Which Packs to Buy on MTG Arena. Magic the gathering arena which packs to buy

In addition to being surprisingly portable, it comes with five 60-card decks, five life trackers, counters (which can be used to power creatures), and one manual.

Is Magic: The Gathering Arena’s Economy Fair?

If you’re a Hearthstone player looking to get into the MTG Arena, you’re probably wondering if the prices are fair and if you can get some decent rewards for free play, so let’s take a closer look at Magic: The Gathering Arena Economy.

When you create a new account, you receive five free decks, one for each color in the Magic Cake. These five starting decks are pretty lame, but you can earn another ten free decks by completing quests in the New Player Experience mode. These ten decks are two-color decks, and there is one deck for each two-color combination. The new player’s quests last six days, and you’ll also get five Magic 2019 packs along the way. Fortunately, the two-color decks are good, with many featuring three copies of the strong cards such as Llanow’s Elves, Lightning Strike, and Murder. These two-color decks give you a good feeling in the beginning, but can also be improved v1d30chumz 109-254-191-15

If you move a premade deck to ranked mode, you have a good chance of matching players who also use premade decks. In other words, the matchmaking system tries to match players to decks of similar power level. However, there is no guarantee that you can be matched with something else entirely.

Anyway, you also get eight regular wildcards, four uncommon, two rare, and one mythical for free. It’s not enough to create a disappointing deck, and it’s barely enough to upgrade one of the starting decks.

The Welcome Bundle

Magic: The Gathering Arena is offering new players a $ 5 Welcome Pack that includes five packs and 2,500 gems. This is a great deal, and if you want to put some money into the game, this is definitely the way to do it.

Every day you get a mission to win up to fifteen games. You get 250 gold for the first win, 100 gold for the next three winnings, and the rewards only drop from then on. You also get a daily mission for 500 or 750 gold, which usually involves playing cards in one of two colors. These tasks are not a problem with starting decks, because you only need to play certain cards, you don’t even have to win. You also get a weekly quest that resets every Sunday where you can earn three packs by winning fifteen games a week.

If you want to get as much gold as possible, I recommend winning four games each day. Four wins are not a huge time investment, and if you win more, you’ll quickly earn much less gold. You can also easily complete a weekly task in four days. If you win four games a day, you will receive a minimum of 7,350 gold plus a weekly quest with three packages, which equates to at least ten packages a week. That’s not bad, but if you want to build a lot of decks, that’s not a good either.

You’ve probably noticed that whenever you received single-color cards in color challenges, you were prompted to complete “Deck Upgrades.

As with many questions of this kind, the answer is, “It depends.”

More precisely – it depends on three things:

  • Standard rotation
  • Percentage of playable cards
  • Your collection

Let’s talk about all of them and how they affect which packages are worth buying. Then we’ll show you our pack rankings – from the best to buy to the worst to buy.

Standard Rotation

Standard rotation takes place once a year. Half of the standard legal sets are thrown out. Cards from this set can only be played later in the Historical mode. Most players don’t even spin their fingers on Historical. Even if so, there are so many History cards out there that most of your standard stuff won’t be good enough.

Therefore, it is very important which parcels remain legal in the Standard. You can read all about standard rotation here. These are the changes for September 2021:

  • The throne of Eldraine
  • Theros beyond death
  • Ikoria: Behemoth Lair
  • Basic set 2021

These sets are therefore worse than the rest by default. The remaining sets remain in Standard until September 2022.

So the closer to Standard Rotation, the worse Rotation Kits get – keep that in mind when purchasing packs at MTG Arena. Since we’re fairly close to the rotation right now, we’d suggest staying away from the four sets we mentioned above.

The only exception to this is the Throne of Eldraine, which is packed with powerful standard (and history) cards. Speaking of playable…

Playables

Another very important factor when choosing the best package for MTG Arena is the number of playable cards in the set. By playable cards, we mean the cards that appear in the top-level decks.

