MTG Arena Renewal for 2024: Everything You Need to Know

Last updated on February 28, 2024

Seeds of Renewal | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

It’s that time of the year! A big new fall set is here and with it comes Standard rotation, for both digital and paper formats. For MTG Arena that means a special event called “Renewal.”

What the heck is renewal on MTG Arena? What's the Renewal Egg, and what exciting rewards are WotC freely giving us? Let's dive in and find out!

What Is MTG Arena Renewal?

Renewed Faith | Illustration by Steve Argyle

MTG Arena Renewal is a recurring event each time Standard rotates that hypes the new rotation by giving players rewards in the form of new rares from the new sets. Standard rotation is a “necessary evil” to keep the format healthy and fresh. Once Standard has three year's worth of sets, four rotate out as a new one rotates in. In 2023, Wizards kept Alchemy on a 2-year rotation and gave Standard a one-time pause on sets rotating out, meaning the oldest four sets will remain in Standard until September 2024.

Paper MTG lets you sell your old Standard decks and cards or trade them with other players. MTG Arena doesn’t allow for that, and you can’t dust your old cards either. You’ll instead get rewards tied to the sets that remain in Standard and from the latest set.

When Does Renewal Happen?

Renewal took place on September 5, 2023 with the release of Wilds of Eldraine on MTG Arena. Getting rewards from Renewal on the same day as a new set release means that there are two things to be excited about!

What’s the Purpose of Renewal?

Rotation removes four sets worth of cards, so the main purpose is to strengthen the card base for Standard players by giving them rare individual card rewards (ICRs) from the sets that compose Standard. The rewards from getting quests are also better than average.

You lose a bunch of cards that you could play in Standard, but you also get a little help to build your next decks. The impact of Standard and Alchemy rotation is outlined below:

Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna rotated out of Alchemy while the following sets compose the next Standard format, displayed in the middle row, with Alchemy in green on the third row:

• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Innistrad: Crimson Vow
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
• Streets of New Capenna
• Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate (Alchemy only)
• Dominaria United
• The Brother's War
• Phrexia: All Will Be One
• March of the Machine
• March of the Machine: The Aftermath
• Wilds of Eldraine

What Are Renewal Rewards?

The renewal reward is made up of 10 rare ICRs as part of the renewal gift. One rare from each of the non-rotating sets and four rares plus one mythic rare from the latest set.

On your mastery track, packs are added to your Set Mastery, increasing the prizes and rewards you can earn.

What's the MTG Arena Renewal Egg?

You could see the Renewal Egg in your Profile, and it was mostly a visual reminder that rotation is coming. It “hatches” upon rotation, which is accessible when you log onto MTG Arena from this date forward.

What’s Inside the Renewal Egg?

When you opened the Renewal Egg you got the 10 rare ICRs right away. You'd also get some gold and XP. Wizards often adds other rewards into this precious egg. This is similar to previous renewals like Zendikar Rising and Throne of Eldraine.

What to Do with Your Old Cards

It’s sad to lose lots of cards and decks that you’ve fought for and invested in. But the cards lost with rotation aren’t really lost. Enter eternal formats like Historic and Explorer.

Historic is the term that MTG Arena uses to imply that all cards on Arena are legal. There are a few Historic formats to play, like Historic and Historic Brawl. MTG Arena also has all kinds of events in its rotation like Gladiator, Pauper, Peasant, and more.

Explorer is analogous to Pioneer, another eternal format. Explorer is a format that you can play with all the cards released in MTG Arena that were released from Return to Ravnica onwards.

You can also play the new Standard format. Your old Standard deck will be much weaker considering what you can no longer use, but the cards from the new set can be all it takes to breathe fresh air into your deck. Don’t forget to support it with cards from Streets of New Capenna and Neon Dynasty, ‘cause those sets are still legal and ain’t going anywhere yet.

Wrap Up

Yavimaya Coast | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

Rotation and renewal are upon us and I, for one, can’t wait to see what the new Standard will bring to the table. Most importantly, how will cards from sets like Streets of New Capenna, Crimson Vow, and others shine in this new Standard? Who knows, it might be time to dust off an old but good Standard deck And give it the play it deserves. New cards and boosters are always a good thing!

Are you also excited for renewal in MTG Arena? Let me know in the comments section below or over on the Draftsim Twitter. And if you’re playing on MTG Arena, you gotta use Draftsim’s Arena Tutor. It tracks your collection, uses AI to predict what other players are playing, suggests Draft picks, and more.

As always, stay safe and thanks for reading!