Game profile
Magic: The Gathering Arena
The digital adaptation of the most famous trading card game brings draft modes, standard formats and constantly new sets into a clean client experience. Enormous strategic depth demands real investment in learning rules and metagame.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Deckbuilder / Strategy, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. It is built around short sessions, which makes it easy to pick up for half an hour.
It is genuinely demanding, and repeated failure is part of how it is designed. There is no story to speak of, the systems carry everything. Competitive play against other people is part of the package. It runs on 2 platforms. Getting in costs nothing.
What stands out
- most famous card game
- draft modes
- deep strategy
This fits you if
- you want your skill measured against other people
- you enjoy being made to think
- you usually have thirty to sixty minutes and want that to be enough
- cutscenes annoy you and you just want to play
- you want real resistance and are fine with dying a lot
- you enjoy competing against other players
Look elsewhere if
- you want to relax and not be punished for mistakes
- you play mainly for narrative
- you want a game with a clear ending you can reach
- you play alone, this needs other people
How long is Magic: The Gathering Arena?
This one has no finish line. It is built to be played for years, in whatever rhythm suits you.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 85 out of 100, which puts it above 59 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 473 overall. That is mid-table for this database. Not a standout at the top, but solidly rated.
For comparison, Deckbuilder averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 2 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 80 collected ratings.
Released in 2019, so it has 7 years behind it. Usually cheap by now and the rough edges are long fixed.
The facts
- Release year
- 2019
- Genres
- Deckbuilder, Strategy
- Playtime
- Endless game
- Difficulty
- Demanding, punishing
- Story weight
- None, pure gameplay
- Play with
- Competitive
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Free-to-play
- Platforms
- PC, Mobile
- Critic rating
- 85 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic: The Gathering Arena | 2019 | Endless game | 85 | Free-to-play |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel | 2022 | Endless game | 82 | Free-to-play |
| Legends of Runeterra | 2020 | Endless game | 83 | Free-to-play |
| Hearthstone | 2014 | Endless game | 88 | Free-to-play |
If you liked this, try these
- 82/100 Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Shared: Deckbuilder, Strategy, Fantasy
- 83/100 Legends of Runeterra Shared: Deckbuilder, Strategy, Fantasy
- 88/100 Hearthstone Shared: Deckbuilder, Strategy, Fantasy, rated higher
- 85/100 Marvel Snap Shared: Deckbuilder, Strategy, Fantasy
- 79/100 Teamfight Tactics Shared: Deckbuilder, Strategy, Fantasy
- 85/100 Monster Train Shared: Deckbuilder, Strategy, Fantasy, shorter