Patch Highlights

• Throne of Eldraine is now available in Magic: The Gathering Arena!
• Renewal Gift and Rewards
• Special Launch Events – Play Any Deck, Win Every Card!

Maintenance Note

• This is a major game update. Players should expect a large download size.

Thank You to Our Beta Players

To celebrate the official launch of Magic: The Gathering Arena, Beta players will be receiving a special gift in appreciation for the games played, bug reports filed, and feedback received.

• Fblthp Player Avatar
• Fblthp, The Lost Card Sleeve

Players will receive an email that contains a code they can redeem for their gift. It may take up to a week for you to receive your email (especially for players who have joined in the past few days). Please note that each code is unique, and can only be redeemed once! Thank you once again, and we look forward to showing you what’s next for MTG Arena!

Throne of Eldraine

Set Mechanics

Adventures

• When choosing if to cast the Adventure or the Creature, the two options will have unique visual effects, the darkness of the wilds for the Adventure, or the bright light of the battlefield for the Creature
  
• The corresponding effect will persist as it goes onto the stack.
• The creature effect will also be seen around the card when it is in exile as a near-hand castable, signifying that you can only cast the creature at that point.
• Note: These visual effects are independent of the color of the card, it’s always the purple/yellow for Adventure, and yellow/gold for the Creature

Food

• As seen in the Courtside Brawl event, we’re trying out a new confirmation interface when sacrificing Food tokens
  
• When you click the food token a small notification pops out of the card:
  • Clicking the notification or card itself confirms
  • Clicking anywhere else dismisses (Food token will not be sacrificed)

Adamant

• Spells with Adamant get an additional effect when cast with three mana of the indicated, or in the case of artifacts, three mana of the same color
• A card in your hand with Adamant will have a highlighted badge and the card glow when a player can cast it and meet the Adamant requirement (i.e. spend three mana of the color indicated on the card)
  • If you can’t meet the Adamant requirement, you’ll cast the card normally with no extra prompts
    
  • If you can’t avoid meeting the Adamant requirement, you’ll also cast the card normally, only now you’ll see the Adamant visual glow around the card while in your hand and on the stack.
    
  • When casting the card, if you have the mana for Adament or some other distribution, the auto-tapper will let you choose between either option:
    
  • You can select the orange “Pay Adamant” button to ensure you meet the Adamant requirement, select the grey prompt button to ensure you avoid it, or choose your own solution by manually tapping your lands.
  • Mousing over either button will show you what Auto-Tap will use, and as always you can press Z to back out.

Throne of Eldraine Card Notes

Happily Ever After

• Mousing over this card will show you hanger that indicates exactly how close you are to blissfully winning the game.

Robber of the Rich

• Cards exiled by a Robber of the Rich will only appear as near hand castables on turns you’ve attacked with a rogue, but you can always identify the exiled cards that you could cast if you attacked with a rogue by the arrow badge the Robber has granted them.
• Remember that lands the Robber exiled will be stuck there for the rest of the game!

Seven Dwarves

• If you collect four copies of the card Seven Dwarves, you can put up to seven copies in your deck. Each card is Seven Dwarves (so I guess you end up with Forty-Nine Dwarves?)

Sorcerous Spyglass

• Back for another two years of Standard, we’ll now show you your opponent’s hand in the name a card browser.

Sundering Stroke

• This card effectively has a variant of Adamant that demands seven red mana instead of three.
• When casting this spell, the experience will be very similar to casting an Adamant spell. If you have the mana sources to cast it with or without seven red mana you’ll get that Adamant style prompt that lets you choose how you want to cast it.

Now what about that pesky damage division…

• We’re going to ask you to divide the damage and show that division while the spell is on the stack even if you are paying seven red mana.
• Why? Let’s say the spell should get copied, perhaps your opponent has a Narset’s Reversal, the copy probably didn’t have any mana spent to cast it and will have to use the original spell’s damage division choices, even when choosing new targets.

The Great Henge

• It may be a mana ability, but we’ll stop for it like any other action as you may need that 2 life, no need to set a stop!
• Psst! Don’t forget to tap it during your opponent’s end step if you didn’t need the mana earlier!

