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.

 

[Azzy]

So did we ever figure out why these subclasses are "mystic" rather than "arcane"?

Because someone at WotC bought a thesaurus?

 

[Remathilis]

Because someone at WotC bought a thesaurus?

I legit wonder if mystic is more of a hint than we know at this time.

 

[Parmandur]

I legit wonder if mystic is more of a hint than we know at this time.

Could be.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I legit wonder if mystic is more of a hint than we know at this time.

Mist-ic. Ravenloft has mists.

Ravenloft confirmed!

 

[Valetudo]

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

 

[Kurotowa]

The survey is open.

 

[Charlaquin]

The survey is open.

Thank you!

 

[Merlecory]

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?

 

[Yaarel]

I feel the feat should be the capstone. Then make the level 20 capstone the epic-feat boon.

Only feats can guarantee that a player gets a capstone that one actually likes.

Official "capstones" can vary in quality, and can be appallingly awful, such as Wizard 20 "Signature Spells", which is effectively two extra slot 3s, whose use is extremely restricted, at a high level when low-slots bloat is a significant problem. I would rather not even clutter up my spell sheet.

But a feat, especially an epic feat is always meaningful and welcome.

Feats are like the capstone of each four-level tier.

 

[Charlaquin]

I feel the feat should be the capstone. Then make the level 20 capstone the epic-feat boon.

Only feats can guarantee that a player gets a capstone that one actually likes.

Official "capstones" can vary in quality, and can be appallingly awful, such as Wizard 20 "Signature Spells", which is effectively two extra slot 3s, whose use is extremely restricted, at a high level when low-slots bloat is a significant problem. I would rather not even clutter up my spell sheet.

But a feat, especially an epic feat is always meaningful and welcome.

Feats are like the capstone of each four-level tier.

What feat are you talking about…?