Did you know that Magic: The Gathering has a digital client that you can play online (two, actually)? Sure, Magic Arena is a well-known entity within the hobby, but publisher Wizards of the Coast barely promotes its existence to those who play in the real world. That's changing in May thanks to a promotion that awards Arena prizes when you show up for drafts at your local hobby store.
As outlined in a recent post on the main MTG website, the popular trading card game will be awarding digital assets to players who register for up to three booster pack drawings during the month of May using their Wizards account credentials. It doesn’t have to be the recently released Outlaws of Thunder Junction, but chances are your local brick-and-mortar store is already shouting about it. You don’t even have to win to get your hands on the prizes.
A draft will provide you with an extended art card style for High Noon to use in Arena’s matchmaking and digital events platform. Your second draft will come with a Globin card sleeve that can be applied to any Arena-built deck – one of the game’s big draws compared to paper is a wide selection of decorative accessories. Complete three paper drafts and you’ll receive an Arena draft token valid for entry into one of the Limited Format tournaments that plays exactly like its physical counterpart.
If you do the math on draft pricing, you'll realize that this promotion isn't exactly a financially outrageous transaction. One draft token for the price of three means that this offer is less geared toward attracting new players to Arena's digital ranks than toward increasing the number of already-affiliated MTG players who also spend their time and money collecting intangible cards.
Arena has been stagnant for a while in terms of financial success, and until recently didn’t appear in corporate owner Hasbro’s quarterly earnings reports. CEO Chris Cocks mentioned long-term plans for Arena in response to an investor that include new game modes and major updates over a timeframe that could stretch as far as two years into the future. In the meantime, it’s quietly moving beyond its cardboard cousin, earning a passable income from the sale of a separate digital collection that’s unparalleled by a player’s physical (and often expensive) mass of cards.
The frustrating thing about this promotion is that other collectible card games already do it better, most notably The Pokémon Trading Card Game, which includes codes for a booster pack inside every physical game sold. MTG players might be much more willing to openly switch between Arena and the tables at their local hobby shop, but outside of sparse offerings like May’s promotion, Hasbro seems uninterested in building that bridge.
Players can earn their Arena rewards from now until June 2 at any retailer that is part of the WPN network. Check online or ask at your local game store for more details.