Table of Contents
- Banlist Update and Alchemy Rebalancing
- Format Changes:
- Reminders: Mad Science, Double Feature, and The Arena Open Schedule
- MTG Arena Announcements, January 26, 2022
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Preorder Bundles Available January 27!
- Pompon-Chan Cosmetic Bundle Available January 27
- Standard, Historic, and Alchemy Changes
- Mad Science Is Happening Now!
- Double Feature Draft
- Upcoming Arena Open Schedule
- Event Schedule
Another Wednesday, another MTG Arena Announcements bulletin from Wizards of the Coast. This week, Wizards has revealed the preorder bundles for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty in anticipation of the beginning of preview season tomorrow, Thursday, January 27. There are a couple of other important news bits this week, not the least of which being the bannings that were announced yesterday:
Three Preorder Bundles: Pack, Play, and Cosmetic
Similar to the last few set releases, there are three preorder bundles that will be arriving with the start of preview season tomorrow: a pack bundle with 50 packs, a play bundle focused on the draft experience, and a cosmetics bundle with Neon Dynasty-themed cosmetics for your client. Each features at least one cosmetic featuring art from different Kamigawa characters. Let’s quickly break down the contents of the three bundles:
The Wanderer Play Bundle:
- “The Wandering Emperor” sleeve (pictured above, unlocked on purchase)
- Fifty Neon Dynasty packs on set release
- One copy of The Wandering Emperor on set release
- “The Wandering Emperor depth art card” on set release (card cosmetic)
Kaito Play Bundle:
- Kaito sleeve (above, top) unlocked on purchase
- “Folded koi” pet (above, bottom) unlocked on purchase
- Three player draft tokens on set release
- One sealed draft token on set release
- One copy of Kaito Shizuki on set release
- Kaito Shizuki “depth art card” on set release (card cosmetic)
Pompon-Chan Cosmetic Bundle:
- Pompon-Chan pet (pictured above)
- Pompon-chan card sleeve
- Three Pompon-chan stickers (click here to view)
Banlist Update and Alchemy Rebalancing
For those who may have missed it: yesterday, Wizards of the Coast announced sweeping changes to multiple formats including Standard, Historic and Alchemy. Here’s a quick summary of the changes to Arena formats:
Format Changes:
| Format | Card Name | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Alrund's Epiphany | Banned |
| Standard | Divide by Zero | Banned |
| Standard | Faceless Haven | Banned |
| Historic | Memory Lapse | Banned (from Suspended) |
| Historic | Teferi, Time Raveler | Rebalanced and Unbanned |
Alchemy: Eleven cards buffed, seven cards nerfed.
You can read all about the bans in yesterday’s coverage of the announcement, and you’ll find all of the details about the Alchemy balancing changes here:
Reminders: Mad Science, Double Feature, and The Arena Open Schedule
The remainder of this week’s announcements is made up of reminders from last week. Firstly, the Mad Science event is live now on the Arena client and will be continuing until February 1. You’ll find everything you need to know about Mad Science in our event guide:
Starting this Friday, January 28, the Double Feature draft event will combine Crimson Vow and Midnight Hunt into one limited play experience. The event will run until February 10, and you can find more information about it on the January 12 Announcements where the event was first revealed.
Finally, the schedule for the next two Arena Open tournaments was revealed last week, and is as follows:
- February 26–27: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Limited (Day 1: Sealed, Day 2: Draft)
- April 16–17: Historic
That just about does it for this week’s announcements – don’t forget that official previews for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty will begin tomorrow! We’ll be following the launch stream and providing you with updates of everything from spoilers to information about the set, so be sure to check back and keep an eye on our spoilers page to find all the cards that have been officially revealed so far. You can also follow this link to see the series of cards from the set that have leaked early.
As always, we’ve included the full text of Wizards’ original announcements post below, which includes a schedule of upcoming events on Arena and the full details of the ranked seasons for this month and next.
MTG Arena Announcements, January 26, 2022
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Preorder Bundles Available January 27!
Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is about to light up MTG Arena! These preorder bundles arrive in the Store on Thursday, January 27, and they’ll have you ready to go when the set is released on February 10:
The Wanderer Pack Bundle
$49.99/€49.99
- The Wandering Emperor sleeve (available immediately upon purchase)
- 50x Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty boosters (granted upon set release)
- 1x The Wandering Emperor card (granted upon set release)
- 1x The Wandering Emperor depth art card (granted upon set release)
The Kaito Play Bundle
$49.99/€49.99
- Kaito Shizuki sleeve (available immediately upon purchase)
- Folded koi pet (available immediately upon purchase)
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Set Mastery Pass (granted upon set release)
- 3x Player Draft Tokens (granted upon set release)
- 1x Sealed Draft Token (granted upon set release)
- 1x Kaito Shizuki card (granted upon set release)
- Kaito Shizuki depth art card style (granted upon set release)
Pompon-Chan Cosmetic Bundle Available January 27
Also coming to the MTG Arena Store on January 27 is the Pompon-chan cosmetic bundle! You’ll get all of these immediately upon purchase:
- Pompon-chan pet
- Pompon-chan sleeve
- 3x Pompon-chan stickers
Standard, Historic, and Alchemy Changes
If you missed the news yesterday, there were many changes announced for formats on MTG Arena.
