What Is Historic In MTG?

Having only been created in 2019, Historic in MTG is one of the newest formats in existence. For better or worse, it’s also one of the strangest.

While a lot of other formats have specific sets that they begin with and then add in new bits as they go, Historic is far less well-defined than that, and it’s also only really a format on MTG Arena.

So, what is Historic in Magic: The Gathering, and what do you need to know about it?

What Is Historic in MTG?

Historic is a special format designed for MTG Arena. It encapsulates basically every card on the service aside from those that are banned (which we’ll list below). Alchemy changes do affect Historic on MTG Arena, so cards that see digital changes do get affected in Historic.

In a way, Historic is a bit like Modern, but specifically for MTG Arena. While Modern has specific starting sets and only gets added to via newly released sets, Historic is different.

Historic was introduced in November 2019 as a way to allow players to continue using cards that had rotated out of Standard. Technically speaking, Historic includes sets from Ixalan onwards, but in reality, this includes Historic Anthologies and other supplemental products which means that you will occasionally get cards from before Ixalan in the format. It’s wholly unique in MTG, and it’s a lot of fun.

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What Sets Are Legal in Historic?

The following paper releases were captured in Arena and are hence legal in Historic. Further supplemental sets are listed below.

• Ixalan
• Rivals of Ixalan
• Dominaria
• Core Set 2019
• Guilds of Ravnica
• Ravnica Allegiance
• War of the Spark
• Core Set 2020
• Throne of Eldraine
• Theros Beyond Death
• Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
• Core Set 2021
• Jumpstart
• Zendikar Rising
• Kaldheim
• Strixhaven: School of Mages
• Mystical Archive
• Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Innistrad: Crimson Vow
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
• Streets of New Capenna
• Dominaria United
• The Brothers’ War
• Retro Artifacts
• Phyrexia: All Will Be One
• March of the Machine
• Multiverse Legends
• March of the Machine: The Aftermath
• The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
• Wilds of Eldraine
• Enchanting Tales

Alongside these main sets, MTG Arena has had multiple exclusive releases. These include Remastered and Alchemy sets. These sets are also legal in Historic.

• Amonkhet Remastered
• Kaladesh Remastered
• Jumpstart: Historic Horizons
• Alchemy: Innistrad
• Alchemy: New Capenna
• Alchemy Horizons: Baldur’s Gate
• Explorer Anthology
• Alchemy: Dominaria
• Alchemy: The Brothers’ War
• Alchemy: Phyrexia
• Shadows over Innistrad Remastered
• Shadows of the Past

In addition to these sets, Historic Anthologies are added to the game to support the Historic format. Wizards of the Coast added “new” old cards to MTG Arena “from across Magic’s history” for use in the format. 15-20 new cards were added in November for the beginning of the new format ( for example, Historic Anthology 1), with the goal of adding more cards every quarter of the year.

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What cards are banned or suspended in Historic?

The banned list for Historic is as follows, and it’s fairly large given the rather small pool of cards it pulls from. This was bolstered substantially with the introduction of Mystical Archives in Strixhaven, which were banned ahead of their release. This is the list as it stands:

As of June 9, 2021, the following cards are banned in Historic.

• Agent of TreacheryAgent of TreacheryWhen this creature enters, gain control of target permanent.
  At the beginning of your end step, if you control three or more permanents you don't own, draw three cards.
• Blood MoonBlood MoonNonbasic lands are Mountains.
• BrainstormBrainstormDraw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
• Channel
• CounterspellCounterspellCounter target spell.
• Dark Ritual
• Demonic TutorDemonic TutorSearch your library for a card, put that card into your hand, then shuffle.
• Field of the DeadField of the DeadThis land enters tapped.
  {T}: Add {C}.
  Whenever this land or another land you control enters, if you control seven or more lands with different names, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.
• Intruder Alarm
• Land TaxLand TaxAt the beginning of your upkeep, if an opponent controls more lands than you, you may search your library for up to three basic land cards, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle.
• Lightning BoltLightning BoltLightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target.
• Memory LapseMemory LapseCounter target spell. If that spell is countered this way, put it on top of its owner's library instead of into that player's graveyard.
• Natural Order
• NecropotenceNecropotenceSkip your draw step.
  Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard.
  Pay 1 life: Exile the top card of your library face down. Put that card into your hand at the beginning of your next end step.
• Nexus of FateNexus of FateTake an extra turn after this one.
  If Nexus of Fate would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, reveal Nexus of Fate and shuffle it into its owner's library instead.
• Oko, Thief of CrownsOko, Thief of Crowns+2: Create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
  +1: Target artifact or creature loses all abilities and becomes a green Elk creature with base power and toughness 3/3.
  −5: Exchange control of target artifact or creature you control and target creature an opponent controls with power 3 or less.
• Once Upon a Time
• Ragavan, Nimble PilfererRagavan, Nimble PilfererWhenever Ragavan deals combat damage to a player, create a Treasure token and exile the top card of that player's library. Until end of turn, you may cast that card.
  Dash {1}{R} (You may cast this spell for its dash cost. If you do, it gains haste, and it's returned from the battlefield to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next end step.)
• Sneak AttackSneak Attack{R}: You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield. That creature gains haste. Sacrifice the creature at the beginning of the next end step.
• Spreading SeasSpreading SeasEnchant land
  When this Aura enters, draw a card.
  Enchanted land is an Island.
• Swords to PlowsharesSwords to PlowsharesExile target creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power.
• Thassa’s OracleThassa’s OracleWhen this creature enters, look at the top X cards of your library, where X is your devotion to blue. Put up to one of them on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. If X is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. (Each {U} in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to blue.)
• Tibalt’s Trickery
• Time WarpTime WarpTarget player takes an extra turn after this one.
• Uro, Titan of Nature’s WrathUro, Titan of Nature’s WrathWhen Uro enters, sacrifice it unless it escaped.
  Whenever Uro enters or attacks, you gain 3 life and draw a card, then you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield.
  Escape—{G}{G}{U}{U}, Exile five other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.)
• Veil of SummerVeil of SummerDraw a card if an opponent has cast a blue or black spell this turn. Spells you control can't be countered this turn. You and permanents you control gain hexproof from blue and from black until end of turn. (You and they can't be the targets of blue or black spells or abilities your opponents control.)
• Wilderness ReclamationWilderness ReclamationAt the beginning of your end step, untap all lands you control.

Historic is a little different from other MTG formats as it also has access to a suspension system. Wizards of the Coast introduced suspensions to control the balance that works well with MTG‘s history of using bans and restrictions while allowing more flexibility to adjust as Historic adapts. A suspension works like a ban, in that the card will not be legal to use in the format while it is suspended. There may be a case where the card may come off suspension to become legal or become banned instead.

At the time being, there are no Suspended cards in Historic.

It still feels like a bit of a shame to not have access to Lightning BoltLightning BoltLightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target. or Swords to PlowsharesSwords to PlowsharesExile target creature. Its controller gains life equal to its power., because it means they’re in MTG Arena with no real use, which seems a bit pointless. Nevertheless, that’s everything you need to know about what Historic is.

Historic is Also a Card Type

While the term Historic is mostly used to refer to the MTG Arena format that includes almost every card on the client, Historic is also, technically a card type.

Released in Dominaria, cards that care about a Historic card type refer to Legendary cards, artifacts and sagas.

To make things even more confusing, there is also Historic Brawl. While similar to Historic, this format has its own rules and Banlist. Currently, this Historic Brawl format is the closest thing that MTG Arena has to Commander, and that’s saying a lot. If you want to read up on the format, you can do so here.

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