A few days ago, Wizards released two articles on the state of their free online platform, MTG Arena. Here they are:
They are both worth a read; below, I unpack the most important (or intriguing) elements of each.
State of the Game
On Arena this year, they are on pace to release
- 5 Standard set releases
- 2 Nonrotating releases
- 1 Classic release
- 4 Alchemy releases
- 1 Jumpstart release
State of the Formats
The below chart is copied from the article and shows the popularity of each format available on Arena.
- Standard is a rotating format including the most recent sets.
- Historic is "MTG Arena’s largest Constructed format, filled with both old and new Magic cards. Digital-only cards are legal in this format, including rebalanced versions of existing cards."
- Brawl is similar to Commander: 100-card decks, single copies only
- Alchemy adjusts Standard releases; the "cards feature mechanics designed for play only in Alchemy and Historic formats."
- Explorer is "all cards legal in the Pioneer format that appear on Arena."
- Timeless is "MTG Arena’s largest Constructed format where every card is legal. It includes the most powerful cards throughout Magic history."
Interesting how two formats—Historic and Timeless—are billed as Arena's largest Constructed format.
Chart aside, this paragraph bears quoting as showing the goal (and challenge) of each format:
In general, we want every format to be balanced, diverse, and fun. Balance is important so that you always feel like you have a fair shot at winning and that your decisions throughout a match matter. Diversity means both facing a wider range of opponents, which is refreshing, but also that you have a large number of viable decks and archetypes to play yourself. And fun is always vital. After all, any given player is going to lose about half of the games they play, so we want to make sure the play in each match is interesting and enjoyable.
They do a good job with these areas, even if it seems overwhelming.
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