It’s Wednesday again, which means it’s time for us to review the once-weekly MTG Arena Announcements bulletin published by Wizards of the Coast. Today, we get a mix of new information a review of topics discussed last week. Let’s dive in:
Historic Bans and Rebalanced Cards
Part of today’s announcements highlights the changes that Wizards has announced to the Historic Format. Tibalt's Trickery, which has been combined with Throes of Chaos to make a powerful and consistent combo deck, has been banned. Memory Lapse, which has become a staple in virtually all blue decks in Historic, has been suspended; meanwhile Brainstorm, which was previously suspended, has been moved to banned. No changes were made to Standard.
Additionally, Wizards has announced that they will be rebalancing some of the special digital-only cards that were added to Historic through Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. Among these rebalances is a change that effectively eliminates the Davriel’s Withering/Vesperlark combo decks by making Withering and Davriel, Soul Broker unable to target creatures you control.
Besides the changes to the Davriel cards, there were a handful of other cards that also received a buff. For full details on today’s, B&R changes read here.
Speaking of Jumpstart, included in today’s announcements is a new event on MTG Arena that’s based on the idea of Jumpstart- players who enter the event will select two themed packets of cards to combine into a playable deck and compete against others. The packets for Jump In! will contain only cards that are legal in Standard. It seems that Wizards is targeting this event largely for newer players on Arena who are looking to experience some different playstyles without making a huge investment.
The Jump In! event will begin tomorrow on Thursday, October 14. The entry fee will be 1,000 gold or 200 gems. Just as with Jumpstart events, you can play as many games as you like after entering, and then you can resign and pay the entry fee again to select new packets. You’ll have the cards from the packets added to your collection, and the first win will earn you an uncommon individual card reward with a 5% chance to upgrade to rare or mythic.
Packet lists will be added tomorrow along with additional event details.
Upcoming Arena Open this Weekend
This weekend, from October 16-17, the Arena Open returns featuring the Standard format. Play on Day 1 begins at 6:00 am Pacific Time, and you can enter either a best-of-one or best-of-three queue to compete for an entry token for Day 2. Players may compete as many times as they like on Day 1 to try to earn their qualification, but Day 2 can only be entered once per player.
On Day 2, players who earned a qualification must register between 6:00-8:00 am Pacific. Gem rewards and cash prizes are on the line for Day 2, which will only feature best-of-three play. For more details on the Arena Open, see Wizards’ official event page. If you’re competing, be sure to stay up-to-date on the latest changes to the Standard metagame.
Reminder: October Festivals on Arena and the End of the MTGA Forums
As detailed in last week’s announcements, there will be two October Festival events on MTG Arena that award Equinox card styles from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt. The first of these, the Harvest Fair, will be taking place this weekend from October 15-19 and will feature preconstructed decks. for full information about the October Festivals, please see last week’s post.
Additionally, Wizards reminds us that the original forums created for the MTG Arena beta will be shutting down in the interest of supporting the Magic official Discord and the MTG Arena Twitter account.
Wrapping Up
And that just about does it for this week’s announcements! For those interested, the full text of Wizards of the Coast’s original announcement can be found below. At the very bottom, you will find the most recently updated schedule of upcoming events on Arena and details on the upcoming November Ranked Season.
Mana cost changed from {B}{B} to {1}{B}. Power/toughness changed from 2/2 to 2/3. First mode power/toughness adjustment changed from +1/+2 to +1/+1. Second mode power/toughness adjustment changed from +3/+3 to +3/+2. (The net effect of the power/toughness changes is the same, it will be either 3/4 or 5/5. This change makes it have 3 toughness instead of only 2 until the ability resolves.)
Details on all of these changes are covered in the Banned and Restricted Announcement—check it out for explanations, plus a complete rundown on how live balancing works in MTG Arena.
In the style of Jumpstart, get ready for Innistrad: Midnight HuntJump In! Arriving tomorrow, October 14, in this event you’ll select two themed packets of cards—but these packets are made up of Standard-legal cards. Try out playstyles in the Standard format without a heavy focus on deckbuilding—just jump in and play!
If you’re a new player who has completed the Color Challenge, then Jump In! is a fun next step as you build your play experience, card knowledge, and your collection of cards. See how the newest cards work and interact in a match while adding Standard-legal cards to your collection.
Format:Jump In! Standard—pick two packets and play a combined deck with added basic lands.
Structure: Play as many games as you wish, resign when you’re done. You may pay the entry and rejoin to select new packets and play again.
Rewards: First win awards an uncommon individual card reward (ICR), with a 5% upgrade chance to rare or mythic rare.
Return tomorrow for complete details and all packet lists!
Arena Open Weekend: October 16–17
Arena Open returns this month with competition in Standard format!
Day 1 begins on Saturday, October 16, at 6 a.m. PT with Standard Best-of-One and Best-of-Three events. Play to earn a qualification token for entry to the Day 2 event. Plus, score the Ominous Roost card sleeve just for participating:
Day 2 is Sunday, October 17, with competition for top prizes in a Traditional Standard (Best-of-Three) event. If you earned a Day 2 qualification token during Day 1, sign up during entry window between 6–8 a.m. PT—don’t be late for signup!
Fall has arrived and October is full of festivals in MTG Arena that can earn you showcase equinox card styles from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt! The fun kicks off this Friday, October 15, with Harvest Fair.
Harvest Fair: October 15–19
This event features preconstructed decks.
Format: Preconstructed
Entry: 2,500 gold or 500 gems
Structure: Play as much as you want with preconstructed decks provided until the event ends
Rewards: Earn equinox card styles for these cards:
Today, the sun sets on the MTG Arena forums. They were invaluable during our beta periods when they allowed our development team to communicate directly with the small group of our initial players. When MTG Arena launched, most of the conversation moved elsewhere, and it’s time we better supported those platforms.
We know having an official place to engage with our development team and to interact with other players is important, which is why we’re continuing to work towards launching our Magic Discord. In the meantime, you can still expect the latest news and updates from our weekly announcement article and by following us @MTG_Arena. The latest patch notes are always available in our MTG Arena help center.
