A free and engaging card game

Magic: The Gathering Arena is the digital version of the popular card game of the same name. This free game brings the original gameplay to your mobile device, letting you unlock powerful decks, earn rewards, and get into various game modes. If you’re a beginner, there’s a tutorial and a practice game to lets you learn the basics.

Across all versions of Magic: The Gathering, there are over 25,000 unique cards that include different booster packs, theme decks, and limited edition cards. However, Magic: The Gathering Arena only has a little over 6,000 of the aforementioned cards.

Get the best card

Magic: The Gathering Arena, also known as MTG Arena, is originally a physical card game where players use a deck of cards to battle opponents. The deck includes land cards, which generate five separate colors of mana. There are also play cards that consume that mana to summon creatures, cast offensive and defensive spells, and/or activate abilities and effects. Your goal is to reduce the opponent’s life total to zero before they can do the same to you. 

As noted, the digital version will have the same gameplay. Users can unlock powerful decks right away upon launching the app. With this, they can jump right into the action and battle other players. By winning, they can earn rewards and get more cards to create a powerful deck. There are 15 unique decks available to suit various playstyles. First-time players can master their skills by playing the tutorial and practicing against AI players.

Magic: The Gathering Arena comes with vibrant card art. It also lets you unleash your creativity by allowing you to create your avatar, card sleeves, and even your pets. However, the app follows the freemium paradigm. It is free to download but comes with optional microtransactions. You will need gems to purchase the Mastery Pass, unlock boosters, or participate in drafts—though you can use gold for the latter. Players can also use real-world currency to obtain gems, which are quite expensive.

Is Magic: The Gathering Arena the same as Magic?

Magic: The Gathering Arena is based on the original Magic: The Gathering — more often referred to simply as Magic — card game and utilizes the same mechanics, so the gameplay will be familiar enough for players of the physical game to quickly get the hang of. One major difference between the two titles, however, is that MTG Arena features exclusive cards that you can only obtain in the game.

The original Magic: The Gathering is not only one of the first collectible card games ever made, but it is also one of the most beloved. MTG Arena, developed by Wizards of the Coast, is this game’s online rendition featuring speaking cards, high-end entry effects, and streamlined gameplay. The PC game is also more seamless and less clunky, meaning players are less likely to experience mistouches due to the smaller screen size of mobile devices.

Is MTG Arena free?

Magic: The Gathering Arena is a free-to-play game that is quite generous with its rewards. It also provides its clients with multiple quests and challenges over the course of a day. The only drawback is that the game doesn’t support card trading. Hearthstone, Legends of Runeterra, Marvel Trading Card Game, and Gwent are similar card games that you might want to check out as well.

Is MTG Arena suitable for beginners?

One of the best parts about playing Magic: The Gathering Arena online is that to win, you don’t have to be an established player. For beginners, the game provides a rewarding and challenging tutorial that prepares them for arena battles. Once they start playing with others, it all comes down to skill. While experience does matter, if you play your cards right, you may even defeat veteran gamers.

Does Magic: The Gathering Arena have an online following?

The offline collectible card game came into existence in 1993 and since then has gained a massive following. MTG Arena online has the same charm, ensuring you find a worthy opponent anytime you log in to play. While the game does a good job of connecting you with other players from around the world, the direct challenge feature needs work. The latter requires you to input the name of the player with whom you wish to play. 

How to play Magic: The Gathering Arena on your mobile phone?

Mobile players can now rejoice as Magic: The Gathering Arena is also available to download for mobile devices, as well. All you need to do is log in to your Wizards account to easily sync your entire collection, completed quests, and your list of friends. Take note, however, that MTG Arena for mobile makes use of touch screen and gesture controls that are unavailable on the desktop versions.

How to play?

Magic: The Gathering Arena gameplay is quite simple and is easy to learn even if you’ve never played a hand. In the game, players start with a carefully selected deck of cards, capable of reducing the opponent’s points from 20 to zero. These cards consist of land cards that, when played, generate mana cards in five separate colors. Each color has its meaning and can be used to inflict damage or for healing.

The opponent then plays another card that can not only get rid of the effect of the mana card but also cast spells, summon different beings into the arena, or activate the abilities of creatures. Since players take turns to lay down their hands, they have ample time to create a strategy that can reduce the points of their opponents. Players can also battle directly with spells by relying on the available stack.

While there are numerous ways of playing Magic: The Gathering Arena download, most games rely on standard gameplay. This style consists of cards that only last for a year and a half. After players turn in their wildcard in the Arena, they’re able to collect single cards or packs. They can then build a powerful deck of cards consisting of various color cards, creatures, and spells.

A crossover to behold

According to Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering will release new crossover expansion sets featuring the following series: Assassin’s Creed, Fallout, and Final Fantasy. As per the timeline uploaded on Magic: The Gathering’s official Twitter account, the sets for Fallout and Assassin’s Creed are expected to roll out in the first and third quarters of 2024, respectively. Joining alongside the above-mentioned are: 

• Ravnica Remastered (Q1)
• Murders at Karlov Manor (Q1)
• Outlaws of Thunder Junction (Q2)
• Modern Horizons III (Q2)
• Bloomburrow (Q3)
• Duskmourn House of Horror (Q3)

Unfortunately, the Final Fantasy expansion will be released in 2025—spelling bad news for fans of said franchise. On the bright side, though, this set will feature all mainline Final Fantasy games—including Final Fantasy XVI—and will also be a playable set in Magic: The Gathering Arena.

Get the same experience

Fans of the original Magic: The Gathering Arena can now play the game whenever and wherever with this card game. It features the same gameplay they know and love, so they can play right away. More so, since it pits you against online players, you don’t have to look for it yourself. Unfortunately, some players will find the in-app purchases to be too expensive.