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 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.

 

[GarrettKP]

Wizards has revealed a new Unearthed Arcana, focusing on "Mystic Subclasses."

The subclasses are all new:

Warrior of the Mystic Arts (Monk)
Oath of the Spellguard (Paladin)
Magic Stealer (Rogue)
Vestige Patron (Warlock)

Combined with the earlier Arcane subclasses, I suspect a Magic focused rules expansion is on the horizon.

 

[JDazzle]

Okay, everyone... what do these subclasses tell us about future WotC releases?

 

[Gladius Legis]

So it took them 12 years to figure out that to make a spellcasting Monk, they should've just made an Eldritch Knight-equivalent subclass for it.

EDIT: That said, the subclass capstone literally does nothing, as Monks only ever get 2 attacks with their Attack action. And in 2024 Flurry of Blows can be done independently of whatever action you did, so it doesn't even do anything there, either.

 

[Vael]

Not bad. I dunno, these don't call to me, but I have no major objections either

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Is "Magic Stealer Rogue" really better than "Spellthief?"

EDIT: Well, it's a different subclass, focused on draining magic and restoring magic to allies, which is not a niche I would have thought rogues would have. I don't know if I like it or not -- it's pretty odd.

 

[Yaarel]

I expected the term "Mystic" to refer to psionic. But it seems to be the term for a "spell caster" of any power source.

Referred sources include divine (Warlock), sorcery (Monk), and anyone that uses spell components (Paladin).

 

[Kurotowa]

Okay, everyone... what do these subclasses tell us about future WotC releases?

Very little that's new. There's kind of a magic theme, but we already had that with the Arcane Subclasses and all those Wizard offerings.

Looking through them, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Spellguard Paladin and Magic Stealer Rogue seem pretty specific; good if you have the right teammate to combo with, but not strong in every circumstance. Mystic Arts Monk is a little underwhelming at first read. It's mostly building around swapping a cantrip into your Attack action, which is okay but not amazing.

Vestige Warlock is interesting for a few reasons. It's a pet focused Warlock subclass, which is nice because Chain Pact's lack of scaling was limiting. It's got some customization because you can pick the Domain Spells from any of the PHB Cleric subclasses. And that means you can take Life Domain and get healing spells; less healing than a Celestial Warlock, but Cure Wounds with Pact Magic spell slots is never bad.

Nothing here screams that it's amazing. At least, not amazing to my tastes. But I'll poke at it some more, turn over some Vestige Warlock ideas. If we're talking party synergy, an Oathbreaker Paladin with a Vestige Warlock and Reanimator Artificer where the Oathbreaker's aura is buffing both pets would be kind of cool. But lots of people are against that sort of specific coordination.

 

[John R Davis]

Like the idea of the monk and the rogue

 

[John R Davis]

Like the monk and rogue on paper, might get to test them