Magic: The Gathering Arena | Economy Details Announcement

MTG Arena Economy v1.0

There will be two in-game currencies forming the basis of the MTG Arena economy:

• Gold: This currency is earned in MTG Arena by winning games, completing quests, and wins in events.
• Gems: These can only be purchased for real money from the in-game store.

Both gold and gems can be used to unlock packs, events, and more. Gems will be available to purchase for players that want to bypass earning gold to speed up gameplay. While there may be offers for some cosmetic items in-game that can only be purchased with gems, there won’t be any gameplay content that can only be unlocked with real money.

Then there are a few basic ways you can get cards in MTG Arena:

• Booster packs will be eight-card boosters containing 5 commons, 2 uncommons, and 1 rare or mythic rare.
• Draft packs will contain 14 cards mirroring tabletop drafts (the basic land has been removed). Drafting will also add cards to your collection, as any card you draft will be automatically added to your collection.
• Individual cards will also be earnable through play. A system is being tested where for every match win, players will receive one card in MTG Arena, up to 30 per day.
• Wildcards are special cards that have a chance to appear in the place of each card in every booster you open. Wildcards have their own rarity, and you can exchange a Wildcard for a card of the same rarity.
• The Vault adds yet another layer of excitement to booster opening. Every time you open a booster, you earn progress toward unlocking The Vault. When you would collect a fifth copy (or more) of a card, you earn vault progress instead of adding that card to your collection. The rewards you can earn each time you open The Vault are currently being tested.

Testing of this system will begin with the release of Rivals of Ixalan in MTG Arena on January 18.

Core Principles

This structure was designed with three principles in mind:

1. Make our players’ valuable time as fun as possible.

Arena’s designers want players to truly enjoy their play time and look forward to coming back again. The game and economy are designed to deliver that.

• Front-Loaded Rewards: In Closed Beta, a daily session system is being tested, where most of the rewards come in the first hour or two.

• Daily . . . or Not: Each day brings a new quest that varies in difficulty and reward, and each day you can cycle out one quest for another.

• When You Want to Play More: A system of rewards based on total wins in a week is currently being tested. As you win two, five, and ten games over the course of a week, you can earn Wildcards.

2. Players need a variety of cards to have the most fun, so reward them with as many as possible 

One of Magic’s unique strengths is its depth, and that depth comes directly from the vast variety of cards created each year. Players should have lots of cards so that we can take advantage of this breadth as the game grows.

• Cards on Wins: A system that gives you a card on every win up to your 30th win each day is currently being tested. Each card has a chance of being any card in Standard, at any rarity.

• Boosters Per Week: Boosters are classic Magic. In Closed Beta, players are rewarded with the opportunity to earn three to four free boosters a week as a test system.

• Keeper Draft: You add all the cards you draft to your collection in MTG Arena. To enter, you use currency (instead of boosters).

• Where’s the Dust?: If a traditional dusting system had been used, it would limit the ability to be as generous with card rewards. In addition, players shouldn’t need to constantly evaluate what to destroy.

3. Make sure players can get the specific cards they want.

In tabletop Magic, players can collect certain cards by trading for them. Trading was discussed at length and it was concluded that for digital, there could be a better experience if players have a different way to collect the cards they want. This is where Wildcards and The Vault make it easier to collect the specific cards you want. Because you’ll receive regular opportunities to receive Wildcards or crack open The Vault, collecting specific cards becomes much more attainable.

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