MTG Arena: State of the Beta – June 2019

This month’s developer update features information on Core Set Mastery, the new Historic format, pet cosmetics, Standard rotation, and more coming to MTG Arena on July 2.

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Core Set 2020 is set to release on July 2, along with the 0.16.00.00 game update. This month MTG Arena welcomes a new set, features, cosmetics, bug fixes, and more.

Core Set 2020 Release

This is the major part of the update, a new set – introducing over 280 new cards into the Standard format, with new Planeswalkers, returning mechanics (but new to MTG Arena) such as Leylines and Protection, elementals, and more! Below is the timeline of Core Set 2020 events to come:

• July 1: Early Access Event
• July 2: Core Set 2020 Release Date
• July 2 – 26: Core Set 2020 Sealed
• July 8 – Fall 2019: Core Set 2020 Traditional Draft
• July 19 – August 2: Core Set 2020 Ranked Draft

Core Set Mastery

All players will now have access to the new Mastery system, which will grant rewards in the process. This was something new players could experience from the February update, but now it is open to all players to explore starting with Core Set 2020. This will also replace the weekly rewards.

Pets

We also get access to a new type of cosmetic – pets! We can get our hands on the first one available to us by purchasing a Core Set Mastery Pass for 3400 gems, which grants the player even more rewards as you level up the Core Set Mastery tree.

London Mulligan

A reminder that a new mulligan system will be in effect from July 2 with the update – more information can be found here.

Bug Fixes

Numerous quality of life improvements and bug fixes are being made with this update, namely addressing players ability to respond to Legion Warboss ability before combat begins.

We were also able to tackle some quality-of-life and long-standing gameplay improvements, such as making sure the act of revealing a card is less disruptive. Without naming any cards in particular, we’ve also improved how the game handles holding priority between phases, and attack with all should now work for creatures with certain combat stipulations (such as 1/1 red Goblin tokens with haste that attack this turn if able).

Historic Format and Rotation

We now have confirmation on the new format that will be in effect after the new set Archery is released:

• It will be called the Historic format.
• It will consist of cards from Ixalan onwards – for now.
• It will be for casual play only – for now.

A more detailed information on rotation can be found here. As more sets are introduced and the development team can gauge the popularity of the new format, we are confident that this will open avenues to a more rewarding competitive format down the road.

Wrapping Up

Check out the full article from Wizards of the Coast here, and their post on Standard rotation on their forum post here. Thanks for joining us today, and we have more to come this week – a guide to the Omniscience Draft, Core Set 2020 Sealed Deck, and more!