The story of Magic Spotlight: Eclipsed in Toronto, Canada, began even before the Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place opened its doors to Magic players on Friday morning. With 1,800 players, it was the largest Spotlight Series event in North America (so far), and the largest Magic event ever in Canada!

The convention center hall buzzed with energy as the 1,800 players in the main event joined hundreds of others who came for side events, artist signatures, creator meet-and-greets, and more. Across the event, competitors, judges, and event staff expressed the same sentiment: it was thrilling to see such an incredible turnout.

It was a sold-out event in Toronto, and recent Magic Spotlight: The Avatar champion Simon Nielsen was almost left out in the cold. Luckily, he was able to snag a spot!

Half past midnight is a good time to find out that I never bought a ticket for Spotlight Toronto, despite vividly remembering that I bought it.

If anyone happens to know of an extra ticket I'd be happy to buy it, but I assume the play is to hope for a waitlist tomorrow morning.

— Simon Nielsen (@MrChecklistcard) February 7, 2026

It was an especially chilly weekend (even for Toronto), with temperatures reaching six degrees below zero and a brutal wind chill making it feel even colder. That didn't stop intrepid travelers like Dana Fischer from making the trek to Toronto.

Today I went through a 60 degree temperature drop to get to @FaceToFaceGames #SpotlightEclipsed but it’s OK as I’ll just stay warm playing lots of #MTGLorwyn inside!

Looking forward to seeing people there and I have my Meet and Greet 10:30-12:00 tomorrow (Fri)! pic.twitter.com/3KVcM9tKqJ

— Dana Fischer, The Disciple of Nissa (@DanaFischerMTG) February 6, 2026

The Magic community around the world is still mourning the loss of Kai Budde, an incomparable figure in Magic and a friend, teammate, and mentor to many. It's an absence that will continue to resonate for many events and years to come.

These dice belonged to Kai.

He accidentally gifted them to me when he forgot them at my house and told me to keep them. Meaningless to him but I never use them for fear of losing one.

They’re out today because if there’s any way to celebrate his legacy, it’s at a big tournament pic.twitter.com/gUZSyziGMN

— Marc Anderson (@NEO_MTG) February 7, 2026

Preparing for Lorwyn Eclipsed Limited

Magic Spotlight: Eclipsed was one of only a small handful of Limited Spotlight Series events so far, and preparing for a weekend of Sealed and Draft is a different challenge from Constructed events.

While players preparing for Constructed events will test their matchups and hone their decks and sideboard plans, competitors hoping to do well in Limited finesse their card evaluation and practice, practice, practice.

For recent Canadian Regional Champion Owen Turcotte, Limited practice ahead of the Pro Tour helped prepare him for the Spotlight Series.

"I wasn't a big MTG Arena player before, but I played a lot on MTG Arena because it was very convenient, I could get in MTG Arena games very easily. So, I did a ton of drafts on MTG Arena. And then I went to a testing house the week before the Pro Tour. We did a lot of in-house drafting, Limited meetings, things like that, which helped prepare for the Pro Tour and then also for the Spotlight Series. And then I built a couple of simulated sealed pools because I was already playing games through draft, so I didn't play a lot of Sealed, but I wanted to make sure I was able to know how to build a sealed pool."

While Limited preparation presents its own unique challenges, it's also a one-of-a-kind Magic experience, and for some competitive players, it's their favorite.

"I've never seen another game that's like Limited Magic," said Eduardo Sajgalik, who recently finished in 3rd place at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed. "I've played a lot of games over 20 years and there's just nothing like it. The fact that you get to open a random assortment of cards and build a cohesive strategy from it again and again and again is something that is just unique."

"It's just everything," said longtime competitor (and general fan-favorite player) Christian Calcano. "Figuring out new formats, trying to figure out the archetypes of the draft. I feel like it teaches you everything. All the fundamentals of Magic really apply. And I love opening boosters."

So Many Side Events, So Little Time!

The main event of Magic Spotlight: Eclipsed was sold out at 1,800 players, but hundreds more traveled to the convention hall for side events galore!

The largest of them was the Limited Championship Qualifier, which took place on Sunday. This was only the third of these qualifiers, which are one of the ways that players can punch their ticket to the Magic Limited Championship in 2027. Almost 600 players queued up for the qualifier, which kicked off with eight rounds of Lorwyn Eclipsed Sealed.

After eight rounds, the Top 32 players formed four draft pods, and the winner of each pod earned a spot at the 2027 Magic Limited Championship! Congratulations to Jerry Gao, Matt Sikkink-Johnson, Caleb Buck, and Kyle Lisica!

There were also Commander events for casual and competitive players, Chaos drafts where players drafted the boosters they'd be opening, and meet-and-greets with creators like Canadian favorites LoadingReadyRun and The Spike Feeders!

Day One Undefeated Players

At the end of Day One and eight rounds of Swiss Sealed play, six players had perfect 8-0 records!

Felix Grezes from New York City went 8-0 with a blue-green deck featuring the biggest, bouncing-est Elemental out there, Sunderflock.

Christian Calcano from the state of New York went undefeated with his blue-white build that splashed red. His top card from Day One was the uncommon Wanderwine Farewell because it gave him "the tempo and board presence [he] needed to seal games."

Bernardo Torres from Portugal made his undefeated Day One run with a black-green deck. His standout card of the day was also an uncommon, Morcant's Eyes.