Wicked Wolf

You will hold priority in response to putting Wicked Wolf’s fight trigger onto the stack if you have any actions, just in case you have food for the wolf to eat. Please note this is specific to Wicked Wolf due to the combination of abilities on the card, for other cards use Full Control or set a stop in the current phase if you plan on responding to your own trigger.

Known Issue:

• The rules text on certain Adventure cards may appear white if they have a card style applied.

Eldraine Mastery

(Also Shown: Renewal Rewards)

Developer’s Note: Our goal for the Mastery System is to reward players throughout a set’s release. This means the number of levels and rewards available for each Set Mastery is flexible depending on the time between set releases – case and point, Throne of Eldraine. For this set, the Set Mastery available to all players will reward packs through Level 92, and the Mastery Pass will provide additional rewards to Level 110 – and beyond.

To see all available rewards, check out our Eldraine Mastery System article.

• As with Core Set 2020, all players can still earn their 3x packs per week
• If you are eligible for Renewal Rewards, additional rewards are available through the first 25 levels, highlighted with a green visual effect
• We’ve spaced out certain rewards (such as the Fae Fox upgrades) to correspond with the longer set time frame
• We scaled the Set Mastery to be less dependent on codes and event rewards; our goal is to make it possible for players to be able to complete the Set Mastery through Quest rewards and Weekly Wins
  • We will still have the occasional code and/or event reward for XP, but these are meant to be more ‘catch-up’ opportunities than a requirement to complete the Set Mastery
• We also scaled this to make it easier to reach the maximum level through day-to-day play. With Core Set 2020, Level 80 was where we expected most players to end up with Level 100 being more of a “stretch goal”. However, we realized that if we say you can reach Level 110 – you want to be able to reach Level 110
• For those who purchase the Mastery Pass, we added rewards beyond Level 110 for the overachievers. Now for every level beyond 110, you’ll receive an Uncommon ICR that has a 5% chance to upgrade to a Rare/Mythic Rare:
  
  • This is something new we’re trying specifically for Throne of Eldraine. We’re going to see how this (and the other changes) perform before we start finalizing our plans for Theros Beyond Death.

Eldraine Mastery Tree

• We’ve introduced a new Realm-themed Mastery Tree for Throne of Eldrain
  
  
• As a reminder, Set Mastery Orbs are set specific; you cannot redeem Core Set 2020 Mastery Orbs on the Eldraine Mastery Tree (and vice versa!)
  • If you have unspent Core Set 2020 Mastery Orbs, you have until Theros Beyond Death to redeem!

Renewal Rewards

• Renewal is here! After logging in, eligible players* will be able to open their Renewal Gift to receive 10 Rare or higher individual card rewards (ICRs)
  
• Additional Renewal Rewards are available through Eldraine Mastery (no Mastery Pass required):
  • Level 3: 2x Uncommon ICRs
  • Level 5: 1x Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance booster pack
  • Level 7: 2x Uncommon ICRs
  • Level 11: 2x Uncommon ICRs
  • Level 15: 1x War of the Spark and Core Set 2020 booster pack
  • Level 17: 2x Uncommon ICRs
  • Level 21: 2x Uncommon ICRs
  • Level 25: 2x Throne of Eldraine booster packs

In order to be eligible for Renewal Rewards, players must have created their Magic: The Gathering Arena account prior to September 26, 2019 at 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC). If you created your account prior to this day/time and you do not receive your renewal gift or rewards, please contact support so they can assist you.

