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2026 Commandfest Schedule Revealed
While competitive Magic: The Gathering events are seeing a rise thanks to the return of things like the Spotlight Series, there is no shortage of fans of the game's more casual side. To celebrate this, Wizards is once again bringing back the CommandFest line of events in 2026!
This year will see 16 CommandFest events taking place around the world. The first two will take place in Adelaide, Australia and Giessen, Germany in May with events continuing throughout the rest of the year afterwards.
Additionally, these events will feature a new promotional card depicting a textless version of Fyndhorn Elves. The promo boasts gorgeous artwork by Julie Dillon when you attend one of these events.
Check out the official announcement article here for all the details about the next CommandFest coming to a city near you.
Secrets of Strixhaven Side Story Released and Spotlight Promo Revealed
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its accompanying Spotlight Series event may have come and gone, but now it's just about time for the next release!
Secrets of Strixhaven is right around the corner with previews starting in just a few weeks. In the leadup to it, we're getting some fun information to go along with the new set!
Jilesa, an eager young reporter for the Strixhaven Star, must interview Professor Zarek for a tedious puff piece. But when he asks her to help him with a secret project, she'll have to decide if she's willing to risk her life in search of a scoop.
Read the Story: magic.wizards.com/en/news/magi...
— Magic: The Gathering (@magic.wizards.com) March 9, 2026 at 11:09 AM
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Things kicked off on Monday with an interesting side story coming out rather early. This story generated a lot of buzz for its depiction of the Planeswalker Ral Zarek as a Silverquill professor on Strixhaven. While it's never clearly specified, this seems to indicate that he is aligning with Orzhov (White-Black) colors here as opposed to his usual Izzet (Blue-Red) affiliation.
Could this be a new turn for Ral, or does it hint at something coming with the lead-up to Reality Fracture later this year?
?Prepare your notes & grab your spell components, #SpotlightSOS is coming this spring semester?
Choose your college! Choose your city!
Learn more & enroll today ? Mtg.social/SpotlightSOS
— Play Magic (@playmagic.com) March 10, 2026 at 1:50 PM
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Additionally, an announcement went live on Tuesday alongside the CommandFest reveal detailing further information for the next Spotlight Series events. These events, dubbed Spotlight: Secrets, will take place in London, UK and Chiba, Japan in May and will provide participants with a special Liliana Vess promotional card.
Further details of Secrets of Strixhaven remain a mystery, but we'll no doubt be finding out more quite soon.
TMNT Regal Cross Promotion with MTG Coming Soon
For a limited time, see TMNT: Mutant Mayhem + Chrome Alone 2 and get 1 MTG booster pack. Plus, get a code to redeem 3 digital packs on MTG Arena. Get tickets now!
— Regal (@regalmovies.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 2:00 PM
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With the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes a particularly interesting promotional release.
A popular trend in recent years has been older films making a return showing in theaters around the United States. Most recently, fans of the Turtles have had the opportunity to catch the first two live action films in theaters once again, with the second one, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in select theaters right now.
In late May, Paramount Pictures is bringing their most recent TMNT film - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - and its accompanying short film back to theaters. As part of the return, anyone who sees the film in a Regal theater will be treated to a free TMNT Magic: the Gathering Play Booster on the house.
This isn't the first time we've seen this happen, as fans of Final Fantasy could find a free Magic: The Gathering Play Booster in physical Switch 2 copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Similarly, the game's sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, is set to come with a special promo of Zack Fair later this year.
If you'd like to see a critically acclaimed film as well as get your hands on a free booster pack, check out your local Regal from May 27-29.
Decklist of the Week
Mono-Green Landfall | TMT Standard | John Puglisi Clark, 1st Place Magic Spotlight: TMNT
- Creatures (22)
- 2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
- 4 Badgermole Cub
- 4 Icetill Explorer
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Mightform Harmonizer
- 4 Sazh's Chocobo
- Instants (2)
- 2 Royal Treatment
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Esper Origins
- Enchantments (6)
- 2 Meltstrider's Resolve
- 4 Earthbender Ascension
- Lands (26)
- 14 Forest
- 1 Promising Vein
- 3 Escape Tunnel
- 4 Ba Sing Se
- 4 Fabled Passage
We have a winner at #SpotlightTMNT! After two days of competition & a Standard metagame full of twists and turns, John Puglisi Clark emerged victorious at #SCGRichmond and earned a one-of-a-kind trophy!
Congrats to the champion of Spotlight Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
— Play Magic (@playmagic.com) March 8, 2026 at 7:07 PM
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This week may have seen the reveal of the next Spotlight Series event promos, but last weekend saw the most recent Spotlight event happen in Richmond Virginia.
Magic Spotlight: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to a close this past Sunday with a diverse meta boiling down to a top 8 filled with Landfall and Izzet lists. In the end, the powerful Landfall deck prevailed, continuing to boast some of the most powerful numbers in the current Standard metagame.
Some lists throughout the weekend saw the innovation of new TMNT cards such as Leatherhead, Swamp Stalker, Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11, and Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order. In the end, though, a more classic build that we've long come to know took it down in the hands of John Puglisi Clark.
Congratulations John!
Paige Smith
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/themaverickgirl.bsky.social
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YouTube: TheMaverickGal
