Game Update Highlights

• Brawl Launch Event: Celebrate Brawl coming to Magic: The Gathering Arena in this weeklong event!
• Throne of Eldraine Showcase card styles are now available!
• Festival of the Fae: New events, showcase card style rewards, and a new Wilds battlefield.
• Extra Life: Play Games. Help Kids. Ponies.

Gameplay

Brawl

Brawl is now a supported format in Magic: The Gathering Arena

• Sorcerous Spyglass is currently banned in Brawl
  • Developer Note: Though Brawl is considered a Standard format, it does maintain a separate ban list from other Standard constructed formats. As such, Field of the Dead is not banned in Brawl.
• Brawl will be available as a play queue every Wednesday.
  • No entry fee required
  • Wednesday Brawl will function just like our other Standard play queues. You will be match against other MTG Arena players and will receive quest progress as well as Daily and Weekly Win rewards.
• Direct Challenge now supports Brawl
  • From the Challenge Match drop down menu, select “Deck Type: Brawl”

General

• During combat, the system will now auto-pass through the "Declare Attackers", "Declare Blockers" and "First Strike Combat Damage" steps if there are no creatures in combat (i.e. if all attacking creatures are removed prior to these steps)
• When a stack of identical creatures with an activated ability are blocking, they now fan out so you can select a specific creature from the group.
• Adjusted deck sizes to make it easier to estimate the remaining cards in your library at a glance (you can still mouse over either player's library or graveyard to see the exact count of in their hand, graveyard, library and exile)
• When there are multiple effects on the stack that lead to token creation, the game will run through this process more quickly
• We have reworked the interface for revealed cards.
  • When you mouse over the window, you will be able to click the 'x' in the top right corner to dismiss the window.
• Mana in your mana pool will now sort to better display what auto-pay will spend
  • Mana spent is now sorted by color (helps with readability for Adamant)
• Badges for Riot and Convoke (which only matter while the card is in hand or on the stack) no longer display on the battlefield.
• Adventures that can produce a token now display that token when moused over.
• Daily Wins now reward 25 XP for the first 10 wins each day.
  • This is additive to the existing Daily Win rewards. There is no other changes to Weekly, Daily, or Quest rewards.

Cardset

• Field of the Dead is now banned in Standard.
  • Players will receive a one-time notification in-game regarding the banning
  • Players will receive a rare Wildcard for each copy of Field of the Dead in their collection prior to this update
    • This is a one-time grant. Players who craft/receive Field of the Dead after today’s update will not also receive a rare Wildcard
  • Field of the Dead has been removed from individual card rewards (ICRs)
  • We have updated the Core Set 2020 booster pack collation. Players will only receive Field of the Dead once they have already received playsets of every other available rare
    • This change does not impact Limited boosters for sealed and draft events (Field of the Dead will still appear at its original frequency)
  • When crafting Field of the Dead using Wildcards, players will receive a warning notification that the card is banned in Standard
  • When joining the Play queue, decks that contain Field of the Dead will be considered “Historic”
  • Players who are currently participating in a Standard Event or Traditional Standard Event with Field of the Dead in their deck will be allowed to finish the event with their deck as-is, however will be required to update their deck once they have finished.
• Clarified Risen Reef's prompt. It now specifically asks if you want to put the land card onto the battlefield tapped.

Auto-Tap

• Auto-pay can now utilize more cards with mana abilities (e.g. Gilded Goose)

Events

Brawl Launch Event

Event Dates: October 24 – November 1
Entry Fee: 1000 Gold or 200 Gems
Format: 1v1 Brawl
Event Record: Rewards up to 5 wins, losses are not counted
Rewards:

• 1 Win: One copy of Mace of the Valiant card and card style
• 2 Wins: One copy of Faerie Formation card and card style
• 3 Wins: One copy of Taste of Death card and card style
• 4 Wins: One copy of Embereth Skyblazer card and card style
• 5 Wins: One copy of Thorn Mammoth card and card style

Note: While the rewards can only be earned once, you can keep playing! Additional games will count towards quest progression as well as Weekly and Daily Win rewards

Festival of the Fae

Artisan
Event Details: Build a 60-card Standard constructed deck using only commons and uncommons.
Event Dates: November 3 – November 6
Entry Fee: 2500 Gold or 500 Gems
Banned Cards:

• Cauldron Familiar
• Cavalcade of Calamity
• Gates Ablaze
• Persistent Petitioners

Event Record: Rewards up to 5 wins, losses are not counted
Rewards:

• 1 Win: Merchant of the Vale Showcase card style
• 2 Wins: Beanstalk Giant Showcase card style
• 3 Wins: Order of Midnight Showcase card style
• 4 Wins: Giant Killer Showcase card style
• 5 Wins: Brazen Borrower Showcase card style

Oko’s Madness
Event Details: Each player begins the game with a 60-card deck containing only basic lands and an Oko's Whims emblem that has the following abilities:

• Creatures you control have base power and toughness 3/3 and are Elks in addition to their other types.
• Pay 1, Discard a card: Create a token that's a copy of a random creature with converted mana cost 8 or less. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.

