The weekly MTG Arena Announcement post has been published by Wizards of the Coast! Usually it’s posted on Monday, but January 15, is a public holiday for the United States, so it’s being posted now. Here’s the roundup of everything that is happening and upcoming on MTG Arena! In this edition:
Lots to cover this week leading up to the new set Murders at Karlov Manor, notably the usual streamer event cancelled as Hasbro layoffs affected the team that usually handles these events. Alchemy is also seeing a lot of rebalances, but as a forgotten format it’s not likely to bring much more interest than now. See below for details!
Murders at Karlov Manor Preorders Begin January 16!
Next Tuesday, January 16, preorders for Murders at Karlov Manor go on sale in the MTG Arena Store. Pick up these bundles and be ready for the launch on February 6!
During the Qualifier Weekend Day One, rack up seven wins, and you’ll be invited to enter the Day Two competition on Sunday, January 14. There, you’ll challenge the event’s top players to reach seven wins and claim your invitation to Arena Championship 6 and the Pro Tour!
Arena Open: The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, January 20–21
Now that you’ve been playing with The Lost Caverns of Ixalan for a while, here’s another opportunity to put everything you’ve learned about the set to the test, maybe earn yourself an invitation to the February Qualifier Weekend, and possibly win as much as $2,000!
With this release we’ve turned our attention to a couple of archetypes that haven’t quite found their footing. Dominaria United‘s Domain and The Brothers’ War‘s Powerstones have both received small pushes. We’ll be watching the results to inform future decisions. Good luck and have fun!
Meria’s Outrider:
5/5 (was 4/4)
Changed: “… deals damage to each opponent” To: “… deals damage to any target“
Radha’s Firebrand:
Changed: “… power less than Radha's Firebrand power” To: “… power less than or equal to Radha’s Firebrand power”
Sprouting Goblin:
Activated ability cost now (was , )
Briar Hydra:
Cost (was )
5/5 (was 6/6)
Llanowar Greenwidow:
Activated ability cost now (was )
Changed: “… to the battlefield tapped with a finality counter on it. This ability costs less to activate for each basic land type among lands you control.“
Llanowar Loamspeaker:
Changed: “Target land you control becomes 3/3 …” To: “Target land you control becomes 4/4 …
Scout the Wilderness:
Kicker cost (was )
Sunbathing Rootwalla:
Activated ability cost (was )
Nael, Avizoa Aeronaut:
Cost
(was
)
2/2 (was 2/4)
Radha, Coalition Warlord:
Cost (was
)
Changed: “Whenever Radha, Coalition Warlord becomes tapped …” To: “Whenever Radha, Coalition Warlord enters the battlefield or becomes tapped …”
Rulik Mons, Warren Chief:
4/4 (was 3/3)
Changed: “Whenever Rulik Mons, Warren Chief attacks …” To: “Whenever Rulik Mons, Warren Chief enters the battlefield or attacks …”
Soul of Windgrace:
Activated ability cost (was )
Activated ability cost (was )
Tatyova, Steward of Tides:
4/4 (was 3/3)
Changed: “… target land you control becomes a 3/3 …” To: “… target land you control becomes a 4/4 …”
Uurg, Spawn of Turg:
Surveil 2 (was surveil 1)
Activated ability cost , sacrifice a land (was , sacrifice a land)
Zar Ojanen, Scion of Efrava:
Changed: “Whenever Zar Ojanen, Scion of Efrava becomes tapped …” To: “Whenever Zar Ojanen, Scion of Efrava enters the battlefield or becomes tapped …”
Thran Portal:
Removed: “Thran Portal enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or fewer other lands.”
Excavation Explosion:
Instant (was sorcery)
Changed: “Excavation Explosion deals 3 damage to any target.” To: “Excavation Explosion deals 4 damage to target creature or planeswalker.”
Geology Enthusiast:
Cost (was
)
3/4 (was 2/5)
Gained: vigilance
Activated ability cost (was )
Hall of Tagsin:
Activated ability cost , (was ,
Hurkyl’s Prodigy:
Changed: “… you may pay .” To: “… you may pay .”
Karn, Living Legacy:
Loyalty ability cost 0 (was -1)
Loyalty ability cost -6 (was -7)
Mightstone’s Animation:
Cost (was
)
Changed: “… draw a card.” To: “… draw two cards, then discard a card.”
Saheeli, Filigree Master:
Changed: “+1: Scry 1. You may tap an untapped artifact you control. If you do, draw a card.” To: “+1: Scry 2. If you control an artifact, draw a card.”
Splitting the Powerstone:
Instant (was sorcery)
Removed: “If the sacrificed artifact was legendary”
Thran Spider:
Changed: “You may reveal an artifact card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.” To: “Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.”
Urza, Powerstone Prodigy:
Cost (was
)
Removed: vigilance
Mishra, Excavation Prodigy:
Cost (was
)
Removed: haste
Urza’s Command:
-3/-0 (was -2/-0)
Changed: “Create a tapped Powerstone token.” To: “Create two tapped Powerstone tokens.”
Scry 2 (was scry 1)
Visions of Phyrexia:
Changed: “… exile the top card of your library. You may play that card this turn.” To: “… exile the top two cards of your library. Until your next end step, you may play one of those cards.”
Yotian Courier:
Changed: “Seek an artifact card …” To: “Seek a nonland card …”
Sign Up for Yearly Stats
If you’re signed up to receive our emails, you recently received your yearly stats that show your past year of play in MTG Arena. What surprised you?
Didn’t get the yearly stats email? You still can—follow these two steps to sign up before we send out the stats email next week:
Check the box next to, “YES! Wizards may send me promotional emails and offers about Wizards’ events, games, and services.”
Step Two
Submit a request under the topic “General Questions”—just be sure to include the words “stats email” in your message request.
Exchange Rate Pricing Adjustment
MTG Arena adjusts pricing several times per year to account for currency exchange rates. This means that non-USD prices will fluctuate up and down based on the conversion rate between the USD and relative currency at the time of adjustment. As some players might notice, one of these adjustments occurred on January 9.
Murders at Karlov Manor Streamer Event Canceled
Due to unexpected circumstances, the Murders at Karlov Manor Streamer Event has been canceled. We understand this is disappointing to our community and hope to have more information about the future of MTG Arena Streamer Events in time for Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
Event Schedule
Events open at 8 a.m. PT on their starting dates (excluding Midweek Magic) and close to entries at 8 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00) on the ending date shown unless otherwise noted.
Midweek Magic
Midweek Magic events open on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. PT and close to new entries on Thursdays at 2 p.m. PT (UTC-08:00).
January 16–18: Historic Pauper
January 23–25: Brawl (formerly Historic Brawl)
January 30–February 1: Phyrexia: All Will Be One Phantom Bot Draft
The Arena Open Day One entry window begins at 6 a.m. PT and closes to new entries the following day at 3 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-08:00).
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