Historic Anthology in MTGA: Complete List and FAQ

Jake Henderson October 20, 2023 Collecting, MTG Arena, MTG Products

Last updated on October 20, 2023

Stifle | Illustration by Eric Fortune

The digital-only formats on MTG Arena have certainly gone through a lot. With all the new Standard sets, the countless Alchemy releases nobody plays, and the digital-only in the form of Explorer format, it can be a little tricky to keep track of everything.

One of the many releases that might confuse new players are the Historic Anthologies that have come out since the start of the format. They’re basically just a flat release of a couple dozen or so cards that the MTGA dev team feels the Historic format could use in an attempt to liven it up a little bit.

Today I’ll be doing a bit of a dive into the anthologies, going over what cards are included, and answering some commonly asked questions. Let’s go!

Table of Contents show

What Is a Historic Anthology?

Chalice of the Void - Illustration by Mark Zug

Historic Anthologies are sets of cards that you can buy on the MTG Arena store, meant to supplement Historic with a variety of cards from across Magic’s history. They’re a sort of booster to the format that's otherwise subject to having any cards printed onto Arena.

The MTG Arena devs monitor their digital-only formats pretty consistently and do their best to figure out which cards the format needs to bolster certain strategies or nerf others.

List of Historic Anthologies

Historic Anthology 1

Release Date: November 21, 2019

Kinsbaile Cavalier
Serra Ascendant
Soul Warden
Distant Melody
Treasure Hunt
Cryptbreaker
Hypnotic Specter
Phyrexian Arena
Tendrils of Corruption
Goblin Matron
Hidetsugu's Second Rite
Kiln Fiend
Elvish Visionary
Fauna Shaman
Imperious Perfect
Burning-Tree Emissary
Captain Sisay
Darksteel Reactor
Mind Stone
Ornithopter
Rhys the Redeemed (added on December 12, 2019)

Historic Anthology 2

Release Date: March 12, 2020

Historic Anthology 3

Release Date: May 21, 2020

Historic Anthology 4

Release Date: March 11, 2021

Historic Anthology 5

Release Date: May 27, 2021

Historic Anthology 6

Release Date: July 28, 2022

Historic Anthology 7

Release Date: July 18, 2023

What’s the Purpose of Historic Anthologies?

The Historic Anthologies are a way to introduce new and important cards to the Historic format that would otherwise never be added to MTG Arena. It makes sense to release sets of cards that help maintain the health of the format this way since Historic is a digital-only format that consists of, well, whatever’s on Arena.

How Do You Get a Historic Anthology?

Historic Anthologies are released on MTG Arena via the Store where they can be bought for a limited time on release. Buying the Anthology gives you a complete playset of every new card, and can be bought with either gold or gems.

But they don’t stay in the store too long and eventually get rotated out permanently. The cards are still available, though, and can be crafted as normal using wildcards.

Is it Worth it to Buy a Historic Anthology?

Historic Anthologies are worth buying if you’re interested in actually playing a variety of decks in Historic. The format is always evolving with each new Alchemy and Standard release, but the cards introduced in these Anthologies often become format staples and are widely used.

But if you’re just going to be playing a mono-blue spirits deck then the Anthology with a Worn Powerstone and Sword of Fire and Ice might not be worth buying.

Crafting an Anthology vs. Buying One

It's (almost) always worth buying it if you’re interested in playing Historic and an Anthology is releasing or currently in the Store. The Historic Anthologies sell for 25,000 gold or 4,000 gems, about 25 packs, which means it’s more worth it if there’s more than one rare card that you’d like a playset than to buy an equivalent number of packs and use the wildcards to craft them.

From a strictly value-oriented perspective, buying an anthology with either gold or gems is cheaper than opening packs until you earn enough wildcards to craft the entire Anthology.

Do You Get Four Copies of Each Card When You Buy a Historic Anthology?

Yes, you get four copies of each card whenever you buy an Anthology of any kind. I can’t imagine the outrage from the Historic and Explorer community if the Anthologies, which cost about $25, were to give singleton copies of the new cards. What a waste that would be.

Can You Still Buy Old Historic Anthologies?

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite | Illustration by Igor Kieryluk

No, you can no longer buy old Historic Anthologies. The only way you can get the new cards once they leave the MTG Arena Store is to craft them with wildcards.

Honestly, this is a pretty unfortunate scenario. These Anthologies are a great deal assuming you’re going to use more than one playset of the cards, and it greatly increases the barrier to entry to these digital-only formats if you need to drain 50 rare wildcards for a new deck.

Are Historic Anthology Cards Legal in Historic Brawl? What About Explorer?

Yes and no. Historic Anthology cards are legal Historic Brawl, but not necessarily Explorer. They’re intended primarily for Historic, but some of the cards in these anthologies happen to be already Explorer legal. A card in an anthology is only legal in Explorer if it was already legal in Pioneer.

When’s the Next Historic Anthology?

The most recent release for the line of Historic Anthologies was on July 18, 2023. It contained 25 new cards for Arena, including Horizon Lands, Magic 2011's titan cycle, Tooth and Nail and Wayfarer's Bauble.

With this recent release, and keeping in mind the previous one was about a year before it, it’s unlikely we’ll be getting another Historic Anthology anytime soon. Check this page for the newest Historic Anthology news, and stick to our blog for everything else!

Wrap Up

Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

That concludes all the details I’ve got for you today regarding the Historic Anthologies. I think that the Anthologies are a great series of releases, but I wish that they'd stay around in the Store permanently, or have an alternative to spending more of my precious wildcards.

What do you think of the Anthologies and the Historic format as a whole? Are they a great way to spice up and breathe new life into the format, or are they an easy cash grab that further increases the barrier to entry? Let me know your thoughts in the comments or over in the official Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy!

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Jake Henderson

Jake was first introduced to Magic in 2013, and has been a regular at his LGS ever since. He started off playing in his store's Journey into Nyx league, and his favorite formats are draft and commander! He joined Draftsim in 2021 as a writer, and is currently the site's Managing Editor.

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