This past weekend, the final round of Regional Championships for this season took place. Players in the United States, South America, and beyond competed to earn their way to Magic’s biggest stage: the Pro Tour and World Championship.
As players prepare for the second round of 2024-2025’s Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs) running from August 3 to November 3, it appears some new promos have been revealed for everyone to look forward to. Players can earn these promos by competing and performing well in various RCQs and Regional Championships. This group of cards feature some intriguing choices and spicy artwork, so let’s dive right in and see what promos await us!
Sleight of Hand
Kicking things off, we have a gorgeous Sleight of Hand showcasing art from Helvetica Blanc. In this case, Sleight of Hand is given as the participation promo for anyone attending an RCQ at a WPN store. Foil copies may be given out at larger events or at side events during the associated Regional Championships.
As you might expect from a participation promo, Sleight of Hand isn’t a super pricy card. In fact, copies are worth roughly 10 cents in their cheapest traditional forms, according to TCGPlayer market price.
The good news, though, is that Sleight of Hand is a Pioneer staple. Many recent RCQ participation promos, such as
Springleaf Drum
Springleaf Drum
{T}, Tap an untapped creature you control: Add one mana of any color.
and
Explore
Explore
You may play an additional land this turn.
Draw a card.
, follow a similar trend of holding little financial value, but giving Constructed players a sweet alternate-art version of a format staple.
Sleight of Hand was introduced to Pioneer with the release of Wilds of Eldraine, and quickly became a four-of in Izzet Phoenix. Now with playsets of three elite cantrips in the form of Sleight of Hand,
Consider
Consider
Surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.)
Draw a card.
, and
Opt
Opt
Scry 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put that card on the bottom.)
Draw a card.
, bringing back
Arclight Phoenix
Arclight Phoenix
Flying, haste
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you've cast three or more instant and sorcery spells this turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
and enabling
Treasure Cruise
Treasure Cruise
Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Draw three cards.
is as easy as ever. For as long as Cruise stays legal, Phoenix should remain a top-tier archetype in Pioneer and a great place for players to use these promos.
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Supreme Verdict
Next up, we have Supreme Verdict. This version of Supreme Verdict is really cool, showcasing artwork that directly references the Godzilla movie, Destroy All Monsters. Highlighting a bunch of scary beasts in the background of a card that destroys all Creatures is rather amusing and flavorful. Non-foil copies of Supreme Verdict will be given to top finishers of RCQs (presumably top eight), while players that ultimately qualify for the connected Regional Championship will earn foil copies.
Supreme Verdict isn’t a super pricy card in its own right, either. It has been reprinted many times, most recently in Ravnica: Clue Edition. The card currently sits at roughly $2 in its cheapest traditional form. Given that these Secret Lair variants are a bit more exclusive, copies of Supreme Verdict will likely go for more money. For reference, even though non-foil copies of
Expressive Iteration
Expressive Iteration
Look at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand, put one of them on the bottom of your library, and exile one of them. You may play the exiled card this turn.
from Strixhaven are worth less than $1, the non-foil Secret Lair promo variant given at RCQs earlier in the year has a price tag of about $9.
Once again, though, most of the “value” from Supreme Verdict comes from its unique art style and the fact that it’s a Pioneer staple as well. Azorius control decks make great use of Supreme Verdict as a catch-up mechanism against aggressive decks. The “can’t be countered” clause pulls a lot of weight versus tempo decks, like Azorius Spirits.
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Nexus of Fate
Finally, we have the promo for the Regional Championship itself: Nexus of Fate. Non-foil copies of Nexus will be given to all competitors at Regional Championships following the round two RCQs, while foils will only be distributed to the top finishers. Notably, the number of foils given varies from region to region.
Nexus is honestly a bit of a weird inclusion given the other two cards. While Supreme Verdict and Sleight of Hand are both Pioneer staples, Nexus is banned in Pioneer. The card absolutely wreaked havoc on Standard when it was printed and was quickly banned in Pioneer soon after the format’s creation. In the context of Modern or Legacy, though, the card barely sees play.
Fortunately, where this card gets its edge is with its financial value. Nexus has only been featured as a foil buy-a-box promo in M19 and as a Secret Lair card. Even the buy-a-box promo, which is the cheapest available option on average, sits at around $14. Compared to the Regional Championship promo for round one,
Seasoned Pyromancer
Seasoned Pyromancer
When this creature enters, discard two cards, then draw two cards. For each nonland card discarded this way, create a 1/1 red Elemental creature token.
{3}{R}{R}, Exile this card from your graveyard: Create two 1/1 red Elemental creature tokens.
(with Modern Horizons copies going for under $4), Nexus is a solid upgrade in that department.
It’s also worth mentioning that the foils for the Regional Championship promos are generally worth a big sum of money. This is simply because there aren’t many copies distributed in the first place. Even a somewhat mediocre previous promo like
Dragonlord Silumgar
Dragonlord Silumgar
Flying, deathtouch
When Dragonlord Silumgar enters, gain control of target creature or planeswalker for as long as you control Dragonlord Silumgar.
is worth a ton in foil. While the non-foil market price for Dragonlord Silumgar Regional Championship promos sits at about $16, foils boast a market price of $282! Expect Nexus foils to be worth a lot as well.
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Player Reaction
Overall, player reaction to these promos seems generally positive. There are definitely many mixed opinions on Nexus, as some players have noted that, similar to the last Secret Lair printing shown above, Nexus is quite difficult to read. Additionally, some players have made it clear that they would prefer these off-the-wall art styles to strictly be associated with Secret Lairs, and not be used as prizes for competitive events.
Still, the card choices themselves were mostly well-received. Many players, even those that aren’t too fond of the Nexus of Fate art, love Helvetica Blanc’s beautiful rendition of Sleight of Hand. Supreme Verdict’s Godzilla-themed art definitely has a lot of players excited, too. If you’re interested in obtaining any of these promos, check out your local game stores starting in August to start your Regional Championship journey.
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