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.

 

[Zardnaar]

the math supports my stance here

I doubt they DM and if they do i bet they won't post a sample encounter.

I'll be doing sone tomorrow and asking for some pointers.

High encounter at lvl 3 was brutal last session. They hit lvl 4.

Goblin hexer for the win.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not entirely.

Might want to assume your opinion over rides reality and instantly dismissing someone's opinion.

Its hard getting g a single encounter per day thats not a curb stomp or overwhelms the PCs.

New 5.5 monsters hit like trucks.

Even harder to do it abd retain fast combat.

The issue isn't that a single dangerous encounter won't sometimes go pear shaped - it will (and it should, there are no certainties in war, and games with random dice rolls). The issue is that a doom loop of repetitive encounters is in any way better.

If combat is going to be challenging*, there has to be a possibility of the party losing. And that generally means a TPK unless the DM is creative. It's just a matter of if the party goes out in a blaze of glory in a meaningful battle, or are worn out by trivial skirmishes.


*Note that most commonly 5e combat is not played to be challenging. It's like an action sequence in a superhero movie. We know what the outcome will be, but it's still fun watching it play out.

 

[Zardnaar]

The issue isn't that a single dangerous encounter won't sometimes go pear shaped - it will (and it should, there are no certainties in war, and games with random dice rolls). The issue is that a doom loop of repetitive encounters is in any way better.

If combat is going to be challenging*, there has to be a possibility of the party losing. And that generally means a TPK unless the DM is creative. It's just a matter of if the party goes out in a blaze of glory in a meaningful battle, or are worn out by trivial skirmishes.


*Note that most commonly 5e combat is not played to be challenging. It's like an action sequence in a superhero movie. We know what the outcome will be, but it's still fun watching it play out.

Got a sample emcounter?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Got a sample emcounter?

Hm. My players are pretty casual (and tactically rubbish), I'm not usually trying to kill them when I design encounters, but there was one battle recently that went epic because they came close to losing. I need to check my notes and get back to you.

 

[Zardnaar]

Hm. My players are pretty casual (and tactically rubbish), I'm not usually trying to kill them when I design encounters, but there was one battle recently that went epic because they came close to losing. I need to check my notes and get back to you.

My stink one last session was 2 ogres 4 goblins and goblin hexer.