Events

PLAY ANY DECK – STANDARD

Event Details: We’ll provide access to playsets (four copies) of every card in Standard, which you can use to build and play any deck in Standard. You can build as many decks as you like, and you can change them between matches.
Event Dates: September 26 at 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC) to October 1 at 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
Entry Fee: None, but you can only participate once.
Format: Standard Best-of-One
Event Record: Up to 12 games (win or lose)

WIN EVERY CARD CHALLENGE – STANDARD

Event Details: We’ll provide access to playsets (four copies) of every card in Standard, which you can use to build and play any deck in Standard. You can build as many decks as you like, and you can change them between matches.
Event Date: October 5 at 8 p.m. PT (3 a.m. UTC) to October 7 at 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
Entry Fee: None, but you can only play once!
Format: Standard Best-of-One
Event Record: 12 wins or 2 losses (whichever comes first)
Event Rewards:

• 12 Wins: 1 Copy of every card in Standard + 1 Sealed Event Token + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 11 Wins: 1 Copy of every card in Throne of Eldraine + 1 Sealed Event Token + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 9–10 Wins: 1 Sealed Event Token + 5 Throne of Eldraine Rare ICRs + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 8 Wins: 5 Throne of Eldraine Rare ICRs + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 6–7 Wins: 4 Throne of Eldraine Rare ICRs + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 4–5 Wins: 3 Throne of Eldraine Rare ICRs + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 2–3 Wins: 2 Throne of Eldraine Rare ICRs + Golden Egg Sleeve
• 0–1 Wins: 1 Throne of Eldraine Rare ICR + Golden Egg Sleeve

Event Names

Now that there is Standard and non-Standard play, we’ve updated most of the in-game names we use for our events and play queues.

• Play -> Play
  • Both Standard Play and Historic Play will be playable through Play—your deck will determine which format you’re playing!
• Ranked Play -> Standard Ranked
• Traditional Play -> Traditional Standard Play
• Traditional Ranked -> Traditional Standard Ranked
• Constructed Event -> Standard Event
• Traditional Constructed Event -> Traditional Standard

Gameplay

General

• Added a reminder hanger that defines the “Fight” keyword action.
• The system will now hold priority with an owned effect on the stack if putting that effect on the stack was the result of an opponent’s action
  • For example, if you control a creature that has “When this becomes the target of a spell…” and an opponent targets it, you will hold priority with the triggered ability on the stack so you can respond properly.
• The “Pay ” button has been updated to “Auto-Pay”
• In a recent update we added logic to re-prompt the player if the auto-tap solution changes (for example, if you’re casting New Horizons and target one of the lands auto-tap was going to tap, it will change the solution to leave that land untapped)
  • We now show a custom prompt in this case to clarify why we’re prompting the player here
• Non-basic lands with innate mana abilities (like the land cycle in Throne of Eldraine) now show their mana abilities in their text box for additional clarity
• Activated and triggered abilities will show any X value while they’re on the stack (as long as you have a valid response or are in full control)
• The loop detector has been updated so it can better distinguish between mandatory loops (that should cause a draw) and optional loops that shouldn’t. It should now only warn that the loop will result in a game draw if that is indeed the case

Post-Match Survey

• Players may occasionally receive the option to complete a short post-match survey allowing you to provide feedback about you the match you just played.

Decks and Collections

• We’ve increased the maximum number of decks from 60 to 75
• “Historic” is now an option for Deck Format
• If you select “Standard” as your deck format, the Advanced Filters for non-Standard sets will be hidden
  • If you search for a card that’s been printed in both rotated and current Standard sets, both version will still appear
• When selecting a deck for the Play queue, you can now swap between “Standard” and “All Decks”:
  
  • Historic decks will still show, but will have a badge to indicate the number of cards that are no longer Standard legal
  • You can still select “Play”, however you will be matched against other Historic decks!
  • This badge will not show if you change your deck selection to show “All” decks

New Player Experience

New Player Decks

• We’ve made some adjustments to the decks new players receive as part of the Account Mastery to balance some of the under-performing decks.
• For players who created their account prior to the Core Set 2020 game update:
  • These decklists have been added to your Deck collection to ensure all players have access to Standard playable decks.
  • If you did not have the necessary cards as part of your collection to create these decks, the required cards have been added to your collection

Pets

• Players with multiple pets can select which one to display on the battlefield by clicking “Pet Select” on the Profile page (next to “Change Avatar”)
• You can now select which version of your pets to display: Common, Uncommon, or Rare. Use the arrows above the “Confirm” button to toggle through your available versions:
  

