Unknown Event

The Unknown Event is a regular surprise event run during MagicCons and hosted by Gavin Verhey. Each event has a unique theme and set up with a few recurring elements.
Decks are constructed using a unique chaos sealed deck that includes packs from the latest set release but may also include non-draft booster packs (e.g. Set Boosters), Mystery Booster boosters, and/or boosters from other sets. All card pools also include a selection of playtest cards designed specifically for the Unknown Event.
Players use a "rolling pairing" system to reduce waiting times. Player pairings occur on an ad hoc basis as players approach the judge after deck construction, after a round, or after they've taken a break. By pairing players as they are ready to play, attendees are free to move between convention events and the Unknown Event. Each event consists of three rounds.
The event is run twice during the MagicCon (one event per day over two days) with the Saturday event usually run in support of a charity.
==2023==
===Philadelphia===
The Philadelphia event was themed after Mirrans vs. Phyrexians. Players were assigned to either team and played chaos-sealed matches with two Mystery Booster draft boosters, three Phyrexia: All Will Be One draft boosters, one Phyrexia: All Will Be One Set Booster, and ten playtest cards, featuring unique designs for the event. Gavin designed total of 62 test cards that played off the Mirran vs. Phyrexian theme. During the matches, players could score points for their team through wins and select test cards. The Mirrans went on to win the event on Friday and the Phyrexians won the event on Saturday.
The charity supported by the Saturday event was Black Girls Code.
===Minneapolis===
The event returned to Minneapolis with new, unique designs for the test cards. Unlike the bare test card stickers used in Philadelphia, the stickers now have the regular card frame to help distinguish the test card from the base card used. 
Chaos-sealed decks were built using three March of the Machine draft boosters, one March of the Machine set booster, two Mystery Booster boosters, along with a "handful" of playtest cards. A total of 62 new cards were designed for this event, as well as 11 playtest planes. While matches were occurring one of six playtest plane cards affected all players in the event. The planes would rotate after approximately 20 minutes but if players were in the middle of a turn when that occurred, the plane wouldn't take effect until the beginning of the next upkeep.
The charity supported by the Saturday event was The Trevor Project.
===Barcelona===
The event at Barcelona used a unique chaos commander sealed deck format. Decks were 60 cards with a commander but matches were played 1v1 with players starting at 30 Life, in a similar set up to Brawl. The card pool consisted of three draft boosters of Commander Masters, two draft boosters of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, one Tales of Middle-earth set booster, and ten Unknown Event playtest cards. As with Commander Masters draft, all eligible commanders with one or fewer colors in their color identity were treated as if they have partner. A total of 62 new cards were designed for this event.
===Gen Con Indiana===
A special one-off Unknown Event was run at Gen Con Indiana. Due to the short time frame between MagicCon Barcelona and Gen Con, the Unknown Event used the same format and playtest cards as MagicCon Barcelona. The only new card introduced was the event prize card.
Card name 	Code	Card text	Notes
<c>Gen, Confider of Ages</c>	MZ03	
Legendary Creature Human Wizard
Gen gets +1/+1 for each different year of release among other nontoken permanents you control. (For example, if a card was released in 1993, that's one year of release. Specific editions matter.)
Whenever Gen attacks, if its power is 30 or greater, you win the game.
Prize Card for the Unknown event at Gen Con, August 3rd, 2023.
0/0	Prize card for the Unknown event at Gen Con Indiana.
===Las Vegas===
As the last event of the season, Las Vegas used a modified format with players receiving two test card packs of ten cards. A "Vegas" pack with new card designs and a "Barcelona" pack that was primarily a repack of the test cards from the Barcelona event with 15 fan favorites from other events included in the card pool. Prior to the event, Gavin hosted a "You Make the Unknown Card" panel where attendees were able create three special cards for what, at the time, they believed would be a future Unknown event. A twist reveal meant the cards were actually designed for the Las Vegas event and each player got a copy of one at random. A total of 31 new cards were designed for the event in addition to the three created at the panel.