The Best: Zendikar Rising and Throne of Eldraine

The best set in this regard is – by far – the Eldraine Throne. The power level of this kit is insane. Since launch, six Eldraine cards have been banned from Standard. You might think the set wouldn’t include more powerful cards, but no – more Eldraine cards have moved to the top of the format. Some of the most played cards in Standard today are:

In addition, Eldraine also has some of the best lands – the legendary transition is the basis of multi-colored decks. All castle lands (for example Castle Embereth) constantly appear in top builds. Really, if you look at the best decks, almost half of the cards are still from Eldraine.

The art of smashing Shatterskull

Zendikar Rising also comes with loads of great staples. There are many modal double-sided cards that can be played in multiple decks (such as Shatterskull Smashing or Clearwater Pathway). These lands are sure to meet standard gameplay, even after rotation. The set also includes some nice non-land cards, such as Dimir Rogues comes with tons of cards from Zendikar Rising.

The Medium: Kaldheim, Theros, Ikoria, Forgotten Realms

Kaldheim, Theros Beyond Death, and Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths follow Eldraine for the number of playable games. These three sets have certainly brought many powerful cards to the Standard.

Kaldheim has a variety of powerful cards, ranging from rare cards such as Duel of the Skalds and Toski, the Keeper of Secrets, to mythical rare cards such as the Goldspan Dragon, Valki, God of Lies, and Alrund’s Revelation. All in all, it comes with a ton of powerful cards, including four dual paths that will always come in handy. When an Eldraine card is discarded, Kaldheim may even reach level 1 in terms of the number of playable items.

MTG Arena Packs FAQ

Can You Buy Arena Packs Outside the Game?

While you can’t directly purchase as many Arena Packs as you want, you can purchase six Packs per Set. How to get the Pre-order Pack.

Prerelease Kit

Each paper pre-order kit contains 6 boosters, one promotional card and a code that can be exchanged for 6 packages of the appropriate kit at MTG Arena.

Strixhaven pre-order pack

You can buy a pre-order pack on Amazon and you’ll get the code and the actual boost packs on paper as well.

Gray Viking Games

What if you don’t play on paper? In that case, you can only purchase the code from Gray Viking Games. This is a reliable store that offers all kinds of MTG Arena codes. You can redeem them for pre-order packs, Secret Lair Overlays, and more.

Gray Viking Games How to get MTGA packages

REMINDER: You can only redeem one pre-order code for a specific bundle per account. This means that you can use both the Kaldheim and Ikoria codes to receive 6 Ikoria and 6 Kaldheim packages, but you cannot redeem two Kaldheim codes to receive 12 Kaldheim packages.

Can You Buy Older Packs on Arena?

Yes you can. However, we do not recommend this. There is not a single set that really stands out for the number of playable history cards. So it would be better to just create the cards you need.

How Many Cards Are in the MTGA Pack?

There are two different pack versions available in Arena. Normal packages and Draft packages.

Regular Arena Packs

These are packages that you open in the Packages tab and buy in the Store.

A regular packet contains 8 cards:

Each card can be replaced with a wildcard of the same rarity. You cannot get two or more copies of the same card in one bundle.

wildcards what to do in mtg arena

Draft Packs

Working packages are packages opened in the draft version or sealed. They are for the most part the same as the backing packages in paper.

The Draft Pack contains 14 cards:

You cannot get two or more copies of the same card in one bundle.

How Much Do MTG Arena Packs Cost?

One package costs 1000 gold.

You can buy them in bundles with gems.

Package Cost
3 packs 600 gems
6 packs 1,200 gems
15 packs 3000 gems
45 packs + 1 BaB promotion 9,000 gems
90 packs + 2 BaB promotions 18,000 gems

As you can see, you don’t actually save any gems when purchasing multiple packages. You always pay 200 gems per pack.

Buy a Box Promo

However, after reaching the package of 45 packages, you will receive the Buy a box promotion. You will get two of them in the 90 Pack. You will find all of them in the table below.

