MTG Arena Renewal for 2026: Everything You Need to Know

Last updated on January 5, 2026

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 does WotC freely give us? Let's get cracking 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 and gives players rewards in the form of 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 sets rotate out as a new set rotates in.

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 instead get rewards tied to the sets that remain in Standard and from the newest set.

When Does Renewal Happen?

Renewal took place on July 29, 2025, with the release of Edge of Eternities on MTG Arena. You get rewards from Renewal and get to experience a new set release – two things to entice you to open up Arena!

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.

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:

Dominaria United, The Brother's War, Phrexia: All Will Be One, March of the Machine, and March of the Machine: The Aftermath were sets numbered 1-5 and rotated out of Standard. Skip the Aftermath set, and pretend that Wilds of Eldraine is set number 5. Displayed on the third row is Alchemy which now allows Bloomburrow, set number 8 as its oldest cards. So the current Standard starts with:

• Wilds of Eldraine
• The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
• Murders at Karlov Manor
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction
• Bloomburrow
• Duskmourn: House of Horror
• Foundations
• Aetherdrift
• Tarkir: Dragonstorm
• Final Fantasy
• Edge of Eternities

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 newest set.

On your mastery track, packs are added to your Set Mastery (separate from the gem buy-up Mastery Pass), to increase the prizes and rewards you can earn.

What's the MTG Arena Renewal Egg?

You could see the Renewal Egg in your Arena 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. Wizards sometimes adds other rewards to this precious egg. This is similar to previous renewals like Bloomburrow, Wilds of Eldraine, 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 Timeless, Historic, Brawl, and Pioneer.

Timeless is the format on MTG Arena in which all cards on Arena are legal. You could craft a budget Timeless deck and refresh your Arena experience. MTG Arena also has occasional Constructed events in its rotation like Gladiator, Pauper, and Peasant.

Pioneer is an eternal format with all the cards on MTG Arena from Return to Ravnica onwards.

Alternatively, 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.

Wrap Up

Nissa's Renewal | Illustration by Lius Lasahido

Rotation and renewal are upon us and I, for one, can’t wait to see what new brews Standard will bring to the table. Most importantly, how do the remaining cards shine in this new Standard? Who knows, it might be time to dust off an old archetype and give it the play it deserves. New cards are always a good thing!

Did you get a good grab from renewal in MTG Arena? Let me know in the comments section or over on the Draftsim Twitter. And if you play 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 shows you popular decks you'll want to beat.

As always, stay safe, and thank you for reading!