With the release of the Throne of Eldraine set today, MTG Arena exits its open beta stage and officially launches as a Magic: The Gathering digital TCG.
The official launch of MTG Arena today marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The MTGA update for Sept. 26 introduces the Throne of Eldraine (ELD) set, fall rotation for the Standard format in MTG, new Mastery rewards, special events, players rewards, and improved graphics.
MTGA special two-part event
To kick off the release of ELD and Standard 2020, Wizards of the Coast is giving MTGA players a chance to win every card in Standard through a two-part tournament series.
Play Any Deck
Launching today, the Play Any Deck event provides MTGA players access to every card in Standard 2020 (and up to four copies). Players can build as many decks as they want and can swap them out in between matches. Here are the full details of the Play Any Deck event.
- The event runs from Sept. 26 at 10am CT to Oct. 1 at 10am CT.
- No entry fee.
- Access to four copies of every card in Standard (includes ELD set).
- Players can only compete once.
- Up to 12 wins and two losses.
- The format is Standard best-of-one.
Win Every Card Challenge
Starting next weekend, MTGA players will have the opportunity to put their Play Any Deck builds to the test. Players who run the tournament with multiple wins can earn up to one copy of every card in Standard.
The Win Every Challenge event begins Oct. 7 at 10am CT and runs for 36 hours. There’s no entry fee. Players only have one shot, however, at winning the largest reward prize in MTGA history.
- Zero to one win: One Throne of Eldraine Rare ICR plus Golden Egg card sleeve.
- Two to three wins: Two ELD Rare IRCs plus Golden Egg card sleeve.
- Four to five wins: Three ELD Rare IRCs plus Golden Egg card sleeve.
- Six to seven wins: Four ELD Rare IRCs plus Golden Egg card sleeve.
- Eight wins: Five ELD Rare IRCs plus Golden Egg card sleeve.
- Nine to 10 Wins: One Sealed Event token plus five ELD Rare IRCs and a Golden Egg card sleeve.
- 11 wins: One copy of every card in Throne of Eldraine plus one Sealed Event token and Golden Egg card sleeve.
- 12 wins: One copy of every card in Standard plus one Sealed Event token and Golden Egg card sleeve.
Two losses in the Win Every Challenge tournament mean game over. Each match, like the Play Any Deck event, is fought in Standard best-of-one.
Players rewards
As a thank you to all the MTGA players who participated in the open beta, WotC is giving out rewards like beads at a Mardi Gras parade. Even players who are new to MTGA have a chance to cash in.
For players who log in today (Sept. 26), there’s a bug with the renewal rewards and quests. Maintenance is ongoing and is expected to be resolved by the end of the day.
Open beta players rewards
- 14 ELD booster packs
- Two Mastery orbs
- Four Standard booster packs
- 10 Rare/Mythic Rare individual card rewards
- 10 Uncommon rarity individual card rewards (IRC)
- Fblthp avatar code (via email)
- Fblthp card sleeve (via email)
- PLAYELDRAINE: Three ELD booster packs
New player rewards
- 12 ELD booster packs
- Two Mastery orbs
- PLAYELDRAINE: Three ELD booster packs
ELD Mastery
A new Mastery reward is now in effect with the release of the Throne of Eldraine set. The ELD Mastery Pass is an upgrade (battle pass costing $20 or 3,400 gems) from the free-to-play Mastery rewards and offers some new treats for the upcoming ELD season.
- Fae Fox pet
- Garruk, Primal Hunter avatar
- Seb Mckinnon custom art card sleeve
Players who purchase a Mastery Pass will have levels extended beyond 110. This is something new that WotC is trying out, giving those MTGA players a chance to receive an Uncommon IRC that has a five-percent chance of upgrading to a Rare/Mythic Rare for each level achieved past 110.
The Set Mastery (free-to-play) is less dependent on codes and event rewards than the M20 mastery was. The change is to make it possible for MTGA players to complete the Set Mastery through quest and weekly win rewards, according to WotC.
New player decks
Players who created an MTGA account prior to the Core Set 2020 update will receive every new player deck upon logging in. These are automatically added to a player’s library, unlocking cards and progressing a player toward their vault progress.
Pets
If a player owns multiple pets, they may choose which one to play with via the Profile tab. Click on “select pet” to choose and pick which rarity of pet you’d like to display.
Historic
The Historic soft launch is underway. Decks created with Historic cards in them will show a yellow triangle over the animated deck box. Playing Historic in the “play queue” will earn a player quest reward, but not daily or weekly rewards.
For players who want to purchase packs that aren’t in Standard, the option is available. In addition, the wildcard ratio is 1:1, not 2:1 as previously revealed.
