Historic Banlist Update - MTG Arena Announcements - April 8, 2024 • MTG Arena Zone (2024)

The weekly MTG Arena Announcement post has been published by Wizards of the Coast! Here’s the roundup of everything that is happening and upcoming on MTG Arena! In this edition:

• Last Week forOutlaws of Thunder JunctionPreorders
• Streamer Even This Wednesday, April 10
• Historic Banned List Update
• Remix Draft: Artifacts Continues This Week
• April Qualifier Weekend Starts This Friday
• MidweekMagicGladiator Spotlight This Week
• Event Schedule

Outlaws of Thunder Junction (release date: April 16, 2024) Preorder bundles (click for the leaked datamined contents) is on its final week, with new cards being showcased by streamers once again on April 10. Historic will also see some preemptive bans for potentially format warping cards in the bonus cards of the set, but not Timeless. See below for details!

Last Week for Outlaws of Thunder Junction Preorders

Outlaws of Thunder Junctionarrives next Tuesday, April 16, and that means you have just one week left to get in your preorders for the new set. We have three bundles that’ll get you off to a good start with the new set’s release:

Oko Pack Bundle

Oko Sleeve
Coming March 26

$49.99

Available at purchase:

• Oko sleeve

Available at release (April 16):

• 50xOutlaws of Thunder Junctionpacks
• 5x Golden Packs
• Oko, the Ringleader depth art card style
• Oko, the Ringleader card

Vraska Play Bundle

$24.99 USD

Vraska Sleeve
Coming March 26

Vraska Card
Coming March 26

Available at purchase:

• Tinybones companion
• Vraska sleeve

Available at release (April 16):

• 2x Player Draft tokens
• 1x Sealed token
• 5x Play-In Points
• Vraska depth art card style
• Vraska card

Kellan Pass Bundle

$14.99 USD

Kellan Sleeve
Coming March 26

Kellan Card
Coming March 26

Available at purchase:

• Kellan sleeve

Available at release (April 16):

• Outlaws of Thunder JunctionMastery Pass
• Kellan depth art card style
• Kellan card

Take a look atall the cards in theOutlaws of Thunder JunctionCard Image Gallery, including in which products you can find each card!

Streamer Event This Wednesday, April 10

Don’t miss your first opportunity to see the new set in action during theOutlaws of Thunder JunctionStreamer Event, happening this Wednesday, April 10, kicking off at 8 a.m. PT

Join popularMagicstreamers on YouTube and Twitch as they open packs, talk about the new cards and strategies, and do some live drafting and playing to take the new set through its paces!

Historic Banned List Update

Cards banned in Historic:

• Force of Vigor
• Commandeer
• Reanimate
• Mana Drain

In our last update,we rebalanced Fragment Reality and Geological Appraiser, which were outliers in our otherwise diverse Historic metagame. Those changes have proven positive, and we are happy with the current state of the format. We believe now is a great time for classic cards likeStoneforge Mystic,Path to Exile, andSurgical Extractionto be added withOutlaws of Thunder Junction. We hope that these powerful new additions will create new competitive archetypes and unique play patterns.

One of the things that defines Historic’s power level is game speed. We have been cautious of free spells in the format that allow for a rapid change in tempo. To maintain the current game pace,Commandeer andForce of Vigorare banned in Historic.

Another defining characteristic of Historic is its overall card power level, particularly now that Timeless exists as the highest-powered format on Arena. The Breaking News Bonus sheet brings some clear power outliers, soMana DrainandReanimateare banned in Historic.

Timeless

AsMTG Arena‘s newest and most powerful format, players have been rapidly experimenting and exploring. Timeless continues to evolve as new cards get added to the game and decks adapt to keep dominant cards in check. While Timeless is still new and developing, we want to let players play with cards before we apply any restrictions or bans to them. Mana Drain is certain to be an impactful addition, so we will be monitoring how it changes the metagame and will take action if it proves to be too much.

Finally, we need to talk a bit about the card discussed the most since its release withMurders at Karlov Manor,Show and Tell. While its play rate has been higher than we would like to see, decks using the card currently have a consistent win rate when compared with other high-performing archetypes. If Timeless were static, we would strongly consider restricting Show and Tell due to its play rate. However, we expect Timeless to change a lot this year with new format-defining cards fromOutlaws of Thunder JunctionandModern Horizons 3. We will see how Timeless evolves before making a decision on Show and Tell.

Remix Draft: Artifacts Continues This Week

The latest Draft format event inMTG Arena,Remix Draft: Artifacts, continues for one more week. Play in Best-of-One and Best-of-Three matches with rewards of gems, Historic-legal packs, and Play-In points.

Try out this new format before it ends at 8 a.m. PT on April 16!