Edition Box purchase promotion
Dominaria A song of fire and solar speech
Basic kit 2019 Nexus of fate
Ravnica guilds Impenetrable Great Worm
Ravnica Allegiance The Haunting Hightower
Sparks war Tezzeret, master of the bridge
2020 Basic Set Rienne, the Angel of Rebirth
The throne of Eldraine Kenrith, the returning king
Theros beyond death Athreos, the Shrouded One
Ikoria: Behemoth Lair Zilorth, Strength Incarnate
Core 2021 Rin and Seri, inseparable
Zendikar will rise Orah, Skyclave Hierophant – alternative art
Kaldheim Realmwalker – alternative art
Strixhaven Dragonsguard Elite – alternative art

The current popular Magic: the Gathering themes include the Greek mythology-inspired Theros: Beyond Death, the fairy-tale Throne Eldraine and cards from the 2020 core set. In addition, Guilds of Ravnica draws from a world that has also been adapted into the Dungeons & Dragons 5E handbook.

5)Dominaria

Wanderers do not age, they become historic

Return to the original plane that started this amazing game. This set was one of the last sets designed by Richard Garfield, the creator of MTG. It brought with it a legendary card binding style change and included a legendary card in every pack.

Buy Dominaria if:

  • You love the historical mechanics that represented the legacy of this game
  • You’re looking for some of the strongest cards available on MTGA
  • You want to command the timeravler Teferi yourself

4)Kaladesh Remastered

Invention comes by trial and error

Kaladesh was a land of artifacts and fabrications. This was part of the story of Nicola Bolas who brought the gate guard here in search of the Palar Bridge. This bundle contains some of the best artifacts in the game and is well worth opening up. It is considered remastered as it was made before the arena was built

Purchase Remastered Kaledesh if:

  • You are looking for some of the best artifacts in the Arena
  • Collect the cards in the set
  • Gain more historical power

Package price: 1000 gold

Since 1993, Magic: The Gathering has spawned literally thousands of cards and countless methods of play. An estimated 20 million people play MTG worldwide, making it one of the most popular card games of all time.

Are MTG Arena Codes Available in Booster Boxes?

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Unfortunately, MTG Arena cheats are not available on boosters at the moment. It seems like a missed opportunity not to offer digital content with these rather valuable products. There may be a very good reason though.

Due to the limitations of cheat handling in the Arena, Wizards of the Coast would have a hard time changing how cheat works at this point. We know that with each new kit, a code will come into effect that will give us all free packages. It’s a nice offer, but free digital content with physical products can be a much bigger problem.

Even MTG Arena codes, which are given out in pre-order packs, are limited to one per account so that they cannot be abused. The ecosystem in which Arena exists is perfectly balanced so far, and having a lot of digital codes can disrupt that.

The Bigger Picture

alrund

There is also the issue of resale and distribution of codes. Let’s face it, if the codes were so widely available, there would be a market for them in no time. It’s perfectly understandable that the WotC wouldn’t want this aftermarket to come out and disrupt the game as people find alternative ways to fund their Arena accounts.

Many will argue that MTG Arena is profitable because you can buy card packs with real money. This means that those who cannot are at an immediate disadvantage. There are free packs available and in-game currency can be earned and used to purchase more packs, this is just a grind compared to buying them directly for cash.

The idea that digital codes with physical products will solve this problem is a bit naive. This would only lead to a lower level of monetization as players are looking for cheaper ways to spend real money on in-game content.

With a modest little collection to talk about once you’ve got all the starter decks, it’s a good starting point. You’ll also receive a few packs along the way thanks to the current set’s Mastery System pictured below.

Building Your Collection in Other Ways

I want to touch on two other things that will help you build your collection and they complement each other. Everything in Arena has a way of getting back and helping set something different for success, which is nice. For their part, Wildcards and Vault go hand in hand in at least one direction.

Wild Pair MTG card artwork by Lars Grant-West

Filling Your Vault

We mentioned above that duplicate cards will contribute to the progress of the Vault, but what the hell is a Vault and what does it mean? Well, once you’ve collected four Normal or Unusual cards, every time you get that card in a bundle or draft, you just don’t get anything.

