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Magic: The Gathering Arena
Released On: Sep 27, 2018
84
3.1
All Platforms
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
84
iOS (iPhone/iPad)
tbd
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
84
95% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
84
95% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
An excellent and faithful conversion of the iconic card game into a very welcoming computer free-to-play form. This is a hit. [Issue#300]
A great adaptation of one of the best card games of all time. It’s fast, it’s accessible, it isn’t any less complex than the original. Are you bored of Hearthstone? Try Arena.
User Score
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 297 User Ratings
3.1
22% Positive
64 Ratings
64 Ratings
11% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
67% Negative
199 Ratings
199 Ratings
User Score
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 297 User Ratings
3.1
22% Positive
64 Ratings
64 Ratings
11% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
67% Negative
199 Ratings
199 Ratings
Really confused by the bad reviews. Cheaper than 'paper' magic and MTGO by a large margin, and possible to play free if you know what colors/strategies you like to play and don't care about set completion. Or, if you're really good, you can really rack up free **** in draft formats (I'm not, but have had some hot streaks).
Complaints about shuffler are complete eye rolls from me. Sometimes you get mana screwed or flooded. Happens in paper all the time too. Just the nature of the game: there is a reason 'Opt' is consistently one of the best 1 mana spells in Magic (scry/draw). Go play hearthstone lol.
Plenty of free packs and wildcards, easy to play a draft a week if you save your gold, and if you win you can keep going. Might be rough starting out, but as standard rotates out old sets you will naturally have many more options (as it's easiest to progress in the newest sets) if you stick with it.
Overall the game is very responsive. Runs fine on my 6 year old 'gaming' desktop and fine on my i5 laptop with onboard video (obviously graphics turned to low, but no problem reading cards or even deck building.) Some card interactions and turn phases/priority checks are a little tedious in the client vs paper, but overall many things like shuffles being automated make for a much faster gameplay experience (tokens, +1/+1 counters, anthems etc). Queue times are extremely short for ranked until you hit mythic.
Biggest complaint would be the sheer amount of net decking present but that is a problem that affects paper in 'current year'. Usually have no problem in ranked if you put together competitive 'jank' that is thoughtful of the current meta decks. Worth a try and brawl can be very fun if you get sick of standard. 'Best of 3' is also an option for some more thoughtful games versus hoping your deck lines up against the current meta with no sideboarding. Historic is shaping up to be an interesting format, but the price to entry is a little high if you're just jumping in now (you will need a lot of wildcards or know EXACTLY what your building for in your decks).
Overall highly recommended if you like Magic the Gathering as a card game.
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PC
Coming from MTG Online, this is an insane experience that is legitimately free. There are of course in-game purchase options, but the need is minimal and will not take away from any fun you'd otherwise have playing this great game. Grinding is always an option in place of real money spending, and the play is clean, crisp, and well thought out. Excellent emergence out of beta.
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PC
If you’re looking to play Magic, there’s probably no better way than Magic: The Gathering Arena, and that says a lot. Wizards of the Coast seemed hesitant to move all-in on a digital product in the last decade, perhaps out of fear that it could cannibalize the gigantic paper audience, but Magic is finally where it needs to be in the digital space.
Magic: The Gathering Arena is an absolutely brilliant recreation of Magic only held back by Wizards of the Coast's monetization strategy and some unfinished business. With more of an open mind toward new modes of play (plus ways to keep your old cards relevant) and a better client, this could be the definitive way to play the best card game in the world for the foreseeable future.
Magic Arena is a stellar addition to the Magic: The Gathering family. It’s here to stay and the competitive landscape will likely be better for it overall as time goes on. While its monetization is a bit too aggressive for my liking, and the fact we really can’t have full control over what we do with our cards bugs me, it’s hands down the best digital Magic experience Wizards have implemented to date.
Magic the Gathering: Arena is a good free-to-play game, with enough content to feed any Magic lovers. It’s not as easy to play than many others trading cars games, but on the other hand, those games don’t have the same depth.
MTG Arena is not yet perfect and it's probably why it is not essential to every player. It remains a very valuable help and will evolve anyway to become an essential card game developing its esport side. If you have not played it yet, do not hesitate to download it for knowledge, and if you are practicing Magic, you will play it one day or another.
tldr; low rating comes from people who don't play paper magic, the game has PLENTY of room for improvement, wizards can sometimes be evil, however the overall experience is still enjoyable as the digital brother of paper magic.
