' decklists will be available for viewing on Melee.gg 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 rounds of Booster Draft, only competitors from the featured draft table will have access to their opponent's decklist. These will be paper checklists.
Pro Tour Hours
The estimated hours of operation for Pro Tour Nauctis are as follows:
- Friday and Saturday: The Pro Tour play area opens at 8 a.m. and closes at the end of the last Swiss round.
- Sunday: The Pro Tour play area opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m.
Registration
In-person registration takes place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 25, 2027. If you are unable to attend this registration session on Thursday, late registration will be available Friday morning from 8 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 Melee.gg prior to Thursday, competitors must still register on site to confirm they are in Detroit, 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
- A passport
- A copy of a birth certificate 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: Three (3) rounds of Nauctis: The Sunken Realm Booster Draft, followed by five (5) rounds of Modern Constructed
- Saturday: Three (3) rounds of Nauctis: The Sunken Realm Booster Draft, followed by five (5) rounds of Modern 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 22, 2027.
- Competitors in the Top 8 playoff are seeded in order from 1st through 8th. Seeding is determined by the following:
- 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 Modern 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 Modern deck for Day One, Day Two, and the Top 8 playoff.
- Competitors are responsible for knowing all tournament rules.
Prizes
Competitors that finish with thirty (30) or more match points will be invited to the second Pro Tour of 2027 (Tokyo, Japan).
Competitors that have thirty-nine (39) or more Adjusted Match Points (AMP) in the post-Pro Tour Nauctis AMP standing will be invited to the second Pro Tour of 2027 (Tokyo, Japan).
Competitors that finish with thirty-six (36) or more match points at the end of the Swiss rounds or Top 8 finishing competitors (whichever is greater) will be invited to Magic World Championship 33 (Amsterdam, Netherlands).
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 Top 8 finishers are awarded as follows. All competitors will receive at least $500 regardless of the final placement. The complete, final prize chart will be determined the week of February 22, 2027.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 |
| 2 | $30,000 |
| 3–4 | $15,000 |
| 5–8 | $9,000 |
Second Chance Pro Tour Qualifier
- Date: Sunday, February 28, 2027, at 9:30 a.m.
- Cost: Free
- Format: Modern Constructed
- Invitations: Four (4) invitations to the second Pro Tour of 2027 (Tokyo, Japan)
- Format: Single elimination
- Who can play: Pro Tour Nauctis competitors that are not already qualified for the second Pro Tour of 2027
If a competitor (1) finishes Pro Tour Nauctis with thirty (30) or more match points, or (2) has thirty-nine (39) or more Adjusted Match Points (AMP) in the post-Pro Tour Nauctis AMP standing, they will be invited to the second Pro Tour of 2027.