April Qualifier Weekend Starts This Friday

This weekend is your last opportunity to qualify for Arena Championship 6, and it’s the last event before theannounced changes to Premier Play events!

The monthly doubleheader weekend features Standard events and begins this Friday, April 12, with theQualifier Play-In Best-of-Three event. Perform well in this one, and you’ll be invited to play in the weekend’s main event: the April Qualifier Weekend.

Kicking off Saturday, April 13, at 6 a.m. PT, the two-dayApril Qualifier Weekendis where the top players challenge one another for a coveted invite to the Arena Championship. This also happens to be the last time you can earn an invite to the Pro Tour from a Qualifier Weekend before this prize becomes part of the Arena Championship prizes under the new Premier Play structure.

So, tune up your Standard decks—this weekend may be the start of your path to theMagicbig time!

MidweekMagicGladiator Spotlight This Week

This Tuesday through Thursday, April 9–11, check out MidweekMagic‘s Gladiator Community Spotlight event! Gladiator is a fun, fan-created format that continues to grow in popularity, and through MidweekMagicyou can try out ten preconstructed 100-card singleton decks shared by the Gladiator Council.

Gladiator Preconstructed Decks

• Gruul Sneak Attack
• Rakdos Reanimator Midrange
• Azorius Control
• Mardu Aristocrats
• Jeskai Tempo
• Sultai Channel Storm
• Cow Tech
• Dimir Pact-Oracle
• Naya Bard Class
• Mono-Green Elves

We’ve also updated the Gladiator banned list to match the most recent banned list, so you won’t see these cards in the preconstructed decks:

• Demonic Tutor
• Field of the Dead
• Naural Order
• Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes
• Oko, Thief of Crowns

Because this is MidweekMagic, this event is Best-of-One (traditionally games of Gladiator are Best-of-Three). There’s no entry cost toplay in MidweekMagic, and you can earn prizes like individual card rewards (ICRs) and cosmetics!

Event Schedule

Events open at 8 a.m. PT on their starting dates (excluding MidweekMagic) and close to entries at 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00) on the ending date shown unless otherwise noted.

MidweekMagic

MidweekMagiceventsopen on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. PT and close to new entries on Thursdays at 2 p.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• April 9–11: Gladiator Community Spotlight (Best-of-One)
• April 16–18:Jump Into Outlaws of Thunder Junction
• April 23–25:Outlaws of Thunder JunctionConstructed
• April 30–May 2: On the Edge

Quick Draft

• April 9–26:The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• April 26–May 7:Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Other Events

• April 2–16:Remix Draft: Artifacts

April Qualifier Events – Standard

• April 12: Best-of-Three Play-In
• April 13–14: Qualifier Weekend

Competitive Play Schedule

All times listed are Pacific time (UTC-07:00).

Premier Play

Qualifier Play-In eventsare single-day tournaments in which players compete to earn invitations to that month’s Qualifier Weekend events.

Qualifier Weekend eventsare two-day events in which eligible players compete for invitations to upcoming Arena Championship events.

Qualifier tokens are delivered to yourMTG Arenainbox. Remember to claim them before the event starts!

April

• Qualifier Play-In (Best-of-Three)
  April 12, 6 a.m. PT–April 13, 3 a.m. PT
  • Format: Standard
• Qualifier Weekend
  April 13, 6 a.m. PT–April 14, 4 p.m. PT
  • Format: Standard

Arena Open

The Arena Open Day One entry window begins at 6 a.m. PT and closes to new entries the following day at 3 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00). The Day Two entry window is 2 hours only, from 6 a.m. PT until 8 a.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• Arena Open:Outlaws of Thunder Junction
  • May 4: Day One,Outlaws of Thunder JunctionSealed (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
  • May 5: Day Two,Outlaws of Thunder JunctionDraft (Best-of-Three)

April 2024 Ranked Season

The April 2024 Ranked Season begins March 31 at 12:05 p.m. PT (UTC-08:00) and ends April 30 at 12 p.m. PT (UTC-07:00).

• Bronze Reward: 1Outlaws of Thunder Junctionpack
• Silver Reward: 1Outlaws of Thunder Junctionpack + 500 gold
• Gold Reward: 2Outlaws of Thunder Junctionpacks + 1,000 gold + Binding Negotiation card style
• Platinum Reward: 3Outlaws of Thunder Junctionpacks + 1,000 gold + Binding Negotiation card style + Aven Interruptercard style
• Diamond Reward: 4Outlaws of Thunder Junctionpacks + 1,000 gold + Binding Negotiation card style + Aven Interruptercard style
• Mythic Reward: 5Outlaws of Thunder Junctionpacks + 1,000 gold + Binding Negotiation card style + Aven Interruptercard style