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]

IIRC the Church of Mystra in FR specifically has an order of anti-magic paladins who are renowned for using both divine and arcane magic.

Knights of the Mystic Fire

The Knights of the Mystic Fire was an order of paladins dedicated to Mystra, goddess of magic.[1][2][3] A member of the order was known as a Mystic Fire Knight.[4] [note 1] The Knights of the Mystic Fire were sponsored by the church of Mystra.[1] They were closely allied with, or even a parent...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

If anything the paladin and rogue subclasses are 1:1 copies of the Knight of Mystic Fire and Spellfilcher from FR, just with different names.

Which might mean they are for an adventure featuring those groups.

 

[Charlaquin]

IIRC the Church of Mystra in FR specifically has an order of anti-magic paladins who are renowned for using both divine and arcane magic.

Knights of the Mystic Fire

The Knights of the Mystic Fire was an order of paladins dedicated to Mystra, goddess of magic.[1][2][3] A member of the order was known as a Mystic Fire Knight.[4] [note 1] The Knights of the Mystic Fire were sponsored by the church of Mystra.[1] They were closely allied with, or even a parent...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

If anything the paladin and rogue subclasses are 1:1 copies of the Knight of Mystic Fire and Spellfilcher from FR, just with different names.

Knights of Mystic Fire, you say? That might also explain the strange choice of words for the title of this UA - “mystic” themed subclasses. I think there’s a very good chance you’ve nailed it here.

EDIT: And at least this wiki article specifically calls out these paladins’ ability to strike a foe and dispel magic on them at the same time, which is one of the main features of the subclass. Yeah, I’m pretty convinced this is exactly what it’s supposed to be.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Knights of Mystic Fire, you say? That might also explain the strange choice of words for the title of this UA - “mystic” themed subclasses. I think there’s a very good chance you’ve nailed it here.

EDIT: And at least this wiki article specifically calls out these paladins’ ability to strike a foe and dispel magic on them at the same time, which is one of the main features of the subclass. Yeah, I’m pretty convinced this is exactly what it’s supposed to be.

It'd be a bit odd to get a FR adventure and player options, unless it's part of another spelljammer/sigil style 3 book set that also includes some monsters. Frankly, considering FR just got a pair of books I'd rather this NOT be themed to FR, but on the other hand, it would be nice to see a FR adventure to kind of get a "boots on the ground" understanding of 16th century Faerun.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm doubling down on my prediction that this is MtG related.
The Rogue is VERY Blue coded while the Paladin is White.

That's my gut feeling: a big splash crossover to go with Magic’s big splashy muktiverse rewrite event would make sense of these options.

 

[Parmandur]

Can you think of a specific MtG setting they would be a good fit for?

My personal view is that we are only likely to get one setting in 2026, and it will be Dark Sun.

In October, Magic is having a big cosmic war set where they are going to apparently rewrite the laws of the multiverse. If they do a tie in to that, a cosmic war...doesn't need to be too specific, and can justify some gonzo shenanigans.

 

[Parmandur]

There’s a Strixhaven set coming up. If these subclasses are for an MtG tie-in (which I’m personally skeptical of, but it’s possible) that seems like a much more intuitive fit to me than “Jace makes Crisis on Infinite Earths happen in Magic.”

Thing about a reality re-writing cosmic war: lots of Events happening, including space for an Adventure campaign of Big Darn Heroes who don't need to adhere to a strict Canon (because all sorts if things are happening all over), and allows for player options to multiple worlds. Would've a good fit fir a cross-Planar Setting/character option/Campaign Adventure deal.

 

[Charlaquin]

Thing about a reality re-writing cosmic war: lots of Events happening, including space for an Adventure campaign of Big Darn Heroes who don't need to adhere to a strict Canon (because all sorts if things are happening all over), and allows for player options to multiple worlds. Would've a good fit for a cross-Planar Setting/character option/Campaign Adventure deal.

It’s not impossible, but the public-facing folks from the Magic design team have been pretty explicit about it being a strictly in-universe event, and the stuff that has leaked from it seems extremely Magic-IP-specific. If this UA is MtG crossover related, I think an expansion to Strixhaven is much more likely than anything related to Reality Fracture. Especially since there is a new Strixhaven set coming before Reality Fracture.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

In October, Magic is having a big cosmic war set where they are going to apparently rewrite the laws of the multiverse. If they do a tie in to that, a cosmic war...doesn't need to be too specific, and can justify some gonzo shenanigans.

Setting aside all the points people have already made about why this is highly unlikely to impact D&D, none of these subclasses suggest “gonzo shenanigans”.