MTG Arena Historic Horizons Jumpstart: Full details and updates

A new MTG Arena Jumpstart event has been revealed by Wizards of the Coast, containing 31 new Magic: The Gathering cards and hundreds more from Modern Horizons and Modern Horizons 2. 

Scheduled to exclusively release via MTG Arena on Aug. 24, the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons set will showcase three feature mechanics that were designed specifically for digital gameplay. Similar to the previous MTG Arena Jumpstart event, players will choose packs to play with and can unlock any of the Magic cards via Wildcards. WotC has implemented a number of upgrades to Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, including new MTG Arena only cards, mechanics, and an algorithm for what cards appear in certain packs. 

When does Jumpstart: Historic Horizons release?

The Jumpstart: Historic Horizons was originally scheduled to release exclusively via MTG Arena on Aug. 12 and run as an event until Sept. 9. Following the initial announcement from WotC on July 26, previews of packs within the set will be revealed, ending on Aug. 3. A full card image gallery by WotC will be available on Aug. 4. 

But WotC announced on Aug. 9 that the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons release has been pushed back until Aug. 24.

What are the new MTG Arena exclusive mechanics?

WotC has included three mechanics within Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, designed exclusively for gameplay on MTG Arena. New cards within the set will feature mechanics called Seek, Perpetually, and Conjure. A full breakdown of each mechanic can be found here. 

• Seek: Tutors grab a random card from your deck that matches specific criteria.
• Perpetually: This MTG Arena mechanic permanently changes the characteristics of a card. 
• Conjure: Conjuring creates a card. 

Ethereal Grasp and Tome of the Infinite are two new MTG Arena cards that use the new mechanics.

• Ethereal Grasp: Utilizes the Perpetually mechanic to change a creature so that it doesn’t untap during their controller’s untap step unless paying a mana cost.
• Tome of the Infinite: Utilizing Conjure, Tome of the Infinite conjures cards directly to hand. Possible cards that Tome of the Infinite can conjure include Light of Hope, Swords to Plowshares, Force Spike, Ponder, Dark Ritual. Duress, Assault Strobe, Lightning Bolt, Fog, and Giant Growth. 

What MTG cards are in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons?

There are a total of 31 exclusive MTG Arena cards within Jumpstart: Historic Horizons that are also new to Magic. These cards are only legal to play within the Historic format via MTG Arena. In addition to the new cards, over 200 cards are being added to the Historic format via Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. These cards are a culmination of MTG cards contained in Modern Horizons and Modern Horizons 2. Including reprints, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons contains over 700 cards.

How many packets are there and how do they work?

The Jumpstart: Historic Horizons set will include 46 packets that players can choose from. Some of the cards are already available within MTG Arena, with WotC saying that players “won’t receive fifth copies” for cards already owned. All cards within Jumpstart: Historic Horizons can be unlocked for gameplay within the Historic format using MTGA Wildcards. 

Not all packets will contain the same cards upon opening. The MTG Arena team has updated the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons packets to distribute cards via a programmed algorithm.

Here’s an example of the Animate Artifacts packet and a percentage breakdown for what cards may appear.

Animate Artifacts

• Floodhound
• Witching Well
• Burdened Aerialist
• Hard Evidence
• Resculpt
• Animating Faerie
• Skilled Animator
• Rise and Shine
• Giant’s Aumulet
• Icy Manipulator
• Ethereal Grasp
• Lonely Sandbar

No basic lands are included in the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons packets, either. Upon choosing the packets to play within the event, MTG Arena will automatically include basic lands based on the packets while also taking into consideration the balanced costs of activated abilities and spells within that packet. 

How much does Jumpstart: Historic Horizons cost?

The new MTG Arena event will run from Aug. 24 to Oct. 14. Players can enter the event any number of times, paying an entry fee of 2,000 gold or 400 gems each time. 

How do I play Jumpstart: Historic Horizons?

Upon entering the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons event, players will choose two packets from a total of three offered. Matches are fought in a best-of-three format. Players can review the cards from each packet but can’t change them out for the event. 

Each of a player’s first two wins will redeem a Rare or Mythic Rare individual card reward from Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. 

Update Aug. 10 12pm CT: This article was updated regarding the change in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons’ release date.