Image via Wizards of the Coast Magic: The Gathering

Here are the patch notes for MTG Arena’s Nov. 21 update

Historic is here but without a friends list.

Danny Forster

Published: Nov 21, 2019 03:25 pm

This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

Today’s update in MTG Arena has tons of new events and cards for the Historic format, along with bug fixes and performance upgrades.

Historic

The November Magic Arena update officially launches the first Historic Anthology season. A total of 20 new cards are being added to the format from previous MTG sets over the years. A visual of all added Historic cards can be found here.

Burning-Tree Emissary
Captain Sisay
Darksteel Reactor
Mind Stone
Ornithopter
Kinsbail Cavalier
Serra Ascendant
Soul Warden
Crypt Breaker
Hypnotic Specter

Phyrexian Arena
Tendrils of Corruption
Distant Melody
Treasure Hunt
Goblin Matron
Hidetsugu’s Second Rite
Kiln Fiend
Elvish Visionary
Imperious Perfect
Fauna Shaman

Each Historic card can be unlocked with a wildcard of its rarity. Four copies of every new card are available in the MTGA store for a cost of 3,400 gems ($20).

Historic Anthology 1

Historic Anthology 1 is the first season of many more to come and will run from Nov. 21 to Jan. 15. MTG Arena players can now participate in a best-of-three ranked ladder in the Historic format.

Individual reward cards (IRC) are also available and will contain the following:

IRCs can include older versions of cards that may be legal in Standard because they also appear in a Standard-legal set ( like Opt from Dominaria).
Don’t include cards from Historic Anthology 1.
They can be uncommon (with an upgrade rate to rare/mythic rare) or rare/mythic rare.
If rare/mythic rare, each rare appears twice as frequently as each mythic. If uncommon, each uncommon is equally likely to be awarded.

The season will also include several Historic events. The buy-in price and rewards are different for each tournament. Rewards can only be earned one time in events where there a loss record isn’t kept.

Historic Anthology event

Historic Anthology One runs from Nov. 21 to 24. The entry fee is 200 gems or 1,000 gold. There are no losses recorded in this event and the format is in best-of-one Historic. Nexus of Fate is banned from the Historic Anthology tournament.

Here are the rewards for the Historic Anthology event:

Five wins: Card style of Fauna Shaman.
Four wins: Card style of Hypnotic Specter.
Three wins: Card style of Serra Ascendant.
Two wins: Card style of Goblin Matron.
One win: Card style of Treasure Hunt.

Historic Pauper event

The Historic Pauper event runs from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. The entry fee is 500 gems or 100 gold and will be in the Pauper format. A total of four wins can be achieved and two losses knock a player out of the event.

Here are the rewards for the Historic Pauper event:

Four wins: 600 Gold plus one Rare and Mythic Historic ICR and two Uncommon Historic ICRs (five-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic).
Three wins: 450 Gold and one Uncommon Historic ICR (35-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic), twp Uncommon Historic ICRs (five-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic).
Two wins: 300 Gold plus one Uncommon Historic ICR (25-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic), and two Uncommon Historic ICRs (five-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic).
One win: 150 Gold plus one Uncommon Historic ICR (15-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic), and two Uncommon Historic ICRs (five-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic).
Zero wins: Three Uncommon Historic ICRs (five-percent chance to upgrade to Rare/Mythic).

Standard events

There’s one Standard event scheduled. The Ten Life Draft runs from Dec. 6 to 8. There’s a buy-in of 5,000 gold or 750 gems and it’ll be played in a best-of-one Throne of Eldraine Draft with each player starting at 10 life. A total of seven wins can be achieved and three losses remove a player from the event.

Here are the rewards for the Ten Life Draft event:

Seven wins: 950 Gems and two ELD packs.
Six wins: 850 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 40-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.
Five wins: 650 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 35-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.
Four wins: 450 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 30-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.
Three wins: 300 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 26-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.
Two wins: 200 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 24-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.
One win: 100 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 22-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.
Zero wins: 50 Gems plus one ELD pack and a 20-percent chance of a bonus ELD pack.

Card styles and bundles

There are several new card style bundles in the MTG Arena store. Details on each of these bundles can be found here.

Court Knights bundle
Adventures Abound bundle
Animated Armory bundle
Familiar Faces bundle
Aggressive Negotiations bundle
Uncovered Artifacts bundle

Here are the bundles and individual card styles no longer available in the MTGA store.

Twice is Nice bundle
Lands Foretold bundle
Showcase bundles (Knightly Honor, Deadly Secrets, Walk in the Woods)
Giant Killer
Heraldic Banner
Steelclaw Lance
The Cauldron of Eternity
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale
Chulane, Teller of Tales
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King

Bug fixes and gameplay updates

Outmuscle no longer adds Indestructible to the Adventure side of creatures.
Forever Young no longer treats the returned cards as revealed.
Casting Quasiduplicate on a Mirrormade that has been turned into a creature with Dance of the Manse when the only Enchantments for it to copy were Auras now functions properly.
Exiling an Adventure card using Thief of Sanity shows the full card instead of only the creature side.
Memory Theft shows appropriate messaging for which cards to choose.
Abilities placed on the stack by Tokens display the correct card frame.
Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God’s plus one ability plays the correct VFX
Assigning stacked creatures to block one by one now prioritizes stacking correctly.
Match reconnections have been improved.
Players should no longer see a black screen when reconnecting.
Players can now view cards in Exile when you have a browser open and View Battlefield is chosen.
The Sideboarding timer where the server-side timer and client-side timers were out of sync has been fixed.
The Sundering Stroke VFX has been fixed.
VFX that dim the battlefield now correctly clear if the card that triggered the VFX is destroyed as it enters the battlefield.
Canceling a browser that plays an SFX no longer results in an audio loop.

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Author

Danny Forster

Staff writer, lead beat writer for MTG and TFT

Danny has been writing for Dot Esports for over five years, first as a freelancer and now as a staff writer. He is the lead beat writer for Magic: The Gathering and Teamfight Tactics. Danny is also a solid Monopoly GO player, having beaten every main event without spending a dime. When Danny isn't writing or gaming, he's chilling by the water in Spacecoast Florida with his family and friends. He's always got a tan, because touching grass is important, and loves playing strategic digital and tabletop games. Past outlets Danny has written for include TheGamer and ScreenRant.