Back around rotation in September, we announced that we’d launch our first non-rotating format, Historic, with the November update. We’re here now to share what that means, how Historic works, and the new cards that will soon be available there.

Our goal is to make Historic a competitive format that pairs with Standard, starting with the following:

• 20 new cards entering the format on November 21
• New card drops planned every quarter
• Ranked Historic Best-of-Three queue November 21–January 15
• A Historic Best-of-Three tournament at the end of the Ranked season
• Competitive, evergreen Historic events starting in January

CHANGING HISTORY

Historic is a non-rotating format where cards from throughout Magic‘s history can live together. The differentiator for Historic, however, is that as a digital-first format, it lets us try new things and grow the format in unique ways.

(Of course, we’re aware that players also want play modes that sync up with paper, and we intend to deliver on that in the long term. Read about our other plans for going beyond Standard right here.)

Magic has a deep, rich history of cards and deck archetypes, and we’re excited to bring some of those old favorites into MTG Arena. We can’t implement everything at once, but we can actively build and expand the format over time. Historic will grow both forward and back, and you’ll see the first steps in the new cards coming in what we’re calling Historic Anthology 1.

We’re kicking things off with 20 new cards in Historic Anthology 1 that have been carefully selected to expand the format in interesting ways. Some are nostalgia plays, some are fun build-arounds to enable new archetypes, and some are powerful new tools.

Being purely digital, we can curate Historic much more actively than is practical for physical Magic. Are there not enough viable archetypes? We might drop a card or two to create new options. Is something dominating the format more than is healthy? Then we’ll step in to address it. That might be a full ban, as players are familiar with, or it might be a suspension, where we pull a card from Historic temporarily to see how things change. We can respond quickly to how the format develops, giving us the freedom to push boundaries.

THE MARCH OF HISTORY

Historic fully launches with our November update, bringing new cards, events, and a ranked queue. Here’s an overview of everything coming up (you can also see full details here):

Historic Anthology 1 – First of all, Historic Anthology 1 will be available with this update! These 20 cards can all be crafted using wildcards at a 1:1 rate, or you can purchase a complete playset of every card—80 cards in total—in the Store for 3,400 gems. (If you want to see the cards being added, stick around!)

Historic Launch Event – To go with these new additions, our Historic Launch event will run from November 21–25. Entry costs are 200 gems or 1,000 gold, and you can play as many Best-of-One games as you want, earning cosmetic rewards for five of the new Anthology cards along the way.

Ranked Historic – Then, once you’re ready, jump into the Best-of-Three Ranked Historic queue. This also opens on November 21, and it will run through January 15 (the day before the release of Theros Beyond Death). Progress in this queue will affect your Constructed rank, just like Ranked Standard does, so you’ll be able to qualify for MCQs through your Historic play (cards willing, of course).

Historic Tournament – To close out this Historic launch with a bang, we’ll hold Arena‘s first major Historic tournament just before the release of Theros Beyond Death, where you’ll get a chance to prove your skill in the new format and compete for some epic prizes.

Ongoing Historic Events – When Theros Beyond Death releases, Historic will transition to the off-season. We’ll have an evergreen Best-of-Three Historic event so that competitive Historic players will always have a home, but MTG Arena‘s focus will turn back to Standard until Historic Anthology 2, currently planned for March 2020.

Historic Play Queue – And, of course, Historic will always be playable in the Play queue for quick, casual, Best-of-One games. (Data shows that players don’t often stick around for games two and three in a no-consequences queue like Play. This leads to fewer players in the queues, and worse matches all around. For serious Historic play, the ranked queue and evergreen event will offer Best-of-Three, but casual digital play works better in Best-of-One.) While playing Historic in the play queue does not reward daily win progression, all other game modes discussed above will.

MAKING HISTORY

So, what will you get to play with in all of these new events? Answering that question was quite a challenge! Magic has a long history, and each set for the past 26 years has had its share of powerhouses, nostalgia, and offbeat cards looking for a good home. We compared personal favorites, surveyed people from all over the building, and dug through website after website in search of the right cards.

Ultimately, with only a handful of slots to fill, we needed to narrow things down. These cards would have several core goals to fulfill:

• In order to separate Historic from just being “old Standard plus Throne of Eldraine,” we looked for cards that could drive decks that wouldn’t otherwise exist in the format.
• We wanted some new tools for players who play competitively, and so cards that had performed well in past Standard formats, or even showed up in Modern and beyond, were often part of the conversation.
• It was important to demonstrate the range of cards that live in Historic, and so we even looked at cards that are popular for Cubes and in Commander, a format with a very long reach.
• We considered limiting ourselves to cards that are legal in Modern or Pioneer, but at the end of the day, Historic isn’t intended to be either of those. A smattering of legal cards doesn’t suddenly make a full format, and we’d rather let Historic stand on its own terms, not as an incomplete version of something else.

We’ll learn more about what Historic wants as all of you dig into it, and future Anthologies may lean more in one direction or another as a result. But today, we want to provide cards for a variety of approaches, from casual brews to cutthroat competition. We think that there’s something here for everyone.