10 Important Ways Magic: The Gathering Online Is Better Than Magic Arena

[Reiniac]

Only one of these products is a plausible way to get someone into Magic. The fact that on Arena someone can learn the game and try actual Magic without having to put money in cannot be overstated.

[jackmatheus]

As a Brazilian living in a 5 to 1 real economy, the free to play aspect of arena covers 99% of my magic needs.
On Magic online I played just with penny cards, maybe just a few cards with price range 3-5 dollars (remember it’s 15 to 25 of our money)… that’s why is a relieve being able to exchange a bit of time in exchange of being able to play a standard cycle without spending lots of money in exchange of 4 bombs.

I understand the economy side as a US dollar spender

[randyforeman]

I feel like the teacher-like role arena plays is invaluable. It's a slow paced system for someone to learn the game and also learn how it works. Not to mention they can do this all for free!

[Colinmchapman]

Prof: “You can only have 75 decks on Arena”
HS Players: “Say what now!?!?”

[ichliebebrot]

It’s unfortunate that Arena doesn’t have the good stuff that Magic Online does, and that Magic Online doesn’t have the good stuff that Arena does; And thus, I end up playing neither of them.

[nathanmcduck]

I agree that, UI aside, MODO is better than Arena except for one thing: Arena is free. When I played MODO I had to keep spending money while in Arena I can just play and my collection grows just from playing.

[LMGF]

I discovered arena during the pandemic, and being able to play magic again after 20 years, getting to open packs and even build a collection for free is just insane. You just have to play and win. I would have NEVER been able to afford this in paper or MTGO.
F2P is just too big of an advantage when you don't have the money.
On the other hand, if you can or like to spend $$$ on this game, i get why you would prefer MTGO, it's way more diverse and interactive. But damn that UI needs a redo.

[Trickut]

At the end of the day i can do my daily's every day pretty fast and get packs for free, my collection in Arena is massive and i have never spent a dollar on it. For most people that is more then good enough.

[ymmijx]

"fixing a bug is easier than implimenting an entire system"

... i mean you SHOULD be right.

[Iker]

I hadn’t played the game for almost a decade. Then I found Arena, then Tolarian Community College, and my love for the game was rekindled. I like Arena. It might have flaws, sure, but it’s been great for me.

[terryschwimmbacher]

I recently made the switch from Arena to MTGO and so far I haven't looked back. I genuinely feel that the weird bugs and clunky outdated UI are a small sacrifice in order to have access to a wider variety of formats, the ability to simply build the decks I want instead of grinding and praying for good packs, and an affordable economy that has a least a partial cash out option.

[brockmckelvey]

Someone at Hipsters of the Coast pointed out that Arena has too few formats, but way too many different ways to play those few formats

[PrettierNPastel]

Magic v magic: Two clients enter, both clients are sadly disappointing

[gabrieljankowski]

3 days later: WotC announces they’re discontinuing Magic Online

[HienNguyenHMN]

MTGO's technical and step-by-step progression through a turn (and its steps and phases) taught me how to play Magic.

[FrobozzElectric]

At the end of the day, I have spent zero dollars on Magic Arena and I get to draft as much as I want and I can make whatever decks I want. It doesn't matter what percentage of my "investment" I can cash out because it didn't cost me any money to begin with. The economy is actually the best thing about Arena over Magic Online, in my view.

[NCISfreak]

As primarily a limited player, Arena has been a game changer for me. With a decent winrate I am able to stretch my gems/gold really far. I am very thankful for that aspect of the client. I feel for my constricted brethren who do not have a dusting system, which I still think is a borderline criminal enterprise on the hands of WOTC :(

[technole]

Arena is WotC's way of adapting to the gatcha game era, just make a whole new game with a monetary model that all the modern F2P games have. It's like continuously putting quarters in a machine to get what you want and that's how it works. Versus MTGO where it's just like a digital card shop. Even the best trader bot in the game is owned by an LGS, so they cut out the middle man too.

[KalElelVigilant]

Arena is a videogame about Magic. I don't expect to cash out of a videogame, recover what I paid for digital DLCs or trade skins or equipment with other players (if there's the option, great, but it's nothing I'd take for granted).

[yardswithstripesinc]

I like arena for standardizing the price of cards with equal rarity. Makes each deck cost about the same when you just want copies of top tier decks to play with.

Being able to craft so many competitive decks is a great learning tool.

Pretty unfortunate that modern/legacy are left out, but still fun.