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.

 

[Yaarel]

What feat are you talking about…?

Having a choice to pick any feat. For example, at level 20, the player would pick whichever boon they like, thus would benefit the overall character concept, whether improving or expanding what the character can do.

 

[Charlaquin]

Having a choice to pick any feat. For example, at level 20, the player would pick whichever boon they like, thus would benefit the overall character concept, whether improving or expanding what the character can do.

Ok, but… I’m not seeing the connection to this UA.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Upon a closer reading: does the 13th level rogue ability still require you to provide a costly material component? Don't most normal "features" that are spells let you cast without component?

The feature doesn’t let you cast at all, it lets you restore a spell slot to someone who has them.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The monk and the warlock look pretty good but need some tweaks(monk capstone).the other 2 need a lot more work.

The paladin subclass looks mechanically sound to me (bar the small potential for arguments about using its features on yourself). It seems thematically weak - oath of the wizard’s bodyguard doesn’t really seem sufficiently meaningful to me. However, the UA is shorn of context. With the right setting lore it might make more sense.

 

[Charlaquin]

The paladin subclass looks mechanically sound to me (bar the small potential for arguments about using its features on yourself). It seems thematically weak - oath of the wizard’s bodyguard doesn’t really seem sufficiently meaningful to me. However, the UA is shorn of context. With the right setting lore it might make more sense.

It’s not oath of the wizard’s bodyguard, it’s a pretty clearly just as much a mage hunter as it is a mage protector. The theming here seems pretty obvious to me, it’s pretty much a Templar from Dragon Age to a T. The guards at the mage towers who insure the apprentices don’t accidentally harm themselves or each other or turn to dark magic, and hunt down mages who go rogue.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It’s not oath of the wizard’s bodyguard, it’s a pretty clearly just as much a mage hunter as it is a mage protector.

Given that most of it's key abilities involve protecting an ally, I think it's very much more of a protector than a hunter.

The theming here seems pretty obvious to me, it’s pretty much a Templar from Dragon Age to a T.

It could be, but that is very setting specific. I guess it's possible that WotC have acquired a licence for Dragon Age, or are going to create a new setting that is similar, but otherwise, who is the oath too? How does it grant power? It's really just a set of mechanics in search of a theme.