The event used the same chaos commander sealed deck format as Barcelona. Players received three draft boosters of Commander Masters, three draft boosters of Wilds of Eldraine, one pack of playtest card reprints from previous Unknown events, one pack of playtest cards designed for the event, and one of the three cards design at the "You Make the Unknown Card" panel at random.
The charity supported by the Saturday event was Extra Life.
==2024==
===Chicago===
Prior to MagicCon Chicago Gavin previewed an Unknown event card on the Tolarian Community College series Shuffle Up & Play. The card was a hint to the theme of the legendary creatures in the event each one representing a Magic: The Gathering content creator.
The Chicago event built off the previous year's format by using a chaos commander sealed deck format. Decks were 60 cards with a commander but matches were played 1v1 with players starting at 30 Life, in a similar set up to Brawl. As with the 2023 events at Barcelona and Las Vegas, players were able to use the "monocolor Partner" rule where all eligible commanders with one or fewer colors in their color identity are treated as if they have partner. To capture the mystery theme of Murders at Karlov Manor, all players started each game with their commander face down and only reveled them when they were cast for the first time.
The card pool consisted of three draft boosters of Commander Masters, two draft boosters of The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, one Tales of Middle-earth set booster, ten Unknown Event playtest cards, and one of the three cards designed at the "You Make the Unknown Card" panel at random. Thirteen of the playtest cards were reprints from previous events that had worked well and been popular. 48 cards were new designs, for a total of 61 playtest cards.
The charity supported by the Saturday event was The Trevor Project.
===Amsterdam===
The event in Amsterdam continued the trend of using a chaos commander sealed deck format. Decks were 60 cards with a pair of commanders but matches were played 1v1 with players starting at 30 Life, in a similar set up to Brawl. Unlike the Chicago event, all commanders were able to be played as though they had Partner.
In a twist from the Chicago event, players attending the "You Make the Unknown Card" panel designed cards that were not intended to be used at Amsterdam, but were saved for MagicCon Las Vegas.
The card pool consisted of three draft boosters of TBA, two draft boosters of TBA, one TBA set booster, and ten Unknown Event playtest cards. TBA playtest cards were reprints from previous events that had worked well and been popular. 28 cards were new designs, for a total of TBA playtest cards.
The charity supported by the Saturday event was SeriousFun.
===Gen Con Indianapolis===
A one-off event was held at Gen Con Indianapolis on Sunday, August 4th. This event primarily re-used test cards from previous events but included two new cards designed during a "You make the card" panel on the Thursday prior. The event was a chaos commander sealed deck format. Decks were 60 cards with players starting at 30 Life. Unlike normal commander decks, the decks in this event could include cards that were outside a commander's color identity.
The card pool consisted of one draft booster of Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Dominaria United, three play boosters of Modern Horizons 3, one Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate collector booster, a <c>Lightning Bolt</c> and a pack of Unknown Event playtest cards. 31 playtest cards were reprints from previous events that had worked well and been popular. Two cards were new designs, for a total of TBA playtest cards.
===Las Vegas===
This was the first Unknown Event to be run over all three days of the MagicCon. Gavin hosted the Friday event but, due to a scheduling conflict with his friend's wedding, gave hosting duties to Mark Rosewater and Matt Tabak for the Saturday and Sunday events.
This event was run using a commander sealed deck format but without the deckbuilding restriction of color identity. In a change from previous events, the card pool consisted of six Mystery Booster 2 booster packs and ten Unknown Event playtest cards. 13 playtest cards were reprints from previous events that had worked well and been popular. A special re-issue of included updated "Oracle" text, a new name and a new mechanic, resulting in . Matt used his card templating experience to review both the new cards and the reprints, providing a more rules-accurate text box. 44 cards were new designs, with an additional three cards being issued from the MagicCon Amsterdam You Make the Card panel, for a total of 47 new playtest cards.
The charity supported by the Saturday event was Extra Life.
==References==
Category:Chaos draft sets
Category:Charity support