With Core Set 2020 coming to Magic: The Gathering Arena on July 2, the new MTG Arena game director, Jay Parker, has announced the changes coming with the upcoming July 2 update.
Ranked Draft
Magic Arena is doing something new with Ranked Draft starting with Core Set 2020. Once the current Magic set is available for Ranked Draft, it will remain as a drafting option until the next set is released. The game will have multiple Ranked Draft formats simultaneously, so while the latest set is available for Ranked Draft, there will be a second Ranked Draft that will continue to rotate every few weeks. Here's how the schedule will look like starting in August:
July 5–19:War of the Spark
July 19–Fall 2019:Core Set 2020
August 2–16: Rotating Ranked Draft
August 16–29: Rotating Ranked Draft
Mastery System
The Core Set 2020 update is introducing a Set Mastery system to help players explore the latest card set release —and earn more rewards while doing so. Starting on July 2, all Magic Arena players will gain access to the standard Set Master system, with the Mastery Tree and reward track (which will replace the Weekly Win rewards). Every time a set is released, a new Set Mastery will be available in the game, and players will have access to it until the new set comes out, so with Core Set 2020's release, players will be able to use the new Set Mastery until the fall set code-named "Archery" releases.
Mastery Pass Includes A New Pet
The July 2 update will also offer a new Core Set Mastery Pass that can be purchased for 3,400 gems. The Mastery Pass will offer more rewards that expand the number and types of items players can get by playing. You will be able to get more booster packs, gold, gems, individual card rewards, card sleeves, and an Elemental Cat companion who will celebrate your victories and comfort you in defeat. There will be five color options (WUBRG) available with the purchase of the Core Set 2020 Mastery Pass. Increasing your set mastery can help you earn upgrades for your feline companion.
London Mulligan
As previously announced, the London Mulligan will officially be used with the release of Core Set 2020 on tabletop and digital. Once you decide which hand to keep, you must put a number of cards from your hand equal to the number of times you mulliganed this game on the bottom of your library in the order of your choice. Players will no longer Scry with the new mulligan system.
Standard Fall 2019 Rotation Info
With the release of fall set code-named "Archery", Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan, Dominaria, and Core Set 2019 will be rotating out of the Standard format. Players will still be able to use cards from sets no longer in Standard in a format called Historic. MTG Arena will have a Historic Play queue (both Best-of-One and Best-of-Three), Direct Challenge, practice matches with Sparky, as well as some of rotating events such as Pauper and Singleton.
Wizards of the Coast also revealed that there will be no collection resets, wipe, or removal of cards. They also said that the Amonkhet and Kaldesh blocks won't be returning to Arena with the fall rotation but they're interested in bringing them back eventually.
Here are some other changes coming with the July 2 update:
Events – With the July 2 update, we will no longer be scheduling Limited events for sets rotating out of Standard this fall. Draft and Sealed events will use sets starting from Guilds of Ravnica and going forward.
Individual Card Rewards (ICRs) – With the July 2 update, players will no longer receive ICRs from sets that will be rotating out of Standard this fall. Any ICRs players earn from events or daily win rewards will be from sets that are not rotating in the fall (Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, War of the Spark, and Core Set 2020).
New Player Decks – The tutorial and Account Mastery Tree have been updated to reward new decks and card styles. For existing players: We currently intended to grant all players these updated decks by the time rotation happens so everyone will have access to decks that are Standard legal. There's some tech we need to implement first to make this happen, but we're working on it!
Wildcard Redemption – You will still be able to craft cards from rotating sets using wildcards! With this update, we did add an additional confirmation message when crafting cards that will be rotating out of Standard. Please Note: This does not take into consideration any cards that may be reprinted in Archery.
Booster Packs – Packs for rotating sets are also still available for purchase in the store. Similar to wildcards, with this update we're adding additional messaging to remind players that these sets will be rotating out of Standard.
Are you excited with the upcoming changes with the July 2 update on Magic Arena? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Core Set 2020 is set to be released on July 12, 2019. Core Set 2020 is also coming to Magic Arenaon July 2, with the preorder bundle for the set available now. The Core Set 2020 bundle in Arena includes a mythic rare Planeswalker card for Chandra as a bonus. Pre-release events will be held from July 5 to July 7.
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