MTG: Arena

SO i've been poking around this thread for a while now but i still have the same question.

How exactly does this differ from mtgo? idk, i read he first half dozen pages on this thread and a bunch more and still have no clue what exactly the premise here is.

I haven't played magic in 15 years now but i absolutely loved the mtgo:beta. Made me an infinitely better player and kept me occupied basically my entire junior year of high school. Something like that. Where you can play online with competitive decks for free, or well thats probably not happening. But at least play without paying insane money?

i still don't understand what a planewalker card is.

MTG:A has less cards (only Ixlan onwards - they are adding more as they come out), significantly better UI/Coding, no trading/dust system (Wildcard system somewhat makes up for it - but is still rough), you can somewhat F2P it, and Arena has more focused (or limited, as you will) game modes.

MTG:O = EverQuest.
MTG:A = World of Warcraft.

Easiest comparison I can come up with.

MTG:O has more depth (due to the amount of cards/game modes), but MTG:A is significantly more open to new players, sleeker, and more aimed at user retention.

Rime said:

MTG:O = EverQuest.
MTG:A = World of Warcraft.

Easiest comparison I can come up with.

MTG:O has more depth (due to the amount of cards/game modes), but MTG:A is significantly more open to new players, sleeker, and more aimed at user retention.

Click to expand...

Yeah I tried MTGO but it wasn't user friendly and so much shit I was lost. MTG:A I picked up pretty easy and it sucked me in. I don't mind the "standard" gameplay as I know it's gonna open up at a later time. I'll at least have cards and junk when that happens now.

No idea how I got as far as I did into Gold. Unlikely to make Platinum... can hardly get a win, let alone the five-six in a row needed to advance. Netdecks everywhere.

Out of the 17 games I have played (Won 3, lost 11), I have seen THREE 'original' decks. One was an Amass Deck, one was a Krenko/Goblin Aggro, one was a Golgari Graveyard deck. (Aware neither of them is 'original' - just that they are outside of the same three-four deck META that MTG:A has)

Is this on tablets already ? I'd play some MtG on the toilet

Rime said:

MTG:O = EverQuest.
MTG:A = World of Warcraft.

Easiest comparison I can come up with.

MTG:O has more depth (due to the amount of cards/game modes), but MTG:A is significantly more open to new players, sleeker, and more aimed at user retention.

Click to expand...

OK, maybe a better way to express one thing i am trying to figure out. How expensive would it be to be competitive in Type II, or w/e the equivalent in mtg nowadays? Compared to MTGO and real cards?

I don't doubt MTGO sucks compared to modern games. But man it was a revelation and 1000x better to using that program we used to scrim with friends online sideboard or something was the name? Either way i super enjoyed the MTGO beta as having an endless pool of opponents at my level, a bit above, or a bit below. All with access to any card anyone wanted available to them. No doubt this was the biggest factor in letting me progress from a sub 1800 constructed player to one threatening 2100 in about half a year.

But the price's (At least back then they wanted same price for physical cards) just killed it for me and I've always had this sorta dream of a reasonably priced mtgo..

I mean, cheapest physical standard deck would be a goblin aggro one... they run like $40-60? Better ones run around $120-150, upwards of $300.

MTG:O is going to be cheaper than physical magic is, by a big factor. Cards are significantly cheaper (on average) there than they are in print.

MTG:A is the cheapest option, but like me, you are going to run into issues around High-Gold/Platinum, with Diamond/Mythic likely being out of reach without lots of $ being dumped into it. Not being able to buy specific cards (only craft them with Wildcards - Mythic wildcards are very, very slow to acquire) will be the biggest hurdle and prevent you from making popular/super tight decks without breaking the wallet.

If you want the 'real' experience, it would go Physical, MTG:O, MTG:A.

To me, the major difference is that lack of trade. I dislike that MTGA did not incorporate this feature. It is my largest gripe. As others have said, if you have a viable choice, then physical is the way to go. I play Arena because my work schedule is very physical prohibitive.

If you are trying to complete sets, it is for sure. I would probably say MTG:O is cheaper for making 'competitive' standard decks, unless you get very lucky with Wildcards.

My biggest 'bitch' about the game right now is that the Draft modes are... A) Too expensive. B) Not matched to the price of gems.

Sealed WAR is 2000 Gems. Closest gem packages are 1600 for $10 or 3400 for $20.

I wish they would do it even, but I suppose that is the whole point.

Whidon said:

OK, maybe a better way to express one thing i am trying to figure out. How expensive would it be to be competitive in Type II, or w/e the equivalent in mtg nowadays? Compared to MTGO and real cards?

I don't doubt MTGO sucks compared to modern games. But man it was a revelation and 1000x better to using that program we used to scrim with friends online sideboard or something was the name? Either way i super enjoyed the MTGO beta as having an endless pool of opponents at my level, a bit above, or a bit below. All with access to any card anyone wanted available to them. No doubt this was the biggest factor in letting me progress from a sub 1800 constructed player to one threatening 2100 in about half a year.

But the price's (At least back then they wanted same price for physical cards) just killed it for me and I've always had this sorta dream of a reasonably priced mtgo..

Click to expand...

MTG:Arena has a much higher return and much better for freerolling than MTGO ever was. As a thing I specifically have put 0 dollars into arena and just used codes and got diamond constructed, mythic limited the first month and mythic constructed this second month while not playing much ranked limited but i could certainly make mythic again if i wanted to. If you're a 2k+ elo rated player you'd have no issue doing something similar.

Rime said:

My biggest 'bitch' about the game right now is that the Draft modes are... A) Too expensive. B) Not matched to the price of gems.

Sealed WAR is 2000 Gems. Closest gem packages are 1600 for $10 or 3400 for $20.

I wish they would do it even, but I suppose that is the whole point.

Click to expand...

Not going to touch the first draft. 1500 Gems with a 4 pack guarantee is bad enough but then factor in the 2 loss and out rule. That is a HUGE pass for me. The limited format has a land issue with the shuffler. When I physical draft, I run 16 lands. It has its moments but for the most part I get what I need for mana. In Arena, I run 15 lands and I still get land flooded on multiple occasions. My friend has the same problem so I know it is just not me. The shuffler is doing something but I find it hard to believe that pure random is the program that is running. With that being the case, I am not going for any mode that is a 2 loss and out mode.