Dungeons & Dragons Playtests Four New Mystic-Themed Subclasses

Dungeons & Dragons has dropped their first Unearthed Arcana playtest of 2026, with four brand-new subclasses being tested. Today, Wizards of the Coast posted a Mystic Subclasses Unearthed Arcana playtest to D&D Beyond, featuring four magic-themed subclasses. The new subclasses include the Warrior of the Mystic Arts Monk subclass, the Oath of the Spellguard Paladin subclass, the Magic Stealer Rogue subclass and the Vestige Patron Warlock subclass.

The Warrior of the Mystic Arts is a spellcasting subclass that grants Monks the ability to cast Sorcerer spells up to 4th level spells. The Oath of the Spellguard is designed with protecting magic-casters in mind, while the Magic Stealer Rogue targets spellcasting and can empower their Sneak Attacks with magic stolen from nearby spellcasters. The Vestige Patron Warlock forms a bond with a dying god, with the god taking on a vestige form as a companion. The Vestige companion grows in power with the spellcaster. Notably, the Vestige Patron draws inspiration from the Binder from past editions of D&D.

There's no indication when or what this new Unearthed Arcana could be related to. There are several Unearthed Arcanas not currently attached to an announced D&D product, although two almost are certainly tied to a Dark Sun sourcebook.

You can check out the subclasses here. Feedback opens for the playtest on January 22nd.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not bad thinking, but it seems easy enough to combine the Update Book with the Arcane & Mystic new options as simply the next Everything book (or equivalent major update in a new format).

Yeah, there is no more reason to suppose the Horror UA points to a Ravenloft book (VGR only had two subclasses) than this one points to a Complete Arcane book. They would all fit into a Xanathar's style book of general player options. The simple number of subclasses currently being tested points to that.

It's important to note that WotC have been deliberately misleading in past UAs, both in terms of titles and by lumping together subclasses aimed at different products.

Having said that, I'm more inclined to think that some of these class names are just bad, rather than changed to conceal something, unless someone can come up with a convincing theory about what is being concealed.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I would rather something like "cultivator".

In standard English usage this word is generally a near-synonym for "gardener" or "farmer" (example: "He was a cultivator of rare orchids"), so would be more likely to be a druid subclass than a sorcerer-monk. You are right about it being a bad name though. The whole "Warrior of..." format is bad.

 

[Zardnaar]

So many foe abilities which used to be explicitly spells are now explicitly not spells so the utility of many of these abilities is much more narrow than it was under 2014. And it wasn't particularly broad then.

Given how uncommon it is to be within 30 feet of a foe who is casting a spell, I see no reason to have limitations on number of uses for these kinds of abilities. Make it infinite, and you still are not likely to see anything game breaking or even above-average from these abilities.

Im running a lot of spellcasters.

With changes to the rules that ability would potentially trigger.....once. range, to low levrlvetc.

Eould be useful next level so once or twice a level it would fire.

That's terrible vs every other rogue.

 

[Zardnaar]

I was just thinking about the art again.
It's PHB art.

One of the claims is that 5e art is twee, or weak, or non-violent. And then you get a piece like this where the hammer does so much damage it separates the arms from the opponent.

I love the action displayed by a clear hero

And the hammer looks ridiculous.

 

[SLJ]

The more I think about about the Mystic Arts Monk the more I like it, assuming they fix what I assume is a broken capstone.

Just adding Blade Ward and a blade cantrip is really strong. It's really easy for Monks to disengage so Booming Blade riders will be trivial to trigger. Similarly, Cacophonic Shield is a Sorcerer spell and disengage + Monk speed means you can tag every single enemy with it while boosting your ranged defense.

The Focus point to spell slot exchange is really good. You can pump your Focus points so you can use them constantly, but also every time you’ve got a spare hour you can dump any extra Focus points back into slots at literally no cost. Short rest resources recharging long rest ones is super versatile if you plan even a little.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But a mage who screws up lichdom could be a vestige.

Or a slain lich like Acererak

Or a earth elemental

Or a blob of dead souls caused by a deity's wrath

The point is that a vestiges end was an event and abnormal but they were significant enough that their name or remains has power.

Getting stronger as the warlock levels. Because the vestige is dead, or imprisoned, or obliterated. Ain't nothing a mortal caster can do themselves to give them power.

A dying god can be helped.

And this subclass could be any of those. The UA is about testing mechanics, not fluff. Notice that they each get a sentence or two outlining the theme, not the paragraph or two they will get when published.

A dead god is freaking dead.

I don't think Myrkul got that memo.

Or Bane, or Amunator, or a whole bunch of others. Dead gods pretty much invariably get better.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And that means you can take Life Domain and get healing spells; less healing than a Celestial Warlock, but Cure Wounds with Pact Magic spell slots is never bad

There is also a bit of healing from a celestial vestige, so it should be able to get pretty close if built that way.

It can serve as a celestial patron replacement, whilst also supporting other themes.

 

[Hussar]

I mean, being a Warlock instead of a Druid. Much like the Mystic Monk is a Monk instead of a Fighter.

I actually wish they would do more such overlaps for Subclasses, to allow more combos of Class and Subclass designs.

But, here's the thing. Binder's were absolutely nothing like druids. They shared nothing. So, making a warlock subclass that's pretty much carbon copy of a druid subclass and then calling it a binder is not really hitting the mark of what a binder is. A binder is someone who draws from the residual powers of beings that have been lost to reality. They were weird and full of flavor. "Oh, I have a pet that does fire/necrotic damage" is not at all what a binder was.

Mystic monk overlapping with Eldritch Knight makes a lot of sense considering they are very similar concepts. No problems there. But a binder shares absolutely no commonality at all with a druid.

 

[Minigiant]

Could you rephrase this? I’m not understanding it.

A vestige is dead.
A vestige is gone.
A vestige is donzo.

A binder or vestige warlock is making a pact with the residual energy around the vestige and the imprinted memory of the vestige.

It's like if you bind with Alexander the Great. He is dead. Dead Dead. You bind with his remnants of energy to lead armies and ride horses.

You bing with Julius Ceasar. You get martial command and a huge hatred of backstabbers. There is to returning Ceaser to power.

The death god Raven Queen killed and replaced? He's DEAD. You are tapped into his corpse. The god of death is the RQ now.

 

[Minigiant]

I don't think Myrkul got that memo.

Or Bane, or Amunator, or a whole bunch of others. Dead gods pretty much invariably get better.

Those gods were slain but remembered. A remembered god who is slain can get better. That's why you have to take their portfolio and instruct your church to wipe out theirs. Easier in the early days of a setting.

Vestiges are dead and forgotten. Vestige gods are often of fallen pantheons or purposeful erasure. That's why they can only make warlocks. They are dead and have too few people who even know about them. And the kicker is "binders aren't necessarily worshippers of them". So they stay down.