Wizards of the Coast announced tonight that all in-store Magic: The Gathering events within NA, EU, and LATM have been suspended, and the Ikoria, Lair of the Behemoths launch may get postponed.
WotC asked all WPN stores March 12 to follow local government and health guidelines regarding gatherings amidst concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Store owners were also given permission to sell prerelease sets and Commander boxes to players who didn’t want to participate in the MTG event. As of today, all Ikoria, Lair of the Behemoth events at WPN stores have been suspended until May 10.
“Today, we are announcing that in-store play is suspended in North America, Europe, and Latin America until at least May 10,” said WotC.
The policy of suspended events at local WPN stores goes into effect on March 24. It’s also possible that the launch of Ikoria may get rescheduled, as well.
“We’ll continue monitoring the situation and make adjustments where necessary, including potentially rescheduling Ikoria launch, which many WPN members have asked about,” said WotC.
WotC hasn’t been officially determined at this time whether the release of Ikoria will get postponed and that more information will become available in the next couple of days. It was also announced that WPN stores could use MTG promo packs as a sales incentive. Stores were also approved to give out Buy-a-Box promo cards with shipped orders.
The scheduled release date for Ikoria, Lair of the Behemoths is April. 24. A prerelease tabletop MTG event was supposed to take place from April 17 to 19, which has now been suspended until at least May. 10.
