After today's MTGO downtime, players will be able to choose how they would like to pay for their entry to an event, meaning you won't necessarily have to have product to play. If you have the necessary tickets you'll be able to just simply pay for the whole thing. Here is an excerpt of the announcement! Read the full announcement.
We are pleased to announce that after we return from out downtime on January 19, Magic Online will support multiple entry options for the same event! While we are going to start slowly (when we go live, only the Urza’s Saga Block Draft Queue will support this change), over time we will be able to offer even more ways for players to join their favorite events.
Here’s how it works. Finding the tournaments will be the same, but the “Join” button will be replaced with an “Entry Options” button which will open the Entry Requirement Options box. Each option will have its own tab starting with the most common option. Just select the option you want and click “Join”!
For example, in the near future a Scars of Mirrodin draft will be able to accept either 3 Scars of Mirrodin booster packs or 1 unopened Scars of Mirrodin Draft Pack! This means going forward players will no longer be required to open Event Packs to use them in events. In addition, we will have the ability to add additional Entry Options to other events using various digital objects beyond just booster packs and event tickets, though not all events will have multiple entry options.