MTG Arena’s Strixhaven College Cup lets you earn Japanese card styles

The latest MTG Arena competition lets you compete for Strixhaven college, and unlock Japanese Mystical Archive card styles

Japanese alt card art for Lightning Bolt in MTG's Strixhaven set

Magic: The Gathering Arena launches its Strixhaven College Cup today, a series of three competitive events running consecutively until May 31. Competing in the events, which use slight variations of Standard deck formats, players can unlock several Japanese Mystical Archive card styles, while earning tournament points  for their chosen Strixhaven college. It’ll cost you 2,500 Gold or 500 Gems (MTG Arena’s premium in-game currency) to enter each event.

The first event, Test of Knowledge, will run on MTG Arena from May 13 to May 18, and use the Singleton Emeritus format. Mirroring the regular Singleton format, you’ll only be able to include one copy of any card in your deck (excluding basic Lands). But in a Strixhaven twist, you may draw a card anytime you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell.

Players can win one Japanese Mystical Archive card style on each day of the event, as a reward for their first win of that day. These include styles for: Cultivate, Thrill of Possibility, Opt, and Revitalize.

Test of Wit, the second event, will run from May 20 to May 25. Using the 100-Card Treasure format, players must compete with a minimum deck size of 100 cards, and each player will earn a Treasure token during their upkeep phase. Several cards have also been listed as banned in this format, including Legendary Creatures Korvold, Fae-Cursed King; Lutri, the Spellcaster, and Yasharn, Implacable Earth.

The unlockables in this second event include card styles for: Strategic Planning, Shock, Defiant Strike, and Eliminate.

Finally, Test of Leadership will run from May 27 to May 31, and use the Strixhaven Brawl format. It’s similar to regular Brawl, but features only Legendary Creatures and Planeswalkers in the Strixhaven set. You’ll have to be doing some major deck-rearranging if you want to end up on top.

You’ll be able to unlock card styles for: Adventurous Impulse, Village Rites, Divine Gambit, and Claim the Firstborn.

Each event operates in a ‘best-of-one’ format. Players will earn points for their chosen Strixhaven college for their first event win each day, but only if they have equipped a college avatar, college card sleeve, or unlocked a college pet tome in the Mastery Pass rewards level. At the end of the Cup, the college with the most points will earn a card sleeve featuring their emblem, which will be made available to all MTG Arena players.

Want to compete but not sure where to begin? Read our guide on how to build a Magic: The Gathering deck, and start exploring your summoning potential.