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]

And as you mentioned, giving spell slots back to allies is huuuuge. Especially at low level.

That's actually the key ability imho.

I'll buff you with bless give me a lvl 2 slot back.

 

[Zardnaar]

If I'm playing a rogue, Sentinal is low on my list of feats to take. I don't want to be a front line fighter. What I want to do is get in, stabby stabby sneak attack, and then get back out again. Stopping the big bad scary monster right next to me is a bad idea, especially since it's likely to be unhappy with me since it wanted to go somewhere else.

Read the new Zhent feats? Rogues have hit dice use them. I'll start going skirmishes once I run out.

Also tanking damage cia the half damage reaction ability. With group heaps eg new prayer of healing and aura of vitality I dont care about taking damage as such.

You're better off spreading it around vs loading it all up on 1-2 characters.

I do care if I'm low on HP or out of hit dice.

 

[Zardnaar]

Assassin might be able to get 15 extra damage in a day. The Thief has no damage boosting abilities that don't count of DM fiat related to magic items.

Yes, sure. But you can do a Sneak Attack and help your buddies. It's not an either or.

Read the new crafting rules? Wand of magic missile is 400gp iirc.

This new ability isnt free as such it requires your reaction. If you know what you're doing you can use that every round almost to get a full steak attack.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Thing is that in FR lore, there is at least one order of Shar Monks, that explicitly aren't supposed to use divine magic, they use either shadow or arcane magic, this is a great subclass for them.

Truth be told, I get what your saying about cleric spells fitting monks better in terms of lore, its time for a return of the Sacred Fist subclass, BUT I can see the appeal mechanically in the Sorcerer/Monk overlap in terms of point systems.

idk I think Mystic is pretty clearly being used here to mean arcane, not divine, esotericism.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

That's actually the key ability imho.

I'll buff you with bless give me a lvl 2 slot back.

I do think exchanging a third of a first level slot for a 2nd level slot seems very broken. I doubt it will survive the balance pass.

 

[bedir than]

Read the new crafting rules? Wand of magic missile is 400gp iirc.

Let's start by asking questions in good faith.
Yes, I've read the crafting rules, which are DM dependent and require money, which is DM dependent.
So what you've offered me isn't an ability that isn't DM dependent.

 

[Zardnaar]

Let's start by asking questions in good faith.
Yes, I've read the crafting rules, which are DM dependent and require money, which is DM dependent.
So what you've offered me isn't an ability that isn't DM dependent.

They seem somewhat ambiguous to me.

Ok then the previous "bedt" rogue is a crossbow using assassin with the CBE feat, true strike.
New rogue hotness is the Zhentarim feats. Youll be using your reaction a lot and dealing more damage. Opportunity cost.

Comparing it to the new dead 3 rogues probably fair as well. Once again very limited ability.

Biggest problem it that its situational and limited. You have to be within 30". And an ally has to cast a spell ideally at the right time and place. On paper they will roughly double your sneak attack if they use the highest level .

This needs to be tested vs some sort of theory craft assumptions. But since other players aren't robots snd youre reliant on what they do and its situational as well (30' range) I suspect its not thst good. Vs actual decent builds its probably crap

 

[Charlaquin]

New rogue hotness is the Zhentarim feats. Youll be using your reaction a lot and dealing more damage. Opportunity cost.

Note that the Zhentarim Feats may not be available if the campaign isn’t set in the forgotten realms (or the DM hasn’t ported the FR factions to whatever setting the campaign takes place in), and even if it is, the character might need to be a member of the Zhentarim, which may not be an option if the campaign has them as antagonists, and even if it is the player might not want their character to belong to that faction.

I think for these reasons, the FR faction feats should probably be treated like magic items for charop theorycrafting purposes. Yes, they might theoretically make a stronger build, but in a vacuum it’s impossible to assess if any given character will have access to them.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I'm finding your objections hard to follow, and they are starting to feel contradictory, or at least like the goalposts are moving.

New rogue hotness is the Zhentarim feats. Youll be using your reaction a lot and dealing more damage. Opportunity cost.

If this is your standard, then you are assuming a rogue in melee, or at least being hit with melee attacks (and making a two-feat investment)...

Biggest problem it that its situational and limited. You have to be within 30".

...but here you are objecting that you have to be within 30'.

So, what is your benchmark? Are you interested in building a straight rogue? Comparing this subclass against other rogue options in equal circumstances? Doing as much damage as possible in a specific circumstance only?

 

[Kobold Stew]

One of the interesting consequences of the (proposed) new feature is that it scales in the bigfight of the day. When your allies are pouring out their resources, you do better yourself. That's new, at least, and not something we've seen before.