Here’s the latest Banned and Restricted announcement:
Standard:
Alrund’s Epiphany is banned.
Divide by Zero is banned.
Faceless Haven is banned.
Historic:
Memory Lapse is banned (from suspended).
Teferi, Time Raveler has been rebalanced and unbanned.
Plus, the following cards were rebalanced for Alchemy and Historic:
- Acererak the Archlich
- Assemble from Parts
- Bloodrage Alpha
- Cloister Gargoyle
- Divide By Zero
- Dungeon Descent
- Ellywick Tumblestrum
- Fearsome Whelp
- Fate’s Reversal
- Find the Path
- Hullbreaker Horror
- Inquisitor Captain
- Lier, Disciple of the Drowned
- Puppet Raiser
- Precipitous Drop
- Sanguine Brushstroke
- Teferi, Time Raveler
- Town-Razer Tyrant
- Triumphant Adventurer
Check out these updates in the dedicated article breaking them down card by card before they’re available to play this Thursday, January 27!
Mad Science Is Happening Now!
Don’t miss your chance to fill out your collection of Innistrad: Crimson Vow Eternal Night card styles by playing in the Mad Science event going on right now until February 1!
This Alchemy event features the Zombies! special emblem with the text: “Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, amass X, where X is that spell’s mana value.”
Check out the complete details on the Mad Science event page.
Double Feature Draft
From January 28 through February 10, join in a monster of a draft event, featuring a special blend of both Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow cards. You can also score a Dracula card style you don’t already own each time you enter!
Get all the details on the Double Feature event!
Upcoming Arena Open Schedule
We have more Arena Opens coming up, so mark your calendars for these dates over the next few months:
- February 26–27: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Limited (Day 1: Sealed, Day 2: Draft)
- April 16–17: Historic
Event Schedule
Midweek Magic
Midweek Magic events begin on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. PT and end on Thursdays at 11 a.m. PT.
- January 25–27: Slow Start
- February 1–3: Historic All Access
- February 8–10: Cascade
- February 15–17: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Phantom Draft
- February 22–24: Blast from the Past
Quick Draft
- January 21–February 4: Innistrad: Crimson Vow
- February 4–11: Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures of the Forgotten Realms
- February 11–25: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
- February 25–March 11: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
Qualifier Weekend
Learn more on the Qualifier Weekend information page.
- February 5: Day 1 (must qualify through previous play)
- Format: Traditional Historic (Best-of-Three)
- February 6: Day 2 (must qualify during Day 1 to participate)
- Format: Traditional Historic (Best-of-Three)
Other Events
- January 21–February 1: Mad Science
- Format: Alchemy with a special gameplay emblem
- Note: This event will award eternal night card styles from Innistrad: Crimson Vow.
- January 28–February 10: Double Feature Draft
- Combines cards from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Crimson Vow
- Each entry into this event will award a Dracula card style!
- February 10–March 4: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Sealed
January 2022 Ranked Season
The January 2022 Ranked Season begins December 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT (20:05 UTC) and ends on January 31 at 12 p.m. PT (20:00 UTC).
- Bronze Reward: 1 Innistrad: Crimson Vow pack
- Silver Reward: 1 Innistrad: Crimson Vow pack + 500 gold
- Gold Reward: 2 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Circle of Confinement card style
- Platinum Reward: 3 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Circle of Confinement card style + Falkenrath Forebear card style
- Diamond Reward: 4 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Circle of Confinement card style + Falkenrath Forebear card style
- Mythic Reward: 5 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Circle of Confinement card style + Falkenrath Forebear card style
February 2022 Ranked Season
The February 2022 Ranked Season begins January 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT (20:05 UTC) and ends on February 28 at 12 p.m. PT (20:00 UTC).
- Bronze Reward: 1 Innistrad: Crimson Vow pack
- Silver Reward: 1 Innistrad: Crimson Vow pack + 500 gold
- Gold Reward: 2 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Hero's Downfall card style
- Platinum Reward: 3 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Hero's Downfall card style + Thalia, Guardian of Thraben card style
- Diamond Reward: 4 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Hero's Downfall card style + Thalia, Guardian of Thraben card style
- Mythic Reward: 5 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs + 1,000 gold + Hero's Downfall card style + Thalia, Guardian of Thraben card style
