Wizards of the Coast's new Digital Games Studio is creating a Magic experience with the full rules and ongoing content support for new card sets, just like the original card game. The game is designed and built for digital gamers without compromising Magic's core gameplay. Every element of the game design is focused on an engaging and dynamic experience, true to authentic Magic, to provide players and viewers fast-paced, exciting, and easy-to-follow matches.

In Magic: The Gathering Arena players can jump right into Quick and Competitive Play using one of the five carefully crafted pre-built decks earned in the tutorial and can customize their own decks from an expansive library of current Magic cards. The game is free to download and lets players battle for rewards including in-game currency, cards, and booster packs. Players can also earn an additional five pre-built decks by completing daily quests.

Wizards of the Coast is pleased to release a brand new update for Magic: The Gathering Arena today, introducing a fully reworked on-boarding process to the game, practice matches and a new cosmetic system.  These new features will debut alongside the first ever Mythic Invitational event at PAX East.

This new tournament, the Magic: The Gathering Mythic Invitational, will take place this weekend. Boasting the best and brightest names of Magic: The Gathering from both physical and digital formats, they will battle against one another for a prize pool of $1,000,000. Discover more about the Mythic Invitational here.

For the first time in Magic history, the event will be commentated in local languages on Twitch thanks to co-streaming leaded by local experts of Magic Arena.

Starting today, players will have access to Practice Matches in Magic: The Gathering Arena, providing a new way for players to learn to play, test decks, and learn what their opponents may throw at them. Additionally, the new update also introduces the brand new Mastery Tree, a system which allows players to gain experience as they play, unlocking gold, cards, deck upgrades and more as they go.

Also introduced in today’s update is the brand new cosmetic system: Players will have access to card styles, sleeves, and more avatars. Card styles are a new cosmetic that change the way cards look. In today’s update, Wizards of the Coast are adding a parallax effect with extended artwork to over 100 cards. These will be available to players through bundles, seasonal rewards, play or purchase. Players don’t need to unlock these styles for cards individually, however, as they apply to every copy of a card in their collections.

Card sleeves affect the back of the cards, changing the look of the cards from the default card back to an arrangement of new themes. These will initially be for each colour of mana, and will apply to each deck individually. The new Avatars will introduce new customisation options to the game, such as the closed beta exclusive Angrath and Huatli avatars, as well ten new avatars featuring Ravnica’s guild leaders.

You can discover more about the latest update here.