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Every Wednesday, Wizards of the Coast publishes a news bulletin for MTG Arena featuring news and upcoming events related to the client. This week, the Arena Announcements are focused on the upcoming release of the delayed set Jumpstart: Historic Horizons.
All of the details about Jumpstart’s delayed release were already covered in our recent article concerning the change. In case you missed it, here’s a TL;DR:
- The release of the MTG Arena Client update that includes J:HH and significant backend changes was postponed from it’s original August 10 release date and moved to August 24.
- New content, including the J:HH set and the new Historic Brawl queue, will be unlocked two days later on August 26.
- The August ranked season was originally going to be split into two separate seasons with rewards for each. The season will no longer be split, but it will still grant all of the rewards from both planned seasons.
- The September ranked season will start slightly early when the update rolls out on August 24.
As an apology for the delay, Wizards of the Coast is giving out three free draft entries:
- August 10–15: Amonkhet Remastered
- August 15–20: Kaladesh Remastered
- August 20–26: Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Every MTG Arena player can enter each of these draft events once without paying the usual entry fee.
Other than the details of the Jumpstart delay, the announcements bulletin also includes the usual updated schedule of Arena events and details on the ranked season rewards. See below for the full text of Wizard’s announcement.
MTG Arena Announcements, August 11, 2021
Release and Downtime Change: August 24
The planned August release that includes the backend update and Jumpstart: Historic Horizons has been shifted forward to August 24. You can find details on the new backend update and release plan in Jay Parker’s article.
This will push the planned release of Jumpstart: Historic Horizons to August 26, but it will be available through October 14 to give you plenty of time to enjoy it and the forthcoming Innistrad: Midnight Hunt set release on September 16.
Historic Brawl
The August 12 opening date of Historic Brawl remains unchanged by the adjusted release and downtime mentioned above; however, from August 12–24 it will be in the form of a Historic Brawl Festival.
No entry will be required for this event, and players will receive 3,000 XP for their first win!
August 2021 Ranked “Doubling Season”
Originally, we planned to split the August 2021 Ranked Season into two to accommodate the backend update and downtime. With that date moving forward to August 24, we won’t need to divide the season into two.
So, the August 2021 Ranked Season will now continue uninterrupted through August 24 and players’ ranks will be reset at the end as normal. The September 2021 Ranked Season will be slightly longer, beginning on August 24 and running through September 30.
To honor the rewards announced when the season was to be split, the August season is now a “doubling season” that will feature double gold and pack rewards, plus twice as many Card Styles at each rank! Jump down to the Events Schedule to see what those will look like.
Also, to honor the invitation structure, both the first 500 players to reach Mythic rank, as well as the approximate Top 500 Mythic-rank players, as of 7:00 a.m. PT on August 10 in both Constructed and Limited will be extended Qualifier Weekend invitations. You can read more about these additional invitations in our updated announcement.
Extra Premier Drafts and First Entry = No Entry Fee!
We know everyone has been excited to get into Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, so to tide you over until it starts on August 26, we’re adding extra Premier Drafts—with a bonus:
- August 10–15: Amonkhet Remastered
- August 15–20: Kaladesh Remastered
- August 20–26: Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Plus, your first entry into each Premier Draft has no entry fee!
Midweek Magic: Momir Aug 10–12
Midweek Magic‘s format this week is Momir. You’ll receive a 60-card deck of all basic lands and an emblem you can click once each turn that allows you to pay {X} and discard a card to create a token copy of a random creature card with converted mana cost X. There’s more strategy than you may think in this format, so give it a try!
Midweek Magic events run weekly from Tuesday at 8 a.m. PT through Thursday at 8 a.m. PT with a different format each week. There is no entry fee, and you can earn two rare individual card rewards—just like FNM at Home.
Events Schedule
Midweek Magic
- August 10–12: Momir
- August 17–19: Standard All Access
- August 24–26: Standard 2022
Quick Draft
- August 10–27: Kaldheim
- August 27–September 10: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
Other Events
- August 10–15: Premier Draft Amonkhet Remastered (your first draft has no entry!)
- August 12–24: Historic Brawl Festival
- August 15–20: Premier Draft Kaladesh Remastered (your first draft has no entry!)
- August 20–26: Premier Draft Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (your first draft has no entry!)
- August 24–September 9 (or more!): Historic Brawl queue
- August 26–October 14: Jumpstart: Historic Horizons
August 2021 Ranked Season
The August 2021 Ranked Season will be affected by the MTG Arena release changes, and the August season will now run from July 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT (19:05 UTC) until August 24 at 7 a.m. PT (14:00 UTC).
The first 500 players on August 10 at 7:00 a.m. PT will receive an invitation to the nextQualifierWeekendin addition to the top 1,200 players at season end.
- Bronze reward: 2 Adventures in the Forgotten Realms pack
- Silver reward: 2 Adventures in the Forgotten Realms pack + 1,000 gold
- Gold reward: 4 Adventures in the Forgotten Realms packs + 2,000 gold + Magic Missile + Chaos Channeler Card Style
- Platinum reward: 6 Adventures in the Forgotten Realms packs + 2,000 gold + Magic Missile Card Style + Chaos Channeler Card Style + Triumphant Adventurer Card Style + Skeletal Swarming Card Style
- Diamond reward: 8 Adventures in the Forgotten Realms packs + 2,000 gold + Magic Missile Card Style + Chaos Channeler Card Style + Triumphant Adventurer Card Style + Skeletal Swarming Card Style
- Mythic reward: 10 Adventures in the Forgotten Realms packs + 2,000 gold + Magic Missile Card Style + Chaos Channeler Card Style + Triumphant Adventurer Card Style + Skeletal Swarming Card Style
