MTG Arena, the latest creation from Wizards of the Coast, brings the interactive features of Magic: The Gathering to life in an online environment. Players are able to use preconstructed decks or decks they’ve created to compete in head to head matches. The game rewards players and allows for the purchase of booster packs. MTG Arena also offers token cards, which can be redeemed for any Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Mythic Rare card within the current Standard set.
MTG Arena is now available for PC gamers through Closed Beta testing. Closed Beta refers to the stage of development where players can sign up for access to test the game and report any bugs found. This is different than Open Beta, which is when the game is released to the public even though there are still issues and updates to work on. Players can sign up for access through the official MTG Arena site and wait for an access code to be emailed to them.
MTG Arena is not to be confused and will not be replacing Magic: The Gathering Online. MTGO allows players to purchase and play cards from every set and format in the game. The game currently only utilizes the Standard format, does not allow for trading or purchase of individual cards, and functions more in the style of Hearthstone or Elder Scrolls Online.
MTG Arena is currently and always has plans to be free to play, with in-game purchases available such as booster packs. Players have two methods of currency when purchasing in game content - gold and gems. Gold can be earned through completing quests while gems can be purchased with money to use in game. “While we are in beta, we will be testing out different variations of the economy to see what works best for the game and our players,” Wizards of the Coast said. “We will be testing different types of in-game purchases and content accessible with gems.”
The purpose of Closed Beta testing is for the creative and developments teams to gauge what is working and what needs to be tweaked before the full game release. Players were initially able to provide their feedback through the beta forum, which has since become unavailable. Fans have instead taken their feedback to other sites such as Reddit. Bugs can still be reported directly to Wizards through their support page. Currently, there is no official full release date for MTG Arena as the game will continue testing for the next several months.
Though the game is currently available only on PC, MTG Arena was built on a flexible engine that can potentially allow for Mac and console play in the future. When the game is fully released, all progress and cards earned during beta testing will be reset. Players may also experience account resets during beta testing when an update is released that affects the overall meta of the game.
