Overall MTGA is pay to win as F2F you'll never collect all the mythics you want to build your deck in competitive but that's exactly the same as the paper version so why be shocked. you at least get free wild cards in MTGA

I have a mixed feelings about Magic the Gathering as anyone who have been playing the games for 20years on and off will have. So I will start with the good, and follow up with the bad:

The client is for the most part very smooth and quick, maybe even the best card game client out there. Which to be fair though, does not say that much.
The main good thing about Magic Arena, is that it is realistic to play as a free player and still have fun. Though as the original fomo/p2w game. Magic the gathering have adopted similar monetization to mobile games, though for the most part, this is in the mild end compared to competition.

To play the game for free on the highest levels at an even playing field, is possible, but not trivial. You will have enough resources in game to play a draft approximately twice a week, and more if you have a above average win rate. As a new magic player, expect the competition to be fierce, even at the lowest brackets.

It is possible to play constructed formats with an even playing field if you are able to select one meta deck and play with that in one format. However, as a free to play player, do not expect to be able to make more than one tier 1 deck in a season.

Which brings me to the ugly part of Magic Arena: They ban a lot of cards. and while you might get compensated for lost cards. All the supporting cards in that deck will have to be written off. I tend to take year long breaks from magic before coming back again. And my last break was triggered by losing decks I had heavily invested in twice in a row because of bans.

After spending 100's of Euros in the early life of Magic Arena. I have now decided to play it for free when I feel like it, and keep my purchases to paper magic.

My experience has been fun, but only on the surface level does the game allow newcomers to enjoy the game. Besides the occasional fight in casual battles, most games are going to be with players who have put too much time or money to make it an even and enjoyable fight. First you learn the basics and what the cards do, and next your tossed into absolute mayhem and carnage.
Maybe if you know what your getting into with Magic it'll be fine, but it would be better to go waste your time elsewhere rather than here.

The game economy is terrible and has some of the most predatory microtransactions I've seen. I've been playing for around 2 months and I'm still stuck using the starter decks. How long do they expect someone to grind before they're able to craft their own deck?

There's also a store that requires 2,800 gems, the premium currency, to UNLOCK. Not to purchase anything from, TO UNLOCK. There is no option to purchase that specific amount of gems. You either get 1,600 gems for $9.99 or 3,400 gems for $19.99. The game teases you by giving you tickets, the currency used to buy things in the store, but you can use them without forking over the 2,800 gems to unlock the store. Egregious.

Wizards knows no bounds when it comes to greed. This game is infuriating and a complete and total rip-off. If you want to even be slightly competitive, you need to pay. Constantly.

You'd do better to get yourself an EDH precon and play casually. At least that way, you won't get rigged matchmaking, you'll actually stand a chance at the table (especially with a few upgrades) and you won't need to take out a mortgage in order to be able to afford cards.

I have hundreds of hours in Arena off steam. The only reason I downloaded it here and forced myself to endure any more of this trash is to warn you to save your time, frustration and money. If you want to play, play with real people, with real cards, at a real place like your local game store. Support your local community and businesses, and not these criminals.

There really ought to be an antitrust lawsuit against these people, just like there was against Microsoft and Apple. They literally have a monopoly around the TCG. And before you say "well you can always go play Pokemon, or Yu Gi Oh" know that those companies need to pay Wizards a licensing fee in order to be allowed to run their TCGs without being sued into the ground. Think about that. This is the company you are giving your money to. It's disgusting.

STAY FAR AWAY from this product. The best card in this game is the credit card. And that should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know.

I have been playing this game since the beta and learned how to play Magic the Gathering with the help and ease of Arena. You can still play this game and have fun without paying anything. In fact if you are new I recommend sticking to the starter deck challenge, Jump IN! event, and midweek magic events when they are free draft or constructed. Learn the game and do your dailies until you know which archetype you want to play and have enough Wild Cards to craft.

My steam account is a fresh account. Being a F2P player it allows be to build more decks and use gold to draft more often. If you want to try out magic ignore bad reviews, at the base of it this is MTG and over time you will build a large collection for free.

I was addicted. I loved that I could customise my decks to my play style. I was loving it.

I even started paying real money for wildcards to make my decks. I almost got to Platinum Rank One.

Then, one day, most of the cards I'd bought were no longer available because of the set rotations or something.

Wasted a lot of my time and money. I just refuse to play it again now and do not recommend spending real money on it.

Buggy mess

Matchmaking is terrible. Pay to win. Gambling. Powercrept cards. But then I remember it mirrors real life so how upset can I really be?

Will I keep playing? Reluctantly and with a lot of cursing.

Awful game <3