December State of the Beta: Matchmaking Breakdown

While we've colloquially referred to the 0.10.00.00 December release as the "Rank Matters" update, as we began to do a full breakdown of all the upcoming changes it became very apparent, very quickly that "Rank Matters" didn't accurately describe all the changes where we were making. For starters, to ensure we got to a point where we could use player ranking in a meaningful way, we had to do a complete overhaul of the ranking system. The other part of this was updating and adjusting the way we treated matchmaking, both in our Ranked events and elsewhere. This is where we're going to be talking about the latter.

Matchmaking Weights

To start things off, here's a break down of the various systems we have at our disposal that can be used as part of our matchmaking system.

Rank
Win/Loss Record (Within an Event)
Player Matchmaking Rating (MMR)
Deck
Games Played*

While it might go without saying, we don't use all of these weights in all of our formats. Case and point, the only time rank matters (#namedrop) in our matchmaking system is when you're playing a ranked event. Other weights, such as the amount of games played, are situational. Below, we break down each of our event types, the system/s they used prior to this update, and any changes we've made with the December update.

Changes to Matchmaking Rating (MMR)

... but before we get into the nitty gritty details of the upcoming changes, we wanted to take some time to explain what we mean when we say 'matchmaking rating', or MMR for short. Matchmaking rating is our way of trying to ensure that you face the best possible opponent at any given time. What our system considers 'best' pulls from a variety of criteria that will vary depending on the format (such as rank, win/loss record, deck, etc.) player skill, and the amount of time you've spent searching for a match. However, in our breakdown below, when you see "MMR" we are referring specifically to a player's matchmaking rating.

We wanted to call this out because in addition to changing some of the weights used in matchmaking, we've also adjusted the calculations and criteria for determining a player's MMR. Even if the current vs. 0.10.00.00 doesn't look terribly different, you should see an improvement in the quality of your opponents across the board. As with most live service games, this will be a living breathing system that we'll likely need to make further adjustments to especially in the next few months. The other half of this is breaking down a player's MMR into three distinct categories: Open Play MMR, Constructed MMR, and Limited MMR (Limited, as in the format type e.g. Drafts)

... And yes, this is a big part of why we're running a couple of preseasons before we get into finer details about who, how, and when you can qualify for some of those MTG Arena Mythic Championships we recently announced. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us as we test these changes out!

As a final note, all existing MMR values and Rank will be reset as a part of the rollout of Rank 1.0.

Play (Best of One)

Current System: N/A

0.10.00.00: Open Play MMR, Games Played, Deck Weight

We're adding a new, unranked best-of-one format to replace our previous Ladder Play option. This event will primarily look at one of the new MMR categories we've designated to be used specifically for unranked events: Open Play MMR. Once the queue has matched players within a similar Open Play MMR range, we'll do a secondary check that takes into consideration they deck they're playing. This new system should ensure that players are more accurately matched on both their skill and deck strength, while hopefully cutting down on the amount of mirror matches since MMR and Deck are two independent checks (instead of tied together, as they were previously).

Last, the matchmaking system will look at the number of games played (up to 50) that will allow us to ramp up new players into a larger, more experienced pool of players over time. Combined with the other changes, this should also make some of the earlier matches against other players more new player friendly.

Again, this does replace the previous "Play" option which used a combination of Deck Weight + MMR for matchmaking, and game results affected your constructed rank. For those of you looking for a ranked option without deck weighting, keep reading!

Traditional Play (Best of Three)

Current System: N/A

0.10.00.00: Open Play MMR

We're also adding a new unranked best-of-three queue that only matches players based on their Open Play MMR. This is a place for players who want to do some test-driving of their decks before entering into a Traditional Constructed events where they can compete for prizes.

Ranked (Best of One)

Current System: N/A

0.10.00.00: Rank, Constructed MMR

With the new Ranked queue for best of one we'll be testing out the new ranking systems. Players will primarily be matched based on of their Rank, with a secondary look at their Constructed MMR. Like our 'Play' option, there’s no entry or rewards in Ranked. Unlike "Play", Ranked won’t use Deck Weight or games played as part of matchmaking, and instead we will primarily be matching players based on (you guessed it), Rank. For the first preseason, all the tiers within a rank will be weighted equally for the purposes of matchmaking (e.g. Bronze 3 carries the same weight as Bronze 1).