Wizards of the Coast (WotC) announced the next Arena Open is scheduled for the weekend of January 15-16 and will feature the Alchemy format.
As usual, Day 1 will offer the option to play Best-of-One or Best-of-Three and players can enter Day 1 as many times as they wish. Reaching seven wins before taking three losses in Best-of-One or four wins before one match loss in Best-of-Three qualifies a player for Day 2. The max prize has been increased from $2,000 to $2,500, though it requires an eighth win on Day 2, while the entry fee for Day 1 went up with a decrease in Day 1 prizes. All players who enter Day 1 receive the Undead Butler card sleeve.
Entry fee for Day 1 is now 25,000 gold or 5,000 gems (previously was 20,000 gold or 4,000 gems for Constructed Arena Opens) and players don’t receive any prizes on Day 1 unless they reach at least five wins in Best-of-One (previously awarded gems starting at three wins). The new structure has also removed the gems awarded for making Day 2, which used to be 2,000 for Best-of-One and 5,000 for Best-of-Three, and moved them to Day 2. The current Day 1 prizes can be seen below, followed by the previous Constructed Arena Open prizes.
Old Day 1 Prize Structure
| Best-of-One | Best-of-Three |
|---|---|
| 7 wins: 2,000 gems, Make Day 2 | 4 wins: 5,000 gems, Make Day 2 |
| 6 wins: 1,600 gems | 3 wins: 5,000 gems |
| 5 wins: 1,200 gems | 2 wins: 2,500 gems |
| 4 wins: 800 gems | 1 win: 1,000 gems |
| 3 wins: 400 gems | 0 wins: no rewards |
| 0-2 wins: no rewards |
New Day 1 Prize Structure
| Best-of-One | Best-of-Three |
|---|---|
| 7 wins: Make Day 2 | 4 wins: Make Day 2 |
| 6 wins: 2,500 gems | 3 wins: 5,000 gems |
| 5 wins: 1,000 gems | 2 wins: 3,000 gems |
| 0-4 wins: no rewards | 1 win: 1,000 gems |
| 0 wins: no rewards | |
Day 1 starts at 9 AM ET/6 AM PT on January 15 with signups ending at 6 AM ET/3 AM PT on January 16. Day 1 ends at 9 AM ET/6 AM PT on January 16.
Players who reach Day 2 must register to play between 9-11 AM ET/6-8 AM PT on January 16. No new matches will be paired after 8 PM ET/5 PM PT. Day 2 is Traditional Alchemy (Best-of-Three) and players play until they reach eight wins or two losses. Current Day 2 prizes can be seen below followed by the previous prize structure.
Old Day 2 Prize Structure
| Wins | Rewards |
|---|---|
| 7 wins | $2,000 |
| 6 wins | $1,000 |
| 5 wins | 20,000 gems |
| 4 wins | 10,000 gems |
| 3 wins | 6,000 gems |
| 2 wins | 4,000 gems |
| 1 win | 2,000 gems |
| 0 wins | no rewards |
New Day 2 Prize Structure
| Wins | Rewards |
|---|---|
| 8 wins | $2,500 |
| 7 wins | $2,000 |
| 6 wins | $1,000 |
| 5 wins | 25,000 gems |
| 4 wins | 10,000 gems |
| 3 wins | 7,500 gems |
| 0-2 wins | 5,000 gems |
Players can now win $2,500 for hitting eight wins and receive a Day 1 entry fee of 5,000 gems back for no wins on Day 2, but don’t get any additional prizes until they reach three wins. Seven wins still awards $2,000 and six wins awards $1,000.
All details about the Arena Open can be found here.