Historic

Historic is a nonrotating constructed format unique to MTG Arena. It encompasses every set ever released on the platform — including cards that have rotated out of Standard — plus Arena-exclusive Alchemy rebalances and the Historic Anthology sets released specifically to expand the format’s card pool.

Because Historic includes Alchemy cards alongside regular Magic releases, it exists entirely separately from any tabletop equivalent. You cannot play Historic at a local game store — it is a digital-only format with its own identity, power level, and metagame.

What’s in the Historic Card Pool

Historic contains every set added to MTG Arena since the platform launched in 2018, including sets that have rotated out of Standard. It also includes the Historic Anthology series — curated collections of older cards added to Arena specifically to enrich the format — and Alchemy rebalanced versions of cards, which are digital-only versions with modified stats or abilities.

This makes Historic one of the largest card pools of any format on Arena. The inclusion of Alchemy cards means Historic doesn’t map directly to any tabletop format — worth understanding before investing heavily, since those cards have no physical equivalent and no value outside digital play.

Historic vs Explorer

The key distinction is the inclusion of Alchemy cards. Explorer uses only cards that exist in tabletop Magic and mirrors the Pioneer format. Historic is more expansive and more powerful, incorporating Arena-exclusive content that pushes the power level above what Pioneer supports. Players who want their Arena play to transfer to tabletop typically prefer Explorer; players who want the highest-power nonrotating constructed format on Arena tend to prefer Historic.