MTG Arena Announcements – August 7, 2023

In this edition:

• We Revealed the Future at Gen Con!
• Renewal and Rotation Coming September 5
• Just One Week Left for Summer Sale!
• How to Squeeze into the August Qualifier Weekend
• ICYMI: Devs Invite You Behind the MTG Arena Scenes
• Event Schedule

---

We Revealed the Future at Gen Con!

Gen Con was this past weekend, and some cool news came out of the Magic panel discussion. Here are a few highlights from MTG Arena!

Khans of Tarkir Coming in Late 2023

We're returning to a fan-favorite plane in late 2023 when we bring Khans of Tarkir to MTG Arena with its exciting cards for for Explorer and Historic formats. We'll have more to share in the future as we approach release.

Tournament Pioneer by End of 2024

Our goal since introducing the Explorer format has been to bring Pioneer to MTG Arena. Through anthologies and remastered sets, we're nearly there. We are planning for tournament Pioneer to arrive on MTG Arena by the close of 2024, and in the meantime, we'll continue to expand Explorer to reach that goal.

Look for more details and anthologies to come—including Pioneer Masters, a draftable set exclusive to MTG Arena that'll include all-star cards of Pioneer!

Modern Horizons 3 on MTG Arena

We also announced this past weekend plans to bring Modern Horizons 3 to MTG Arena alongside its tabletop release next year. Though the Modern format isn't coming to MTG Arena, we don't want players to miss out on the fun of one of Magic's wildest sets!

Final Fantasy on MTG Arena

In 2025, Magic: The Gathering's next tentpole Universes Beyond set will launch, and MTG Arena is joining in on the fun! Final Fantasy is a fully draftable set featuring characters, locations, and items from the original Final Fantasy all the way through Final Fantasy XVI. The set will be available on MTG Arena alongside its tabletop release.

Improved Duplicate Protection

As more sets and cards are released in MTG Arena, some players are bound to get duplicate cards in their collections. We have plans to further enhance our duplicate protection—as well as adding awesome new systems for players—and we'll be sharing more on this in the future.

Gen Con-clusion

As Magic grows, we're always excited to give you a look ahead. For those who couldn't make it to Gen Con, don't despair! You can watch the presentation from the Magic at 30 panel discussion below!

Renewal and Rotation Coming September 5

Just over one month from now, on September 5, the yearly Renewal arrives in MTG Arena. This includes the rotation of sets, and the hatching of the Renewal Egg with all the goodies it grants you as the new Magic year kicks off—log in before rotation to make sure you get your Renewal Egg!

How does rotation work this year in MTG Arena? In the past, sets dropped out of Standard every two years to make room for new sets; this year, Standard rotation shifts to a three-year schedule. Looking at the graphic above, you can see that no sets leave current Standard, and over the next year new sets will be added as they're released in MTG Arena, beginning with Wilds of Eldraine on September 5.

Alchemy rotation will stay on its two-year rotation schedule. On September 5, eight sets will drop out of the Alchemy format (this includes Alchemy set releases) to make room for Wilds of Eldraine and future sets.

Get full details on Renewal and rotation in MTG Arena!

Just One Week Left for Summer Sale!

There's just a week left in our huge MTG Arena Summer Sale. Have you seen all the stuff you can only get for a limited time?

• Remember the weathered card back sleeve? You can get it now!
• Secret Lair GALORE!
  • Secret Lair: The Stars Gaze Back
  • Secret Lair: Bad to the Bones
  • Secret Lair: Death Is Temporary, Metal Is Forever
  • Secret Lair: Dan Frazier
  • Secret Lair: The Astrology Lands
• Mana flood! Grab the Borderless Lands Mega-Bundle.
• Stickers! Pets! Avatars! Find them in bundles like March of the Praetors, Phyrexian Creature Invasion, and the Sticker Emotes Mega-Bundle.
• A bit of everything for your Magic summer in the Summer Pool Party bundle.

And that's just the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg. Visit the MTG Arena Store before the Summer Sale disappears next Tuesday.  

How to Squeeze into the August Qualifier Weekend

Coming up is the big weekend that can rocket you into competitive Magic play on MTG Arena leading all the way to Arena Championship 4!

