August 24 Downtime and Release for Jumpstart: Historic Horizons

The August release that includes the backend update and Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is scheduled for Tuesday, August 24. The downtime on that day will generally follow this schedule (times are approximate):

  • 5:30 a.m. PT – Matches can no longer begin, and real money purchases are disabled.
  • 7:00 a.m. PT – Downtime begins.
  • Roughly 11:00 a.m. PT – Downtime ends. Season rewards for the August 2021 season will be awarded on your first login after downtime, as will the ten new decks.

Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is set to start on August 26 and will be available through October 14 to give you plenty of time to enjoy it and the forthcoming Innistrad: Midnight Hunt set release on September 16.

You can find details on the new backend update and release plan in Jay Parker's article.

Historic Brawl Fest Happening Now!

The Historic Brawl Fest is underway in MTG Arena and continues until the downtime on August 24. Following the release and downtime, the Historic Brawl queue will open and be available through September 9. We'll be gathering information on how active the queue is during this time and will be announcing more about plans for the queue beyond September 9.

August 2021 Ranked "Doubling Season"

The August 2021 Ranked Season continues until the August 24 downtime when players' ranks will be reset at the end as normal. The September 2021 Ranked Season will be slightly longer, beginning on August 24 following the downtime and running through September 30.

To honor the rewards announced before moving the downtime to August 24, the August season is now a "doubling season" that will feature double gold and pack rewards, plus twice as many card styles at each rank!

Also, to honor the invitation structure, both the first 500 players to reach Mythic rank and the approximate Top 500 Mythic-rank players, as of 7:00 a.m. PT on August 10 in both Constructed and Limited, will be extended Qualifier Weekend invitations. You can read more about these additional invitations in our updated announcement.

No-Entry-Fee Premier Drafts!

The no-entry-fee Premier Drafts continue with Kaladesh happening right now through August 20. Enjoy your first entry to these Premier Drafts without an entry fee, so give them a try before they're gone!

  • August 15–20: Kaladesh Remastered
  • August 20–26: Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths

Midweek Magic: Standard All Access Aug 17–19

Midweek Magic's format this week is Standard All Access. Build 60-card decks using any cards legal in the Standard format and available in MTG Arena—even if they're not in your collection!

Cards not in your collection are only available during the event and are not added to your collection, but this is an excellent opportunity to experiment with and tune up your dream decks in matches against other players before you craft those cards you've had your eye on!

Midweek Magic events run weekly from Tuesday at 8 a.m. PT through Thursday at 8 a.m. PT with a different format each week. There is no entry fee, and you can earn two rare individual card rewards—just like FNM at Home.

Events Schedule

Midweek Magic

Quick Draft

  • August 10–27: Kaldheim
  • August 27–September 10: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

Other Events

  • August 12–24: Historic Brawl Fest
  • August 15–20: Premier Draft Kaladesh Remastered (your first draft has no entry!)
  • August 20–26: Premier Draft Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (your first draft has no entry!)
  • August 24–September 9 (or more!): Historic Brawl queue
  • August 26–October 14: Jumpstart: Historic Horizons

August 2021 Ranked Season

The August 2021 Ranked Season runs from July 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT (19:05 UTC) until downtime on August 24 at 7 a.m. PT (14:00 UTC). Check out the update to our announcement last week for additional details on Qualifier Weekend invitations for the August season.