Historic

• Decks from non-Standard sets can still be played in Historic formats
  • Please Note: Nexus of Fate is still banned in best-of-one formats.
• When playing a Historic deck in the Play queue, you will receive Quest rewards.
• When playing a Historic deck in the Play queue, you will not receive Daily or Weekly win progress or rewards
  • These will appeared dimmed on the Home page
  • Daily and weekly win progress and rewards can be earned during special Historic events
• Players can still purchase non-Standard packs from the Store
• Players can still redeem Wildcards for non-Standard cards at a 1:1 redemption rate

Store

• Core Set 2019, Dominaria, Rivals of Ixalan and Ixalan have updated Store information to remind players that these sets are no longer Standard legal.
• There is additional confirmation messaging when a player purchases a non-Standard pack/s

Known Issue

• When purchasing card styles, cards from older sets that also appear in Standard will incorrectly warn users that the card is not playable in Standard. As always, if a card appears in a current Standard set, all version of that card are Standard-legal
• If you click “Return to Arena” before completing a purchase when in the checkout flow, you may receive a “Store Error. An unknown error has occurred.” message
  • Workaround: … This error is in error. You can close out of the error message without issue, and you do not need to contact support if the error persists.

Now Available

Throne of Eldraine Mastery Pass

• Earn rewards through Level 110 – and beyond!
• Immediately unlock the Fae Fox pet, Enchanted Kingdom Card Sleeve, and Garruk, Cursed Huntsman Avatar

Cost: 3400 Gems, or 5400 Gems for the Mastery Pass + 10 Levels

Bundles

Twice is Nice Bundle

• Irencrag Pyromancer
• Improbable Alliance
• Faerie Vandal

Cost: 1000 Gems

Throne of Eldraine Lands Foretold Bundle

• Plains
• Island
• Swamp
• Mountain
• Forest

Cost: 2500 Gems

Card Style Sales

• Sundering Stroke
• Vantress Gargoyle
• Hushbringer
• Once Upon a Time

Cost: 500 Gems Each

Leaving Soon

Bundles

• Lifeland Bundle
• Golem Galore Bundle
• Wolf Pack Bundle

No Longer Available

Bundles

• Mu Yanling Bundle
• Tools of Tactics Bundle
• Battle for Zendikar Full-Art Lands
• Core Set 2020 Basic Land Styles
• War of the Spark Basic Land Styles

Card Sleeves

• Serra Exquisite Sleeve
• Saheeli, Ugin, and Teferi Japanese Alternate Art Card Sleeves

Performance Improvements

• Various fixes to address game crashes and performance issues

Developer Notes: While we are constantly working to address the various issues that affect MTG Arena’s overall performance, we are also aware that the improvement players experience from these fixes may vary. If you consistently encounter performance issues, it is extremely important you submit a bug report or support ticket with your DxDiag results as well as any game log files so we can continue to troubleshoot potential causes. The more information you can provide in your report or through your logs, the better.

Bug Fixes

• When pre-populating the “name a card” list (e.g. Tamiyo or Diviner’s Lockbox) now properly ignores cards in the player’s sideboard
• Revealed cards should remain revealed if you reconnect to a match
• The mouse pointer should no longer “slide” off cards when they are being dragged in a browser
• Loyalty abilities with X values (e.g. Chandra, Awakened Inferno) will now display their X values when the ability is on the stack
• The name of land cards should no longer display in a smaller font and/or have parts of the name cut off (No more Drowned Cat‘s or Breeding Poo‘s).
• The red “cannot be countered” visual effect should no longer display when the card is on the battlefield
• We found the art for Pollenbright Druid!
• Your opponent’s pet will no longer become stuck in the “being petted” animation
• Cards attached/placed under Planeswalker cards should now stick out enough to be clearly seen.
• Haste granted via Riot will now properly be removed when a creature “loses all abilities”
• Timers should no longer become stuck when targeting a creature with a specified converted mana cost in the graveyard (e.g. Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord) if you did not control any creatures with the same converted mana cost
• If you receive a deck via code redemption (Planeswalker decks, special promotions, etc.) and you are already at the maximum number of decks, the system will now temporarily allow you to exceed the maximum in order to successfully receive your deck (you will need to be below the maximum number of decks if you wish to create any new decks)