The track to the Altered World Championships 2026 offers new routes to the top including through local game store and Board Game Arena events, according to a new article. Qualifying events begin in the first quarter of 2026, even before the release of the Seeds of Unity set in February.

The article also gave updates on organized play projects including the next Tumult Championship and the Judge Program.

2026 Qualifiers

The new competitive calendar breaks down into three seasons: Winter (Q1 2026), Spring (Q2 2026) and Summer (Q3 2026).

Any LGS that participated in the the SEEDS Gamefound campaign will be able to host a qualifier tournament for the season, with the top players moving on to Season Finals to be held on BGA at the end of each quarter. Community Leagues on BGA will also have access to these tournaments and can give players a fully digital route to the Season Finals. The winners of the invite-only Season Finals will advance as Finalists for the Altered World Championships in Q4 2026.

Once all three seasons are finished, an online Invitational will be held to give a last-chance opportunity for Season Finals winners to move forward to the Championships.

Exclusive rewards will be a part of the season’s play, including an exclusive participation token for any player competing in the Season Finals. Uniques will also be available for winners at every stage, with totals depending on the number of players.

In-person Qualifiers

New in-person Qualifier events will be organized for 2026, similar to those held for the 2025 season, with the winner earning a direct place in the Finals. Details on those events will be coming early in 2026.

The World Championship Finals themselves will be preceded by another Last Chance Qualifier for one of the last eight seats. The Finals will welcome a total of 32 player to the tables, also similar to October’s events.

An exclusive alternate art Brassbug will be given to players who reach the Top 32, and stamped alternate art Hexarchs will be given to the champion of each faction. Additional rewards will be detailed in later updates.

Season updates

The new season brings new options through recognition of additional limited formats through Draft and Sealed play throughout the competition.

Online tournaments have also officially been added to Altered’s official Sponsorship Program for tournament support, released originally for LGS-sponsored in-person events in February 2025. While the program initially required partnership with a physical LGS, that restriction has been removed. The criteria for a partner community league includes the following:

• The league must have hosted a BGA tournament with more than 50 players.
• The league must have hosted three BGA tournaments within a 30-day window over the past two months.
• The league’s competition results must be published on 39cards.com.

Tournaments meeting these requirements or approaching them should contact the Organized Play team at op@altered.gg.

Tournament play rewards and additional projects

The Tumult Championship will return after being paused during the Skybound Odyssey season to manage the shift to the Gamefound distribution model. With SEEDS, the event will have an updated prize structure with increased format flexibility. There will also be new developments for the related lore event. More details will be shared early next year.

The Judge Program is continuing to be developed going into the next competitive season, with key objectives focused on streamlining official ruling and policy procedures as well as building connections between judges and tournament organizers.

Publishing a complete update to the Tournament Guidelines is a more immediate priority for the team, including simplifying the End-of-Match rules across all game formats.

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