Event Dates: November 10 – November 13
Entry Fee: 2500 Gold or 500 Gems

Additional Cards: The following creature tokens can also appear when creating a token through the Oko’s Whims emblem:

• Baleful Force
• Bedlam Reveler
• Borborygmos Enraged
• Crash of Rhinos
• Gigantomancer
• Griselbrand
• Hoverguard Sweepers
• Magmatic Force
• Scaled Wurm
• Tidespout Tyrant
• Wolf Pack

Event Record: Rewards up to 5 wins, losses are not counted
Rewards:

• 1 Win: Faerie Guidemother Showcase card style
• 2 Wins: Hypnotic Sprite Showcase card style
• 3 Wins: Oakhame Ranger Showcase card style
• 4 Wins: Bonecrusher Giant Showcase card style
• 5 Wins: Murderous Rider Showcase card style

Cascade
Event Details: Each player begins the game with a Maelstrom Nexus emblem that has the following ability:

• When you cast your first spell each turn, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a nonland card that costs less. You may cast it without paying its mana cost. Put the exiled cards on the bottom of your library in a random order.

Event Dates: November 17 – November 20
Entry Fee: 2500 Gold or 500 Gems
Banned Cards:

• Deafening Silence
• Fae of Wishes
• Field of the Dead
• Flaxen Intruder
• Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
• Lucky Clover
• Rule of Law
• Teferi, Time Raveler

Event Record: Rewards up to 5 wins, losses are not counted
Rewards:

• 1 Win: Rimrock Knight Showcase card style
• 2 Wins: Foulmire Knight Showcase card style
• 3 Wins: Fae of Wishes Showcase card style
• 4 Wins: Lovestruck Beast Showcase card style
• 5 Wins: Realm-Cloaked Giant Showcase card style

Wednesday BrawL

Availability: Every Wednesday, starting on November 6
Format: 1v1 Brawl

Ranked Draft

• Various improvements to draft bot picks

Extra Life

Wizards of the Coast is once again raising funds for Extra Life, benefitting Seattle Children's Hospital—and you can help! This year our goal is to raise more than ever before through a dedicated product, a creator campaign, Extra Life streams, and auctions for uncut sheets. Join us and help support children in need!

Ponies: The Galloping and Extra Life 2019 Sleeves

• Support Magic Extra Life by purchasing an Extra Life logo sleeve or one of four different My Little Pony sleeves for Magic: The Gathering Arena.
• The proceeds (less transaction fees) go straight to Magic Extra Life, which benefits Seattle Children’s Hospitals, helping children and families in need. Support the cause—take your pick or grab em’ all!
• These items will only be available for purchase for a limited time! October 28, 9 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC) – November 4, 9 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC – Daylight Savings Adjustment)

Uncut Sheet Auctions

Through eBay for Charity at www.ebay.com/wotccharity, we'll be auctioning off more than 20 uncut sheets between noew and November 2 at 11 p.m. PT. Among the sheets, we'll have a foil New Phyrexia rare/mythic rare sheet and a foil Throne of Eldraine alternate-art and Showcase card sheet.Creator Campaign

We're holding something of a competition among streamers to raise the most for Extra Life. Interested streamers can create Extra Life pages and join the Magic super team—competing either alone or in teams of up to six. The Top 8 teams will get access to codes for their audience, featuring an early-access premium card style for Inspiring Veteran.

Ponies: The Galloping Card Set

The Ponies: The Galloping card set will be sold on HasbroPulse.com Oct. 22–Nov. 5 and will cost $50. Wizards of the Coast will donate thirty dollars ($30.00) to Extra Life benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital for each copy of Ponies: The Galloping trading card set it sells.

Esports

Mythic Championship Qualifier

• For players who have qualified for the Mythic Championship Qualifier this weekend, you should now see the event in-game.
  • If you believe you have qualified and you do not see the event in-game, please contact support by Thursday, October 24 at 5 p.m. PT (Midnight UTC). Failure to do so may prevent you from participating in the Qualifier!

DIrect Challenge

• As of the 1.01.00 game update, we have deprecated the ability to direct challenge through Discord.

Store

Limited Time Only: Extra Life Charity Items

• These items will only be available October 28, 9 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC) – November 4, 9 a.m. PT (16:00 UTC – Daylight Savings Adjustment)
• All proceeds after transaction fees go to benefit Seattle’s Children Hospital
• Available Items:
  • Ajani Extra Life Sleeve
  • Nightmare Moon Sleeve
  • Princess Luna Card Sleeve
  • Princess Twilight Sparkle Sleeve
  • Rarity Sleeve
• Cost: $3.99 per Sleeve

Now Available

Showcase Bundles

Each bundle contains five Showcase card styles from Throne of Eldraine:

• Knightly Honor: Ardenvale Tactician, Lonesome Unicorn, Silverflame Squire, Shepherd of the Flock, and Embereth Shieldbreaker Showcase Card Styles
• Deadly Secrets: Merfolk Secretkeeper, Queen of Ice, Animating Faerie, Reaper of Night, and Smitten Swordmaster Showcase Card Styles
• Walk in the Woods: Curious Pair, Garenbrig Carver, Rosethorn Acolyte, Tuinvale Treefolk, and Flaxen Intruder Showcase Card Styles

Cost: 3,000 gold per Bundle

Standard 2020 Bundle

Get a one-time deal on 10 boosters from across the current Sets, and 1000 Gems:

• Two boosters from each of the following sets: Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, War of the Spark, Core Set 2020, Throne of Eldraine

Cost: $9.99

Brawl Commander Card Styles

For a limited time, the following card styles will be available for purchase for gold:

• Chulane, Teller of Tales
• Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
• Alela, Artful Provocateur
• Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale

Cost: 2,000 Gold per Card Style for a limited time (available for gem purchase after)

Leaving Soon

• Twice is Nice Bundle
• Lands Foretold Bundle
• Showcase Bundles (Knightly Honor, Deadly Secrets, Walk in the Woods)

No Longer Available

• Lifeland Bundle
• Golem Galore Bundle
• Wolf Pack Bundle

Bug Fixes

Performance and Stability

• Fixed an issue that would sometimes result in players starting a game with an empty battlefield containing no library or opening hand
• Players who disconnect and reconnect during a match should no longer experience a black screen
• Players should no longer receive a “DllNotFoundException: MDNNativePlugin” error messaging when launching MTG Arena
• Fixed an issue where killing a token with Massacre Girl had a chance of causing a crash

Other

• In Brawl, when presented with the option between turning your commander to your hand or the Command Zone, the default choice is now your hand.
• Repeatedly activating abilities with no cost (mana or otherwise) will no longer allow players to intentionally extend their timer
• Detailed Logs will persist after game updates if this feature is enabled
• Muting your opponents emotes no longer disables interactions with your own pet
• Abilities that prevent damage and have another effect (e.g. Oathsword Knight's loss of a counter) when dealt damage that can't be prevented (i.e. because Questing Beast is in play) now correctly trigger the other part of the ability
• Players should no longer be removed from sidebaording when their opponent’s timer expires
• The Adament VFX is now visible if a player can cast Adamant cards from a zone other than their hand
• Cards drawn from Unmoored Ego’s effect will now correctly display while Unmoored Ego is on the stack (previously the cards drawn would appear as one of the ‘revealed’ cards currently in the target opponent’s hand regardless of what was actually drawn)
• Blocking multiple creatures that can assign its combat damage as though they weren’t blocked (i.e. Thorn Elemental) will no longer cause a softlock
• Your opponent’s hand should no longer appear to “flicker” when they mouse over it during your turn
• When moving cards in a browser, your mouse will no longer snap to the bottom of the card
• After First Strike combat damage, the arrow designating which creatures are blocking which attackers now remains
• When “Resolve All” is enabled, the game will now hold priority for a response if new items are added to the stack
• When deselecting a block in a stack, other blockers will remain stacked
• Dreadhorde Arcanist’s visual effect will no longer continually play if the triggered ability is countered before it resolves
• Creatures with extremely large power and toughness numbers will automatically resize to fit inside the power and toughness frame
• ICRs will no longer appear twice when rewarded through the Mastery Pass
• Decks that were previously Standard-legal should now show the correct number of cards that have rotated (previously, this number could be inconsistent)
• Tooltips should now correctly appear while sideboarding