Summary of the 2013 changes to Wizards of the Coast premier play
In late April 2013, Wizards of the Coast announced a set of changes to premier play, the top tier of its organized play: Pro Tours, Grand Prix, the Pro Players Club and the qualification paths connecting them. The announcement came from Hélène Bergeot of Wizards of the Coast. StarCityGames.com summarized it in a news post dated April 25, 2013, and Hipsters of the Coast analyzed it in early May. This page summarizes the changes as they were reported at the time. Some details, such as event locations, were later revised.
Background: the Pro Players Club
The Pro Players Club was announced in May 2005 and took effect at Pro Tour London that year. It rewarded players based on Pro Points earned at Pro Tours and Grand Prix. In 2012 it was overhauled into three levels: Silver, Gold and Platinum. The 2013 announcement raised the point thresholds and changed what each level received.
New level thresholds
| Level | Before | After (2013–14) | Benefits as reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 15 points | 20 points | Pro Tour invitation on promotion (no travel), 10 Qualifying Points per Magic Online Championship Series season |
| Gold | 30 points | 35 points | $500 appearance fee at each Pro Tour, 15 QPs per MOCS season |
| Platinum | 45 points | 50 points | A "sleep-in" at every Grand Prix attended, 20 QPs per MOCS season |
Hall of Famers also received the Grand Prix sleep-in. The Qualifying Point changes were scheduled to start with Magic Online Championship Series Season 7 on June 12, 2013. Hipsters of the Coast noted that to reach Silver for the new season, a player needed 20 Pro Points earned between May 20, 2013 and August 3, 2014. Its analysis focused on Silver as a realistic way to "get on or stay on" the Pro Tour circuit.
Grand Prix changes
- Top five only. Only a player's five best Grand Prix finishes would count toward the season's Pro Points total. The MTG Wiki records that this cap rose to six in 2014–15.
- Shorter events. Grand Prix would run at most 15 rounds: nine on Day One and six on Day Two.
- Invites at large events. Individual Grand Prix with 1,200 or more players would award Pro Tour invitations, without airfare, to everyone finishing with at least 39 Swiss points (13-2-0 or 12-0-3). The rule was set to begin with GP Portland and GP Beijing. Team Grand Prix invitations were still undecided.
- Grand Prix Trials. From Season 3 (starting August 17, 2013), trial winners would receive two byes instead of three.
Pro Tour status and qualifying
- Every Pro Tour winner would receive Platinum status for the rest of the current season and the whole following season.
- Sponsor's Exemption invitations were discontinued, as were the Silver- and Gold-level Magic Online PTQs. Special Pro Tour invitations continued.
- Silver invitations would be issued the Thursday before each Pro Tour. A Silver promotion earned at the season's last event would carry an invitation to the first Pro Tour of the next season.
Season timing and the 2014 schedule
Seasons would now start and end in summer. The first Grand Prix after the Core Set Pro Tour would open the next season. The new season began with GP Guadalajara on May 24, 2013. The announcement listed this schedule for 2014:
| Event | When / where (as announced) | Qualifying window |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Tour Born of the Gods | February 2014, Europe (TBD) | — |
| Pro Tour Journey into Nyx | May 2014, Atlanta | Dec 2, 2013 – Mar 9, 2014 |
| Pro Tour Magic 2015 | August 2014, Portland | Mar 10 – Jun 1, 2014 |
| Pro Tour "Huey" (codename) | October 2014, Honolulu | Jun 2 – Aug 24, 2014 |
| Worlds Week | December 2014, Nice, France | World Championship + World Magic Cup |
What happened next
The local Pro Tour Qualifier system was later restructured. The MTG Wiki records that the classic PTQ was retired in February 2015 and replaced by the two-stage Preliminary PTQ and Regional PTQ system. The Pro Players Club continued, with a Bronze level added in 2017, until it ended in 2019. For the Pro Tours that followed directly after this announcement, see Pro Tour Dragon's Maze and Pro Tour Theros.