For once, I consider the Critic Review's rating more accurate, if not only a tad bit high. The user review rating is so low, because most of the gaming crowd, haven't step foot in the "arena" with paper magic. Which is a expensive card game of the big 3 TCGs. Not only that, it is the #1 most expensive card game. To make things worse, it is the 1st modern tcg, with all other tcg copying it.
If anything, magic is not even a teen game because I mostly just see older adults, some young adults, and the rare child or girlfriend, because the older adults brought them along. This is a game where the people have disposable income, and they have been playing since they were a older teen or younger adult.
With all that being said, you think the digital version of magic was going to be cheap? I think this is the worst criticism of the game, because its' game theory is completely separate from a VIDEO GAME. I wouldn't even call it free to play or fee to pay. Because paper magic is consider a investment, and premium in the collector's market.
Now onto the actual negatives of the games (which are plenty, but it is still enjoyable as a digital brother of the paper game). 1) is no way to trade your cards with other players or sale on the market for currency (which big mmos already do this, don't see why we can't do that here). 2) needing to fix some game balance issue's with stall decks (Hearthstone Control Warrior is worse). 3) extremely long game timers. 4) no auto deck builder like duels had. 5) organization and search engine needs more options, especially easy of life click options. 6) Not enough sets and formats have been added. 7) Top magic arena players need more representation in the pro scene. 8) needs more cross promotion with the physical card game, like physical packs should include one free scanner for a digital pack.
9) The biggest one, not enough guarantees they are going to pull the plug on us, like they did Duels. However if they do, I'm going to do more than just complain on Steam. Keep in mind everyone, this is Magic we are talking about, so be warned, this is a expensive game, and it is not a free to play. I wouldn't even call it a fee to pay, because paper magic is not cheap compared to other TCGs. So when you just pull/vanquish someone collection like that, or end support, it isn't cool. Especially with no way to transfer it out or compensation.
10) Shuffle algorithm is bad, but it is as bad as most digital TCGs, it can never compare to a physical TCGs shuffling.
11) Report system and tech support, is almost non-existent. Like most of the gaming industry.
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PC
I have been playing Magic since '94 and have been on a long hiatus but started playing again for Bloomburrow. I mostly do the ranked premier drafts. The client has a flashy and relatively intuitive UI which is fine to use.
Once you reach the higher ranks, diamond and mythic, it becomes clear that your opponents are all using the tools that help with drafting by ranking the cards for you as you draft. This is the definition of cheating and it **** so much to play against. Even some streamers use these programs, but I suppose mostly for advertisement purposes. I get it that people want to win, but when a program is drafting for you, what's the point? You are first paying for the gems to be able to play, then you pay for the cheating tool. And of course the only real way to combat this is to use a program like this yourself, but I refuse. Wizards need to come down on these tools and ban whoever uses them, but it seems like they do not give a damn.
Ranked draft seems like a good idea on paper, but in reality it's not the best. You will reach your threshhold rank and then it will be like banging your head against the wall. This is nothing like going to your LGS to play, where you might meet a noob, someone of intermediate skill and a try-hard like an 1800's ELO rank drafter. It will be a nice and relaxing event where you have the chance to win the draft. But on Arena the experience will eventually really ****. Again, I think this goes back to the previous problem of people using drafting tools to cheat. Everyone uses exactly the same cards in the same type of decks, at the time of writing this it's three days after the release of Duskmourn, and people are already locked in to the most optimal deck using the drafting program. People can be REALLY toxic using the emotes as well. The sad part is what is even the point of getting to mythic by cheating when you barely get anything for it? Sure you can play best-of-3, but I feel that there is not much to play for when there is no ranking system.
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PC
This game ****. The card balance needs to be fixed. There will be days where I can't win a game. Wizards of the coast needs to be better,.
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PC
Summary You know the name. Now download and get ready for the most colossal crossover card set in Magic: The Gathering's history. Unlock powerful decks, earn rewards by playing, and jump into action for players of all skill levels.
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- PC
- iOS (iPhone/iPad)
Initial Release Date: Sep 27, 2018
Developer:
- Magic Digital Studio
Publisher:
Wizards of the Coast
Genres: