Traditional Historic Event Guide and Decklists

MTG Arena runs evergreen events for each available constructed format and for each game mode. These events provide a way for players to compete with each other for rewards in gems, packs, and Play-In Points. Read about the most recent change in structure to the events on April 28, 2022 here.

This guide will aim to provide complete details for each of the events, as well as decklists with proven results players can use. You can navigate every guide using the table below:

Event Details

Bring your Historic deck with a sideboard, play some best-of-three matches, and receive rewards based on how many games you win!

• Duration: Evergreen
• Format: Historic
• Entry Fee: 5,000 gold or 750 gems
• Ends After: 5 matches
• Match Structure: Best-of-three matches (BO3)

Event Rewards

For Historic events, packs will be from sets rotated out from Standard.

Format Details

Historic is Magic: The Gathering Arena’s exclusive, digital-only constructed non-rotating format. You can use any of the cards available in the game, such as cards introduced via Historic Anthology sets, Mystical Archive, Jumpstart Horizons, and Remastered events.

This also includes cards that are digitally rebalanced, such as A-Teferi, Time Raveler which was banned initially but unbanned with its mana cost increased by one. A full list can be found here.

Our full range of resources are available for Explorer in the below sections:

• Historic Articles and Guides
• Historic Decks
• Historic Metagame
• BO1 Historic Tier List and Rankings
• BO3 Historic Tier List and Rankings

Rules

One-on-one with a 60 card minimum for the main deck and up to 15 cards in their sideboard. Player can add and swap out cards from their sideboard after the first game.

These cards may also be accessed during the game through cards such as:

• Legion Angel
• Fae of Wishes
• Karn, the Great Creator
• Mastermind's Acquisition
• Cards with the Learn ability (e.g. Eyetwitch), to access Lesson cards (e.g. Mascot Exhibition)

Legal Sets

• Ixalan
• Rivals of Ixalan
• Dominaria
• Core Set 2019
• Guilds of Ravnica
• Ravnica Allegiance
• War of the Spark
• Core Set 2020
• Throne of Eldraine
• Theros Beyond Death
• Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
• Core Set 2021
• Jumpstart
• Zendikar Rising
• Kaldheim
• Strixhaven: School of Mages
• Mystical Archive
• Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Innistrad: Crimson Vow
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
• Streets of New Capenna

The following digital-only releases are legal in Historic:

• Arena Base Set
• Historic Anthology
• Amonkhet Remastered
• Kaladesh Remastered
• Jumpstart: Historic Horizons
• Alchemy: Innistrad
• Alchemy: New Capenna

Banned Cards

Below is the list of cards that are currently banned in Historic. With the introduction of digital card rebalancing, no cards are currently suspended.

• Agent of Treachery
• Brainstorm
• Channel
• Counterspell
• Dark Ritual
• Demonic Tutor
• Field of the Dead
• Lightning Bolt
• Memory Lapse
• Natural Order
• Nexus of Fate
• Oko, Thief of Crowns
• Omnath, Locus of Creation
• Swords to Plowshares
• Thassa's Oracle
• Tibalt's Trickery
• Time Warp
• Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
• Veil of Summer
• Wilderness Reclamation
• Winota, Joiner of Forces

Traditional Historic Event Decklists

Below are some sample decklists that achieved the maximum wins required for the event. These can vary from fun brews to proven decks that are prevalent in the metagame.

You can submit your deck using our deck builder!