Start your ascendancy this Friday, August 11, at 6 a.m. PT (13:00 UTC) with the Best-of-Three Qualifier Play-In event. The format is Explorer, and this event is your last opportunity to secure a place in this month's Qualifier Weekend.

Why get into the Qualifier Weekend? Because this is your ticket to the big time—performing well here can earn you an invitation to Arena Championship 4!

Is this your time to step out of the shadows into the Magic spotlight? Find out this weekend!

ICYMI: Devs Invite You Behind the MTG Arena Scenes

We've gotten behind-the-scenes tours of several aspects of MTG Arena over the past few months, hosted by the developers themselves. In case you missed any of these, here's a recap so you can catch up!

• Why I Decided Not to Do Emrakul, and How We Shipped It Anyway by Ian Adams
• Shadows of the Past: A New Way to Draft on MTG Arena by Jiachen Tao
• We Put Battles on MTG Arena: What Was That Like? by Ian Adams
• The Ring Tempts You on MTG Arena by Ian Adams
• Making the April Fool's Battlefield and Other Battlefields by Ian Adams
• On Whiteboards, Naps, and Living Breakthrough by Alex Werner

The devs have also been active on Reddit, offering insights and peeks behind the scenes:

• A Bug to Pierce Flesh and Spirit Alike – the Story Behind the Citizen's Crowbar and Ninja's Kunai Bug by Ben Finkel

Look for more developer articles coming in the future!

Event Schedule

Events open at 8 a.m. PT on their starting dates (excluding Midweek Magic) and close to entries at 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00) on the ending date shown unless otherwise noted.

Midweek Magic

Midweek Magic events open on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. PT and close to new entries on Thursdays at 2 p.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• August 8–10: Slow Start
• August 15–17: Historic Pauper
• August 22–24: Brawl
• August 29–31: Momir

Quick Draft

• August 1–15: Dominaria United
• August 15–29: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™
• August 29–September 15: March of the Machine
• September 15–26: Wilds of Eldraine

Other Events

• July 25–August 3: The Brothers' War Premier Draft
• August 3–14: Magic 30: Mixed-Up Premier Draft
• August 14–21: Throne of Eldraine Premier Draft
• August 21–September 5: Arena Cube Draft

Premier Play Schedule

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-07:00).

Qualifier Events

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. Check out the standings to see who's qualified for Arena Championship 4.

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

August

• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-Three)
  August 11, 6 a.m. PT–August 12, 3 a.m. PT
  • Format: Explorer
• Qualifier Weekend
  August 12, 6 a.m. PT–August 13, 4 p.m. PT
  • Format: Explorer

September

• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-One)
  September 23, 6 a.m. PT–September 24, 6 a.m. PT
  • Format: Wilds of Eldraine Limited
• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-Three)
  September 29, 6 a.m.­–September 30, 3 a.m. PT
  • Format: Wilds of Eldraine Limited

Arena Championship 4

The Arena Championship is an invitation-only, two-day virtual event for players who earn invitations through Qualifier Weekend events.

• Arena Championship 4
  October 7–8
  • Format: Historic and Wilds of Eldraine Draft (both Best-of-Three with sideboard)

Arena Open

The Arena Open Day One entry window begins at 6 a.m. PT and closes to new entries the following day at 3 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• Arena Open: Arena Cube Draft
  August 26–27
  • August 26: Day One, Arena Cube Draft (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
  • August 27: Day Two, Arena Cube Draft (Best-of-Three)
• Arena Open: Wilds of Eldraine Limited
  • September 16: Day One, Wilds of Eldraine Sealed (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
    (Editor's Note: Day One event format has been corrected. Events will be Sealed, Best-of-One and Best-of-Three
  • September 17: Day Two, Wilds of Eldraine Draft (Best-of-Three)

---

Follow MTG Arena Social

Keep up with the latest MTG Arena news and announcements on:

• Twitter @MTG_Arena
• Facebook @MTGArena
• Instagram @mtgarena
• TikTok @MTGArena
• MTG Arena YouTube channel
• Magic: The Gathering Discord channel
• Threads @mtgarena