MTG Arena Core Set 2020 Changes Detailed, Includes New Historic Format
Wizards of the Coast has taken the time to detail many of the MTG Arena Core Set 2020 changes that are coming soon alongside the release of the next card expansion. As we already know, there are going to be a ton of new cards for players to check out for all types of decks.
MTG Arena Core Set 2020 Changes We Already Know About
As of right now, we know that there are going to be a whopping 280 new cards introduced in this upcoming set. Those 280 cards break down to 20 basic land cards, 112 common cards, 80 uncommons, 53 rares, and 15 mythic rare cards.
In addition to those cards, there will be 63 cards available in the new Planeswalker decks available for purchase as well as one unique promotional card that players can only get by taking advantage of the “Buy a Box” promotion that is only happening in stores.
Beyond the number of cards that will be offered with the upcoming set, the entire expansion itself will feature the red colored Planeswalker Chandra Nalaar as the featured hero of the set. For the first time ever, she will not just get one card with her face on it but four in total.
There will be the usual featured card of hers within her Planeswalker deck and then three more that will be available in booster packs. What’s even crazier is that all three of those booster cards will be different rarities with one uncommon, one rare, and the last being the expected mythic rare.
Of course, that’s not all, though, as there are updates to the gameplay of the video game version of the card and some new additions, too. Players will be happy to know that they will now have many more reasons to enjoy the video game version as a new progression system is coming plus pets and many more changes.
Mastery System Introduction and Pets
The Mastery System is the new progression for Magic: The Gathering Arena that will give players more rewards to collect and reasons to come back to the game day after day and week after week. It includes the mastery tree that is completely free to use and available to everyone who plays the game.
By using this system and progressing through it, you will be able to earn various awesome rewards like cosmetic items including card styles, free gold, booster packs to diversify your deck collection with, and much more. However, the rewards don’t end there, though.
In addition to the free mastery tree, there will be a mastery pass that will be available for purchase only. Think of both of these as the battle passes in battle royale games like Fortnite and so on. Buying the mastery pass will allow you to receive additional rewards as you progress including pets.
Yes, you read that right. You will be able to start collecting your own pets inside the game to show off to your friends and foes alike. But in order to get one of these amazing pets, you will need to purchase the paid mastery pass.
Like with battle passes in other games, the Mastery System is a seasonal progression system that will keep you coming back each season for more action. The seasons will last for a good bit of time, spanning the gap between each new expansion for the card game.
As such, this inaugural Mastery System season will begin with the release of MTG Arena Core Set 2020 and will last until the release of the next expansion in the fall codenamed Archery that we are scheduled to find out more about at the official Magic panel at San Diego Comic Con this summer.
London Mulligan
One of the major MTG Arena Core Set 2020 changes that will happen with the latest update will be the London Mulligan introduction. We’ve detailed this feature before but it will take the place of the current Mulligan format and change up how you start a standard match.
Under the current rules for a match, you have the option to redraw your cards at the beginning. This can be for various reasons like not liking the cards you get, they’re all late game cards, and so on. When you do this, you reshuffle the seven starting cards you have and then draw six.
If you choose to redraw again, you draw one less over and over until you are ready to go. Under the new London Mulligan rule, though, you have much more control over your starting hand. You still lose one card for each time you redraw but you still get to draw seven cards initially and then choose yourself which ones to reshuffle back in.
It’s a great way of giving players more opportunity to have a say in how they start a match which can translate to a better game overall.
New Historic Match Format
One of the other big MTG Arena Core Set 2020 changes is the release of a new match format, exclusive to this game. It’s been teased for quite some time now and we now know that players will have a new match format called Historic to check out.
This Historic format is the solution to the Standard format that is always changing with the release of new expansions. How it works is that it allows older expansions to stick around for longer and let you use those hard-earned cards in matches using it.
With the release of the Archery expansion in the fall, there are four previous sets that will be removed from the Standard format. Those four are Ixalan, Rise of Ixalan, Dominaria, and Core Set 2019. But with the Historic format, you will still be able to use cards from those expansions.
It’s not just for one type of match either as you will have a breadth of options for choosing how you want to compete against other players. There will be the standard best of three matches, single round matches, direct challenges, a practice mode, and even special events in the future.
As for those four soon to be gone expansions, you will no longer be rewarded with cards from them when the next expansion drops next week. However, you will be able to purchase them still in booster packs and the like, just with the warning that you won’t be able to use them in Standard soon.
Other Major Changes
Beyond the major changes like those, there are other smaller additions and MTG Arena Core Set 2020 changes that will be happening next week. For starters, there will be no more limited draft events that will include the aforementioned four expansions that are leaving soon.
While that sucks, we are happy to share that the Ranked Draft mode is now permanent and will center around the latest card set in the game at the time. All of these MTG Arena Core Set 2020 changes and more will be happening in the game with the release of the new card next week on Tuesday, July 2, 2019.
For more on all of the MTG Arena Core Set 2020 changes that are coming soon in the latest update, be sure to check back here next week when the update drops for our extensive coverage of the new patch notes.
Comments