Instead, it goes to your Vault and contributes to your Vault progress. When it reaches 100%, you can open it and get one mythical, two rare, and three unusual wild cards. You can also choose not to open it and wait for it to reach 200%, but there are no bonuses for that.

Earning and Spending Wildcards

OK, what the hell are Wildcards? Put simply, you can use wildcards to create cards of the same rarity. There are a couple of different ways to get wildcards – one of them is the Vault we just looked at – but the really best way is to open many, many packages. Which, quite funny, is also the most likely way you will fill your Vault.

The crowded MTG Insight card artwork by Lucas Graciano

Playing the game and leveling up also allows you to get cards and packs in the Mastery System, which may end up getting you a few wildcards.

While it may be tempting to just spend them on single cards that tickle your imagination, I suggest you stick with them. The best way to spend wild cards is to build specific decks, not just picking random cards. You never know what you’ll get in a draft, package, or ICR reward, so using Wildcards for a specific purpose is more likely to pay off in the end. You’ll also have something specific to help you get more XP, wins, and rewards instead of a few mismatched cards that don’t really go together with anything you want to build.

Opening the Last Pack

Hope you learned something as we’ve covered almost everything we can. We have tons of resources for new players, so browsing our blog might give you more spots to jump off.

Path of Discovery MTG artwork by Howard Lyon

Determining which kit packs to buy is an ever-evolving art, and the suggestion is likely to change depending on your current meta, what format you want to play in, what archetype and colors you want to build, and a few other factors. Hopefully, we’ve been able to shed some light on what to keep in mind and how to figure it out on your own.

What set do you have a weakness for and which in your opinion is the best in the current standard? Lastly, make sure you download Arena Tutor if you’re a newer player looking to keep track of your collection and matches.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you follow these links to make a purchase, you will help Draftsi continue to deliver great free articles and apps.

Nikki
Managing writer and editor

Nikki is a writer and editor for Draftsi and a regular MTG rider with several years to her credit. He usually spends his time reorganizing his huge collection of cards or trying to create creative deck combinations at MTG Arena.

These commander decks are two to three colors, which means that a single deck will not sample all colors. By purchasing all four, you will gain a wider experience.

What do you need to play Magic: The Gathering?

First, there are many ways to start using MTG for free. For years, many stores have been offering magic “welcome packs” that give an example of a 60-card deck – one deck for each of the five magic pieces. Head to your local store to see if you can catch one of them. You can also go to Magic: The Gathering Arena, where you will receive free cards while playing matches.

However, to learn how to play Magic: The Gathering on the table, you will need a starter deck like the Duel Decks described below that will have everything you need to get started. As for accessories, this will include a pair of d20 dice that serve as a way to track life – once it’s cleared, you lose. As the game gets more advanced, you will need tokens – some of them come in sets, however the d6 dice can also serve as small tokens.

Magic: The Gathering Arena for PC

Play Magic: The Gathering Arena online for free.

How many cards do you need to play Magic: The Gathering?

The standard rule is 60 cards, limited to four from one particular card – which includes all types of cards. For events and in Magic: The Gathering Arena, you need a minimum of 60 cards, plus an optional sideboard with 15 cards that you can swap between matches. However, if you’re playing a limited event like the booster draft, you’ll only need 40 cards. Finally, Magic: The Gathering Commander sets – slightly more advanced decks based on one big card – contain 100 cards.

Unicorn Art Magic the Gathering Quick start

Mesa Unicorn, a creature card from the Magic: The Gathering Game Night expansion box.

If you know someone who wants to learn to play with you, you can’t go wrong with the Magic: The Gathering Core Set 2020 Spellslinger Starter Kit. It has absolutely everything you need to start playing and costs less than ten cents. With this set, you can start playing right away with minimal investment.

