CommandFests are large scale events where players and organizers gather to celebrate all things Commander/EDH. The date for the first CommandFests of 2023 will coincide with the March of the Machine prerelease on the weekend of April 14, 2023 to April 16, 2023 (see "'Magic: The Gathering - March of the Machine'"). The locations and organizers are as follows for that weekend's events:
- Richmond, Virginia; event organized by Star City Games
- Indianapolis, Indiana; event organized by Pastimes Games
- Orlando, Florida; event organized by CoolStuffInc
- Seattle, Washington; event organized by Laughing Dragon
The regional organizers will be hosting their prerelease events at the CommandFests, which may offer competition for FLGS trying to run their March of the Machine events on the same weekend. WotC claims that they "don't expect these events to significantly impact store-hosted prerelease in these regions." After stating this, WotC then went on to offer suggestions to retailers as how to take advantage of the additional players visiting the area for the larger event. Some of these suggestions included hosting after-hours events and advertising events for other formats like Pioneer or Modern.
Wizards of the Coast also recently announced their MagicCon schedule for 2023, a event series which celebrates Magic: The Gathering's 30th anniversary (see "MagicCon Schedule for 2023").
