MTG Arena friends functionality possibly coming tomorrow

The extended wait for a friends list may be coming to an end with the MTG Arena update scheduled for tomorrow. 

An anonymous Wizards of the Coast employee told Dot Esports that the MTG Arena friends list may be in the patch on Dec. 12. Images in yesterday’s Brawlidays announcement featured a friends list icon in the bottom-left corner. The WotC employee said the icon was intentionally placed there. 

There’s still a slight chance that the friends list might not be in tomorrow’s MTG Arena update, however.

“We’ve had a few starts and stops so didn’t want to formally announce,” the anonymous WotC employee said.

But if the list is included in tomorrow’s update, it should feature four basic functionalities.   

• Add MTGA players to friends list.
• Block or remove Arena players from the friends list.
• See which friends are online.
• Challenge friends to matches via Direct Challenge mode.

WotC originally said that Arena’s friends list would have multiple drop stages. A second phase is likely to drop in early 2020, containing direct messaging and deck sharing options.

A friends list in MTG Arena was promised to players upon the CCG’s official launch out of open-beta. But problems with it came to light, like the most recent scaling issues, and it was delayed twice. 

The next MTG Arena update is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 10am CT.

Ferguson Mitchell contributed to this report.