Many of you from all around the world have been hearing about an APAC League but have no idea what it means. It’s not the World Championships, Magic Fest or Set Championships, but a year-long event specifically catered for Magic players in the Asia-Pacific (aka APAC) region. 2022 is the first ever edition and promises national bragging rights for whoever wins the championship in December.
As 2022 is the Year of the Tiger in Chinese tradition, the APAC League’s rewards include tiger-themed promo cards given out at local game shop (LGS) events. These are some of the participating countries: Japan, Singapore (where we are based), Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Here’s an example of a promo card and invite token for the APAC League:
Interested? Here’s some other important information to get started!
Who/How to Enter the APAC League?
Anyone can enter an APAC League qualifying event, but only the top 2 players from these qualifiers will attend the year-end final championship. While you don’t have to be a citizen of one of the APAC countries to take part, you do have to be living/working in these countries since the qualifiers will only happen in the APAC countries.
There’s a pretty healthy turnout for each qualifier event, so expect to play multiple Swiss rounds for at least 4 hours or longer. In one of Singapore’s newest LGS – The Hideout – over 20 players registered, which is higher than the average weeknight event.
Game stores are also allowed to run more than 1 APAC League qualifier event per season. However, since special promo cards (more on that below) are in limited quantities, earlier registrants will get priority.
What Prizes Can You Win? Is There Cash?
These APAC League qualifiers are run similarly to other store events like Game Day or Prerelease. There is an entry fee, and depending on where you place in the final standings, prizes are often given out as Set or Draft Booster packs. The top 2 players will receive an invite to the year-end championships, as well as a playmat featuring the art of the current promo card being given out.
The promo cards are what many players enter the APAC League for. These are foil reprints of existing Magic cards, but feature brand-new, alternate art never been seen before. They are also exclusively given out for the APAC League events and can’t be found in regular Magic products like Secret Lair, or booster boxes.
Most stores will give these out to all participants, but do check with your LGS because we’ve seen cases where only the top 8 players receive the prize (likely due to very limited quantities).
Depending on what is the current last release, these are the promo cards that will be given out:
Kamigawa Neon Dynasty – Temur Sabertooth
Streets of New Capenna – Jedit Ojanen
Commander Legends 2: Battle at Baldur’s Gate – Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow
Dominaria United – Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt
The Brothers’ War – Herald’s Horn
One of the prizes announced so far for the year-end Championship in Dec 2022 are special gold-played foil versions of Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow and Jedit Ojanen cards, alongside a pin in the shape of Herald’s Horn, and 2 bookmarks:
However it is still unclear how many players stand to win this in the final championship. Would it just be the overall winner or would they be generous enough to give it to all finalists/top 8 players?
What Format is Played at the APAC League Events?
While the year-end championship is still a mystery, it is up to individual store owners to decide on the format they would like to run for the APAC League qualifiers. This could be in Standard, Pioneer, Commander, basically whatever the store feels will result in higher participation and better revenue.
So far, most qualifier events in Singapore are in Draft or Sealed format, as it probably offers the most level playing field between more experienced players and those who are new to the game. There’s an extra element of luck involved, as players build their deck from regular booster packs (which of course contain randomised cards).
In other APAC countries, we’ve seen Standard played as well, but none so far for Modern and Pioneer. It’s highly likely that the Commander Draft format will be used for Commander Legends 2.
End Step
It’s great to see the APAC region get some much-needed love from Wizards of the Coast. It’s an event that is exclusive to the region, and is something players of all levels can strive for, rather than wait for the next MagicFest or Pro Tour to come around to Asia Pacific.
The promo cards are on theme, and should hold some decent value because of their rarity. Plus, cards like Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow, Temur Sabertooth and Herald’s Horn are all in demand thanks to Commander.
If you’re visiting Singapore and want a crack at being top dog in the APAC League, drop by on any of our 18 (now actually 20) Magic stores and make some new friends!