This includes two 60-card single-color decks, one for each of you. In this edition, one deck has a red theme, which means lots of dragons, goblins and massive firepower; while the other is White and allows you to command beautiful yet deadly angels.

White cards are a much more difficult deck than red cards, and are a good deck for players who prefer plotting to wild destruction. You’ll also get a cheat to activate decks in Magic: The Gathering Arena – providing a handy way to build both physical and digital collections.

Magic: The Gathering card game Spellslinger Starter Kit 2020

Magic: The Gathering Spellslinger Starter Kit, which includes two 60-card decks, two 20-page life counters, and two quick-start guides and manuals.

Moreover, both packages come with their own holographic card – meaning a Big Bad Boss-style beast that you can both deploy.

The starter kit also includes “Life Counters”, two massive 20-sided dice that track your health throughout the game.

There is also an instruction and a quick-start guide to guide you through the first few rounds of battle in a pleasant and quick way. This is a fairly clear outline and uses the actual cards in the deck to explain his points.

Finally, these two beginner decks are great for building the bigger ones right from the start, because if you do eventually start learning how to build a Magic: The Gathering deck.

The jury is still not on Forgotten Realms, but right now it looks like they may have strong enough hands to stay ahead of the next section. The Rare Creature Lands cycle can be quite playable in Standard, if not before then at least rotated.

Identifying Your Goals

Before you start buying, think about what you want from this kit.

  • Do you only need a few playable decks to try Magic?
  • Do you want a large number of cards to be able to build your own decks?
  • Do you want a relatively small number of cards to be admired or used as inspiration for D&D games?
  • Do you want to collect a lot of cards, maybe even all of them?

Knowing your goals will help you shop successfully.

What to Buy

Once you know your overall goals, it’s time to decide between paper and digital (or both). I will focus primarily on physical paper products. MtG apparently doesn’t have suggested retail prices so here are the prices I found online – they may vary! In addition, most sites have a maximum number of copies that can be purchased to prevent resale and hoarding. Smaller stores and even popular stores may no longer be available even in the pre-sale phase.

Physical Cards and Products

Commander decks

These four decks are a great way to earn playable decks and introduce you to the Forgotten Realms set. Each deck is designed to be fun, and all four decks work well together. You get 100 cards in each deck, including 2 legendary foil cards, foil-etched commander card (which strengthens your deck in some way), 10 double-sided tokens, a life wheel, and a deck box. If you just want to be able to play, it’s a great buy.

These commander decks are two to three colors, which means that a single deck will not sample all colors. By purchasing all four, you will gain a wider experience.

Price: About $ 130-150 for all four decks, or about $ 35 each.

Set Booster Boxes

If you are a D&D minis collector, you might know that with minis you can buy a case and get each mini in a set. Magic doesn’t work that way. For example, about 10% of Kit and Sketch Boosters contain Rare or Mythic Rare with alternative art. This means that assembling a complete set is very difficult.

If your goal is to buy most or all of the cards, your best bet is to choose 1-2 Set Boosters, which are boxes of booster packs, including art cards and other trading cards in addition to playing cards. Each booster can have multiple rares in each (you get a minimum of 1, but a maximum of 4 is possible). Then you can see what you are missing and choose the cards you need. The Booster Box contains 30 packs of 12 cards each for a total of 360 cards (of course you will get some duplicates and many cards that you still don’t have as the cards have different rarities). You can get the Vorpal Sword promo card by purchasing a set of booster kits at your FLGS company (this also applies to the Draft and Collectors boxes mentioned below).

Price: About $ 120-130 per box.

Draft Booster Boxes

This box contains 36 packs of 15 cards each. More cards, but the intent of these cards is to support a draft in which players take turns opening packs, selecting a card, and handing over the packs. These packages are less suitable for collection.

Price: About $ 115- $ 140 per box.

Collector Booster Boxes

Expensive! You only get 12 packs per box, but each pack of 15 cards contains 5 Rare or Mythic Rare cards. This can be a great way to get some nice cards… for the right price.

Price: About $ 245-280 per box.

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