In this edition:

Alchemy: Strixhaven Releases Tomorrow
(May 19)

104146_Y26-SOS: Blood Age Muster 104153_Y26-SOS: Paradigm Shifter 104160_Y26-SOS: The Mystical Archive

Alchemy: Strixhaven comes to MTG Arena tomorrow, May 19! Three new spellbooks and their contents have been unveiled and can be seen here. You can find all the new cards from Alchemy: Strixhaven in the Secrets of Strixhaven Card Image Gallery. This digital-only release brings three cards with powerful spellbooks to MTG Arena, giving you ample opportunities to deepen your studies.

Arena Championship 12
(May 23–24)

The next Arena Championship is this weekend, May 23–24! Over 100 of MTG Arena's fiercest competitors will face off in rounds of Historic over two days to claim their share of rewards, including a cash prizes, Pro Tour invitations, and more. You can join our team of expert broadcasters to follow all the action via twitch.tv/magic or the Play MTG YouTube channel.

For complete details, including a list of the players, the official viewer's guide, and more, head over to the official Arena Championship 12 event page.

Introducing Contender Draft

Aziza, Mage Tower Captain | Art by: Aurore Folny

Contender Draft is a new event designed to run alongside existing Limited events. This is for players that want bigger rewards, higher stakes, and strong deck-building challenges! We want to offer this additional limited-time option for players who are interested in a more competitive structure, but we aren't removing other draft options to make room for it. Contender Draft will not replace any Premier Draft events.

Contender Draft is similar to Premier Draft, but it has a prize structure that is more similar to competitive events. The entry fee will be 3,000 gems (or 20,000 gold). Since the focus is on getting to seven wins, that's where most of the prizes lie. A losing record will result in no rewards, but a big finish can earn more than double the entry fee in gems, plus more than 20 MTG Arena packs!

The prize structure is as follows:

  • 0–2 wins: No rewards
  • 3 wins: 1,400 gems, 3 MTG Arena packs
  • 4 wins: 2,800 gems, 6 MTG Arena packs
  • 5 wins: 3,200 gems, 8 MTG Arena packs
  • 6 wins: 4,200 gems, 10 MTG Arena packs, 4 mythic packs
  • 7 wins: 7,200 gems, 12 MTG Arena packs, 10 mythic packs, Draft Contender title*

*Title is only granted upon first win

The first Contender Draft will feature Secrets of Strixhaven and will run from May 22–29. We're initially running this event for a week to test the waters and ensure it plays as intended.

We hope you enjoy battling it out for gems and glory in the first Contender Draft event! We're excited to hear how you enjoy this new high-stakes offering!

Banned and Restricted Announcement

0103_MTGTDM_Main: Cori-Steel Cutter 0053_MTGTMT_Main: Sewer-veillance Cam

A new banned and restricted list update was published this morning. The changes that impact MTG Arena are:

  • Cori-Steel Cutter is banned in Pioneer.
  • Sewer-veillance Cam is banned in Alchemy.

The article contains a wealth of information on these changes, in addition to details on changes to various tabletop formats. If you're curious about why these changes are being implemented or want to see other changes taking place across Magic, we strongly recommend giving the article a read.

Arena Direct: Secrets of Strixhaven Sealed
(May 27–31)

The next Arena Direct is happening soon! This event will also be comprised of Sealed matches of Secrets of Strixhaven, but please note that it will start earlier and run longer than previous Arena Directs, so it's being held from May 27–31. Prizes include gems and MTG Arena packs for players who can collect three-to-five wins and while supplies last, Secrets of Strixhaven Play Booster boxes for players who stack up six or more wins!

Further details can be found on the Arena Direct event page and complete terms and conditions are available here.

New and Improved Elemental Frames

Urza, Lord High Artificer (Elemental Frame) Phyrexian Arena (Elemental Frame) Krenko, Mob Boss (Elemental Frame) Esika, God of the Tree (Elemental Frame) Muldrotha, the Gravetide (Elemental Frame) Chimil, the Inner Sun (Elemental Frame) Command Tower (Elemental Frame)

Our designers have been hard at work revisiting the elemental frame card styles that premiered alongside Alchemy: Lorwyn. The new styles will be automatically applied to existing styles from the first wave, and we're happy to announce that a new wave of elemental frame card styles will be released in the MTG Arena Store, coinciding with the release of Alchemy: Strixhaven tomorrow, May 19!

These cosmetics will be available for an array of MTG Arena staples, and select elemental frame card styles will also be included in the MTG Arena Store's Daily Deals, so be sure to check the MTG Arena Store's offerings regularly!

Event Schedule

The full Secrets of Strixhaven event schedule can be found here.

Competitive Play Schedule

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-07:00; UTC-08:00 after November 1).

Premier Play

Qualifier Play-In events are single-day tournaments in which players compete to earn invitations to that month's Qualifier Weekend events.

Qualifier Weekend events are two-day events in which eligible players compete for invitations to upcoming Arena Championship events.

Qualifier tokens earned through Seasonal Rewards are delivered to your MTG Arena inbox. Remember to claim them before the event starts!

June Qualifier Format: Standard

  • June 6: Best-of-One Qualifier
  • June 7: Best-of-One Sealed Bonus Play-In
  • June 12: Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In
  • June 13–14: Qualifier Weekend

May Season Rewards

Players will receive their rewards for the May 2026 season at the start of the June 2026 ranked season (12:05 p.m. PT on May 31).

You must have played at least one ranked game in the respective format to receive seasonal rewards.

  • Bronze Reward: 1 Secrets of Strixhaven pack
  • Silver Reward: 1 Secrets of Strixhaven pack + 500 gold
  • Gold Reward: 2 Secrets of Strixhaven packs + 1,000 gold + Impractical Joke card style
  • Platinum Reward: 3 Secrets of Strixhaven packs + 1,000 gold + Impractical Joke and Exhibition Tidecaller card styles
  • Diamond Reward: 4 Secrets of Strixhaven packs + 1,000 gold + Impractical Joke and Exhibition Tidecaller card styles
  • Mythic Reward: 5 Secrets of Strixhaven packs + 1,000 gold Impractical Joke and Exhibition Tidecaller card styles
Impractical Joke (Depth Art) Exhibitionist Tidecaller (Depth Art)