Kale Thompson from Ontario went 8-0 with a green-white deck in which the best card was that not-so-gentle giant, Curious Colossus.

Remi Goupil, from New Brunswick, made his undefeated run with an Esper deck. "I got an insane pool of rare and mythic rare cards with enters abilities," said Goupil, "so Run Away Together was often the surprising ending of many games."

Finally, Andrey Kovalevskiy went undefeated with what he described as "Five-Color Soup," in which the best card was Bre of Clan Stoutarm.

The Top 8 of Magic Spotlight: Eclipsed

On Day Two, players with 18 or more match points returned to the convention hall for the two drafts standing between them and the Top 8. Their share of a $50,000 prize pool, eight Pro Tour invitations, and the title of Spotlight Series champion were all on the line.

At the end of those two drafts, eight players moved on to a third and final draft in the Top 8.

Valerie Jade, 28, from San Francisco, California, made the trip to Toronto because her friends convinced her to, because it was close to Richmond (where she was for the Pro Tour), and because "Magic is sick."

On Day One, her best card was Lluwen, Imperfect Naturalist, or as Jade called the card, "Worm Harvest." In the first draft of Day Two, Jade drafted a blue-white Merfolk deck. Like Calcano on Day One, she found her best card to be Wanderwine Farewell. Her second draft led to a Jund vivid deck where her best card was Sanar, Innovative First-Year.

Jason Qiu, 22, from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, came to the Spotlight Series in Toronto to "play Magic with friends." On Day One, his best card was Eirdu, Carrier of Dawn. In the first draft on Day Two, Qiu drafted a white-green Kithkin deck, and his best cards were two copies of Eclipsed Kithkin. In the second draft, he played blue-red, splashing white, and had an incredible nine rares in his pool, including Loch Mare, Bre of Clan Stoutarm, and more.

Dylan Pratt, 39, from Whitehorse, Canada, was at the Spotlight Series because "my wonderful wife sent me for my birthday." On Day One, his best card was Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom, which he called "a two-drop clock that does it all." On Day Two, his first draft was a "mediocre blue-red Elemental tempo" deck. His best card was Gathering Stone. "That card is messed up," said Pratt. In the second draft, he put together a nearly mono-white deck with a touch of green in which two copies of Reaping Willow were the highlights.

Charles Wong, 35, from Seattle, Washington, also made the Top 8 of the last Limited Spotlight Series event, Magic Spotlight: Dragons in Denver, Colorado, last April. He was in Toronto because he "enjoy playing Limited!" On Day One, his best card was Sunderflock, which won him "games from spots no other card would." He drafted green-black Elves in both drafts on Day Two, with Trystan's Command being the best card in the first draft and Gloomripper the best card in the second.

Eli Swafford, 19, from Atlanta, Georgia, has two previous Spotlight Series Top 8 appearances, both in his hometown of Atlanta. He was at the Spotlight Series because he "found a $22 flight to Toronto, so at that point obviously had to go." On Day One, his best card was Curious Colossus. Swafford lauded the card, saying that it "often just instantly wins as soon as you play it." He drafted blue-white Merfolk in both drafts on Day Two. In the first draft his best card was Kinbinding, and in the second it was Deepchannel Duelist.

Three of the Day One undefeated players went on to make the Top 8 on Day Two!

Andrey Kovalevskiy, 36, from Helsinki, Finland, has played in an assortment of Pro Tours, Mythic Championships, and Arena Championships, and came to Toronto because he thinks Limited is the best. In the first draft of Day Two, he put together a white-green Kithkin deck. His best card was Kinbinding, though he said, "I lost every game I played it in." In the second draft, he drafted black-green without Elves. He said, "I had both Bitterblossom and Bitterbloom Bearer, but the best card was Champion of the Weird."

Remi Goupil, 43, from Moncton, Canada, made the trip to Toronto because he "loves Limited, so it was a no-brainer." In the first draft, he put together an Elementals deck. "I got Ashling's Command as my pack 1, pick 1 and was able to craft a nice aggro deck with a nice long game plan." In the second draft, he drafted Goblins. "I have them all!" he exclaimed.

Christian Calcano, 37, from New York City has two Pro Tour Top 8 appearances and nine Grand Prix Top 8 appearances to his name, along with two wins. He was in Toronto for the mix of friends, Limited, Pro Tour invites, and that fact that it "feels good to travel back to Canada." In the first draft, he built a blue-white Merfolk deck in which the best card was Keep Out, which won him "multiple games no other card would've." In the second draft, he drafted a vivid deck that was green-white and splashed for blue and black. His best card in that deck was Abigale, Eloquent First-Year. "Abigale carried me to victory," said Calcano.

Congratulations to Valerie Jade, the Champion of Magic Spotlight: Eclipsed!

Valerie Jade came into Day Two with a 6-2 record and proceeded to go 3-0 in three back-to-back draft pods to make the Top 8 and then take the trophy! Jade first defeated Jason Qiu 2-1 in the quarterfinals, then dispatched Charles Wong with a quick 2-0 in the semifinals. She faced Remi Goupil in the finals, who had yet to lose a match all weekend.

Goupil took the first game with his Nayadeck, but Jade was able to come back and win the next two with her green-black Elves deck featuring Gloomripper. Congratulations to the champion of Magic Spotlight: Eclipsed, Valerie Jade!