The client you know. A rules engine you can keep.

Play Standard, Pioneer, Modern, premier drafts with other players and the Vintage Cube in your own copy of MTG Arena, with the open source Forge engine running the game. Free cards, free cosmetics, friends and community matchmaking.

Coming soon. Unofficial fan project.
YOUR PC Steam installread only Patched clientown profile Forge engineplays the game Matchmakingfriends and queue Other playersthe community Card art loads from Scryfall.
Games are refereed by Forge. Matchmaking only introduces you to friends and opponents.

What you can play

  • Standard, Pioneer and Modern against the Forge AI or other players
  • Premier Draft at one table with other players, then play your deck against them. New: the Vintage Cube, Power Nine included
  • Quick Draft against AI, for the latest sets
  • Every card and cosmetic is free. No wildcards, no grind
  • Friends, invites and direct challenges

It is an early project. Expect rough edges and some missing or broken cards. Report bugs, ask for help and find opponents on our Discord community.

Install

System
Windows 10 or 11
Game
MTG Arena, Steam version, on the same PC
Disk
About 15 GB free
Extras
None. Java and the rest are bundled

Unzip and run the launcher. The first start takes a minute or two while it makes a patched copy of your install. It repeats after a Steam update. Your original install is never changed.

The launcher is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn. Each release's SHA-256 and VirusTotal results are listed under the download button at the top: check the file against them first.

Why this exists

Games are sold as things you own, then switched off as services. Stop Killing Games argues that a game should not be left unplayable when support ends. Its European initiative passed one million verified signatures. It asks for a way to keep playing, not for endless support.

MTGA Forge applies that to a game we like. Magic has already lost titles this way:

  • Magic Duels delisted from Steam and Xbox, support ended.
  • Magic: Legends servers closed, never left beta.
  • Magic SpellSlingers servers closed, 18 months after launch.

Nothing guarantees Arena will be treated differently. With Forge, your games and decks keep working.

Questions

Is this official?

No. It is not made, endorsed or supported by the makers of MTGA or by Valve.

Does it connect to MTGA's servers?

In our testing it does not. Telemetry and analytics are removed. The only traffic we saw was matchmaking and card art from Scryfall.

Does it touch my install or account?

No. Your install is only read, and the patched copy uses its own profile.

Do you redistribute the game?

No game files, code, art or audio are shipped or hosted here. The copy is made on your PC from your own install.

Is it allowed?

We cannot speak for MTGA's terms of service, so use it at your discretion.